Wake Tech Libraries

Best Practices Guide

Chapter 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6

Chapter 3 – Collection Development

3.1 General Statement
3.2 Responsibility for Selection
3.3 Criteria for Selection
3.4 Content Considerations
3.5 Discarding and Replacing Materials
3.6 Gifts and Donations
3.7 Remote Collections
3.8 Copyrighted Materials
3.9 Challenged Materials
3.10 Internet Link Selection Guidelines

3.1 General Statement

Library personnel seek, evaluate, and acquire print and non-print materials to support the educational and resource needs of students, faculty, and staff. These materials include books, periodicals, pamphlets, compact discs, CD-ROMs, videotapes, DVDs, and electronic resources. Materials requests and needs are solicited from a variety of user groups for the purposes of supporting the quality of instruction and supplementing the curricula. Efforts are made to be inclusive of all user needs in collection development in order to represent diverse populations.

3.2 Responsibility for Selection

Faculty members are subject specialists and are encouraged to request materials that support their programs. The libraries encourage faculty participation in the selection process by making review information and material catalogs available. Students and non-instructional staff are also encouraged to make suggestions. Library staff members select and recommend materials for all collections based on requests, usage statistics, and current trends.

Material requests and suggestions for additions to the collection can be made in person, via telephone, by e-mail, or by completing the Suggest a Purchase form [currently being revised].

3.3 Criteria for Selection

Preference is given to titles directly related to current academic programs, vocational programs, and course assignments. Books and other materials are selected based on reviews in professional journals and other authoritative sources. The library staff will utilize all resources that help to select and verify high-quality items, including their own personal judgment based upon education, experience, and knowledge of a subject.

Consideration is given to the accessibility or scarcity of materials on the subject, format, timeliness and/or permanence of the information, and reading level. Availability of funds is always a factor in selection of materials. The library will consider but does not normally purchase expensive and infrequently used materials that are available in other area libraries. Preference is given to print periodical titles that are listed in print and electronic indexes but are not available electronically.

3.4 Content Considerations

The libraries normally purchase only one copy of each item selected. Multiple copies are purchased only when the need can be documented or projected.

The libraries do not generally purchase textbooks for courses being taught. Instructors may place a personal copy on reserve or donate copies to include in the collections.

Materials are typically selected in English and at the relevant reading level of the associated curriculum. This includes materials selected for ESL and EFL programs.

It is intended that the reference collection not only support the research needs of the curriculum, but also the general reference requirements of the general student body, faculty and staff, as well as users from the surrounding community.

Two types of print serial selections are made: popular periodicals that provide appropriate leisure reading and publications needed in print, either to supplement or replace electronic sources for classroom or academic activity.

A small collection of audio books is maintained to provide an audio option to the campus community, which includes a large number of commuters.

3.5 Discarding and Replacing Materials

Faculty members, in conjunction with library staff, are encouraged to review the collection in their subject specialty areas, recommending the withdrawal of obsolete materials and suggesting new replacement titles. Library staff periodically reviews the collection for discard recommendations.

Categories of materials discarded include: materials in poor physical condition, outdated/obsolete materials, and unneeded duplicates of materials.

Factors considered when discarding materials include: value to the collection, physical condition, coverage of subject by other materials in collection, availability of better or more recent editions, demand for and past use of materials, accuracy of information content, and number of copies in the collection. Each item that is considered for discarding is individually evaluated. Materials that are lost, worn, or damaged are not automatically replaced.

The libraries have an active book repair program that is useful in maintaining relevant materials that are in need of repair. The Collection Care Committee evaluates repair candidates in terms of cost effectiveness, considering availability in print, new editions, cost of repair and current relevance to the collection.

3.6 Gifts and Donations

The libraries welcome donations of books, journals, videos, maps, and other information media in good condition. Materials donated to the libraries become the property of Wake Technical Community College. Gift materials are accepted by the libraries with the understanding that the library will evaluate and retain items in the best interest of the libraries’ collection.

Gift materials are evaluated on the same basis as purchased items. Limitations of space, processing costs, and physical conditions are other considerations in the decision to incorporate donated materials into the collections. Items not added to the collections may be sold, donated to other libraries or nonprofit organizations, shipped to state surplus, recycled, or destroyed in compliance with North Carolina Administrative Code 2C.0403. Upon request, a staff member will provide a completed donation form. If donors plan to use their donations as tax deductions, they may wish to have an outside authority evaluate each item’s worth and consult Internal Revenue Service documentation for guidelines. Library staff does not appraise gifts.

Individuals wishing to make a financial donation to supplement the college’s allocation for library collections, resources, and services are invited to contact the Executive Director of the Wake Tech Foundation. Contributors should indicate their donations be designated for the library. Financial donations may be made in memory or in honorarium of individuals at the donor’s request.

3.7 Remote Collections

Many academic departments house materials owned by the department which are not included in the library’s online catalog. Use of these materials is determined by the owning department. These resources are subject specific and housed in departments and labs. They are ordered by the individual departments with departmental funds and do not require library approval.

Instructors needing long-term checkouts of library materials must address extended dates through the circulation system. Resources ordered with library funds are cataloged and should be accessible to the general user population. Their usage is recorded through circulation activities in order to gain useful statistics for future collection development.

3.8 Copyrighted Materials

The Wake Tech Libraries comply with all provisions of the U.S. Copyright Law (17 U.S.C.) and its amendments. The library supports the Fair Use section of the Copyright Law (17 U.S.C. §107) which permits and protects citizens' rights to reproduce and make use of copyrighted works for the purposes of teaching, scholarship, and research.

3.9 Challenged Materials

The library staff has the responsibility to provide materials and information to meet the needs of the college’s curricula and programs. Collection development is carried out under the guidance of established selection policies based upon the needs of the user groups, service objectives, collection specifications, and current selection needs. The Wake Tech Libraries support the American Library Association in its endorsement of both intellectual freedom and the freedom to read as stated in its Library Bill of Rights and the Freedom to Read Statement.

The choice to use library materials is an individual matter. While people may reject materials for personal use, no individual has the right to censor or restrict the freedom of others to read these materials.

Requests to remove materials or resources from the library must be submitted in writing to the Director of Library Services. The request will be reviewed to ensure that it provides full information about the nature of the complaint before it is forwarded to the Collection Development Committee for consideration. All challenges will be reported to the Director of Library Services.

3.10 Internet Link Selection

General Statement
Library personnel select and include resources from the Internet on the library Web site to serve the educational and research needs of students, faculty, and staff. Links are selected to reflect the mission of the library and the curricular and research interests of the students, faculty, and staff and undergo a process of selection for comprehensiveness, relevance to the collection, quality, and educational value.

Responsibility for Selection
The library Web Committee researches and selects links that reflect the library’s guidelines. Library staff, faculty, students and college staff are also encouraged to suggest links to add to the library website. Committee members will preview all links before deciding whether to add them to the site.

Criteria for Selection
The Web Committee seeks links that:

Content is evaluated for its usefulness, quality and relevancy within the scope of the collection. Resources chosen should have an easy-to-use design, be created by an identified content authority, and be reliably accessible.

Library personnel may select a site that does not meet all of the above criteria if the site has unique, valuable content. Selected links will be removed from the Wake Tech Libraries’ Web site if they change and no longer meet the above criteria.

Many of the standard selection procedures available for print resources do not work for Internet resources. Standard collection evaluation sources are not yet available for Internet resources; Internet sites change and new sites appear rapidly. Selectors will use evaluation review sources in print publications or on a listserv when they are available, but will frequently rely on personal review of sources for selection.

So many resources are available on the Internet that library staff members do not have time to review them all. If patrons find sites that they would like the Web Committee to consider adding as a link on the Wake Tech Libraries Web site, they can submit a request to the Chair of the Web Committee. The committee will then decide to add the link based upon the above selection criteria.

Patrons may request that the Wake Tech Libraries reconsider links that have been made from the library's Web site to outside resources. Patrons requesting reconsideration of any links should follow the guidelines in the “Challenged Materials” section of the library’s Collection Development Guidelines.