Collection Development Policy Statement for Library Media Subject Specialist Responsible: Carleton Jackson, Head, LMS (301) 405 9226 carleton@umd.edu Purpose Located on the ground floor of Hornbake Library, the Library Media Services supports departments, programs, and individual faculty, students and staff at the University of Maryland who use audiovisual content as a primary research. A large cross section of disciplines within the arts and humanities, social sciences, and, the sciences use audiovisual materials, increasingly in digital formats. In the 2015 16 academic year, for instance, the following departments placed materials from our collections on actual and electronic course reserves: African American Studies Architecture Asian American Studies American Studies Anthropology Arabic Agricultural and Resource Economics Arts and Humanities Art History & Archaeology Biological Sciences Program Cell Biology & Molecular Genetics Certificate in Latin American Studies CIVICUS Comparative Literature Communication Criminology and Criminal Justice Classics College Park Scholars Programs Curriculum and Instruction Dance Digital Cultures and Creativity Education Counseling and Personnel Services Education, Curriculum & Instruction Education, Human Development Education, Special English Film Studies Family Science French Hearing and Speech Studies Hebrew Honors Humanities History Health Services Administration Honors Israel Studies Italian Japanese Journalism Jewish Studies Kinesiology Korean Latin American Studies Latino/a Studies Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Studies Library Science Linguistics Music Education Persian Studies Philosophy Plant Sciences Portuguese Psychology Public Affairs Public Health Religious Studies Russian School of Languages, Literature and Cultures
Subject Policy for Library Media, 2 Geographical Studies Germanic Studies Global Communities Government and Politics Health Health Services Administration School of Music Sociology Spanish Theatre Urban Studies and Planning Women s Studies Faculty and students from these areas use the materials in our collections as cultural artifacts, works of art, containers of ideas, storehouses of images and video footage, pedagogical tools, and sources of raw data. Additionally the facility is serves as a learning commons and introduced advanced media technology resources in the fall 2015 semester. Library Media Services enjoys an especially close relationship with the new Film Studies Program, which offers a B.A. in Film Studies and academic support and official recognition to graduate (MA and PhD) students with an interest in the field through the Graduate Field Committee in Film Studies. Film Studies is the critical study of motion pictures as an art form and their studies scholars seek to understand the aesthetic, cultural, technological, political, and economic significance of movies and movie industries through the study of individual films, film history, and film theory. Fifteen core faculty members teach in the Film Studies Program, and another eight regularly offer courses in the discipline. Faculty areas of specialization include Arabic film, the intersection of cinema and politics, film noir, film adaptation, Italian film, European cinema, feminist film theory, silent era cinema, scientific and experimental cinema, the North American film industry, Asian cinema, Francophone film, African cinema, Russian and Soviet film, Hebrew film, Brazilian film, Iranian film, Cuban film, and Spanish and Latin American film. In addition to using the materials in our collections as primary teaching and research resource, the Film Studies faculty currently teach many of their classes directly in Library Media Services media spaces and take advantage of many new Media Commons learning services. The Head of Library Media Services as Film Studies liaison and Graduate Field Committee member. Scope of Collection Library Media Services collects at a research level in broad areas such as global cinema, and documentary film, as well as in the specific film genres and national and ethnic cinemas which constitute the areas of specialization of the faculty who use our collection for teaching. Materials are selected which meet known and anticipated teaching and research agendas at the University of Maryland, historical significance, and versatility (preference is given to items which meet multiple needs). Special efforts are made to acquire materials about or produced by artists and filmmakers from the Maryland/Washington D.C. area and for topics related to Maryland. While the majority of the collections are moving image and sound artifacts, Library Media Services also collects a selection of spoken word (interviews, speeches, performances, radio broadcasts, etc.) and language instruction materials. New formats and uses (e.g.: transmedia) are being considered as they are developed. Materials were previously added to either circulating or non circulating/desk collections based on value, rarity, and demand. Beginning in fall 2015 all materials became part of our circulating collections;
Subject Policy for Library Media, 3 selected materials can be placed on course reserves for limited periods or into restricted use collections for conservation purposes. NPRT Code Sub Categories While NPRT fund codes are not divided by discipline in the overall collections budget structure, these categories are still tracked internally for reporting purposes. Primary Languages and Formats A large number of audiovisual formats are represented in the collection, including DVD, Blu Ray, laserdisc, VHS, ¾ U matic, CD, and audiocassette. DVD is the remains the physical format of choice for new film acquisitions, but materials are still acquired on VHS, laserdisc, and 16mm film if that is the only format available, and on Blu Ray by request from teaching faculty or library selectors. Playback equipment is available on site for all formats represented in the collection. English is the primary language represented in the collection, but materials are collected in all other languages and, in the case of visual materials, regardless of regional encoding. For visual materials in other languages, optional English subtitles are preferred where available. In addition to these physical formats, Library Media Services collects and/or supports acquisition of materials in digital formats that make materials available online to authenticated library users. These include subscriptions to streaming video databases and licensed materials for the curated Films@UM digital video library. Diversity, including Accessibility for Visual, Audial, and Mobility Impairments When a choice is available, LMS always obtains closed captioned and audio described materials. If such copies are not available, materials with English language subtitles are preferred. When none of these options are available on the commercial marketplace, distributors and/or filmmakers to see if accessible versions of their films can be obtained through other means. Materials already in the collection which are discovered to be less than fully accessible are upgraded when replacements are available; when they are not, LMS is happy to supply the campus s Disability Support Service (DSS) with digital files so that they can arrange to have the film(s) in question captioned. Format Duplication and Retention LMS makes an effort to acquire or (in the case of materials only available in obsolete formats) produce copies of all items in its collection in the most current physical format, which at present is DVD for visual materials and CD for audio materials. With the exception of a representative 16mm films (for professors who which to teach the format itself), duplicate titles in less preferred formats are deaccessioned. A second copy in the preferred format may be added to the collection in the case of frequently used titles or when the second copy is a donation, but otherwise duplication is avoided. Copies in obsolete or lesspreferred formats are retained whenever the item in question has value in that format (in the case of, for instance, works made expressly for video) or until a preservation copy in the preferred format is able to be made. Physical and Virtual Spaces
Subject Policy for Library Media, 4 LMS s physical spaces consist of a main service desk, staff offices, two classrooms, and a number of public areas. The public areas include a floor which contains Windows and MAC computers, private and group viewing stations outfitted with playback devices for all formats housed in LMS s collections and connected to Campus Cable, and study spaces; six group study/multimedia production rooms; and a media studio. All MAC computers in LMS have Adobe Creative Suite, Final Cut and other multi media production software installed on them. The classrooms can be reserved by any class including a major visual media components on a first come first serve basis. Many of these spaces have been designed to provide flexibility in use with furniture and equipment that can be re configured for various needs. LMS and adjacent study spaces are also used for Libraries and Campus events. LMS s virtual spaces are both informational and support media delivery to researchers and courses. Web pages and social media platforms contain information about collections, staffing, services, media programing and events, all linked to an array of request forms. The catalog search box has been prefiltered to display media resources. LMS (in collaboration with DSS) is also the head end for media distributed to courses via the campus ELMS course management system, curates the Films@UM digital media library, and supports access to online video resources available through Database Finder. Special Collections Library Media Services still houses a large number of materials in legacy formats which have not yet been (and may never be) released in current format; LMS provides playback equipment to make them accessible. Many of these materials are rare and valuable enough to be considered special collections, including some of our 16mm film prints, orphan works, items eligible for reformatting under 108 of U.S. Copyright Law. Additionally LMS has a collection of videotapes acquired from the Brazilian American Cultural Institute, and films produced by students in the University of Maryland s Radio, Television, and Film Department (now defunct). These collections will be part of future reformatting, transfer or weeding projects Donations LMS accept donations of items in preferred physical formats, currently DVD for visual materials and CD for audio materials. LMS will also accept digital materials if streaming rights and options meet our digital collection practices. Donations of items in obsolete or less preferred formats will be accepted only when the item in question has value in that format (in the case of, for instance, works made expressly for video) or when the item is eligible for reformatting. Second copies of items in preferred physical formats will be accepted, but except under unusual circumstances additional copies will not. Strengths The Film Studies Program identifies its most distinctive features as being the large number of faculty working with non Western cinemas, the Maryland/Washington, D.C. area s vibrant film community, and the interdisciplinary nature of film studies at the University of Maryland. Library Media Services collection and support of other media collections in The Libraries mirrors these strengths. LMS collections are particularly strong in world cinema, television programming, documentary and ethnographic films, performing arts, local interest materials, and all cross disciplinary areas. Interdisciplinarity
Subject Policy for Library Media, 5 As stated above, interdisciplinarity is one of the strengths of the LMS collection. LMS s materials are used by virtually every department and unit on campus, and often provide an impetus for professors and students from different disciplines to collaborate on multimedia projects, research and scholarship involving video and audio texts, and co taught classes. Every class offered by the Film Studies Program, for instance, nearly all of which use films from our collection, is cross listed with at least one other department. Related Collections The selection of materials is coordinated by the Media Resources Librarian. Overlap of collections occurs with most often with the Performing Arts Library and Special Collections in Mass Media & Culture, and cooperative collection development relationships exist with both areas. In tandem with Special Collections in Mass Media & Culture, LMS has recently begun to attract a wider range of community researchers and general media users; LMS has recently added access practices to support these combined users especially when visiting Hornbake Library. LMS also considers the support of all of the Libraries online media, especially the subscription video databases published by Alexander Street Press, Ambrose Video, Films Media Group, Footage Access and others, a primary service. Future Trends As demand grows for 24/7, online access to library materials, we expect that our collection development policies will continue to change. Solutions may include prioritizing subscriptions to online streaming video databases over purchases of physical items such as videos and DVDs, focusing on collecting films that come with or for which we can negotiate streaming video rights, and/or concentrating acquisitions efforts on hard to find titles not readily available to our community online through affordable, reputable outside channels such as Netflix, Hulu, itunes, and Amazon. Our collection includes a large number of materials in legacy formats which have not yet been (and may never be) released in current formats. Well maintained playback equipment continues to make them accessible for now, but as these formats become obsolete we will need to be prepared to undertake reformatting initiatives according to what is permissible under 107 (fair use) and 108 of U.S. copyright law or risk losing access to the content on these materials forever. We also anticipate that as production equipment and software continues to become cheaper, more ubiquitous, and easier to use, more and more faculty and students will incorporate multimedia into their teaching, research, and learning, as well as expect full digital media literacy from their students. We envision that the students will be expected to create more research level media and we in turn will increasingly be called upon to assist with the creation of and (when appropriate) to curate and collect all of these audiovisual materials made by members of University of Maryland academic community. Implementation and Revision Schedule This policy has been reviewed by the Collection Development Council (lib cdc@umd.edu) and is considered effective on the date indicated below. It will be reexamined regularly by the subject specialist and will be revised as needed to reflect new collection needs and identify new areas of study, as well as those areas that may be excluded.
Subject Policy for Library Media, 6 Date: May 27, 2015, revised 9/15/16 CDC 9/20/16 More More information about the Library Media Services can be found on our website: http://www.lib.umd.edu/lms/