CCS Library Collection Development Policy
These Collection Development guidelines are designed to inform and direct collection decisions to meet the instructional and informational needs of students, faculty, staff, and administration as defined by the Community Colleges of Spokane.
Community Colleges of Spokane endorses the Library Bill of Rights, the Freedom to Read Statement, and the Intellectual Freedom Statement adopted by the American Library Association, Libraries: An American Value. (See Appendix for texts.)
The concept of intellectual freedom involves selecting some materials/databases which may contain information that may be considered controversial by some individuals or groups. The acquisition of these materials/databases doesn't imply approval or endorsement of the contents. These materials/databases are acquired to support the curriculum and represent all sides of controversial issues. The selection criteria must remain broad and flexible to provide a collection which supports the wide range of programs and diverse backgrounds of the college clientele.
The library faculty are responsible for the resource development process. The selection of library materials and electronic resources is coordinated by the professional staff, in consultation with the general campus community.
Although library faculty are primarily responsible for the overall development of library resources, faculty in all areas of the college are encouraged to take an active role in selecting library print and non- print materials, as well as databases. The library faculty act as liaison to different instructional departments of the college and as such can assist faculty with library resource selection and use.
Students, staff, and administrators are encouraged to make recommendations for book, media, and database purchases to the library faculty. Requests for purchase of library resources, from all sources, will be considered in light of this document and in relation to the overall instructional and educational
purposes of the colleges. Further, faculty are encouraged to fill out the appropriate survey to provide librarians rationale and additional feedback regarding collections and digital resources. When
a request meeting these criteria has been made by faculty, staff or students, an order will be placed for the resources if funds are available.
CCS Libraries provide free access to all points of view on public questions. Therefore, resources selected will represent as many points of view as prudent.
College mission statements in conjunction with curriculum will determine the complexity of the collection, but an institutional commitment to excellence means building and maintaining a collection of resources that support adequately:
When being considered for addition to the collection, resources will be evaluated with attention given to written reviews, size and adequacy of current resources, potential use of resources by students and faculty, appropriateness for lower-division college use, and currency. Resources will be purchased in a wide variety of formats as appropriate. English language resources will be ordered primarily, but foreign language material will be purchased to support foreign language curriculum. Library resources will emphasize current issues and contemporary scholarship collecting only those basic historical and classical works necessary to support the curriculum.
In establishing priorities for collection development, first consideration is given to instructional materials directly supporting course and program goals. Attention is paid to the connections between and interdependence of disciplines, and discrete areas of study within disciplines. Resources will be acquired according to the following priorities and based on collection level determinations:
Outstanding items in relevant fields of knowledge
Faculty and student requests within the above scope will be honored whenever possible.
The Library provides access to streaming media, including videos, audio, and music, via networked databases and those freely accessible via the Internet. Streaming media may be purchased by subscription (renewed annually) or by perpetual access (ownership), based on the following criteria:
Titles will be purchased based on anticipated use and interdisciplinary application with titles that will reach the most students being the highest priority. Annual subscriptions to streaming media titles will be continually evaluated. Public performance rights for streaming media do not fall within the budget of CCS libraries.
The Library does not normally purchase lab manuals and textbooks students are expected to purchase, or other miscellaneous reference material necessary for classroom instruction. Nor does it collect books with formats unsuitable for multiple use – such as those with perforated tear-out pages or workbooks designed to be written in – except for test guides and certain materials intended for second- language learners.(see: Reserve Collection for further clarification.) In addition, public performance rights fall outside of the purview of CCS Libraries’ collection development policy.
The libraries may maintain specialized collections of materials as is determined to be necessary for the students, faculty and staff.
The purpose of the reserve collection is to make available high demand course readings which have a more restricted loan period due to the high number of students who must access the material. The reserve loan period may range from "Library Use Only" (2 hour) to one week. Faculty, college personnel, and professional staff may request that materials be placed in this collection, and the responsibility for this collection lies with the circulation supervisor. At the end of each quarter, photocopied and faculty- owned reserve materials are returned to the faculty member and the library books returned to the collection.
When possible, the Associated Students or other funding sources have provided additional money that allows the Library to purchase textbooks to help support student success. These textbooks are selected based on criteria enumerated above and the amount of money available.
Copyright Considerations for Reserve Collection:
Gift materials are accepted on a very limited basis. Library Services reserves the right to dispose of duplicate and unwanted material. Disposal of gift items will follow the State of Washington surplus policy. The libraries are not responsible for a monetary statement to the donor for tax purposes, but will acknowledge receipt of the gifts. Library Services assumes no responsibility for the use donors make of such acknowledgments.
Donor Receipts are managed through CCS Foundation. Upon request, library staff will provide the donor with the CCS Foundation Report of Non-Cash Gifts form to complete.
To complete the form, the donor fills out the Donor Section with current date, name, address, etc. They should also complete part 1, and check the General Use of a Specific Department box in section 2. (Library staff can check that box for the donor). Finally, the donor signs and dates at the bottom of the page. Once completed, the donor gives the form to library staff.
Library staff will then complete the College Section on the reverse side of the form. Fill out College, Department names, MS, name of library staff receiving donation, then sign and date. No need to fill out the areas marked “Associated costs” and “Intended use and location of donation.”
After completing the College Section, library staff will send the form to the Foundation at the address provided on the form. The Foundation will complete the last section and follow up with the donor by
sending a letter of thanks and acknowledgement. The Foundation’s letter can then be used by the donor for tax purposes. If you have questions, please talk with the Dept. Chair or call the Foundation at 434- 5123.
Access to resources is expanded by membership in organizations or agreements between libraries which allow access to resources through interlibrary loan.
Library faculty will withdraw library materials when, in their professional judgment, such a course of action is necessary to remove unneeded material. Continuous evaluation of holdings is an essential ongoing routine, in which unneeded materials are removed permanently from the library collection. Examples of unneeded materials which might be targeted for withdrawal could include multiple copies, badly damaged or deteriorated materials, and out-of-date materials.
Whenever possible, faculty members and other subject specialists should be invited to participate in the weeding process to assure that materials of historical or research interest are not inadvertently removed. Weeded materials are officially withdrawn from the collection in compliance with Washington State surplus policy.
Library materials reported missing or long overdue are not replaced automatically. Instead, potential replacements are evaluated using the same criteria for selection as regularly purchased items. Heavily used materials will be replaced as quickly as possible if they are still available.
Database collections are, by their nature, self-maintaining. However, the decision to keep or cease a subscription to an online resource takes into consideration the same collection priorities mentioned above. Additionally, cost and usage data will be considered when deciding to renew an online resource.