SACS MUST Statements

1.   Because adequate library and other learning resources and services are essential to teaching and learning, each institution must ensure that they are available to all faculty members and enrolled students wherever the programs or courses are located and however they are delivered.

2.   Each institution must develop a purpose statement for its library and other learning resource services.

3.   Learning resources and services must be adequate to support the needs of users.

4.   These considerations must be taken into account in evaluating the effectiveness of library and learning resource support.

5.   Priorities for acquiring materials and establishing services must be determined with the needs of the users in mind.

6.   Each institution must ensure that all students and faculty members have access to a broad range of learning resources to support its purpose and programs at both primary and distance learning sites.

7.   Basic library services must include an orientation program designed to teach new users how to access bibliographic informa- tion and other learning resources.

8.   Emphasis should be placed on the variety of contemporary technologies used for accessing learning resources.

9.   Libraries and learning resource centers must provide students with opportunities to learn how to access information in different formats so that they can continue life-long learning.

10.   Librarians must work cooperatively with faculty members and other information providers in assisting students to use resource materials effectively.

11.   Libraries and learning resource centers should provide point-of-use instruction, personal assistance in conducting library research, and traditional reference services.

12.   This should be consistent with the goal of helping students develop information literacy-the ability to locate, evaluate, and use information to become independent life-long learners.

13.   Adequate hours must be maintained to ensure accessibility to users.

14.   Professional assistance should be available at convenient locations during library hours.

15.   Library collections must be cataloged and organized in an orderly, easily accessible arrangement following national bibliographical standards and conventions.

16.   Students and faculty must be provided convenient, effective access to library resources needed in their programs.

17.   Convenient, effective access to electronic bibliographic databases, whether on-site or remote, must be provided when necessary to support the academic programs.

18.   Libraries and other learning resource centers must have adequate physical facilities to house, service and make library collections easily available; modern equipment in good condition for using print and non-print materials; provision for interlibrary loan services designed to ensure timely delivery of materials; and an efficient and appropriate circulation system.

19.   Libraries should provide electronic access to materials available within their own system and electronic bibliographic access to materials available elsewhere.

20.   Institutions must provide access to essential refer-ences and specialized program resources for each instructional location.

21.   Access to the library collection must be sufficient to support the educational, research and public service programs of the institution.

22.   The collections of print and non-print materials must be well organized.

23.   Institutions offering graduate work must provide library resources substantially beyond those required for baccalaureate programs.

24.   Librarians, teaching faculty and researchers must share in the development of collections, and the institution must establish policies defining their involvement.

25.   Each library or learning resource center must have a policy governing resource material selection and elimination, and should have a procedure providing for the preservation, replacement or removal of deteriorating materials in the collection.

26.   Institutions should supplement their traditional library with access to electronic information.

27.   Where appropriate, institutions should use technology to expand access to information for users at remote sites, such as extension centers, branch campuses, laboratories, clinical sites or students’ homes.

28.   The institution must provide evidence that it is incorporating technological advances into its library and other learning resource operations.

29.   Cooperative agreements with other libraries and agencies should be considered to enhance the resources and services available to an institution's students and faculty members.

30.   However, these agreements must not be used by institutions to avoid responsibility for providing adequate and readily accessible library resources and services.

31.   Cooperative agreements must be formalized and regularly evaluated.

32.   Libraries and other learning resources must be ade-quately staffed by professionals who hold graduate degrees in library science or in related fields such as learning resources or information technology.

33.   In exceptional cases, outstanding professional experience and demonstrated competence may substitute for this academic preparation; however, in such cases, the institution must justify the exceptions on an individual basis.

34.   The number of library support staff members must be adequate.

35.   Qualifications or skills needed for these support positions should be defined by the institution.

36.   Organizational relationships, both external and inter- nal to the library, should be clearly specified.

37.   Institu- tional policies concerning faculty status, salary and contractual security for library personnel must be clearly defined and made known to all personnel at the time of employment.

38.   For distance learning activities, an institution must ensure the provision of and ready access to adequate library/learning resources and services to support the courses, programs and degrees offered.

39.   The institution must own the library/learning resources, provide access to electronic information available through existing technologies, or provide them through formal agreements.

40.   Such agreements should include the use of books and other materials.

41.   The institution must assign responsibility for providing library/learning resources and services and for ensuring continued access to them at each site.

42.   To support its curriculum, each institution must provide a variety of facilities and instructional support services (e.g., educational equipment and specialized facilities such as laboratories, audiovisual and duplicating services, and learning skills centers) which are organized and administered so as to provide easy access for faculty and student users.

43.   They must be adequate to allow fulfillment of the institutional purpose and contribute to the effectiveness of learning.

44.   An institution must provide evidence that it is incorporating technological advances into its operations.

45.   Information technology resources must support the planning function and the educational program component of the institution at appropriate levels.

46.   Although the diversity of educational programs and goals will be a major determining factor in the selection of information technology resources by an institution, there must be a reasonable infusion of information technology into the curricula so that students exit with the fundamental knowledge and basic ability to use these resources in everyday life and in future occupations.

47.   Institutions must provide the means by which students may acquire basic competencies in the use of computers and related information technology resources.

48.   A reliable data network should be available so that students, faculty and staff may become accustomed to electronic communication and familiar with accessing national and global information resources.

49.   There must be provisions for ongoing training of faculty and staff members so that they may make skillful use of appropriate application software.

50.   Policies for the allocation and use of information tech- nology resources must be clearly stated and consistent with an institution's purpose and goals.

51.   These policies must be evaluated regularly to ensure that academic and administrative needs are adequately addressed.

52.   Appropriate security measures must be installed and monitored to protect the confidentiality and integrity of academic systems, administrative systems, and institutional networks.