Reference Sources Collection Development and Maintenance Policies In the Libraries of Cairo University Faculties as a Model

The study aims to develop a written and a separate policy for building, developing, and maintaining a set of reference sources for the library of the Faculty of Arts, Cairo University as a model for college libraries. The policy reveals the criteria for selecting printed and electronic reference sources, monitoring the development of printed and electronic reference sources, determining the librarian who is responsible for selecting, maintaining, and evaluating reference sources, and determining the best tools for selecting reference sources. The problem of the study is the absence of a written policy for building, developing, maintaining, and evaluating a set of reference sources which affects negatively the provision of information services, especially the reference service in the Library of the Faculty of Arts at Cairo University. The study used the descriptive analytical approach with its survey style, and the observation and interview as tools for data collection. This study monitoring the capabilities of the library of the Faculty of Arts at Cairo University, which requires the development of a written policy for the construction, development, and maintenance of reference resources, especially electronic, that are available for free access, so that it is a balanced and strong policy in accordance with international standards used for planning and designing an electronic reference service. The most important results came as a written policy for building, developing, and maintaining a set of reference sources, according to the capabilities of the College of Arts library, and guided by the model of the American Library Association.