The UT Health San Antonio Libraries are at the heart of the Health Science Center community, with three locations (Long Campus and Laredo Campus) and a growing online presence, the Libraries serve as a hub for knowledge, education, and scholarship. The Libraries' primary clientele include students, faculty, and staff who are affiliated with the Health Science Center either onsite or offsite. Secondary clientele include area health professionals, researchers, and members of the community.
Mission
The mission of the UT Health San Antonio Libraries is to promote learning, inspire discovery, and connect with our communities. This mission is accomplished by providing expert library services and access to reliable health sciences information.
Purpose of the Policy
The purpose of the Information Resource Development Policy (IRDP) is to guide collection development and management decisions and to ensure that information resources accurately and effectively support the mission and goals of the university.
Goals of the Policy
The goals of the IRDP are as follows:
The Library collects, develops, and maintains collections in a variety of formats, however the preferred format for collection materials is electronic and/or online accessible. Collections focus on the following core subject areas: dentistry, medicine, nursing, basic medical sciences, and allied health sciences. Materials are also acquired in related subject areas such as: public health, pharmacy, psychology, health care management, and history of the health sciences.
Information resource decisions are based on a solid understanding of the teaching, learning, and research priorities of the Health Science Center. The Office of the Director is responsible for the overall collection budget and works collaboratively with the Resource Management department to oversee budget allocations. Selection decisions are cooperative effort between the Library Committee, Library Liaisons, and the Collection Development Committee. Each of these entities provides valuable feedback that guides collection decisions.
The Library Committee is composed of representative faculty appointed by the President of the University and works with the Library to serve in a consultative and advisory capacity.
Library Liaisons are assigned to each of the schools, work as an integral part of the curriculum, and provide input about resource needs based on program requirements.
The Collection Development Committee is composed of Resource Management Librarians and representatives from each of the Library divisions.
Resource Management librarians are primarily responsible for collection assessment, access, discovery, selection criteria, cost analysis, consortia activities, and policies and procedures.
Selection Criteria
The Library actively reviews information resources to determine what resources should be acquired, retained, and discontinued. The following criteria are applied in the review process: quality, relevancy, cost, format, accessibility, and usage.
Deselection Criteria
In order to maintain a relevant collection, the Library employees deselection as part of its collection development practices. The following criteria are used when evaluating materials for deselection: low usage, relevance to academic programs, currency of information, historical significance, condition, duplication, and availability in the Joint Library Facility.
Resource Sharing and Cooperative Purchasing
The UT Health San Antonio Libraries participate in several resource sharing and cooperative purchasing partnerships that expand the depth of information resources available to its clientele. Partnerships include the UT System Digital Library Consortia, the South Central Academic Medical Libraries Consortium, the TexShare Consortium, the Joint Library Facility, and the OCLC Library Cooperative. Through these partnerships the Libraries are able to expand borrowing privileges and increase access to electronic resources. Participation in cooperative purchasing allows the Libraries to negotiate the best pricing for resources
Approved by the Library Committee, 2-3-97
Revision approved by Mary Moore, Ph.D., Director of Libraries, 6-23-2006
Revision approved by Rajia Tobia, Executive Director of Libraries, 1-29-2009
Revision approved by Rajia Tobia, Executive Director of Libraries, 10-12-2011
Revision approved by Owen Ellard, Senior Director of Libraries, 04-06-2018