PURPOSE / SCOPE:
The ICOM Medical Library strives to build and maintain a collection of resources that will support the learning and teaching needs of ICOM students and employees. The ICOM librarians select resources based on many criteria including value in supporting the curriculum, the merit of the resource, cost, and ease of use. The library welcomes suggestions for new resources from faculty and students, though cannot guarantee that all recommendations will be added to the collection.
Overview of the Collection
The library provides access to information resources including journals, books, databases, and audiovisual tools in both online and print formats. These resources are used to support the ICOM curricula, research, and clinical practice. The primary subject areas for collection are medicine, medical education, psychiatry, and any subject adjacent to osteopathic medicine.
Primary Users
The ICOM Medical Library supports the research and education needs of ICOM students, staff, and faculty.
Electronic Resources
The ICOM Medical Library purchases access to online resources whenever possible to provide 24/7 access to library resources from home, clinical sites, and anywhere off-campus. Usage of these resources will be evaluated to ensure that they are meeting the needs of the ICOM students, faculty, and staff.
Print Collection
The ICOM Medical Library will maintain a small print collection of required/recommended textbooks, osteopathic-related books, as well as medical humanities titles.
Selection Criteria
The following criteria are weighed when making a decision to add a resource to the library’s collection.
Journals
- Subject matter and fit within the ICOM curricula
- Potential use by ICOM students and faculty
- Cost
- Format restrictions (online-only/print-only)
- Licensing agreement restrictions
- Recommendations from faculty, staff
- IP authentication availability
- Availability of journal within a database package
Electronic Resources
- Subject matter and fit within the ICOM curricula
- Potential use by ICOM students and faculty
- Cost
- Availability of necessary hardware, software, server space, etc.
- Ease of searching and use
- IP authentication availability
- Availability of full-text, images, figures
- Vendor customer service
Books
- Subject matter and relevance to ICOM students and faculty
- Currency (preference for books published in the last three years)
- Cost
- Format (preference for online/e-books)
- Recommendations from students and faculty
- Inclusion in prominent book review sources (Doody’s Core Titles, etc.)
- IP authentication availability (e-books)
- User-limit restrictions (e-books)
Donations
The ICOM Medical Library appreciates those who would like to donate to the library, however we are unable to accept most donations as we have limited space for print materials. We will consider books published within the last five years, are the current edition, and which support the ICOM curriculum. We do not accept journal donations.
Removal of Items from the Collection
Removing items from the library’s collection is an essential strategy to keep the resources relevant, up to date, and useful. For electronic resources, usage statistics will be used to determine if the item(s) are being used heavily enough to justify the cost. In some cases, budgetary decisions will require the library to remove a resource even if it does receive a fair amount of use. For print books, editions five years or older will be considered for removal if there is a newer edition available. For print journals, only a limited run of 2-3 years will be kept on the shelves.
POLICY OWNER:
Director of Library Services
APPROVAL:
Effective: 8/11/21
Last Reviewed: 5/22/23
Review Requirement: 5 Years