Collection Management

The purpose of this document is to outline the philosophy that guides Miller Library’s collection activities and to define the library’s collection practices and parameters.

Miller Library’s collection practices are guided by the WNMU & Miller Library strategic plans. Our first priority is to serve the diverse information needs of the WNMU community, including students, faculty, staff and administration.

We aim to support WNMU’s academic curriculum in all content areas and academic levels, from undergraduate through Masters level research material. Because a large percentage of WNMU’s student body complete their coursework remotely, our collection activities lean heavily toward resources that are available online, although that may vary by discipline and academic level, dictated by the student population taking courses in those areas.

In an effort to nurture a culture of reading in the WNMU community, we collect some leisure reading materials in addition to academic level materials.

We collect new materials in print & electronic formats, although our collection includes a variety of other content carriers.

The majority of materials are in English or Spanish.

In general practice, the library does not actively collect:

• Textbooks (outside of the Teacher Learning Center special collection)
• Rare books
• Novelty or collectible books
• AV materials in physical formats such as CDs, DVDs, VHS tapes, cassette tapes, microform, etc.

Librarians use the following criteria to select materials to include in the library collection:

• Relevance to WNMU course curricula
• Accessibility
• Appropriate format
• Positive reviews from reliable review sources
• Availability from approved vendors
• Particular interest from members of the WNMU community
• Cost
• Currency
• Physical durability

Formats

Purchased library materials are usually limited to the following formats:

• Ebooks
• Online journals
• Library databases
• Streaming video & audiobooks
• Print books
• Print magazines and journals
• Maps

Archives

The library’s Archive collection focuses on materials of local significance and WNMU history. The library collects primarily text-based materials and accepts donations based on the criteria in the Materials Donations section of this document, below.

Circulating (Main) Stacks

The bulk of the library’s physical collection is located in the Circulating Stacks.  These materials are available for checkout by all library patrons.

Federal Government Documents

Miller Library participates is the U.S. Federal Depository Library Program as a designated partial federal government documents depository. Materials in the Government Documents collection are selected and maintained under the guidelines of the Federal Depository program. More information about this program can be found on the FDLP website.

Library of Things

The Library of Things is a collection of household, crafting and other everyday implements that are available to currently enrolled WNMU students who pay student fees.  This collection is intended to support practical needs, creativity, skill development and access to equipment that may be otherwise onerous for students to obtain due to cost, storage concerns or limited availability.  This collection is funded through student fees.  Selections are guided by student needs, cost, and anticipated use. 

Local Authors Collection

Miller Library makes an effort to collect monographs published by authors from the Southwestern New Mexico area. WNMU faculty, staff, and alumni are included in this collection. The purpose of this collection is to promote and preserve access to works created by authors in the WNMU community and SW New Mexico. When possible, materials are collected in both print and electronic formats.

New Mexico Government Documents

Miller Library participates in New Mexico’s State Depository Library Program. Materials in the New Mexico Government Documents collection are selected and maintained under the guidelines of the state’s Depository program. More information about this program can be found on the NM State Library website.

Popular Literature Collection

The Popular Literature collection consists of leisure reading materials that are not likely to be included in any course material or used for serious independent study. Popular Literature materials are intended to remain in the collection for a shorter time span than materials in the library’s main collection. This may be because they have proven to have an enduring audience over time, in which case they will be moved to the Main Collection, or because they have lost their audience, and we deaccession the material.

Print Periodicals

The library’s Print Periodicals collection includes newspapers, magazines and scholarly journals. The majority of print materials currently on order are intended for on campus use, so lean towards leisure reading rather than to support course material. Older periodicals in the collection are maintained for designated retention periods based on factors such as value as primary sources, patron interest, the library’s ability to obtain articles from other sources, and continuing relevance of content matter.

Spanish Language Collection

Miller Library’s Spanish Language Collection is intended to support the coursework and recreational needs of WNMU students and faculty.  It includes materials that are culturally appropriate and relevant to Spanish speaking students and employees. 

Materials in this collection are either in Spanish or bilingual with Spanish as one of the languages. Print and electronic materials are purchased for this collection.

Teacher Learning Center – Adoptions collection

Miller Library works with the NM Public Education Department by serving as a New Mexico Regional Review Center for Instructional Materials. More information about this program can be found on the PED website.

Under the guidelines of this program, textbook publishers send instructional materials approved by the NM Public Education Department for use in public k-12 schools to Regional Review Centers for public display. Materials must be restricted to in-house use for one year after the NM PED approves them for use in classrooms. After one year has passed, materials can be checked out by Miller Library patrons. The library is required to retain materials for 5 years.

Teacher Learning Center – Curriculum collection

The TLC Curriculum collection contains materials created for an audience of children from infancy through grade 12. The collection is made up of materials obtained from the PED’s High-Quality Instructional Materials program, as well as children’s materials purchased with WNMU’s Education curriculum in mind. Children’s materials selected by WNMU librarians are for an audience of infancy through age 12.

In order to maintain an accurate record of materials in its collection, staff of Miller Library conduct an inventory of a rotating section of the collection annually, so that each section of the collection is inventoried every 5 years. 

Because Miller Library does not normally collect rare or antique books, staff members usually perform only simple repairs on damaged library materials.  Repair decisions are based on the cost of replacement vs repair as well as the library’s ability to access replacement titles. 

In order to keep the library’s collection current, increase findability of materials and maintain space to add new materials, it is sometimes necessary to deaccession library materials.  Library staff conduct deaccessioning activities carefully, with the needs of WNMU students, faculty and staff foremost in mind.   

Common reasons library staff may elect to de-accession materials are:   

• Physical condition
• Lack of use 
• Currency of content
• Duplication
• Space constraints
• Accessibility of the content to our students 

Funding sources used to purchase material may dictate how library material may be disposed.

Purchase requests may be submitted to the Library Director through the Purchase Suggestions form on the library’s website.

Based on the Selection Criteria in this document, the Library Director will determine whether the requested material meets the criteria to add to the library collection.

The Library Director determines whether to accept material donations.   

Acceptance of donations are contingent on the following conditions: 

1. Materials are in good physical condition.
2. Materials meet the selection criteria detailed in this document. 
3. Library staff have sufficient capacity to process materials in a reasonable period of time. 

The library normally will not accept large numbers of print materials at one time, as we do not have sufficient storage space or staffing to accession large numbers of donations in a timely manner. 

We do not accept donations on review; if donations are deemed unsuitable for the library collection, they will not be returned to the donor.   

We do not usually accept donations of rare or antique books.