Collection Development Policies

Selection
Donations
Weeding

Other Policies

Selection Policy

The goal of the Chesapeake College Learning Resource Center Selection Policy is to guide librarians in the selection and acquisition of materials to be added to the library's collection.

The selection policy reflects the following objectives:

• To provide materials in support of the College curricula.
• To provide a balanced collection in all fields of knowledge.
• To provide a representative selection of materials on all subjects of interest to the College community and the residents of the five county area that the LRC supports.
• To promote and encourage reading outside of the classroom.
• To provide materials which further information literacy and life-long learning.

Material selection is the responsibility of the library staff, with the participation of classroom faculty. The librarians will select materials based on reviewing tools, including journals such as Choice and Library Journal, as well as suggestions, requests, and recommendations from faculty, staff, and students.

The purchase of these materials should meet the needs of the Chesapeake College Community in at least one of the following ways:

• Curriculum support,
• General information,
• General or special professional growth,
• Cultural enrichment,
• Extracurricular interest of the Community.

Materials will be included in the collection based on the following evaluative criteria:

• Relevance to the curriculum,
• Permanent or timely value,
• Competent and qualified author,
• Accuracy of information,
• Reviews in professional literature,
• Readability,
• Reputation and professional standing of publisher,
• Price,
• Format,
• Availability of materials elsewhere in the Community or online,
• Scarcity of material available,
• Historical value.

Resources will be selected based on the strengths of the materials, rather than rejected based on their weaknesses.

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Donation Policy

The Chesapeake College Learning Resource Center is pleased to accept donations from those who would like to help us build our collection and support the mission of the College. It will be the duty and final decision of the LRC staff to determine if the donations are pertinent to, and will improve and enhance, our present collection.  Books and other materials deemed in poor shape by the LRC staff will not be accepted. Materials determined not to be relevant our collection will not be accepted.

The LRC will not endeavor to place a monetary value on the materials to be donated. The value of the materials is to be determined at the donor's discretion and must be done prior to turning over the materials. Donations must be delivered to the Learning Resource Center during hours of operation as we have no pick-up service. A written acknowledgment will be sent to the donor after the materials have been received by the LRC. This acknowledgement may be used as proof of donation for purposes of the IRS. Once the donated materials are received they will be used, and if necessary, disposed of at the discretion of the LRC staff. No restrictions or special conditions can be requested by the donor such as specific shelving requirements.

To make a donation, please contact the LRC, (410) 827-5860 during the hours of 9-4, Monday through Friday.

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Weeding Policy

The weeding policy is intended to guide librarians in the periodic or continual evaluation of resources in order to remove items from the collection that are no longer useful. Working within the framework established by the Selection Policy, materials, which no longer meet the stated objectives, may be withdrawn from the collection according to accepted professional practices.

Materials may be weeded from the collection based on the following criteria:

• CONTENT is misleading, factually inaccurate, trivial, or irrelevant.
• PHYSICAL CONDITION is poor. In print materials, paper may be yellowed or torn, covers may be warped, bindings broken or ragged, etc. Non-print materials may be scratched, stretched, broken, etc.
• FORMAT is inappropriate. In print materials, type set may be difficult to read, illustrations may be poor. Format of non-print materials may be outdated, perhaps superseded by another format.
• USE is limited. Circulation and in-house use are considered.

Responsibility for withdrawing materials from the library collection rests with the Library Director. He or she may delegate this authority to other staff members. Subject specialists from the faculty may be consulted.

Materials withdrawn from the collection may be replaced and/or destroyed or given away to other school departments, other libraries, students or the general public.

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If there is inaccurate information on this page, please send correction or comments to: lrcdesk@chesapeake.edu