Mission and Responsibilities

The goal of the Library is to provide a collection of materials, including print and non-print resources, to support the College curriculum. To a lesser extent the Library will provide materials to meet the personal and recreational needs of students and staff.

Working with teaching faculty, librarians have overall responsibility for the development, maintenance and weeding of the collection. The recommendations of faculty will be given a high priority in the collection development process. The input of individual students and student groups will also be considered to the extent possible. Faculty, staff, and student suggestions for purchase can be submitted by email, phone, in-person, or sent by campus mail. Librarian-approved faculty requests will be kept on file for at least five years and will be filled as soon as funding permits. Student requests will be kept on file for a period of at least two years and are subject to the review of appropriate faculty and librarians.

The Learning Resources Program, of which the Library is a part, is committed to the principles of intellectual growth and freedom as expressed in the American Library Association's Bill of Rights. Librarians will select materials that reflect the diversity of human culture and opinion and the ethnic, racial, and linguistic composition of the College community. No materials will be excluded from the collection on the basis of moral, political or religious viewpoints or opinions expressed. Objections to materials in the collection will be made in writing to the Vice President, Academic Affairs (a form will be provided on request).

Selection Criteria

1. Books: Librarians will use standard review sources such as Choice and Library Journal to ensure that high-quality books are selected. In addition, the following considerations will apply:

• Books should support the College curriculum.
• Books should be appropriate for community college students.
• Books should be recently published or a recognized classic in a field.
• Paperback format will be preferred over hardback when available.

2. Periodicals (print and electronic):

• Periodicals should be indexed in standard indexes.
• Periodicals should be applicable to the curriculum.
• Expected or actual use of a periodical will be a determining factor in whether or not the subscription is started or continued.
• Priority will be given to requests for print subscriptions to periodicals that are not available in full-text through the College’s online periodical database (ProQuest).

3. Non-print formats: New non-print formats will be evaluated as they become available. The Library will order formats that the College can support technically with appropriate equipment.

• Formats will include, but are not limited to the following: videocassettes, DVDs, audiocassettes, slides, compact discs, software packages, and CD-ROM's.
• The selection criteria for non-print materials are the same as the criteria for print formats. Priority in the selection process will be given to faculty requests with final approval from the librarians.
• Non-print materials will be ordered for preview before purchase, when possible.

Special Cases

The Library will not routinely purchase current required or supplementary textbooks. Exceptions may be made when a textbook is considered a classic in a field or when other sources in a specific subject area are unavailable. Generally, the Library will not purchase multiple copies of any type of material.

The Library welcomes donations of materials. Materials inappropriate to our collection will be discarded or sold. The Library cannot guarantee to keep donated collections intact or keep materials on the shelf indefinitely. Donations to the Library will be acknowledged using the College Foundation's standard "Gifts-in-Kind" form. The donor will be responsible for assigning a monetary value to the gift.

Evaluation and Weeding of the Collection

Librarians will periodically evaluate the collection to weed and discard obsolete materials. When appropriate, faculty will be involved in evaluating and weeding the collection. The Technical Services department will generate periodic collection analysis reports to assist the librarians in the weeding process.

The following criteria will be used to determine which materials should be removed:

• The use of materials (frequency of circulation).
• The date of copyright or publication. New editions of valued works will be purchased to replace older editions.
• The physical condition of the material. New copies of heavily worn, valued items will be purchased.
• The relevance of subject matter to the current curriculum.

Whenever significant numbers of materials in a certain field are being discarded, notice will be sent to the appropriate faculty members. The items slated for discard will be stored in the Technical Services area for faculty review for at least two weeks after the notice is mailed.

(05/08)