Collection Development Policy
ALEXANDRIA CAMPUS LIBRARY
NVCC
This policy is a guide to the
planned development of a library collection that will meet the educational
needs of the Alexandria Campus community of Northern Virginia Community
College. The Library supports the mission of the College and is an integral part
of the instructional program. Our goal is to provide well-organized access to
materials in formats that enhance teaching and learning. We strive to build a
collection that will support the development of critical thinking skills, and
we are committed to educating library users to become capable researchers and
effective users of the information resources we provide.
The NVCC Faculty Handbook
(3.7300) states guidelines for the selection of library materials. Materials
will be collected in varied formats which support the mission and goals of the
College, the curricula, teaching methods and professional development of the
faculty, and special student needs.
Selection of materials is a
cooperative responsibility, with participation and recommendations by
librarians, faculty, staff, students, and Learning Resource Committees. Liaison
librarians to each of the academic divisions have primary responsibility for
the library collection in their disciplines, working with faculty to integrate
collection development with the curricula on an ongoing basis. The collection
Development Librarian is responsible for coordination of all collection
development activities on the campus; final responsibility for selection and
quality of these materials on each campus rests with the Director of Learning
Resources.
In accord with the Faculty
Handbook selection guidelines, the Alexandria Campus Library has established
the following priorities for collection development:
To provide students with
resources supporting disciplines, programs and courses offered at the
Alexandria Campus
To provide faculty and staff with
resources supporting their teaching and professional development activities
To provide the campus community
with educational and informational resources of reference and general interest
Collection development activities
(including selection, regular updating and weeding of materials) will be
carried out to provide resources that meet the following criteria:
They are current and
authoritative
They are in a variety of formats
that can be accessed in the library
They support the varied academic
levels of community college students
They present a wide range of
viewpoints
They are available at a cost that
is justified in terms of anticipated use
Generally, the Library does not
acquire materials that are consumable, kept outside the Library, in a format
that cannot be used in the Library, or duplicates, unless warranted by
sufficient demand.
This selection policy applies
equally to all resources, whether acquired by purchase, gift, or exchange.
Procedures for specific selection
decisions and schedules can be found in Collection Development Procedures.
