Collection Development Policy

Introduction 

This collection development policy provides guidelines for establishing priorities for the selection of Library materials and the criteria for withdrawal of materials from Cañada College Library’s collection. 

The Library staff is primarily responsible for the development and maintenance of the collection. Suggestions for new additions also come from the campus community such as students, faculty, staff, and administrators. 

Cañada College Library supports the following policy statements by the American Library Association and the Educational Film Association: 

Collection Development Goals 

The Library develops and maintains collections that support the curriculum and instructional programs of Cañada College and the needs of students, faculty, and staff of the college. The Library is especially committed to supporting students who speak English as a Second Language. The Library supports Cañada College’s Mission, Vision, and Values to engage and empower students in transforming their lives and communities through quality education. Therefore, Library resources also include a variety of general information resources in subject areas not covered by classroom instruction, but generally supportive of a learning environment.  

Selection of materials by the library staff does not imply endorsement of the contents or the views expressed in those materials. 

General Selection Guidelines 

The responsibility for selecting materials falls on the Librarians according to their regular responsibilities. Other library staff and users may offer suggestions. 

The following guidelines are meant to assist Librarians in selecting quality materials for the Library collection. General factors to be considered, but not ranked, are: 

  • Relevance to curriculum-based needs of the students 
  • Relevance to the instructional needs of the faculty 
  • Probable need based on existing programs and collections 
  • Cultural authority, creators who possess a primary, lived connection to the identities, histories, or social issues documented in their work. 
  • Intellectual content and scholarly worth 
  • Materials which support Cañada College's identity as a Hispanic-Serving Institution and an AANAPISI Institution  
  • Materials which feature research and literature by, for, and about students from historically marginalized communities 
  • Support Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion 
  • Currency of the information 
  • Supports co-curricular activities (i.e. student club or Honor Society activities & projects) 
  • Authored by Cañada faculty 
  • Covering current events 
  • Credentials of the publisher or sponsoring organization 
  • Accessible to the general reader, not specialists 
  • Cost and budget availability 

Librarians should not exclude a title because it does not meet every criteria. However, they should select resources that adequately meet as many of the selection criteria as reasonable. 

Physical Reserves 

As noted above, the primary goal of the Library's collection is to support the program of instruction. Textbooks adopted for class use will be purchased for the Course Reserves Collection. The library will not purchase: 

  • Consumable materials such as workbooks or tests class sets. 
  • Class sets. Faculty wishing to have a class set on reserve are encouraged to obtain them for the library, if possible. 

Electronic Resources 

General Guidelines 

In addition to the general guidelines listed above, librarians should closely consider the criteria below when considering the addition of electronic resources:. 

  • Complying with the existing copyright laws 
  • Supporting OER/ZTC College initiatives when purchasing or collecting online resources 

Selection of Individual Electronic Materials 

Selection of individual electronic materials (such as a single film license not through our current database subscriptions) should follow the General Selection and Electronic Resource Guidelines. Other considerations include budget, if the license is available through a provider we already have a contract with, length of license, and scope of use. The Librarians review requests and approve licenses for individual materials on a case-by-case basis. 

Weeding

Weeding, the removal of materials to be discarded, is an important part of the overall collection development process including assessment and removal of materials that are obsolete, damaged beyond repair, no longer relevant, or not central to Cañada College’s Mission, Vision and Values. 

Librarians are primarily responsible for weeding the collection. When possible, the Librarians will collaborate with faculty to update their subject areas. 

Guidelines for Weeding the Collection 

When weeding the following categories are considered: 

  • Outdated materials 
  • Superseded editions 
  • Excessively worn or damaged materials 
  • Items in poor condition, but still valuable in terms of intellectual content will be considered for repair (if minor) or replacement 
  • Multiple copies which are no longer needed to support the curriculum 
  • Textbooks and instructional materials or previous editions of more recent texts 

Other categories may be used as needed. 

Deselection of Electronic Resources 

De-selection should occur when: 

  • An electronic resource is no longer available or maintained; 
  • The currency and reliability of the information have lost its value; 
  • Usage does not justify continued subscription 
  • Another electronic resource offers more comprehensive coverage. 

Gifts

The Library welcomes gifts of materials that are consistent with the Collection Development Policy and if there are no restrictions attached as to their disposition. All items added to the collection generate processing and storage costs; therefore, materials received as gifts will be evaluated by the same criteria as materials purchased. Staff is limited, and we cannot review large collections but can direct donors to other options such as local public library Friends of the Library organizations.  

Gifts are accepted with the understanding that materials not added to the collection will be disposed of in ways most advantageous to the library.