• Collection Development Policy
• Access
• Reference Policies
• Circulation Policies

I. Collection Development Policy

A. Federal Depository

1. Statement of purpose.

Chalmer Davee Library of the University of Wisconsin - River Falls (UWRF) was designated as a selective depository for U. S. government publications in 1962. The Library is committed to making depository items available to and useful for the public at large while serving the curricular needs of the University. UWRF's federal depository collection serves the Third Congressional District of Wisconsin and surrounding areas in the St. Croix River Valley.

The Library administers and develops the collection according to the requirements of Title 44, of the United States Code , the guidelines in Instructions to Depository Libraries , and the Federal Depository Library Manual issued by the, Superintendent of Documents, U. S. Government Printing Office.

a. The Library selects approximately 40% of all U.S. depository materials and acquires additional materials that are not made available through the depository system. Areas of special interest include: Agriculture, Banking, Economics, Geology, and Education.

b. Agencies which the collection emphasizes include: Departments of Agriculture, Education and Interior, Bureau of the Census, Federal Reserve Banks, and the Forest Service.

c. The government information collection of the Chalmer Davee Library is separate from the main collection. Publications included in this collection are in any format issued by agencies of the United States government, the states of Wisconsin and Minnesota, and agricultural experiment stations.

d. Acquisition. Materials are obtained for the Government Information Collection through depository arrangements, gratis, or at the lowest possible cost.

(1)  Gifts. Gifts are accepted in accordance with the main Library's Collection Development Policy , Part IV, A, 4.
(2)  Duplicate Copies. Requests to purchase items which duplicate material already in the Library, in paper or microform, will be considered by the Government Information Specialist on an individual basis.
(3) Nondepository Arrangements. The Library is on mailing lists for publications of the Federal Reserve Bank, the Regional Banks of the Federal Reserve System, and the U.S. Forest Service Experiment Stations. The Library also is on mailing lists of various agencies for individual periodical titles and series.
(4) Additional items are purchased on an as needed basis.

2.  Materials Selection

a. The Government Information Specialist has the principal authority for such selection decisions.

(1) Selection of depository items based on a combination of anticipated usage, format, ease of access, and timeliness.

(a) Superintendent of Documents Policy Statement 301 Dissemination/Distribution Policy for the Federal Depository Library Program effective June 2006 (revises SOD 71 effective January 2001), describes the criteria for distribution of tangible items via the Federal Depository Library Program (FDLP).

(2) Input from Library Staff, the UWRF faculty and students, and community patrons is sought in order to build a documents collection which serves the needs of this community.
(3) Government publications received which are not included in depository agreements are retained selectively.
(4) Exceptions. Exceptions to the general definition and policies for government publications occasionally must be made. Major exceptions which affect large amounts of materials or the entire output of an agency shall be presented to the Library Director for a policy decision. A record of exception will be maintained by the Government Information Specialist.

b. The Government Information Specialist will review all items which are received at UWRF on an annual basis.

(1)  The Government Printing Office places no limits on the number of items which can be selected, the Library will limit its selection based on the needs our primary users.
(2)  The items selected will be amended to meet the changing information needs of UWRF and the community at large.

(a)  Needs assessment should be determined by statistical surveys and/or anecdotal evidence from reference queries.
(b) Zero-based selection is the starting point for each annual review.
(c) Substitution of electronic for tangible formats will comply with the FDLP Guidelines on Substitution Electronic for Tangible Versions of Depository Publications.

c. Exclusions. The following publications will not be selected.

(1) Forms, other than IRS materials.
(2) CD ROMs which contain only flat files, that is, those which do not include retrieval software.

d. Collection Development with other libraries in the region.

(1) UW-Eau Claire is the closest depository library in Western Wisconsin. UWRF and UW-EC consult when ever possible on selection of tangible items to serve the needs of third Congressional district of Wisconsin.

3. Maintenance

a. Federal government publications receive the same level of bibliographic control, protection and care as commercially acquired materials.

(1) Tangible materials are recorded in the library's online catalog by staff in the cataloging department. see Cataloging Department Policies
(2) Tangible Periodical titles are checked in by Serials staff.
(3) Stacks maintenance maintains all stack areas.

b. Disposal of Government Publications: "Libraries served by a regional depository may dispose of any publication which has been retained for at least five years, after obtaining permission and receiving instructions from such disposition from the regional depository designated to serve their area." ( Instructions to Depository Libraries , p.17.) Items which have been superseded are exceptions to this rule. Superseded titles are listed in Appendix C of the Instructions to Depository Libraries.

 

c. Binding

(1) Periodicals which will be retained for historical purposes will be bound.
(2) Monographs. Binding decisions for monographs will be made on a case by case basis.

d. Replacement of materials

(1) Lost materials will be replaced if the publication is available from the GPO.
(2) Worn out materials will be replaced if the publication is available from GPO.
(3) Photocopies may be obtained for out-of-print items.

B. State of Wisconsin Depository Collection

UWRF was designated as a Selective Depository Library in 1964. UWRF's status changed to a Regional Depository in June 1995. The Wisconsin Document Depository Program and Wisconsin Digital Archives is administered by the Wisconsin Reference and Loan Library . The statutory basis of this program is Wisconsin Statutes § 35.81-35.84.

All policies and procedures conform to the requirements of the current Wisconsin Law and the Wisconsin Document Depository Program Manual for Depository Libraries.

1. Terms and Conditions.

a. One copy of each Wisconsin depository document must be retained for a minimum of five years.

b. Wisconsin documents must be readily accessible for use by all library patrons and staff is expected to provide assistance in the location and use of state documents.

c. Wisconsin Depository Logo must be posted in the library.

2. Documents that are outside the depository program.

a. The Government Information Collection in cooperation with Area Research Center/University Archives should collect all "official UWRF publications."

b. A reasonable effort will be made to obtain State documents which are of interest to the UWRF community which are not included in the Wisconsin depository system. Such publication will be obtained gratis or at the lowest possible cost, e.g., Wisconsin Geological Survey and Wisconsin Extension documents.

c. Electronic publications are represented in separate
Wisconsin Depository shipments and are added to the online public access catalog by the Cataloging Department

d. Maintenance. State government publications receive the same level of bibliographic control, protection and care as commercially acquired materials

e. Disposal of State Depository publications. Normal discard procedures and policies for weeding materials should be followed.

(1) When a major weeding of State Documents occurs the Government Services Librarian at the Reference and Loan Library will be contacted before final disposal.
(2) Withdrawn items may be offered to other libraries and educational institutions in the vicinity.
(3) Superseded materials or materials with expiration dates may be discarded automatically.

f. Binding.

(1) Periodicals which will be retained for historical purposes will be bound.
(2) Monographs. Binding decisions for monographs will be made on a case-by-case basis.

g. Replacement of materials.

(1) Lost materials will be replaced if the publication is available from the issuing agency.
(2) Worn-out materials will be replaced if the publication is available from the issuing agency.
(3) Photocopies may be obtained for out of print items

C. Agricultural Extension Materials.

1.  These publications are collected through exchange and gratis. This collection is neither comprehensive nor historical in nature.

a. These publications are arranged by state and series number.

b. Retention time is five years unless usage warrants a greater time period.

c. These publications are not fully cataloged.

D. Maps.

1. Loose maps obtained through a depository program are housed in the map cases in the Government Information Collection.

2. Folded maps obtained through a depository program are housed in the Government Documents Stacks.

3. Other maps are stored in the Government Information according to the space available.

II. Access

A. Federal

1. Supplemental materials are purchased to enhance both bibliographic access and the actual collection. Bibliographic tools include legal research aids and commercially-published indexes to government statistics and other government information.
2. UWRF contracts with Marcive Inc. for full-level cataloging for the federal electronic only publications; the library does not house a tangible copy of such publications. GPO insures access to such documents through its Permanent Public Access servers. Generally holdings for this collection are not reflected on OCLC.
3. The Cataloging Department inputs records for all tangible items into the online public access catalog. Materials are input according to the Catalog Department Policies.

a. A historical paper shelflist of older uncataloged publications is housed in the Cataloging Department.

4. Database Access is provided through web pages, SuperSearch (Metalib) and Library's Online Catalog.

a. Major databases are accessible from the SuperSearch Government Information Category . Additional specialized categories such as statistics and legal information have been configured.
b. Some databases require access using a password.

(i) Remote access cannot be granted to such databases nor can the password be shared with the user.
(ii) Intervening web pages are maintained that link the bibliographic records and web page references to instructions on how to gain no-fee access.

c. Resources are selected based on utility, usability and cost.
d. Subject Resources additional commercial versions of government databases are located through the Library's Supersearch Utility.
e. Resourses that are not restricted by license agreements with commercial publishers are searchable by the public via Supersearch.

5. Specialized web pages and user guides are also maintained to support broad access to government information.

B. Wisconsin Documents are maintained in the online catalog. Materials are input according to the Catalog Department Policies.

1. The online catalog serves as the "shelf list" for the state documents collection.
2. Holding for this collection are reflected in OCLC.
3. Provisional records will be created in the Online catalog, if copy cataloging cannot be located.

a. Such records will be reviewed for upgrade on a regular basis
b. Ephemeral titles such as one-time dated materials which do not directly impact Western Wisconsin, e.g., conference brochures and facsimile lottery game cards, will not be added to the online catalog.

4. Original cataloging will be created for UWRF publications and materials that are of pressing interest to the UWRF community.
5. Cataloging houses a paper shelflist of older Wisconsin documents
6. This collection is classified according to the Guide to Wisconsin State Agencies and Their Call Numbers and is housed in the Government Documents Stacks.

C. Agricultural Extension Materials

1. All Wisconsin, Minnesota and North Central Region extension materials are included in the online catalog.
2. Extension materials from other states of significant interested to the UWRF community are also included.
3. All other materials are reflected in a paper shelflist.

II. Reference Policies

A. General guidelines

1. Patrons must take responsibility for their information needs. It is not the sole duty of the Government Information Specialist or Reference staff to locate an answer to a query. see Reference Policies

a. Whenever possible, staff will teach the patron how to locate information.
b. Government information is available in the Chalmer Davee Library free of fees.
c. Public access to Internet Resources comply with the FDLP Internet Use Policy Guidelines and the Chalmer Davee Library Policy on Internet Use. “Guest” logons provide access to community users.
d. Read only versions of word processing and spread sheet software are provided to aid in viewing formatted information.
e. See the library's Disability Services Policies for information on user accommodations.

2. Hours. The collection will be accessible during all hours that the library is open.

B. Levels of Service.

1. Print Resources. It is expected that all library reference staff have a general knowledge of bibliographic and reference titles.

2. Databases.

a. All library reference staff will have general knowledge of bibliographic tools and databases in the SuperSearch Government Information Category.
b. The Government Information Specialist will maintain a more in-depth knowledge of electronic publications and non-biographic databases not included in general government information SuperSearch category which are used for specialized reference services.

C. Statistics.

1. Data that can be gleaned for the integrated library system will any additional data will be collected manually.
2. Some usage data is available from the GPO.
3. Some usage data is available via the Metalib administrative interface.
4. Reference statistics are gathered at the Research Help desk, but government information queries are not recorded in any manner to distinguish them from other types of questions.

D. Bibliographic Instruction. The Government Information Specialist will actively participate in the Library's instruction program in order to promote the use of government information and to make the wide availability of these resources known to UWRF students and faculty.

III. Circulation Policies

A. Government publications circulate through the main Circulation Desk.

B. The following categories are designated non-circulating:

1. Periodicals
2. Pamphlets less than 10 pages
3. Maps/Posters
4. Digital media
5. Reference materials
6. Census materials
7. Area Handbooks
8. Microfiche

Revised: 10/11/07
Approved: Director's Advisory Council 10/15/96