DOCUMENT RESUME ED 392 462 IR 055 848 TITLE Collection Development Plan. INSTITUTION Minnesota State Law Library, St. Paul. PUB DATE 96 NOTE. 65p. PUB TYPE Guides Non-Classroom Use (055) EDRS PRICE MFOI/PC03 Plus Postage. DESCRIPTORS Interlibrary Loans; *Law Libraries; *Library Collection Development; Library Material Selection; *Library Planning; *Library Policy; Library Standards; Preservation IDENTIFIERS *Minnesota ABSTRACT This c.Alection development plan of the Minnesota State Law Library includes detailed information on policies and annotations. After an overview of the Library's collection, general policy guidelines on the following are discussed: material selection; principles of selection; exclusions; gifts; interlibrary loan; cooperation; replacements; duplication; electronic resources; preservation; weeding and storage; and standards. Policies on special collection areas are also identifi'ed. Annotations provide examinations and assessments of the Library's collection. In outline form, the following major areas are evaluated for what the Library should have and does have, as well as for other considerations: administrative decisiens and regulations; attorney general opinions; citators; constitutions; court reports and rules; dictionaries and encyclopedias; digests of case law; directories; form books; government documents; judicial administrative reports; legislative journals and studies; looseleaf services; newspapers; periodicals; practice manuals and procedural forms; session laws and statutes; standards; treaties; treatises and subject materials; and uniform laws and model acts. Appendices include the Minnesota State Law Library mission statelent, retention of titles in retired collections and storage, the American Association of Law Libraries Appellate Court 1..brary Standards, and the American Library Association Library Bill of Rights. (AEF) *********************************************************************** Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. *********************************************************************** CA rtrIN EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC) O This document has been reproduced as received horn the person or organization originating it o Minor changes have bre! made to Irep rove reproduction quality Points of view or opini..,ns slated in this dOCurnent do nol necessari;), represent nilicat OERI position or policy Collection Development Plan r110..monuminh Minnesota State Law Library St. Paul, Minnesota 1996 '.a "PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE T HIS MATERIAL HAS BEEN GRANTED BY Sara Galligan BEST COPY AVAILABLE TO THE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERICI MINNESOTA STATE LAW LIBRARY COLLECTION DEVELOPMENT PLAN TABLE OF CONTENTS PART I: POUCIES 1 1 Introduction . Overview of the Collection 1 General Guidelines 2 Selection of Materials 2 Princip!os of Selection 2 Exclusions 3 Gifts 3 Interlibrary Loan 3 Cooperation 3 Replacements 3 Duplication 3 Electronic Resources 3 Preservation 4 Weeding and Storage 4 Standards 4 Special Collection Areas 4 Audiocassettes 4 Book Exchange 4 'jepository Collections 5 Government Publications 5 Judicial Archives 5 Microform Materials 5 Minnesota Appellate Court Documents 5 Outreach Services Collection 6 Reeding Lounge 6 Special Collections Room 6 Vertical File 6 Videocassettes 6 PART ANNOTATIONS 6 ADMINISTRATIVE DECISIONS 7 ADMINISTRATIVE REGULATIONS 8 ATTORNEY GENERAL OPINIONS 10 CITATORS 11 CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION PROCEEDINGS 12 CONSTITUTIONS 14 COURT REPORTS 16 COURT RULES 18 DICTIONARIES 19 DIGESTS OF CASE LAW 20 DIRECTORIES OF LAWYERS. LEGISLATORS AND JUDGES 22 ENCYCLOPEDIAS 24 TABLE OF CONTENTS PART II: ANNOTATIONS continued FORM BOOKS 25 GOVERNMENT DOCUMENTS 26 JUDICIAL ADMINISTRATIVE REPORTS 28 LEGISLATIVE JOURNALS 30 LEGISLATIVE STUDIES 32 LOOSELEAF SERVICES 33 NEWSPAPERS 35 PERIODICAL INDEXES 37 PERIODICALS 38 PRACTICE MANUALS AND PROCEDURAL FORMS 40 SESSION LAWS AND STATUTES 42 STANDARDS 44 TREATI ES 45 TREATISES AND SUBJECT MATERIALS 47 UNIFORM LAWS AND MODEL ACTS 49 PART III: APPENDICES 50 Minnesota State Law Library. Mission Statement 50 Minnesota State Law Library. Collection Development Decisions. Retention ofTitles in Retired and Storage 51 American Association of Law Libraries. State, Court, and County Law LibrariesSpecial Interest Section. Appellate Court Library Standards 53 American Library AssociationLibrary Bill of Rights 61 MSLL Collection Development Plan ii A PART I: POUCIES introduction The Minnesota State Law Library (MSLL) is the oldest continuing library in the state of Minnesota and one of the state's oldest institutions. As a public law library, the Library serves all citizens. However, the Library's primary mission is to meet the legal research needs of the Minnesota Supreme Court.In addition, the Library serves as a principal legal research and information center for the Minnesota Court of Appeals and judicial branch; legislative and executive branches, including the Attorney General's Office; county law libraries; legal profession; various units of local and metropolitan government: inmates of aduli correctional institutions; other law, public, special and academic libraries: and the public. Although the Library's first priority is to the judicial branch, two separate but interrelated factors have recently influenced collection philosophy. The first factor is the recognition that "access to justice" is a fur:damental right of all citizens. The Library adheres to the philosophyexpressed in the "Preamble" to the 1992 Proceedings of the National Conference on State Court Libraries (The First Rung on the Ladder of Justice: Recommendations for Change in State Court Libraries, p. 1): Access to justice is a fundamental right of citizens of every state and territory of the United States of America. An essential element of access to the ameliorative powers of the courts is access to the sources of the law. The supreme court or court of last resort of each state bears a public trust to ensure that legal information is placed at the disposal of members of the public to permit them to shape their behavior to the tenets of the law.In equal manner, as the administrative head of the justice system, a supreme court or court last resort must ensure that courts at every level of jurisdiction have ready access to legal information so that their rulings are form:Ilated in cognizance of current law.In our complex and information-rich society, legal inforwation is the crucible in which the quality of justice is forged. The second factor to influence the Library's collection philosophy relates to the changing patterns of legal research in this metropolitan area. Traditionally, a researcher had a choice of law libraries to visit for legal information. However, since the mid-1980s, declining budgets, fewer staff, loss of resources, and other concerns have forced other law libraries to turn inward and concentrate on their primary user groups. The public has been the group most affected by this developme It.With no other law library to serve them. many have gravitated to the Library as a lawlibrary of lest resort. Therefore. the Library has the responsibility to maintain resourcet: that meet the unique needs of the lay user Overview of the Collection The Library maintains a comprehensive collection of materials that serves the needs for current legal information and legal research. The collection will emphasize and be responsive to the practice and interpretation of the law, rather than the learning of the law. Historical, recreational and other special collections are maintained. While the emphasis is on American law, the Library provides selective coverage for Canadian and English law. The Library prefers English language materials MSLL Collection Development Plan 1 In general, the Library collects the following: primary legal materials of the federal government and its territories; the states; and Canadian federal and provincial governments. Primary materials include session laws, codes, opinions of the appellate coons, attorney general opinions, and administrative rules and regulations. finding aids and user guides, including citators, indexes, abstracts, directories, encyclopedias, dictionaries, and any other appropriate reference material. secondary materials on a wide variety of legal subjects. The Library collects intopical areas of law that meet the information needs of its clientele. Emphasisis on currency and, at a minimum, on providing introductory coverage in all major areas of law. On a periodic basis, the senior library staff will assess the bibliographic strength of these areas and purchase (or weed) materials accordingly. The Libraryalso selects materials that are ancillary and complementary to the practice of law, as well as new and developing areas of law. Minnesota law on a comprehensive level, including legal materials concerning foundation, growth and interpretation of Minnesota's government and law; the justices and judgesof Minnesota's courts; and Minnesota lawyers and bar associations. federal and state government documents selected through depository programs. All formats are considered, including the traditional book, looseleafs, audio andvideo cassettes, microforms, compact disks, and online databases. General Guidelines 1. Selection of Materials The State Law Librarian assumes final responsibility for the selection of legalmaterials. The State Law Librarian will make all selection decisions with the assistance and adviceof the Heads of the Technical.