Library Collection Development Policy
| Policy name | Library Collection Development Policy |
| Policy number | ACA016 |
| Date approved | 24 July 2019 |
| Approving body | Academic Board |
| Responsible officer | Dean |
| Implementation officer | Librarian(s) |
| Next review date | July 2024 |
| Related Policies |
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| Related forms and documents |
1. Purpose of this Policy
The Cairnmillar Institute (the Institute) has a planned approach for acquiring library and learning resources to support the teaching, learning, clinical, and research functions of the Institute.
The purpose of this policy is to identify in relation to the Institute Library collection:
- The history of the collection
- The strengths of the collection
- The guiding principles for the development and maintenance of the collection.
2. HISTORY OF THE COLLECTION
The collection was commenced in 1961, and from 1961 to 2011 comprised a large selection of materials relating to psychology and religion, and the traditional theorists of psychological thought and practice. Much of the collection was derived from the personal collection of the Institute’s founder, Dr Francis Macnab, and from a series of donations to the Institute.
In 2011, following a major review of the Library and its collection, a Collection Development Policy was instigated, and a purchasing plan was developed.
3. STRENGTHS OFTHE COLLECTION
Current and retrospective holdings of psychology monographs which cover the theorists and mainstream theories are comprehensive and include several rare and first edition texts.
The collection has been vigorously developed to support the curriculum and currently has a good coverage of most aspects of the academic program.
4. AIMS OF THE COLLECTION
Development and management of the Library is guided by the following aims:
- Acquire and organise a relevant and well-balanced collection in a variety of formats both print and digital.
- Respond to changes in teaching, learning, clinical and research programs.
- Maintain the physical condition of the collection.
- Grow and expand the collection to become a leading collection in the field of psychology.
5. PURPOSE OFTHE COLLECTION
The Institute’s collection supports:
- Teaching and learning through the provision of appropriate learning materials.
- The academic, educational, research and clinical, needs of the Institute staff and students.
| What the Library supports: | What this includes: |
| The academic programs of the Cairnmillar Institute | Full programs: • Master of Clinical Psychology (Post Registration) • Doctor of Psychology (Clinical Psychology) • Master of Psychology (Clinical Psychology) • Master of Professional Psychology Practice • Master of Professional Psychology • Bachelor of Psychology and Counselling • Bachelor of Psychology (Honours) • Graduate Diploma of Psychological Science • Master of Counselling and Psychotherapy • Graduate Diploma of Counselling and Psychotherapy • Graduate Certificate of Counselling and Psychotherapy • Graduate Certificate of Counselling Short course programs, including: VET Programs |
| The clinical operations of the Institute | Practicing psychologists treat a broad range of issues in: • Children • Adolescents • Adults • Couples • Groups |
| The informational requirements of the various research programs | Diverse individual research being undertaken by: o Clinical staff o Academic staff o Students |
6. PURCHASING PLAN
The purchasing plan identifies the material the Institute intends to purchase, subject to budget constraints, for inclusion in the collection:
| The Cairnmillar Library usually collects material which meets the selection criteria including: | Material Cairnmillar Library does not usually collect: |
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6.1. Prescribed texts
6.1.1. The Library purchases two to four copies of each prescribed text and may consider additional copies if the text is required for other subjects.
6.2. Recommended reading texts
6.2.1. The Library may purchase one copy of a recommended reading text if it meets the criteria
for the selection of the material.
6.3. Special collections
6.3.1. In addition to the main collection, the following special collections are maintained:
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- Historical Collection
- The Institute acquires material (predominantly from donations) which includes historical and archival information pertaining to the Institute and its programs and courses.
- Has significance to:
- Cairnmillar Institute History
- Dr Francis Macnab
- Contextual modular therapy
- Student Placement Support Collection
- The Institute acquires materials to support the ongoing needs of students on placement. This includes:
- A range of resources with activities and exercises to assist placement students in provide support to their clients, including children, adolescents and the elderly.
- A range of juvenile literature regarding various mental health issues, illness and situations
- General material covering various methods of psychological therapies, such as CBT, DBT and ACT
- The Institute acquires materials to support the ongoing needs of students on placement. This includes:
- Academic Support Collection
- The Institute acquires materials to support the ongoing needs of the academic staff in providing education to our student cohort. This includes:
- Teaching and learning theories and practice
- Assessment
- Quality assurance and enhancement of teaching
- The Institute acquires materials to support the ongoing needs of the academic staff in providing education to our student cohort. This includes:
- Historical Collection
6.4. Digital resources
6.4.1. The institute recognises the purchase of digital formats is to be considered and encouraged to enable access to resources at any time from any place.
6.4.2. The Institute continues to:
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- Expand the collection of digital resources.
- Make the digital resources available via:
- The Learning Management System (Canvas).
- A selection of online indexing and abstracting databases pertaining to psychology including:
- PsychINFO
- PsychAbstracts
- Medline Complete
- Psychology and Behavioural Sciences Collection
- Proquest Psychology Collection
- Gale Psychology Collection
- Taylor and Francis Psychology Collection
6.5. Language
6.5.1. The institute purchases only English language materials for its collection.
6.6. Chronological periods
6.6.1. The Library selectively collects works related to classical theorists and research, to support the curriculum and faculty research, as well as predominantly current material for its collection.
6.7. Geographical areas
6.7.1. The Library attempts to provide material that focuses on the Australian community. However, due to the relative scarcity of such materials, most items are purchased without regard to geographical considerations.
7. CRITERIA FOR THE SELECTION AND PURCHASE OF MATERIALS
The following criteria informs selection decisions for the purchase of materials for the Library collection:
| Relevance | The extent to which the material is relevant to Cairnmillar teaching, research and clinical programs. |
| Currency | Whether the edition of the material is the most current and/or most recent. |
| Existing collection strength | The nature and extent of the existing collection within the subject area and within the collection and the value and balance the material brings. |
| Cost and value for money | How the cost of the material may be justified by the value it brings to the collection. |
| Academic review | Whether the material has been the subject of academic review. |
| Quality | • The level and authority of content. • The reputation of the author. • The timeliness of the topic |
7.1. Additional criteria for the selection of digital materials
7.1.1. Ease of use and accessibility.
7.1.2. Authentication requirements for on campus and off campus users.
7.1.3. Licencing conditions requiring use of content and user access.
7.1.4.Archive access (long term access) post subscription.
7.1.5. Hardware and operating system requirements.
7.2. The Librarian, in conjunction with the Dean, and the Chief Executive Officer regularly reviews this selection criteria.
8. REPLACEMENT AND WITHDRAWAL GUIDELINES
8.1. Replacement
8.1.1. Any material that is no longer usable in its current format may be removed and replaced.
8.2. Withdrawal
8.2.1. Texts (including digital) may be withdrawn, weeded and written off from the collection if they are:
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- Unnecessary duplicate copies.
- Not likely to be of use in the future direction of teaching, academic programs, research programs.
- Superseded by a later edition.
- Outdated or incorrect (especially medical and pharmacology texts)
- Damaged beyond repair
- Incomplete sets of works that cannot be used if they are not complete.
- Print journals for which archival access to electronic journals is guaranteed.
- Brief holdings of a journal that is of no value to the collection.
9. DONATIONS
To ensure it is aligned with the Institutes research, teaching and learning programs, donated material is considered for inclusion or retention using the same criteria as that used for the purchase of other resources.
10. REFERENCES
Reference material relevant to the development of this policy:
| References | |
| Collection | The main collecting areas include, but are not limited to, the following areas: • Addictions • Applied psychology • Asperger’s and autism • Behavioural therapy • Cognition, perception and learning • Cognitive therapy • Comparative psychology • Conscious mental processes and intelligence • Counselling and interviewing • Cross cultural, psychological anthropology • Differential and developmental psychology • Differential psychology • Diseases of the nervous system and mental disorders • Educational psychology • Ethics • Evolutionary psychology • Forensic psychology • Gambling • Group work • Health psychology • Human psychology • Indigenous mental health • Industrial psychology • Intelligence and aptitudes – testing and measurement • Interdisciplinary approaches to child development • Internet addictions • Leadership • Marriage and family • Memory and learning • Mental disorders/Abnormal and clinical psychology • Mental and emotional illnesses and disturbances • Neurophysiology/psychophysiology/neuropsychology • Neuroses • Organisational psychology • Personality • Psychiatry/Psychoses • Psychoanalysis • Psycholinguistics • Psychology – general works • Psychology – testing and measurement • Psychology of specific ages (e.g. child, adult) • Psychopharmacology • Psychotherapy • Research methodology • Religion and psychology • Research writing and style guides • Schizophrenia • Sensory perception, movement, emotions, physiological drives • Sexual problems • Social groups • Social problems and social welfare • Social psychology • Statistical methods • Subconscious, altered states and processes • Substance abuse • Suicide • Theorists • Therapies – including CBT, CMT • Trauma therapy |
| Prescribed text | Texts required for a subject. |
| Recommended reading | Additional but essential reading for a subject and listed in the subject reading lists. |