General Purpose

To support the teaching and research programs for all disciplines at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. The primary clientele are the students, faculty, and staff of UT. Also serves as a resource for students and scholars in the surrounding area and state. Additionally, the Reference Collection is a working laboratory for students of the Graduate School of Library and Information Science.

Subject Description

The reference collection of the Hodges (main) Library is designed to support study, research, and instruction in the social and behavioral sciences, business, science and technology, fine arts, and the humanities. Reference collections are also maintained in Documents/Microforms, Database Search Services, and branch libraries.

Overlap with Other Collections

The Agriculture/Veterinary-Medicine Library, the Cartographic Information Center, and Music Library have reference collections to support the needs of their specific clientele. The Law Library provides in-depth legal reference materials. In addition, the Acquisitions and Processing Department maintains an extensive collection of domestic and foreign bibliographies in the Bibliographic Alcove of the Hodges Library. Duplication of reference materials is considered on an individual title-by-title basis, taking into consideration anticipated use, physical condition of the material, relationship to class and research use, and cost.

Languages Collected and Excluded

For general and subject reference works priority is given to materials in English. Titles in foreign languages are selected if they are unique or if they complement the English works.

Geographic Parameters

No region is excluded; however, the emphasis is on the Western Hemisphere, Europe, and to a lesser degree Asia and Africa. Materials are usually collected on a national rather than state level, with the exception of Tennessee and the surrounding southeastern states. An attempt is also made to collect materials on the local community, when available.

Chronological Scope

All time periods are covered by the collection, dependent upon the nature of the material, e.g., indexes and bibliographies vs. directories.

Dates of Publication

Current publications are primarily collected.

Retrospective Acquisitions

Retrospective collecting is limited and performed only under special circumstances.

Types of Materials Collected and Excluded

Only reference materials are considered with the emphasis on adult, collegiate-level materials. Specific collecting guidelines include the following:

• Encyclopedias: In addition to all the major English language encyclopedias, we attempt to purchase the major foreign language encyclopedias.

• Indexes: Periodical and newspaper indexes are purchased on the basis of need and demand as reflected by the university curriculum. Preferred format is electronic, but may also include print and microform.

• Bibliographies: As a rule bibliographies on a single author or a limited subject are not purchased for the reference collection but for the general collection.

• Directories: While some directories are acquired on an annual basis by the Reference Department, others may be purchased every 2-5 years. Decisions will be made on an individual title basis.

• Maps: The Cartographic Information Center is the principal repository of maps. The Reference Department selects a variety of atlases and has a collection of Tennessee city and county maps, TVA quadrangle maps, and city and state road maps.

• Telephone books: The Reference Department collects telephone books on either fiche or in print for U.S. cities with a population greater than 150,000, state capitals, all Tennessee communities, major state university locations, and a few foreign capitals.

Formats of Materials Collected and Excluded

All formats are considered for the collection except audio visual.

Cooperation with Other Libraries

No formal cooperative collection development agreements are in place.

Alternative Access to Resources

In some cases access can be through online databases and other electronic resources such as the INTERNET.

Position Responsible for Collection

Head, Reference & Instructional Services, Rita Smith

Corresponding Fund

Reference

Other Factors

None

May 24, 2002