Archbishop Ireland Memorial Library

Adopted by The Saint Paul Seminary Faculty May, 1991; Revised by The Saint Paul Seminary School of Divinity Graduate Studies Committee May 1999 and November 2002

I. Purpose of the Library

The Archbishop Ireland Memorial Library supports the educational goals and objectives of The Saint Paul Seminary School of Divinity of the University of St. Thomas through its collection and services.  Specifically, it acquires, organizes and disseminates library materials and provides reference, instruction, interlibrary loan, and other services for library users.  The library staff performs these services in consultation with The Seminary/School of Divinity faculty and in cooperation with the libraries of the University and other libraries in the Minnesota Theological Library Association and CLIC (Cooperating Libraries in Consortium).

A. Guiding Principles

The Archbishop Ireland Memorial Library supports the seminary's mission to provide graduate education for future ordained and lay leaders in the Church.  Consequently, the library is guided by the Mission Statement for The Saint Paul Seminary School of Divinity and by the accreditation standards for The Association of Theological Schools in the United States and Canada.

As one of four libraries at the University, the Ireland Library is also guided by the University of St. Thomas Libraries Mission Statement and Collection Development Goals.

B. Collection Development Goals

The collection development policy for the Ireland Library is established to direct the growth, scope, level, and size of the library's collection.

The goals of collection development are:

1. To provide current and retrospective materials and access to resources (print and electronic) in support of the curriculum as well as materials students will need for research papers and independent study.

2. To provide current and retrospective materials and access to resources (print and electronic) to support faculty research including critical editions of major theological texts.

3. To provide materials and access to resources (print and electronic) which support continuing education in theology and ministry.

4. To identify and preserve, in a special collection, the rare theological texts within the collection.

5. To communicate the criteria, goals, nature, scope, and policies of the library collection to the administration, faculty, students and other library users.

6. To guide and facilitate the process of budget allocation for library materials and databases.

7. To present an orderly expression of the strengths and weaknesses of the collection and articulate the desired level of collection intensity in the subject areas represented in the collection.

8. To contribute to the coordination and development of cooperative acquisition efforts with other institutions.

II. Guidelines For Collection Development

A. General

Materials selected for acquisition to the theological collection should, in most cases, conform to an "instructional support level" of collecting intensity.  In the early 1980s, the Research Libraries Group devised a "Conspectus" for use by academic libraries in evaluating their collections.  The instructional support level is described as (note 1) a collection that sufficiently supports undergraduate, independent, and most graduate level instruction, but not post-graduate level research. It includes a wide range of basic monographs both current and retrospective, complete collections of works of more important writers, selected works of secondary writers, selection of representative journals, and the reference tools and fundamental bibliographical apparatus pertaining to a theological collection.

B. Specific

The library is committed to acquiring and providing access to appropriate materials to support the curricula of The Seminary/School of Divinity.  Priority in acquisition will be given to the following fields:

• Documents of the Church's magisterium
• Biblical studies
• Patristics
• Moral theology
• Church history
• Catholic dogmatic theology and systematic theology
• Sacramental and liturgical theology and ritual texts
• Pastoral theology and theology of contemporary church ministry
• Historical and contemporary spirituality
• Canon law

In addition areas identified in the Program For Priestly Formation also receive priority in acquisition:

•  Training for ministerial collaboration
•  Peace and justice
•  Changing ethnic and racial make-up of the Catholic Church in U.S.
•  Ecumenical concerns

C. Criteria For Selection

Materials selected for inclusion in the library's collection should reflect the objectives of the library and be consistent with the goals of collection development.

1. Critical editions:  Foundational texts of the Christian tradition receive priority for acquisition.

2. Monographs:  the majority of titles selected for the collection will be in monographic form.  Because of rising publishing costs, preference has shifted to purchasing paperback over hardcover when the choice exists.

3. Serials:  The library staff, in consultation with The Seminary/School of Divinity faculty will add new serial titles when requested, or when a need arises in a specific subject area, when they support the curriculum.  New titles added to the collection will be purchased without securing backfiles unless demonstrated need for a back run is provided.  Curriculum needs and budgetary considerations will be factors in making decisions.

4. Electronic Resources:  The UST Libraries select appropriate access to essential indexes, databases, and other resources.  In addition, the library will acquire a limited number of special theology electronic resources.  These can be accessed over the WWW, on CD-ROM, or other media.

5. Microforms:  The acquisition of microform titles permits the procurement of materials that are out-of-print, cost prohibitive, or would occupy excessive amounts of shelf space.  Monographic titles on microfiche will be acquired primarily thorough the American Theological Library Association (ATLA) Preservation Project.  Periodical titles, integral to the academic programs of The Seminary/School of Divinity, will be acquired in microform to provide back up for print issues.  Because of quick deterioration and cumbersome format for binding, microform coverage of all pertinent newspaper titles will be purchased.

6. Audio-visual:  The library does not regularly acquire audio or videotapes, sound recording, or other A-V material.  UST libraries Media Center procures A-V material.  The Seminary/School of Divinity faculty members wishing to recommend the purchase of A-V material are directed to the Media Center.

7. Theses/Dissertations:  Copies of theses written by students in The Seminary/School of Divinity degree programs are included in the circulating collection.  Dissertations/theses from other institutions that conform to the selection criteria will be considered in either print or microform formats.

8. Language priorities:  Preference will be given to English language selections, in the original and in translation, for primary and secondary materials with the following exceptions:

a) Source documents in ecclesiastical history and biblical studies;

b) Specialized research materials not in translation or needed for comparison or thorough research, and,

c) Basic reference encyclopedias, bibliographies and dictionaries.

Basic texts and secondary works may be purchase in other languages if the title is not available in English and fits the ?instructional support level? of collecting intensity.  Translations from one foreign language to another will not usually be acquired.  However, critical editions of texts?accompanied by a Western language translation?are acceptable.

9. Date of publication priorities:

a) Current materials will receive acquisition priority but effort will be made to acquire retrospective titles needed to support the basic theology collection or to replace missing or damaged titles.
b) The library will not seek to acquire rare books although it will budget for their preservation and will add them to the collection if they are received through donation and meet the Criteria for Selection (c.f. II.B.).

10. Addition of multiple copies:  Duplication of copies will be limited to those justified by perceived need and/or heavy and continuous use.

11. Gifts:

a) Gifts of library materials are accepted at the discretion of the Director/Theological Librarian with the understanding that there are no conditions attached to their disposition.  Only those materials which prove to be in good physical condition and which conform to the collection goals, guidelines, and policies are added to the collection.

b) Duplicates of titles already held will not be added unless extra copies are needed or if the copy on the shelf is in poor condition.

c) Gift material not needed in the collection will be offered for sale to faculty and students, sent to other libraries, or discarded.

d) All gifts are acknowledged in writing, with a copy kept in the Director/Theological Librarian?s file.  However, the appraisal of gifts for tax purposes is the responsibility of the donor.

12. Replacements:  Titles which become physically unusable or titles which are reported by the Circulation Department as missing are evaluated for their continued appropriateness in the collection and are replaced if they are important works and they are available for purchase.

III. Mechanism For Selection and Acquisition

A. The faculty recommends new titles purchased.  Final responsibility for book selection and acquisitions rests with the Director/Theological Librarian.

B. Evaluation and identification of selected titles in publishers? catalogs and reviews in scholarly journals provide the basis for a balanced collection.  Catalogs and journals will be identified and systematically circulated among faculty members.

C. Recommendations may also come from anyone using the library.  Suggested titles will be acquired if they fall within the scope of the collection and funds exist for their purchase.

D. Assessment Process:

1. Current acquisition lists from Roman Catholic seminaries in the United States and Canada are regularly received and checked against the Ireland Library holdings.

2. Checking subject bibliographies against the collection performs evaluation of the collection to identify basic gaps.  Basic bibliographies for theological and research libraries are routinely checked.

3. When need demands and the budget allows, the library will endeavor to purchase retrospective materials from out-of-print dealers.  This practice is held to a minimum because of the costs involved.

E. Withdrawal of materials is an important part of the collection development process.  The removal of obsolete and deteriorating materials helps to maintain the integrity of the collection and to provide needed shelf space.  This function is performed periodically by the library staff who call upon the advice of faculty members when there are questions regarding the value of items considered for withdrawal.  Titles for discard are selected according to the following criteria:

1. Those works, lacking historical significance, where information has been superseded or presented in newer, more comprehensible or more accessible formats;

2. Titles of slight curricular importance;

3. Non-priority titles readily available at other libraries.

4. Serial titles available online, duplicated at other UST libraries, or available in the MTLA or CLIC consortia.  Curriculum needs and budgetary considerations will be factors. In making decisions.

F. Preservation of materials:

1. Routine binding and repair of titles in the collection will be systematically undertaken.

2. Ongoing conservation and restoration of the Special Collection of rare theological texts remains a priority for preservation activities.

IV. Library Management and Review

The ongoing review of policies and procedures including the updating of this Collection Development Policy is the responsibility of the Graduate Studies Committee of The Saint Paul Seminary School of Divinity.  This Committee has representatives from the faculty, administration, and students from various degree programs The Seminary/School of Divinity.  The Ireland Library Director/Theological Librarian is an ex-officio member of the Committee.

 
Last updated 9/04 (prep for Web August 2006)

Note 1. Richard J. Wood, and Katina Strauch, eds.  Collection Assessment: A Look at the RLG Conspectus  (Binghamton, NY: Haworth Press, 1992) 13.