Little Big Horn College and
The University of Michigan
School of Information and University Library
Spring - Fall 2000

Education is your most powerful weapon. With education you are the white man’s equal; Without education you are his victim.

--Chief Plenty Coups

Library Mission Statement	Responsibility for Selection	General Selection Criteria
Format Specific Selection Criteria	Subject Specific Criteria	Fiction Collection
Children's Collection	Crow Collection	Reference Collection
General Works	Collection Maintenance	Weeding
Preservation	Intellectual Freedom	Gift Policy and Procedures

 

Library Mission Statement

The Little Big Horn College Library serves to:

The Little Big Horn College Library has three roles. The library’s primary purpose is to support the curriculum and mission of Little Big Horn College; its collections are intended to support the courses offered at the College. The Library also serves an important role as the Public Library for the Crow Indian Reservation. A major part of the mission of Little Big Horn College is "the advancement of the Crow Indian family through understanding and knowledge of pertinent issues and participation in community building" (LBHC Mission Statement). This extends beyond the classrooms of Little Big Horn College, to all types and levels of education. Materials for the General Reading and Children’s collections, as well as Career Development materials are particularly important in the library’s responsibility to the public. Finally, Little Big Horn College Library maintains extensive collections of Crow and Native American materials. These materials are available to the Crow community, the students and faculty of Little Big Horn College and to interested researchers from outside the community.

Responsibility for Selection

The Librarian is charged with the responsibility of selecting materials for the Library’s collection. Selection decisions are based upon the Library’s general, format, and subject-specific selection criteria. The Librarian may receive input on selection from the Little Big Horn College faculty, staff, students, and other personnel, as well as from members of the community. The Librarian also draws upon review sources, publishers, vendors, and similar sources for selection suggestions. However, the primary source for decision-making is a vendor approved plan.

General Selection Criteria

Given the Library’s primary goal of supporting the curriculum and Little Big Horn College, the main factor when selecting materials should be how well they do or do not support the College’s courses of study.

Once curriculum needs have been met, the Library selects materials to fulfill its obligations to the community: to provide informational and general interest materials to the Crow Community and maintain strong collections of Crow and Native American materials.

To best serve the various education levels of its college community, the Library includes materials from high school to lower-division undergraduate levels. The exception to this is the Crow and Native American collections, which may include materials at the graduate or professional level. The Library collects materials in all appropriate formats: print, microforms, audiovisual, and computer-mediated materials (see format-specific criteria for more information). The library also houses materials typical of a public library, including a children’s section, light fiction, and large print, as well as a general collection across community interest.

Selection is based on:

Languages

Because the curriculum of Little Big Horn College does not provide courses taught in languages other than English and Crow, the Library collects materials only in these two languages.

Geographical Areas

The geographical focus of the collection is Montana, the Northern Rocky Mountains, the Northern Plains, and the Pacific Northwest. Materials dealing with the United States in general and various other parts of the world as required or demonstrated by interest.

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Format Specific Selection Criteria

Although the Library collection is made up primarily of print materials, there is growing importance and demand for information in other formats. The collection includes monographs, journals, magazines, newspapers, as well as videos, books-on-tape, and CD-ROMs. The Library provides Internet access to its community and expects to provide Crow oral histories online. The Library also provides online access through Infotrac to many periodicals. These are searchable, and in many cases, available in full text online.

The Library considers varying formats when making selection decisions. Major factors in these decisions include cost, availability, technical support requirements, and demand for the content in the format under question. These considerations are secondary to the primary factors in general and subject-specific selection criteria.

Subject-Specific Criteria

The following is a list of the major subject areas in the Library collection, arranged by Library of Congress call number. In addition, information about the current collection, the frequency of use, significance to the overall collection and mission of the Library, as well as goals and criteria for future development are provided for each subject area. Particular areas of interest are noted as they result from academic and/or community need or interest.

The General Reading/Fiction and Children’s collections are not arranged by Library of Congress call number and come under the public library function of the Library, therefore, more explanation of their respective subject coverage is provided in the subject-specific criteria.

The Librarian uses this information, as complementary to the general and format-specific criteria, when making selection decisions. One exception to all rules is the Crow and Native American collection, which is expanded when possible across education levels, format, and sub-subjects.

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Fiction/General Reading Collection

Materials in the General Reading/Fiction collection are labeled "FIC" and are organized alphabetically by author’s last name. The bulk of the collection consists of recent popular novels, which includes a large collection of books-on-tape.

The collection includes literature, poetry, and popular novels for adults. As the public library for the Crow Reservation, the Little Big Horn Library is the major source of popular reading materials for the Crow community, making this collecting heavily used. The General Reading/Fiction collection is important to the Community/Public Services and Outreach aspect of the Library’s long-range plan, and as such will continue to be a major area of collection development and programming. As part of this effort to serve the community, the Library also provides a selective collection of large print materials.

Currency is a particularly relevant criterion when making selection decisions for the General Reading/Fiction collection. There is a rapid turnover of popular reading materials as well as a strong demand for new materials as they become available, making selections decisions in this area necessarily frequent. One way to keep abreast of new popular materials, are patron requests as well as current book reviews in the New York Time Book Review, the New York Review of Books, The Times Literary Supplement and Booklist.

Children’s Collection

The Children’s collection is divided into 14 areas based on subject or reading level. In some cases, a combination of these two criteria was used. For example, there are two sections for the subject "Native American," the first called, "Native American-Older," which materials are geared toward older readers. The second, called "Native American-Younger," is geared toward younger readers. The categories are indicated by number on the books and are as follows:

Collection development decisions for the Children’s collection will be based on the recommendations and requests of community members, college students, faculty and staff (especially those in the education department, whose opinions may be actively solicited). Review media such as Booklist, which provides information on recently published children’s materials, will also be consulted, as well as the knowledge and observations of library staff. The two "Award Winners" sections of the Children’s collection are a primary focus of development, which a grant has made expansion of this specific area possible. Three other areas of focus for future development include Science, Health, and Sports. These sections are currently small, but popular and frequently used.

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Special Collection: SPEC E 51 - SPEC SD 427

This is a small, non-circulating collection consisting of rare or old materials, including U.S. Department of Interior publications, anthropological papers and U.S. Bureau of American Ethnology reports dating back to and before the early 1900’s. Though this collection is not a primary area of collection development for the Library, new materials will be selectively added on occasion. In addition to the general and format specific criteria, which apply broadly across the collection, age, rarity, and value are additional considerations for this small collection.

Crow Special Collection: CROW BF 697 - CROW Z 8522
This is an extensive, non-circulating collection of materials concerning Crow history, culture, language, and tradition. This collection includes materials on other Native American groups, as well as materials relating to the history of the local geographic region and Montana. The purpose of this collection is to preserve materials that are of particular significance to the Crow community. Single items regarding the Crow nation, which are rare or particularly valuable, are kept here and do not circulate. A copy of each item in the Crow General Collection is included here. The preservation of materials dealing with the Crow Tribe’s history and culture is a valuable service to the community. Because this is an area of significance to the Crow population, the Library will continue to focus on selecting new materials to be added to this collection.

Crow General Collection: CROW BF 697 - CROW UA 31.1
This collection is one of the most developed within the Library and includes materials on the law, politics, history, traditions, myths, arts, and general culture of the Crow people. Crow literature, Crow language teaching materials, information on water rights and natural resources, as well as materials on the history of Montana, the Battle of Little Big Horn, and the Western United States are also included in this collection. Because this collection is particularly important to the Crow community and strongly supports the Crow and Native American Studies curriculum offered at the College, it will continue to be a major area of collection development, particularly recently published materials.

Native American Collection: NA E 51 - NA E 99
This collection includes materials on diverse topics pertaining to Native Americans, including books on the legends, history, religion, government, arts and languages of various tribes, as well as materials on the pre-Columbian tribes and Native Americans in United States military history. Future collection development will emphasize the addition of recent scholarly research on Native Americans, particularly those pertaining to the Native American experience in the Twentieth Century.

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Reference: REF AE - REF Z
The reference collection is a vital resource for the College and the Crow community, evidence of which is provided in a recent survey of faculty and students at the College. Given the importance of this collection and the frequent updates of reference publications, the Library will pursue providing reference materials in varying formats, with the currency of materials being of greatest concern. The reference collection will always be an important concern for overall collection development. The Library is also building a website to provide online reference materials.

General Works: AC – AZ
This collection makes up a very small portion of the library’s entire holdings. Items in this portion of the collection include encyclopedias, dictionaries, indexes, almanacs, directories, and other collections or series not included in the reference collection. Though not a major for collection development, when materials are added, currency will be the most important criterion.

Philosophy: B 29 – BD 581
This small collection of texts deals primarily with Western philosophical thought. Though these materials are important, there is no significant curriculum to correlate to this collection and so only minimal amounts of materials will be added. Any collection development will focus on acquiring materials concerning non-Western thought.

Psychology and Ethics: BF – BJ
This collection directly supports the Psychology and Elementary Education curriculums within the General Studies degree program, a popular program at the College. This collection also includes self-help materials that are important to community members outside the College. Currency will be the guiding criterion for collection development in this area.

Mythology and Religion: BL – BX
Materials in this range cover the major religions of the world and general myths, which materials do not directly support any current curriculum at the College, though they are of interest to the community at large. Given this potential interest, the Library will maintain the current collection and where resources exist, add primary religious texts, recent popular religious works, and other comparative or scholarly religion material when appropriate to the needs of the community.

History of Civilization, Archaeology, Biography: CB – CT
This small collection does not support the coursework at the College and therefore is not a major area of collection development. The Library will, however, add limited materials on subjects such as genealogy, family stories, and cultural property, which are of potential interest to the Crow community.

History: D – F
Materials in this collection cover general history, American history, local American regional history, and Latin American history. Though the College does not offer a specific history degree, history is an important element of the curriculum. It is also of interest to the community, which interest is reflected by the circulation records. Future collection development will focus on adding recently published materials, particularly regarding late Twentieth Century history and recent American history.

Geology, Anthropology, Folklore, Recreation, Sports and Games: G – GV
Circulation reports show limited interest in these subjects, though recreational activities are popular locally. The Library will continue with collection development in this area, focusing on anthropology materials, which could serve to support related future curricula at the College. Adding current materials about recreational activities will also be considered, in conjunction with possibly creating a more visible section promoting such materials.

Social Sciences, Business (Economics, Commerce, Finance): H – HJ
This collection corresponds with a significant portion of the curricula at the College, particularly within the Business, Information Systems, and General Studies programs; therefore, it will be an important consideration for future development. The materials within this collection on career and job search are of particular interest to the Crow community. Future development in this area will focus on acquiring recently published materials in varying formats, and possibly creating a more visible space for recent job search materials.

Social Studies and Sociology: HM – HX
This collection is frequently used because it supports a number of degrees offered at the College, as well as offering materials on alcoholism, drugs, childcare and child development, minority issues, and law enforcement, which subjects are of interest to the community. Future development will focus on obtaining recent materials in these areas.

Political Science and Law: J – KNQ
This section is rarely used and so future development will be only minimal. Materials regarding law include Indian Law, which is of interest to the Crow community. The Library will focus on weeding outdated political science materials and adding more recent materials to both political science and law.

Education: L – LJ
This collection directly supports the Education department at the College and is of significant interest to the students. Collection development in this area will concern weeding outdated materials and adding recent materials on all areas of education, particularly diversity issues.

Music and Art: M – NX
Though this collection supports the Humanities curriculum at the College, is receives only moderate use, and so limited collection development will focus on adding recent materials in varying formats, such as performance videos and music CDs. The Library will also consider alternative means of displaying these materials and programming possibilities to capitalize on community interest.

Communication, Grammar, Language, and Literature: P – PZ
This collection supports many of the required courses at the College and contains materials of general interest to the community. Recent circulation records reflect this frequent use. Future collection development will focus on acquiring recently published materials, particularly literature materials by minority writers, including but not limited to Native Americans.

General Science: Q – QA
This small collection includes materials on scientific experimentation and terminology. Though it will not be a focus of future collection development, adding a few recently published materials will be considered as possible.

Math and Computer Science: QA
These subject areas are currently small but are a valuable resource to the College because they directly support current curriculum. Future development will focus on adding recently published materials in varying formats. The Library will also consider new options to display these materials because they may be of community interest.

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Physics: QB – QC
Future development will focus on adding current materials in so far as they directly support curriculum at the College.

Meteorology: QC
Although this is not a significant area of collection development, recently published materials relevant to the collection and/or College curriculum will be considered.

Chemistry: QD
The science and medically related degrees offered by the College generate strong interest among students, which programs this collection directly supports. Therefore, future development will focus on adding recent texts and study guides to additionally support College coursework.

Geology: QE
This collection contains a number of materials of interest to the Crow community, such as geological information on Montana and the Black Hills. Although significant collection development in this area is not planned, the Library will consider adding recent materials where possible.

Natural History: QH
Materials in this collection cover evolution, environmental science, ecology, and books about naturalists. This collection corresponds to the curriculum in the natural sciences at the College and general interest within in the community. Future development will focus on adding recently published materials.

Biology, Zoology, and Botany: QH – QL
This collection receives frequent use and supports a number of academic programs offered at the College. Future development will include adding recently published materials and study guides, as well as consideration of resources in non-print formats. The Library will also work on generating greater awareness of this collection, which is of potential interest to community members and younger students.

Physiology, Biochemistry, and Microbiology: QL – QR
This collection supports many academic programs at the College, including core requirements of microbiology for the Science and Nursing programs. Future development will focus on adding study guides and recently published materials when they become available.

Medicine: R – RX
This collection directly supports degrees within the Science, Pre-Med, and Pre-Nursing programs at the College, which programs are popular among the students. Circulation also reflects high interest among the community in this area, second only to the Crow and General Reading collections. Future development will include adding recently published materials, particularly concerning medical reference, men’s health, and materials on alcoholism and diabetes, which are often requested through interlibrary loan.

Agriculture: S – SF
Though this collection could be of high community interest, circulation records show only minimal use. The Library is considering participating in a grant-funded program affiliated with the College and sponsored by the Natural Resources Conservation Service of the Department of Agriculture. The focus would be agricultural and natural resources subjects of interest to the community.

Technology: SK – TX
Although circulation is minimal, this collection includes materials such as nutrition, woodworking and home repair, which may be of interest to the community. Other topics include acid rain, motor vehicles, energy sources and old computer software programs. Limited collection development will focus on acquiring recently published materials and weeding outdated items, as well as considering ways to increase interest in this collection.

Military: U 21 – VM 980
The military plays an important historical role in Native American experience and remains significant. However, materials dealing with Native Americans and the military are generally placed in the Crow and Native American collections. This accounts for the limited use of this section. Recent materials will be considered for acquisition, though will not be a major collection development focus.

Library Science: Z
Circulation records show this collection receives almost no use. Since most information useful to library staff can be obtained online or through various professional journals, collection development win this area will not be significant.

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Collection Maintenance and Evaluation

The ongoing evaluation and maintenance of a library collection is essential as any other library function. A major part of this process is the "deselection" or "weeding" of currently held library materials. According to Evans, "Without an ongoing weeding program, a collection can quickly age and become difficult to use" [Evans. (2000). Developing Library and Information Center Collections p. 406]. The aim of the Library’s collection maintenance policy is to keep the library’s collection current and accessible to library patrons.

Weeding
Weeding of the Library collection is the responsibility of the Librarian, with aid from various staff members as needed. Weeding is an ongoing process and should correlate in a timely manner with evaluation of the collection.

Works to be considered for weeding include:

• Material containing obsolete, misleading, or outdated information. This is particularly important when evaluating the reference collection, as well as the science and information technology materials.
• Multiple copies. Generally only one copy of a given item will be kept in the Library collection. In the case of the Crow collections, more than three copies will be considered a surplus. In the General collection, more than two copies will constitute a surplus. The exception to this is course reserve materials; additional copies of reserve items may be acquired upon faculty request.
• Damaged titles that cannot be preserved due to time and monetary constraints or due to irreparable damage.

Reconsideration of Materials
The Little Big Horn College Library works to collect materials of varying complexity, formats, and viewpoints in order to best serve a community with diverse needs and interests. The Library’s collection policy is designed to facilitate that process.

The Library welcomes constructive input from College faculty, staff and students, as well as community members and will reconsider materials in the collection upon written request.

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Intellectual Freedom Statement

The Little Big Horn College Library strives to provide the faculty, staff, and students of Little Big Horn College, as well as the members of the Crow community and outside visitors to the Library with equal access to information. The Library adheres to the standards set forth by the American Library Association’s "Library Bill of Rights" as well as to the interpretive "Intellectual Freedom Statement" (http://www.ala.org/work/freedom/lbr.html)

The Little Big Horn College Library will abide by all local, state, and federal laws regarding copyright and will make information on these laws readily available.

Gift Policy and Procedures

It is the policy of the Little Big Horn College Library to graciously accept gifts that enhance the current collection and compliment the general collection goals and policies of the Library. Due to minimal shelf and storage space, limited staff, and strict collection goals, accepted gifts must meet the following guidelines:

Procedures for Processing Gift Items

1. If the number of items to be donated exceeds processing capability, encourage the donor to stagger the donation or appropriately weed the items themselves according to the general collection policy of the Library and according to the Gift Policy Guidelines.

2. Items not added to the collection will be set out for faculty, students, and community member to take freely. No materials will be held or stored. The Library will reserve the priviledge to give gift materials to other Native American libraries as well at the right to dispose of gift materials at the Library's discretion.
   

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