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I. General Description of the Collection and Its Users

The general science collection covers those subjects for which RIT offers no degree programs.

Users of the collection include students and faculty in the College of Science and the College of Liberal Arts, and other members of the RIT community with interest in general science.

II. Description of Programs Served by the Collection

No degree programs exist for this area. The collection provides background and supplemental reading for courses in the College of Science and for Science, Technology, and Society courses in the College of Liberal Arts.

III. Subject and Language Modifiers

A. Geographic Areas

No limits.

B. Chronological Periods

No restrictions. Emphasis, however, is on current developments or analysis of recent events.

C. Languages

Only English language titles are purchased. Foreign language-English language scientific-technical dictionaries are acquired.

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 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 history, practice, and current research is very selectively acquired.

C. Conference Proceedings

Only major conference proceedings of interest to several departments are acquired.

D. Manuals of Practice

Very selectively acquired.

E. Textbooks

Textbooks are not routinely acquired unless a classic text would be useful as a general survey or handbooks for a particular area, such as geology, not otherwise represented.

F. Newspapers/Newsletters

Selected society newsletters and trade newsletters are acquired, especially newsletters of local scientific and environmental organizations.

G. Government Documents

Publications of the Environmental Protection Agency, the National Institute of Standards and Technology, Smithsonian Institution, and National Science Foundation are acquired selectively. State documents from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, and the New York State Museum and Science Service are selectively acquired.Other government publications are acquired when the content is appropriate to the subject scope of the collection; not maintained separately. Government documents are not housed/maintained separately from other publications.

H. Maps/Atlases/Picture Books

Acquired when appropriate. Topographic maps, and some geological maps, of New York State are collected.

I. Serials/Indexes/Abstracts

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

Popular science magazines, such as Science News, are heavily used by the RIT community and are important purchases. Scholarly journals covering all fields of science, such as Nature, Science, and Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, are necessary for degree-granting programs in the College of Science.

J. Other

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

K. 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.

VI. Cooperative Collection Development Agreements

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

Journals are routinely retained in microfilm with the exception of titles containing substantial graphical material, low contrast photographs, or mathematical notation. (See Bindery Policy/Procedure-Periodicals)

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 are 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 cycle. 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 general bibliographies and special subject lists should be retained in the collection.
2. Selective Weeding
   a. Monographs
   In general, general science 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.
   2. Scholarly Journals
      Long runs of key scholarly journals that meet the criteria given in the introduction to this section should be retained indefinitely (Examples: Science, Nature). 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, older editions are kept(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 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 can 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

Maintained by Sheila Smokey