RIT Home

Directories

Info Center/SIS

RIT Library home page RIT home page RIT institute directory RIT Student Information Service RIT Libraries Wallace Library Cary Collection RIT Archives

Collection Development Policy Statement: Engineering


I. General Description of the Collection and its Users

Engineering materials are purchased to support the reseearch and study needs of students and faculty from the College of Engineering and the College of Applied Science and Technology. Materials are acquired in support of undergraduate programs in civil (technology), computer, electrical, industrial and manufacturing, mechanical and microelectronics engineering. Materials are purchased to support graduate study in electrical, computer, industrial, mechanical and microelectronics engineering. The collection is also used by students and faculty in computer science and graphic arts as well as environmental studies and biotechnology.


II. Description of the Programs Served by the Collection

A. Undergraduate

The College of Engineering offers a B.S. degree in the following:Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Industrial Engineering, Mechanical Engineering and Microelectronics Engineering.

The School of Engineering Technology offers a B.S. degree in the following: Civil Engineering Technology, Computer Engineering Technology, Electrical Engineering Technology, Manufacturing Engineering Technology, Mechanical Engineering Technology and Telecommunications Technology. An AAS degree is also offered in Electrical, Electromechanical, Manufacturing and Mechanical Technology.

B. Graduate

The College of Engineering offers an M.S. degree in Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, and Mechanical Engineering. A Master of Engineering degree is also offered with specialization in systems engineering, engineering management, or microelectronics manufacturing engineering. An M.S. degree in Materials Science and Engineering is offered jointly with the College of Science.


III. Subject and Language Modifiers

A. Geographic Areas

The geographic focus of the collection is primarily on the United States.

B. Chronological Periods

No restrictions. Emphasis, however, is on current developments or analysis of recent events.

C. Languages

No restrictions. Emphasis is on English-language materials. Only selected foreign language statistical sources and multilingual dictionaries/encyclopedias are acquired.


IV. Date of Publication

General emphasis for acquisition of new titles is on current publications in all subject areas. Acquisition/retention of material older than ten years is based upon importance of the work to the discipline; usefulness for historical information/perspective; extent of current publishing in the discipline; curriculum needs for new program development; usage of existing material of same age; and physical condition of the material. Retrospective acquisition of serials to meet new program needs will be extremely selective and limited to the past five years. Document delivery will be utilized instead to meet these needs whenever feasible.


V. Treatment of Subject Matter

A. Level of Treatment

Emphasis is on a collection which supports curriculum driven needs of students(primarily undergraduate) and faculty. The special needs of the NTID students are considered where relevant. Major published source material appearing in core collection bibliographies or recommended lists will be included. Pertinent reference sources will also be acquired. Every effort is made to accommodate faculty requests for specific curriculum related titles.

B. Textbooks

Textbooks are not routinely acquired unless useful as general surveys or handbooks for a particular area not otherwise represented.

C. Serials

Serials are of major importance in this field of rapid advances.

D. Newspapers/Newsletters

Acquired when content is appropriate to the subject scope of the collection.

E. Government Documents

Government publications are acquired when the content is appropriate to the subject scope of the collection; not maintained separately.

F. Maps/Atlases

Acquired selectively when appropriate for specific representations.

G. Multiple Copies

Multiple copies of monographic titles are acquired only when heavy use is anticipated or demonstrated or at the curriculum-based request of a faculty member. A select few journals are retained in both paper and microfilm for (up to) five years, if use justifies, then in microfilm only. (See Bindery Policy/Procedure-Periodicals)

H. Other

Pamphlets are selectively acquired if sufficiently important to warrant cataloging; no pamphlet/vertical file is maintained.


VI. Cooperative Collection Development Arrangements

RRLC-CCD agreements provide funding for some materials in engineering. Informal working relationships with other member of the RRLC exist and closer associations pursued in the future.

Where faculty and student research needs fall outside the primarily undergraduate curriculum- based scope of the onsite collection, access to this information will be provided through traditional, as well as , commercial document delivery services.


VII. Publication Formats

A. Microforms

Journals are routinely retained in microfilm with the exception of titles containing substantial graphical material or mathematical notation. (See Bindery Policy/Procedure-Periodicals)

B. Non-Print Materials

Acquisition of traditional non-print materials (slides, videotapes, video discs, films, sound recordings, slide/tape programs) is very selective and made in consultation with the Media Resource Center Media Specialist, usually at the request of a faculty member. Non-print materials are generally housed in the Media Resource Center.

C. Software and CD-ROM

Indexing and abstracting services and other specialized sources will be acquired in these formats where they meet subject collection criteria, as well as, the Electronic Resources Policy criteria (in process).


VIII. Collection Maintenance

Continuous maintenance of the collection is carried out based upon systematic evaluation of the collection in light of curriculum shifts, use statistics, core bibliographies, physical space limitations and alternative availability of information. Current periodical titles will be reviewed annually prior to their renewal. All other areas of the collection should be reviewed every three to five years to remove materials no longer relevant to the curriculum. Included in the process are weeding of materials no longer relevant to curriculum needs, elimination of superfluous titles where information is duplicated in more current or authoritative sources, and the ordering of replacement copies of damaged/ heavily used items still relevant to curriculum needs.

 


A. Weeding

  1. Duplicates Only Weeded
    1. At least one copy in good condition of standard and classic titles listed in major general bibliographies and special subject lists should be retained in the collection.
  2. Selective Weeding
      a. Monographs
        In general, engineering materials should be reviewed every three to five years to remove materials no longer relevant to the curriculum, older materials where sufficient coverage is provided by more contemporary titles, and multiple copies of materials where high use is no longer a factor.
      b. Serials
      1. Indexing and Abstracting Services
          Indexing and abstracting publications should be discarded only when equivalent or improved coverage and access is available through new sources, printed or electronic (i.e. covers approximately same or more pertinent journal titles in the field and/or provides enhanced search capabilities pertinent to our programs). Duplication of coverage should be monitored annually. If the library has a run of less than ten years and the materials covered are indexed by another resource, the volumes should be deaccessioned.
      2. Scholarly Publications
          Long runs of key scholarly journals in all aspects of engineering that meet the criteria given in the introduction to this section should be retained indefinitely. Priority for retention should be given to titles accessible through indexing and abstracting services available at RIT Library and titles not available in any other Rochester-area library. Short runs and broken runs should be scrutinized more carefully and retention decisions should be based on the collecting levels assigned in Section IX: Subject Divisions, usage statistics, importance of title to discipline, and alterntive availability.
      3. Trade Journals
          Retention of trade journals should be carefully scrutinize. Those that provide, primarily, timely information (industry and organization news, new products, etc.) should be discarded after a period of one to five years. Those that include articles of more lasting value should be considered for longer retention, particularly if they are accessible through indexing and abstracting services available at RIT Library.
      4. Annuals
          Annuals should be subjected to the criteria outlined in the intro- duction to this section and retained indefinitely where appropriate, particularly if they are accessible through indexing and abstracting services available at RIT Library.
  3. Current Edition/Year Only Retained
      a. Monographs
      1. Textbooks
      2. Manuals of practice
      3. Career guidance and professional information
      4. Standards and policy guidelines
      b. Serials
      1. Newsletters, calendars, other current awareness services providing timely information about events and activities of organizations and institutions, and employment opportunities
      2. Membership and services directories

    All of the above materials are acquired selectively and only the most recent editions are kept.

B. Replacement of Materials

  1. Lost or Mutilated
  2. Every effort should be made to replace lost or heavily mutilated titles if they are judged to be of continuing relevance to the collection. When mutilation is confined to a few pages, replacement copies of these pages should be requested through the Information Delivery Service.(See Bindery Policy/Procedure-Periodicals & -Monographs)

  3. Gifts

    Gifts which duplicate existing holdings should be used to upgrade the condition of the collection by replacing worn circulating copies with more sound gift copies.

C. Stacks Maintenance

Materials on engineering and technology are concentrated in the "T" areas, more specifically, "T"-"TN" and "TS". These areas should be shelf-read frequently and the condition of items shelved in these areas should be monitored to ensure that those in need of repair or rebinding are attended to before they are damaged beyond repair.


IX. Subject Divisions

 
  Support Level
(see Introduction for key)

A. Civil Engineering

Includes hydraulics, surveying, soil mechanics, environmental technology, construction, engineering economics, transportation engineering, water and waste water systems, energy.

C-2

B. Computer Engineering

Includes digital electronics, computer architecture,VLSI design, design automation, linear systems.

C-1

C. Electrical Engineering

Includes circuits and circuit theory, microprocessors, semiconductor physics, operational amplifiers, digital systems, switching theory, control systems, electro and fiber optics, digital processing, antennas , electrostatics, radar and microwaves, power systems and distribution, industrial electronics.

C-1

D. Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering

Includes engineering economics, value analysis, operations research, inventory and production control, facilities planning, systems safety, ergonomics and human factors, CAD/CAD/CIM, manufaturing processes, quality control.

C-1

E. Mechanical Engineering

Includes kinematics, continuum mechanics, thermodynamics, fluid mechanics, elasticity, DFM/DFA, machine design, stress and vibration analysis, computational methods, heat transfer, robotics, biomechanicsmechanical draawing and graphics.

C-1

F. Microelectronics

Includes integrated circuits, digital electronics microprocessors, lithography, electrchemistry, device physics, optical engineering, semiconductor fabrication and technology.

C-1

G. Telecommunications Engineering Technology

Includes data communication and management, LANS/WANS, network design and management, voice and digital communication systems, telephone systems, switching technologies.

C-2

 

 

[rev. 7/94, 3/95]

Maintained by Sheila Smokey