NETC Library Policies: Collection Development Policy

The NETC Library supports the training programs of USFA's National Fire Academy (NFA) and FEMA's National Disaster & Emergency Management University (NDEMU) along with the wider activities of the U.S. Fire Administration. The scope of our coverage is tied to our close support of these activities on the NETC campus.

Our collection development and retention strategy aims to build upon and preserve our unique fire, EMS and emergency management materials for current and future users. As a federal library, we build our collection of practitioner focused fire, EMS and emergency management collections for the long-term.

The library generally retains indefinitely the fire-, EMS- and emergency management-centric material it acquires, although not necessarily in its original format. Our collection development strategy is focused on serving the needs of working practitioners in the fire and emergency services rather than fire scientists, engineers or social scientists. And while we do acquire material that deals with related problems in other parts of the world, special weight for retention purposes is given to materials that focus on matters directly centered on the United States and its territories.

The library also acquires materials on other topics from time to time to serve current general interests or respond to the passing needs of a given NETC course or staff member. Materials of this kind, that are not part of our specialized fire, EMS or emergency management collections, are routinely evaluated for retention and withdrawal. Our retention criteria and withdrawal procedures are available upon request.

The planned development of a library collection requires the consistent application of a stated policy. The NETC Library, which operates within the framework of institutional goals, must respond to institutional change.

Our library develops, in all appropriate fields, a collection of the highest degree of excellence while also being mindful of the ready availability of materials thru interlibrary loan or other sources in the emergency management field.

Meeting all the library's goals may not always be possible for financial reasons. Therefore, the library will observe the following general guidelines in developing its collection:

• Current publications of lasting and scholarly value are given priority over older and out-of-print materials when a lack of funds limit acquisitions.
• Publications in the English language are given priority over non-English language publications.
• Multiple copies are purchased based on justification of expected heavy and continuous use.
• The library will not purchase extensive in-depth materials for specific projects or topics pertinent only to an individual staff member or student when that topic is irrelevant to, or beyond the level of, the NETC curricula.
• Staff members, or faculty who require materials in areas which are not collected, are encouraged to utilize the library's borrowing services.

Library materials may be any of the following items:

• Books.
• E-books.
• Dissertations and theses.
• Periodicals.
• Print subscriptions.
• Databases, to include online subscriptions for NETC students.
• Off-print articles from scholarly publications as selected by our Head Librarian. The articles support fire, emergency services, and emergency management programs.
• Pamphlets that are preserved in vertical files.
• Reports.
• Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program deliverables.
• Manuscripts.
• DVDs and CDs.
• Electronic files.
• Fire department histories.

In addition to the subject scope guidelines provided in the full collection development policy, all or some of the following criteria or factors influence the selection of materials acquired for the library:

1. Appropriateness for use in NETC curriculum and programs.
2. Appropriateness for the research needs of NETC faculty, students and staff.
3. Possibility of use by one or more courses.
4. Cost.
5. Weakness of the current collection in a particular subject area.
6. Level of the materials' quality in content, format, and/or literary merit.
7. Permanence of the material and format.
8. Currency and timeliness of the material.
9. Appropriateness of purchase, taking into consideration usage patterns such as circulation statistics to determine areas of great demand.
10. Author's reputation and credibility in the subject field.
11. Reputation of the publisher.
12. Title is authored by NETC faculty or staff member.
13. Book completes series holding.
14. The book is a new edition with revised information or merely a reprint.
15. The serial is indexed by the library.
16. The serial/book is easily accessible on interlibrary loan.

View our complete collection development policy document

• NFA and EMI course materials.
• Local fire department standard operating procedures (SOPs).
• Books that do not support the research or curricula needs of NETC activities except on a case by case basis.
• Microforms.