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I. General Description of the Collection and Its Users

The chemistry collection serves these user groups: undergraduate chemistry majors; chemistry master's degree students; chemistry faculty; master's degree students and faculty in clinical chemistry, materials science, and imaging science; PhD students in imaging science, non-chemistry majors taking chemistry courses; students from area colleges with limited collections; and chemists from local industry. Emergency management students and campus environmental safety officers also use chemical safety materials.

Beyond the usual core collection necessary for undergraduate chemistry majors, materials are needed to serve the high level of undergraduate research as well as graduate student and faculty needs. Also, materials with an industrial orientation are needed for students in co-op programs or who are preparing to work in industry.

II. Description of the Programs Served by the Collection

A. Undergraduate Programs

The Chemistry Department offers an A.S. degree in chemistry, a B.S. degree in chemistry (ACS certified), a B.S. degree in chemistry with a biochemistry option, and a B.S. degree in polymer chemistry. The B.S. programs emphasize undergraduate research, and prepare students for careers in industry as well as for graduate education. A very high percentage of majors continue to graduate school.

B. Graduate Programs

The Chemistry Department offers an M.S. degree in chemistry. This program includes a part-time study option to fill the needs of practicing industrial chemists as well as full-time graduate students.

The chemistry collection also serves some of the needs of the M.S. & Ph. D. programs in imaging science (chemical imaging), and M.S. programs in clinical chemistry and in material sciences (described under those subjects).

III. Subject and Language Modifiers

A. Geographic Areas

No restrictions.

B. Chronological Periods

No restrictions. Emphasis, however, is on current developments.

C. Languages

No restrictions. Emphasis is on English language materials. A few samples of foreign language items are collected for instructional purposes (especially in German or Russian). A few German titles must be purchased for which there is no English equivalent, although English will be preferred whenever possible. Foreign language - English language chemical dictionaries are necessary for German language materials, as well as for foreign students.

IV. Date of Publication

General emphasis for acquisition of new titles is on current publications in all subject areas. Acquisition/retention of material older than ten years is based upon importance of the work to the discipline; usefulness for historical information/perspective; extent of current publishing in the discipline; curriculum needs for new program development; usage of existing material of same age; and physical condition of the material. Retrospective acquisition of serials to meet new program needs will be extremely selective and limited to the past five years. Document delivery will be used instead to meet these needs whenever feasible.

V. Treatment of Subject Matter

A. Level of Treatment

Emphasis is on a collection which supports curriculum driven needs of students(primarily under-graduate) and faculty. The special needs of the NTID students are considered where relevant. Major published source material appearing in core collection bibliographies or recommended lists (especially American Chemical Society recommendations) will be included. Pertinent reference sources will also be acquired. Every effort is made to accommodate faculty requests for specific curriculum related titles.

B. Scholarly Works

Material covering the history, practice, and current research in chemistry is collected.

C. Conference Proceedings

Very selectively acquired.

D. Manuals of Practice/Textbooks

Manuals of practice are acquired when appropriate. Advanced textbooks that are classics or serve as manuals of practice are acquired; other textbooks are purchased on faculty request. Textbooks and other introductory works are heavily used by students as supplemental reading.

E. Newspapers/Newsletters

Some professional society newsletters are acquired.

F. Government Documents

Publications of the Environmental Protection Agency, the National Institute of Standards and Technology, and the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health are acquired selectively . Other publications are acquired when the content is appropriate to the subject scope of the collection; govenrment documents are not maintained separately.

G. Maps/Atlases/Picture Books

Atlases of spectral data are acquired.

H. Serials/Indexes/Abstracts

Serials are the major form of disseminating information in this field, and therefore are important to the collection. Indexes and abstracts are necessary acquisitions for tracking journal articles.

I. Other

Pamphlets are selectively acquired if sufficiently important to warrant cataloging; no pamphlet/vertical file is maintained.

J. Multiple Copies

Multiple copies of monographic titles are acquired only when heavy use is anticipated or demonstrated or at the curriculum-based request of a faculty member. A select few journals are retained in both paper and microfilm for(up to) five years, if use justifies, then in microfilm only. (See Bindery Policy/Procedure-Periodicals)

VI. Cooperative Collection Development Arrangements

No contractual cooperative collection development agreements for this discipline have been made between RIT Library and any other library. Informal working relationships with other members of the Rochester Regional Library Council (RRLC) exist and closer associations will be pursued in the future. The library participates in the emergency faxing project and shared reference project of the Regional Science Librarians Steering Group.

Where faculty and student research needs fall outside the primarily undergraduate curriculum-based scope of the onsite collection, access to this information will be provided through traditional, as well as, commercial document delivery services.

VII. Publication Formats

A. Microforms

Microform is acceptable for journals except for chromatographic, biochemical titles or other titles having low contrast photographs. Microform monographs are acceptable for spectra, chemical safety data, and technical reports.

B. Non-Print Materials

Acquisition of traditional non-print materials (slides, videotapes, video discs, films, sound recordings, slide/tape programs) is very selective and made in consultation with the Media Resource Center Media Specialist, usually at the request of a faculty member. Non-print materials are generally housed in the Media Resource Center.

C. Software and CD-ROM

Indexing and abstracting services and other specialized sources will be acquired in these formats where they meet subject collection criteria as well as the Electronic Resources Policy criteria (in process).

VIII. Collection Maintenance

Continuous maintenance of the collection is carried out based upon systematic evaluation of the collection in light of curriculum shifts, use statistics, core bibliographies, physical space limitations and alternative availability of information. Periodical titles will be reviewed annually prior to their renewal. All other areas of the collection should be reviewed every three to five years. Included in the process are weeding of materials no longer relevant to curriculum needs, elimination of superfluous titles where information is duplicated in more current or authoritative sources, and the ordering of replacement copies of damaged/ heavily used items still relevant to curriculum needs.

A. Weeding

1. Duplicates Only Weeded
At least one copy in good condition of standard and classic titles listed in major bibliographies, such as the American Chemical Society's guidelines for undergraduate collections, should be retained in the collection.
2. Selective Weeding
   a. Monographs
   In general, chemistry materials should be reviewed every three to five years to remove materials no longer relevant to the curriculum, older materials where sufficient coverage is provided by more contemporary titles, and multiple copies of materials where high use is no longer a factor.
   b. Serials
   1. Indexing and Abstracting Services
      Indexing and abstracting publications should be discarded only when equivalent or improved coverage and access is available through new sources, printed or electronic (i.e. covers approximately same or more pertinent journal titles in the field and/or provides enhanced search capabilities pertinent to our programs). Duplication of coverage should be monitored annually. If the library has a run of less than ten years and the materials covered are indexed by another resource, the volumes should be deaccessioned. Chemical Abstracts and Beilstein's Handbuch der Organischen Chemie are chemistry's two most important reference sources. They very systematically and comprehensively cover the world's chemical information. Much of the older information has not changed and is still valid. Information in older volumes is not available electronically. Electronic access is not free to students. Even if electronic access were free, it is usually necessary to refer to the printed sources to prepare a useful online search.
   2. Scholarly Journals
      Long runs of key scholarly journals that meet the criteria given in the introduction to this section should be retained indefinitely (Example: Journal of the American Chemical Society). Priority for retention is given to titles accessible through indexing and abstracting services available at RIT Library and titles not available in any other Rochester-area library. Short runs and broken runs are scrutinized more carefully and retention decisions are based on the collecting levels assigned in Section IX: Subject Divisions, usage statistics, importance of title to the discipline and alternative availability.
   3. Trade Journals
      Trade journals that provide primarily timely information (industry news, new products, trends, etc.) are discarded after one to five years. Those including articles of more lasting value are kept longer, especially if they are included in indexing and abstracting services at RIT Library.
   4. Review Series and Annuals
      These provide overviews of both current and historical developments, and therefore are kept indefinitely.
   5. Directories
      Current editions are kept in reference or reserve; for directories that change very little, one copy of the previous issue is kept in the circulating collection for users to circulate or to use if the latest edition is temporarily misplaced. Older editions are discarded.
3. Current Edition/Year Only Retained
   a. Textbooks
   For textbooks in high demand, an earlier edition may be kept.
   b. Manuals of practice
   For manuals that change very little, it is worth keeping older editions (no more than six) for students to circulate, or to use if the latest edition is temporarily unavailable.
   c. Career Materials
   d. Newsletters/Calendars/Current Awareness Services
   Materials providing timely information about events, activities, and employment opportunities are discarded when information is no longer current. Current awareness services, such as Current Contents: Physical, Chemical, and Earth Sciences are discarded after a year, when the articles they cover are indexed by other sources.
   e. Standards

B. Replacement of Materials

1. Lost or Mutilated

Every effort should be made to replace lost or heavily mutilated titles if they are judged to be of continuing relevance to the collection. When mutilation is confined to a few pages, replacement copies of these pages should be requested through the Information Delivery Service. (See Bindery Policy/Procedure-Periodicals & -Monographs)

2. Gifts

   Gifts which duplicate existing holdings should be used to upgrade the condition of the collection by replacing worn circulating copies with more sound gift copies.

C. Stacks Maintenance

The condition of all materials should be monitored to ensure those in need of repair and rebinding are attended to before they are irreparably damaged.

IX. Subject Divisions

Materials in all areas of chemistry are provided at the undergraduate level. Materials on general chemistry and history of chemistry are acquired at the undergraduate and reference levels only.

 

	Support Level (see Introduction for key)
A. Analytical Chemistry	C-1
B. Organic Chemistry	C-1
C. Polymers	C-1
D. Physical Chemistry	C-1
1. Photochemistry (Imaging Science)	B
2. Plasma Chemistry	C-1
3. Other Physical Chemistry	C-1
E. Biochemistry	C-1
F. Clinical Chemistry	C-1
G. Inorganic Chemistry	C-1
H. Chemical Safety	C-1

[rev. 7/94]

Maintained by Sheila Smokey