Government Documents Collection Development Policy
POLICY CONTENTS 8 min read.
Summary
Collection Development Policies of the UNT Libraries Government Documents Department. Includes information on Federal and State documents, legal materials, and maps.
Federal And Texas Documents
The UNT Libraries were designated a Federal Depository Library in 1948. The Federal Depository collection currently serves the 26th Congressional District of Texas, which includes Denton County and parts of Cooke, Dallas, and Tarrant Counties. Included within this district are Texas Woman’s University and North Central Texas College. The majority of items currently selected through the Federal Depository Library Program (FDLP) are Web-based publications, although tangible materials—in paper, microfiche, and DVD—are still received.
The primary clientele of the federal depository are the residents of the 26th Congressional District and the students, faculty, and staff of UNT. The Government Documents Department is active in the North Texas Documents Group (NORDOCS), which facilitates cooperation with other depository libraries in the Dallas/Ft. Worth metroplex.
The Government Documents personnel are responsible for the collection and follow the guidelines and instructions for selection and disposal set forth in the Instructions to Depository Libraries. When questions arise over the interpretation of these guidelines, the Documents Librarian consults with the Regional Documents Librarian at Texas Tech University.
Acquisition
The majority of items in the collection are obtained through the Federal Depository Library Program and the Texas State Publications Depository Program. The Government Documents Librarians will monitor national and state Depository Offers lists and request materials to supplement the collection, as needed. Privately published materials to supplement the depository collections will be purchased selectively, after consideration of relevance to the curriculum, and space and budget constraints.
Language
English language materials are primarily collected, but other languages may also be considered.
Selection Guidelines
- Examples of materials to select:
- Annual reports
- Laws
- Regulations (unless these duplicate the Federal Register and Code of Federal Regulations)
- Decisions
- Periodicals/newsletters (unless the coverage is of personnel or other internal matters)
- Examples of materials to select carefully:
- General publications
- Handbooks, manuals, and guides
- Specifications
- Looseleaf materials
- Oversized materials
- Maps (See Collection Development Policy: Maps for further information)
- Statistics
- Posters/charts (see Collection Development Policy: Maps for further information)
- Subject areas emphasized in the collection (not listed in order of
importance):
- Laws and regulations, etc.
- Business
- Foreign affairs
- Environment
- Emergency preparedness
- Health and nutrition
- History
- Education
- Criminal justice
- Demographics
- Juvenilia
- Geology/water
- Energy
- General agriculture/forestry
- Recreation
- Geographic areas emphasized in the collection:
- U.S. as a whole
- Texas
- The five state region: Texas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Arkansas
- The Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex
- The counties comprising the North Central Texas Council of Governments (Collin, Dallas, Denton, Ellis, Erath, Hood, Hunt, Johnson, Kaufman, Navarro, Palo Pinto, Parker, Rockwall, Somervell, Tarrant, and Wise)
Texas Documents
The Libraries have been a Texas State Publications Depository since the program’s inception in 1963. We receive all materials distributed through the program, most of which are paper documents.
Digital Collections
Digital materials are becoming a much larger part of our collection. We identify individual publications as well as entire sites for acquisition, with the understanding that we will provide access to these materials via the Libraries’ Web servers. The selection guidelines listed above, as well as our official partnerships with the U.S. Government Printing Office and the Texas Secretary of State’s Office, guide our acquisition of born-digital government publications.
Legal Materials
The purpose of the UNT Libraries’ Legal Collection is to provide access to legal materials in support of the UNT curriculum. The collection is intended to be a resource for the academic community, as well as for local and regional community members.
The Legal Collection, as referred to in this policy, consists of those legal materials located on the Third Floor of Willis Library. It is maintained as a part of the Government Documents Department, with Government Documents Department staff members providing reference assistance and access to the collection. The Government Documents Librarians, in consultation with liaisons and requesting faculty, are primarily responsible for selection of the collection.
Acquisition
The collection consists primarily of purchased items. The Libraries receive many titles on standing order, with additional monographs purchased out of various funds. Materials obtained through the Federal Depository Library Program and the Texas State Publications Depository Program, such as the United States Reports, Code of Federal Regulations, and the Texas Administrative Code, are considered supplements to the Legal Collection.
Language
English language materials are primarily collected.
Collection Areas
The collection includes primarily U.S. federal and Texas state laws. We have standing orders for numerous titles, including the regional Reporters, West’s Supreme Court Reporter, and Vernon’s Texas Code Annotated. Some foreign government and international law materials are purchased from departmental allocations.
Our subscription to LexisNexis Academic includes Canadian, European Union, and other foreign government materials not found in the print collection, as well as numerous law reviews and legal news publications.
In addition to these primary sources, the Libraries acquire consumer law publications to support the non-academic needs of our users. Topics include books on how to do your own divorce in Texas, how to start your own business, copyright, renters’ rights, etc. Because of the frequency with which these publications are updated, we purchase them almost exclusively through Ebooks on Ebscohost, weeding older editions as new ones are acquired.
Colleges/Departments with Legal Research/Information Components
- College of Arts and Sciences
- Economics
- History
- Journalism
- Political Science [home of UNT’s pre-law program]
- Radio Television and Film
- College of Public Affairs and Community Service
- Criminal Justice
- College of Business Administration
- Business Law
- Management
- College of Education
- School of Library and Information Sciences [law librarianship]
- School of Merchandising and Hospitality Management
Maps
The purpose of the UNT Libraries’ Map Collection is to provide access to map materials in support of the UNT curriculum. The collection is intended to be a resource for the academic community, as well as for local and regional community members.
The Map Collection consists primarily of flat maps with dimensions that prevent them from being stored in regular library stacks. Folded maps may also be included in the collection, depending on dimension and/or anticipated usage.
The Map Collection is maintained as a part of the Government Documents Department, with Government Documents Department staff members providing reference assistance and access to the collection. The Government Documents Librarians, in consultation with liaisons and requesting faculty, are primarily responsible for selection, maintenance, and storage of the collection.
Acquisition
The majority of maps in the collection are obtained through the Federal Depository Library Program and the Texas State Publications Depository Program. The Government Documents Librarians will monitor national and state Depository Offers lists and request materials to supplement the collection, as needed. Maps that accompany other purchased material will be added to the collection after review by the Government Documents Librarians and the appropriate subject liaison. Maps will be purchased selectively, after consideration of relevance to the curriculum and size and space constraints. All requests for additions to the Map collections will be reviewed by the Government Documents Librarians to assure appropriate storage options are available.
Language
English language materials are primarily collected, but other languages may also be considered.
Collection Areas (Geographic Area & Coverage)
-
Denton County
All scales and subjects. -
DFW Metroplex [includes Denton, Dallas, Tarrant, and Collin counties]
All scales; topographic, transportation, political, demographic, relief, geologic. -
Texas
All scales; topographic, transportation, political, demographic, relief, geologic, including historical materials. -
5-State Area [Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, New Mexico, and Arkansas]
All scales; reference and thematic maps, natural resources. Topographic maps will be purchased selectively and may also be acquired by monitoring offers lists. -
Southwest U.S.
Reference and thematic maps. -
United States
Reference and thematic maps, including historical materials. -
Mexico
Reference and thematic maps, including historical materials. -
World
Reference and thematic maps of Earth as a whole, continents, regions, and nations, including historical materials.
When available, current street maps of selected towns, cities, and metropolitan areas in the United States will be acquired. These maps will not be retained for historical purposes. Street maps of selected towns, cities, and metropolitan areas in Texas will be acquired on a regular basis and retained.
We will retain all copies of maps of Austin, Dallas, Fort Worth, Houston, San Antonio, and all Metroplex cities for historical purposes. We will only house current editions of maps of Little Rock, AR; New Orleans, LA; Oklahoma City, OK; and Shreveport, LA.
Current highway maps for the 5-state area [Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, New Mexico, and Arkansas] will be acquired; however, only Texas highway maps will be kept for historical purposes. Road atlases will be acquired yearly, with older editions being sent to remote storage.
The focus of the collection is on current material, although maps of historic significance are retained.
All Central Intelligence Agency maps, which are received through the Federal Depository Library Program, will be retained.
Maps produced by the National Geographic Society, which are received through our subscription to National Geographic Magazine, will be periodically evaluated by the Documents Librarians to determine relevance and to check for duplication.
Excluded Materials
Aerial photography, aeronautical charts, nautical charts, and maps larger than 41” x 51” are generally not collected.
Dates
- Approved: 07/03/12
- Revised: 01/12/17
