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Collection Policy Statement Index

I. United States and international

The Library of Congress endeavors to acquire the current substantial reports, monographs, and serials of national or international societies and associations whose activities are of general interest and importance. These include political, cultural, philanthropic, professional, scientific, business, labor, religious, ethnic, fraternal and secret societies and associations.

The Library does not acquire the publications of such societies and associations at the state, regional, or local levels, except for:

1. substantial directories, periodicals, biographies and local histories, and
2. publications of those lacking a national organization, which are required at the regional, state, or other next highest level.

Newsletters consisting of information of temporary use are not acquired for permanent retention. (Cf. Collections Policy Statement on Commercial Firms (C:CMF).

II. Foreign

The Library endeavors to acquire the current reports, monographs, and serials of foreign national societies and associations of a scholarly or professional nature, of the major political parties, and of national societies and associations in the fields of the physical sciences, aeronautics, cartography, the social sciences, law, education, music, bibliography, and library science. The current publications of propagandist, religious, philanthropic, fraternal and veterans' societies and associations of national scope are acquired on a selective basis.

Publications of foreign societies and associations below the national level are acquired only if they contain substantial information of research value that is not available elsewhere. For further information, see also Collections Policy Statement on Ethnic Publications-Foreign (C:ETH); Ephemera (C:EPH); and Developing Countries (C:DEV).

III. Interlibrary cooperation

In acquiring library materials as described above, the collections of other U.S. institutions will be taken into consideration. For example, publications on Freemasonry are collected by the Library on a highly selective basis, since the Scottish Rite Supreme Council Library in Washington endeavors to maintain comprehensive collections by and about Freemasons. Similar arrangements will be considered whenever feasible, when the Library's needs will be adequately served, and when satisfactory arrangements can be made with other institutions, for example:

1. the repository will make the materials available for use by scholars;
2. the cooperating institution plans to retain them permanently; and
3. in the event the cooperating institution decides to dispose of the materials, the Library of Congress will be informed and if possible will be given right of "first refusal."

If desirable, the Library of Congress will see to establish cooperative arrangements for collecting and/or microformatting materials of mutual interest.

Notes:

(1) Formerly Acquisition Policy Statement No. 11.

August 1989

*** adk 8/15/94 ***

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