Reference Collection Development Policy

Reference works provide essential support for the instructional, research and service programs of the university community. Primary audiences are university students, faculty, and staff. Secondary audiences include local and state governmental agencies, local businesses, local nonprofit organizations, students from other Nebraska colleges, high school students and other community users. Reference works provide a range of information that serves a diverse clientele. They support basic and advanced research; provide curriculum support for undergraduate and graduate students; and serve people working in a wide range of disciplines. They are necessary to the work of librarians and other library staff. Reference works are not intended to be read as a whole. Some serve as guides to research or entry points to the literature of a field. Others are designed to be searched for specific pieces of information. They include indexes, bibliographies, dictionaries, directories, almanacs, encyclopedias, atlases, style manuals, and statistical compilations