SPEC Kit 330: Library Contribution to Accreditation · 149
Texas A&M University
SACS Reaffirmation of Accreditation. Comprehensive Standard 3.8.1
Section 3: Comprehensive Standards Standard 3.8.1, Page 1
Comprehensive Standard 3.8.1
Learning/Information Resources
The institution provides facilities and learning/information resources that are appropriate to
support its teaching, research, and service mission. (Learning/information resources)
Judgment of Compliance:
In compliance
Rationale for Judgment of Compliance:
Executive Summary
The Medical Sciences Library (MSL) serves as the anchor library for delivering
learning/information resources to the Texas A&M Health Science Center (TAM HSC) to support
its teaching, research and service mission. Eleven separate libraries and learning resource
centers have established a consortium, the TAM HSC Alliance of Libraries, to ensure
information access that is consistent across all HSC populations and the librarians serving them.
In addition to physical facilities, the libraries provide a wide array of onsite and online resources
and services. Onsite resources and services are provided at each TAM HSC campus and online
resources and services are available wherever and whenever the TAM HSC user needs them.
Institutional Response
The Medical Sciences Library (MSL) at Texas A&M University (TAMU) has served as the
library of the Texas A&M Health Science Center (TAM HSC) since its beginnings as the
College of Medicine within Texas A&M University. The growth of TAM HSC and its
separation from the university led to the development of a formal agreement between TAMU and
TAM HSC to clearly define and ensure established library services from the MSL and its parent
organization within TAMU, the Texas A&M University Libraries (TAMUL). Through an
Intrasystem Cooperation Contract (Agreement), the TAMUL provides a full complement of
library resources and services to TAM HSC users regardless of their physical location. The
contract establishes the annual TAM HSC financial support for TAMUL, an amount indexed to
total TAMUL budget but which may not fall below a level of at least $1,500,000. It also
provides a cost sharing basis and process for developing collections as new TAM HSC programs
are added [TAMU-TAM HSC Intrasystem Cooperation Contract]. The TAM HSC Institute of
Biomedical Sciences and Technology, located in the Texas Medical Center in Houston, has also
maintained membership in the Houston Academy of Medicine-Texas Medical Center, with its
associated library service privileges, since the institute began. The TAM HSC Baylor College of
Dentistry (TAM HSC-BCD) located in Dallas, has long been served by the Baylor Health
Sciences Library (BHSL) in Dallas.
SACS Reaffirmation of Accreditation
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