(revised February 2007)

PURPOSE

Library and media materials and resources are selected to:

• support the mission and goals of the college
• support the educational programs of the college
• support cultural and ethnic diversity
• support general reference services of the library
• support scholarship, research and enrichment of students, faculty and staff
• balance depth and breadth in support of lifelong learning
• support individual learning in the community
• provide supplemental reading, viewing and listening
• provide information resources in a variety of formats

RESPONSIBILITY FOR SELECTION

Collection development in an academic setting is a collaborative effort between library faculty and teaching faculty. Library faculty assist teaching faculty in selecting materials by forwarding announcements and reviews of potential materials. Teaching faculty receive publishers’ announcements relating to their subject area(s) and make requests for additions to the library collection based upon them. Suggestions for  purchases are welcomed and received from all elements of the community: students, staff, faculty, administrators and community borrowers.

Teaching faculty are encouraged to work with library faculty to:

• evaluate materials and resources available in the library
• identify materials and resources to support their courses
• plan use of materials and resources in the library collection
• make recommendations for additions to  and deletions from the library collection

INTELLECTUAL FREEDOM

It is the responsibility of library faculty and other selectors to ensure that all points of view relevant to the college mission are represented in the collection. The library endorses the following documents from the American Library Association: the Library Bill of Rights, Interpretations of the Library Bill of Rights, and the Freedom to Read statement. Copies of these documents are available on reserve in the library, or through the policies page on the SVC library web site.

A complaint about an item in the collection should be submitted in writing and referred to the Associate Dean of Library Services.
 

SELECTION AND EVALUATION CRITERIA:

Items considered for addition to the library collection will be evaluated by library faculty, with attention given to:

• written reviews indicating authority, treatment, accuracy and relevancy of content
• relation of content to the college curriculum
• size and adequacy of current collection in the subject area
• potential use of materials by students and faculty
• currency of material

Priorities for purchase are:

• faculty requests for materials to support courses
• materials and resources for new and/or revised courses
• up-to-date reference materials
• significant new titles in all areas of the curriculum
• maintaining a desirable balance of print, audiovisual and electronic resources
• up-to-date materials throughout the collection

Materials not normally selected include:

• rare books and first editions
• books in languages not taught at the college, unless there is a demonstrated need
• highly specialized technical materials that would not be used by SVC students
• textbooks for courses offered at the college
• popular titles, children’s literature and foreign publications, unless specifically requested to support a course offered by the college

Periodicals:
Periodical database subscriptions are selected to supplement and enhance the periodical collection. Titles are selected according to the priorities listed above, with the following additional considerations:

• indexed titles are preferred to non-indexed titles
• costly titles which would result in the exclusion of other useful titles may not be selected
• titles may be discontinued if full text is available electronically

Microforms:
Microforms, including microfilm and microfiche, are selected according to the priorities listed above, with the following additional considerations:

• to provide backfiles and/or duplication of heavily-used titles
• to replace paper volumes due to limited shelf space
• to replace electronic titles which are discontinued
• titles may be discontinued if full text is available electronically

Media:
Audiovisual materials and equipment are selected to meet instructional needs. Audiovisual materials include video recordings, sound recordings, slides and kits. Sharing of costs between the library and a department may be negotiated for costly items. It is a goal of the library to add all media materials purchased and/or created by the college to the library collection regardless of their location on campus and/or the source funds used to obtain them.
 

Government Information:
The library is not a depository for federal or state government publications. Government publications are selected according to the same criteria applied to other library materials, and are placed within the appropriate location within the collection.
 

Other formats:
Other material formats may be evaluated and purchased to enhance the library collection, subject to the same criteria applied to other library materials.
 

GIFTS

The library welcomes gifts and accepts them with the understanding that the materials will be evaluated according to the same standards as purchased items. All gift materials must be accompanied by a completed Gift Form. Gifts not suitable for the library collection may be picked up by the donor, offered to other area libraries, or will be discarded.
 

ASSESSMENT and MAINTENANCE

Evaluation of the library collection by librarians is an ongoing process. Materials that are out of date, damaged beyond repair, or were acquired specifically for a program which is no longer offered will be withdrawn from the collection. Damaged, out-of-date, and/or lost items are replaced at the discretion of library faculty and/or Technical Services Librarian.

The librarians will evaluate the collection on a 5 year cyclical basis as listed below. This will ensure that the entire collection is evaluated in a timely fashion. Library faculty will contact appropriate classroom faculty to ask for their input as different areas of the collection are evaluated. Faculty members are encouraged to survey their subject area(s) and recommend additions to and deletions from the collection.

• Year 1: 000 – 359
• Year 2: 360 – 599
• Year 3: 600 – 699
• Year 4: 700 – 813
• Year 5: 814 - 999

The 2007/8 academic year is Year 1 in the current cycle.

Subject Area Criteria for Collection Weeding
The following guidelines for broad subject categories are to be used in conjunction with the general criteria for weeding as well as any specific circumstances pertaining to individual subject areas or programs offered by Skagit Valley College. The guidelines are generalizations and there will be exceptions to them. For example, conceptual works in several areas may have a long lasting relevance or historical value and still be of value beyond a certain date.

Technology and Library and Information Sciences: Materials in these areas that are technologically oriented tend to become outdated within seven to ten years and should be considered for weeding after this time. Other arterials that are more conceptual in nature and do not involve specific technology have longer lasting relevance or historical value and may still be of value to the library after the ten year mark.

• Applicable Disciplines: Computer Information Systems, Computer Science, Media Communications, Management Information Systems

Humanities: Materials in this area generally do not become outdated, so factors such as circulation statistics, duplicates, and damage take on added significance in weeding

• Applicable Disciplines: Art, English, Ethnic studies, Geography, Humanities, Journalism, Literature, Music, Media Communications, Philosophy, PE, Speech, Theater, World language

Social Sciences: Materials in the social sciences typically become dates after ten years, but an exception to this is history. History materials usually do not become outdated, but may be superseded by newer editions.

• Applicable Disciplines: Administration of justice, Anthropology, Early Childhood, Education, Ethnic Studies, History, Human Services, Media Communications, Paralegal, Political Science, Social Science, Sociology

Business and Economics: Materials in these areas typically become outdated after ten years and should be considered for weeding after this time.

• Applicable Disciplines: Accounting, Business Administration, Business Management, Economics

Health Care and Medicine: Materials in this area are usually outdated in as little as five to seven years and should be considered for weeding after this time.

• Applicable Disciplines: Human Services, Nursing, Medical Assistant: Pharmacy, Phlebotomy, Dialysis

Applied Sciences: Materials in these areas tend to become outdated within seven to ten years and should be considered for weeding after this time.

• Applicable Disciplines: Agriculture, Automotive / Truck / Diesel, Computer Science / Computer Information Systems / Management Information / Telecommunication Networks, Culinary, Electronics / Electronics Engineering / Engineering / Mechatronics, Environmental Conservation, Fire, Geographic Information Systems, Marine Maintenance Tech, Medical Assistant & Front office & Billing, Media Communications, Multimedia & Interactive tech, Office Administration, Welding

Pure Sciences: Materials in this areas are usually outdated within 10 years, but exceptions to this should be noted, such as in mathematics, which does not become outdated as quickly.

• Applicable Disciplines: Anthropology, Biology, Chemistry, Earth- (Astronomy, Meteorology, Geology, Oceanography), Natural Science, Nutrition, Physics