Collection Development Policy: Circulating and Reference Lutheran Materials

Overall Collection Policy
The library strives to acquire, retain, or otherwise provide access to information resources that:
1) Enable students and faculty to engage with the University curriculum and related campus activities, excluding required textbooks.
2) Are foundational to our degree programs as a whole.
3) Relate to the Lutheran Church and the Reformation
4) Selectively relate to our geographic region.

Scope, Academic Level, and Content
The purpose of this Lutheran Materials policy is to define the scope of the circulating and reference Theology portions of the Valparaiso University library collection. is to aid student curriculum and current faculty research interests, as well as represent Lutheran history, dogma, and documentation. In particular, the collection will focus on the denominations of the Lutheran Church in America. As funds permit, the library intends for this to become a premier research collection for Lutheran-related research.

Currently, the collection houses various primary, secondary, and tertiary sources related to the various Lutheran churches in America, including Lutheran pamphlets, rare monographs related to the Lutheran tradition, and much of the academic publications from various Lutheran and Reformation publishers.

Responsibilities
The Theology Liaison will be responsible for acquiring Lutheran materials (excluding music) for the general collection.

The Special Collections librarian will be responsible for Lutheran materials published before 1800 or as part of a special collection as defined in Special Collections’ documentation.

The Music Liaison will be responsible for acquiring Lutheran music, including current hymnals, musical compositions, and materials related to Lutheran composers.

The University Archivist will be responsible for acquiring Lutheran materials related directly to university history, business, and/or documentation.

Funds
The Theology Department and Music Department (Lutheran Music) funds primarily support Lutheran-related purchases, with additional funding available with the approval of other subject liaisons (for interdisciplinary titles) or the Dean of the Library.

Selection Policy
The Theology Liaison may not be able to purchase all Lutheran materials available. Therefore, Lutheran-related items to be purchased with Theology funds will be prioritized in the following order:

Needed for curriculum, specifically academic titles related to a Lutheran topic/subject within a class syllabus
Materials published by an English-language Lutheran publisher about a Lutheran subject/topic

Related to the history or practice of an American Lutheran denomination

Related to the history or practice of American Lutherans of a specific US region (i.e. Midwest)

Related to the Protestant Reformation with specific ties to a Lutheran subject/topic

Related to the Protestant Reformation without specific ties to a Lutheran subject/topic

Materials published by a German-language Lutheran publisher about a Lutheran subject/topic

Materials published by a Non-English-language (excluding German) Lutheran publisher about a Lutheran subject/topic

Materials published by a Lutheran publisher, but do not cover a Lutheran subject/topic

Lutheran-related music, including Hymnals and music composed by Lutheran composers

This prioritization list is only for purchases related to Theology department funds and the circulating and reference portions of the collection. The Music Liaison will prioritize and acquire Lutheran music as they see fit. Likewise, the Special Collections Librarian will prioritize and acquire “Rare” Lutheran materials, as defined by Special Collections documentation.

Materials published by publishing firms with previous Lutheran focus shall only be considered if they fit one or more of the selection criteria above and not solely upon the religious association of the publisher.

Location of Materials
Lutheran materials purchased with Theology or Music funds and gifts to the Theology and Music collections will be shelved in the circulating collection (i.e. “the stacks”). Upon approval by the Theology Liaison or Music Liaison as appropriate, some lower use materials – such as additional copies or especially rare materials – may be stored in the Automated Storage and Retrieval System, but will still be available for limited circulation.

Lutheran materials may also be located in Rare Book Collection, if published before 1800 or Special Collections, if specified as a “special collection” within Special Collections’ documentation. Lutheran materials related to the history of Valparaiso University, its predecessors, and related Lutheran associations will be located in University Archives.

Gifts
Any donated materials will be subject to the Gift Acceptance Policy (http://library.valpo.edu/policies/gifts.html). Lutheran-related gifts will not all be automatically accepted into the collection, especially if multiple copies or alternative editions are already available. However, Lutheran-related material donations are still highly encouraged.

Materials published by publishing firms with previous Lutheran focus shall only be considered if they fit one or more of the selection criteria above and not solely upon the religious association of the publisher.

Retention/Deselection
The Theology Liaison, in conjunction with the Special Collections Librarian and/or the Music Liaison, will deselect (remove) materials from the collection. Deselection of Lutheran materials related to University Archives will be the responsibility of the University Archivist.

Deselection of Lutheran materials will be rather limited as compared to other portions of the collection. The following materials will be retained in the collection, regardless of current curricular need, except if there are additional copies of the same materials already in the collection:
1) Overt or obvious Lutheran topic
2) Known Lutheran author
3) Variant editions of a Lutheran-topic text

Materials published by publishing firms with previous Lutheran focus shall only be considered if they fit one or more of the selection criteria above and not solely upon the religious association of the publisher.

The library will collect no more than two copies of any Lutheran material unless the corresponding librarian deems an extra copy is needed to meet circulation needs.

Repair and Replacement
Damaged or worn Lutheran materials in the circulating collection will be repaired when possible. Lutheran materials in Special Collections and/or University Archives will be repaired when possible. If the material is the only copy, but cannot be repaired, it will be retained in the collection. Replacements will only be ordered if available and if the previous copy cannot be repaired at less cost. If several copies of the material are already in the collection, the library may decide not to replace or repair the damaged/worn Lutheran material.

Review Process
The Collection Development Policy for Lutheran Materials is reviewed periodically by the Theology Liaison, in collaboration with the Special Collections Librarian, the University Archivist, and/or the Music Liaison (Lutheran music). Any changes made to the policy should be done in collaboration with the Collection Development Committee Chair and not conflict with other existing policies.

Updated Draft by JKB, 11/13/2018; Revised by JKB, 1/23/2019
Approved by Library Faculty, 2/7/2019