2.15 Library Collection
A. Purpose
To outline the goals of the library collection, and the selection and deselection priorities and practices of the college library.
B. Policy
The library maintains and develops a collection to provide the informational resources necessary to support the mission of the college.
C. Procedures
Priorities for Library Collection Development
The library prioritizes the needs of OTC students for their programs of study, followed by the needs of OTC’s faculty and staff, and that of the diverse OTC community.
To support OTC students with information relevant to their areas of study
To support OTC faculty and staff professional development needs
To provide collections of general interest materials for the OTC community
Selection Responsibilities for the Library Collection
The college director of the library is responsible for final purchase decisions based on the criteria outlined here. The collection development librarian is responsible for the selection and deselection of books within the library collection.
OTC faculty and staff may submit requests for books and electronic resources and may be consulted on selection of materials in their field of expertise. Recommendations from students may also be accepted. All book requests and recommendations are reviewed for selection by the collection development librarian. Electronic resource requests are considered by the college director of the library.
In making all selection and deselection decisions the college director of the library and the collection development librarian will abide by all relevant federal and state regulations.
Selection Criteria for the Library Collection
The college library selects materials that meet the needs of students in current programs of study as a first priority. As a secondary goal, the library will select materials that meet the professional development needs of OTC faculty and staff. The library selects resources for the recreational, cultural, and informational needs of the wider OTC community as a last priority.
Materials are selected in all subjects and formats to support the diverse community the college serves, following the guiding principle of Article I of the American Library Association’s Library Bill of Rights: “Books and other library resources should be provided for the interest, information, and enlightenment of all people of the community the library serves. Materials should not be excluded because of the origin, background, or views of those contributing to their creation.”
The following criteria are employed when making selections for the collection:
Support of one or more college programs at OTC
Support of OTC faculty and staff professional development needs
Support of recreational, cultural, or informational needs of the diverse OTC community
Authority: the author has an established reputation–skill, competence, and purpose–in the subject area
Inclusion in databases and/or indexes, standard lists, or subject bibliographies
Reviews appear in standard selection periodicals or resources
Publication is a product of a reputable publisher and/or follows a review process to ensure standards are met before publication
Collection scope: current coverage in subject area, appropriateness of topic, and relationship to other areas
Value: content, format, physical condition, and cost effectiveness
Collection level: appropriateness of the subject content and intellectual or reading levels of material for a college-level audience
Currency of information
Access: item cannot be easily accessed via interlibrary loan or electronic access. Titles are duplicated as necessary to meet demand.
Overall quality of product
Meets accessibility standards for all users, including library patrons with disabilities
The collection development librarian and the college director of the library are ultimately responsible for the selection of materials for the collection.
Deselection Criteria for the Library Collection
The continual review and removal of materials is necessary to maintain a library collection that meets the priorities of the collection and the needs of the OTC community.
The following criteria are considered when deselecting items from the collection:
The physical condition of the material is not acceptable for patron use
Low usage or little usage within the past five years
The materials contain information that is no longer current for that subject of study
The materials no longer fit within the scope of the library collection
Space limitations
The collection development librarian and the college director of the library are ultimately responsible for the deselection of materials from the collection.
Textbooks in the Library Collection
Textbooks are not purchased for the library collection unless they are considered definitive sources in the subject area, or they are an Open Education Resource textbook obtained for the professional development collection. If faculty would like the library to have course materials available at the library for their students, they may bring the items to the library and request that they be put on reserve for the semester.
Donations to the Library Collection
The college library may accept donations of materials for the library collection that meet the following criteria and the needs of our collection. It is at the discretion of the collection development librarian to decide whether donations will be added to the library collection.
The library does not accept donations of the following types of materials:
Textbooks
CDs, VHS, or obsolete media
Pamphlets or unbound materials
Personal items such as teaching materials or notes used in the classroom
Any item in poor physical condition (damaged, stained, marked, moldy or mildewed, broken/ripped, etc.)
In addition, the library will not add donations to the library collection if they are:
Outdated (especially in disciplines where recency is crucial such as health, biological, technological, and natural sciences)
Part of a series (unless the complete series is donated or where it would complete a series the library already owns)
Outside of the scope of our academic library collection.
D. Definitions
Deselection of library materials removes access to those items in the collection, whether removing print books from the collection or canceling access to continuing resources like periodicals or databases.
Selection of library materials refers to the purchasing of or subscription to print books and periodicals, physical and streaming media, and electronic continuing resources including research databases, as well as making decisions about items donated for the library collection.
Textbooks are materials assigned for a particular course and available for purchase in the OTC Bookstore.
E. Authority
This policy is maintained under the authority of the vice chancellor for academic affairs.
F. Related Policies
2.01 – Academic Freedom and Responsibility
2.51 – Copyright Compliance Policy
G. Implementation
Policy approved and adopted by the Board of Trustees on 04/11/2023.
Purpose, procedures, responsibilities, and definitions approved and adopted by the Cabinet on 03/21/2023. Set for review in fiscal year 2025-2026.