About the Library

The selection, acquisition, and retention of library materials will be made in accordance with the following guidelines:

A. The library serves both undergraduate and graduate students. The library collection will support all academic programs offered by Tusculum University. Materials useful primarily to the researcher will be acquired only in limited support of the Andrew Johnson Presidential Library and Museum.

B. In selecting print, non-print, and electronic materials, the following will be taken into account:

• Available format(s)
• The critical reception of the work
• The reputation of the author, publisher or database vendor
• Availability of material

C. Evaluation of books, databases, and DVDs will be based on authoritative reviews and upon the professional judgment of selectors.

D. Although the library will acquire representative materials from all areas of knowledge, all acquisitions are designed, first and foremost, to support courses offered in the current curriculum.

E. The order of acquisition priority will be:

1. Curricular support
2. Reference
3. Non-curricular areas of knowledge

F. The library will not purchase adopted textbooks or software packages.

A. The Director of the Library will oversee the acquisition of faculty-requested materials with the goal of a balanced and viable collection. The Director will also oversee a gift and exchange program designed to enhance and supplement the collection, as well as the acquisition of periodicals and databases.

B. It is the responsibility of the Library Director to coordinate recommendations from faculty (full-time and adjunct, in support of their disciplines.  It is understood that such recommendations are made to support student research or project needs and not as classroom instructional support or in support of the personal research interests of faculty. The recommendation process, based upon annual resource allocations is as follows: Faculty will conduct a “Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats (SWOT) Analysis of library collections on a four-year rotation by College. Program coordinators of each College under review will be contacted by the Director of the Library to set up a timeline for completion of an in-depth analysis of the resources supporting their programs including making recommendations for purchase. Supplemental requests by all faculty may be made at any time, employing the recommendation form available on the library website. It is also the responsibility of the library staff to recommend reference and other materials to help ensure a balanced and viable collection.

C. Other members of the Tusculum University community (board members, administration, staff, students, alumni and friends) are also welcome to make recommendations, employing the recommendation form available on the library website

A. Foreign Language: With the exception of materials acquired in direct support of any special foreign language program offering, or program requiring foreign language introduction, only foreign language dictionaries will be purchased.

B. Periodicals: Periodicals are acquired in two distinct ways: 1) full-text databases subscriptions and, 2) print subscriptions In general, due to the university’s distance learning commitment, most periodical holdings will be electronic and come as units within aggregate databases. Should funding remain within the appropriate budget line following payment of annual database subscriptions, recommendations for new print subscriptions will be considered. These should be initiated employing the recommendation form available on the library website and must state clearly how given titles in paper format will directly benefit student learning.

C. Databases: Databases are acquired through a joint selection process involving both teaching faculty and library faculty. Recommendations may be made by either faculty. Upon notification of availability by consortiums in which it holds membership (Tenn-Share, ACA) or by independent vendors, the library faculty will call the attention of teaching faculty to new aggregate databases available for trial, providing sample passwords and other review information. If the reaction of the teaching faculty is positive and funds are available, these databases will be added. In certain cases, to be negotiated between the Library Director and divisions, various specialized databases may be added employing some mix of library and divisional funds (usually from divisional allocated library book budgets) to cover the purchase.

Materials will be ordered from jobbers, publishers, or distributors who provide the best service and price discounts. In general, material will not be ordered from esoteric or little-known internet distributors.

If possible and feasible, lost materials will be replaced as follows:

A. Books -after one year

B. Periodicals- as quickly as possible

C. Non print--as funding permits

It is the responsibility of the Director of the Library to ensure a balanced and viable collection. The Director of the Library will withdraw duplicate, irreparably damaged, or obsolete materials. It is the responsibility of the faculty of each program to recommend the withdrawal of circulation or reference materials deemed inappropriate for continued retention within the context of academic program support or overall collection viability. De-accession suggestions are part of the four-year rotating “SWOT Analysis” to be performed by each College.  Additional withdrawal suggestions are welcome and may be made at any time by members of the Tusculum University community by contacting the Director of the Library.

The library seeks and welcomes the gift of books and other materials for the enhancement of its collection. The use or disposal of said items is thereafter left to the discretion of the library. A gift for the library may also consist of funds for the purchase of acquiring materials, in certain areas, to be suggested by the donor or the library staff. The library encourages non-specified gifts to allow the most flexible use of the donation for the enrichment of the overall collection. All grant monies allocated to the library for the purchase of materials in support of a grant purpose must be used for that purpose only; these monies are considered special funds not part of the university’s allocated library budget. The Director of the Library will provide the Development Office with an official statement of individual gifts made directly to the library. The Development Office will then send a written letter of appreciation to the donor(s). Donated funds will be deposited with the Business Office.