Collection Development Policies

Purpose

The purpose of this Collection Development Policy is to guide the selection, acquisition, and maintenance of library materials to ensure the collection meets the information needs of the LFCC community.

General Statement

The Library's collection supports the College's Strategic Plan by helping to ensure an excellent teaching and learning environment for students and faculty. The primary goal of the Library is to support and enhance the curriculum and instructional programs of Lord Fairfax Community College and meet the educational needs of students, faculty, and staff. Our secondary goal is to supplement the collection with materials to meet the non-curricular information needs of the students, faculty, staff and community.

Intellectual Freedom

Lord Fairfax Community College Library upholds the principles of the American Library Association's "Library Bill of Rights" statement. (Appendix A.)

The library strives to select materials representing all sides of various issues without endorsing any positions. Our goal is to provide materials representing diverse viewpoints in support of our academic offerings and to suit the varied backgrounds of our students, faculty, and staff.

Because of this, some materials we acquire may deal with topics or present points of view considered controversial by certain groups or individuals. If any of our users have a complaint regarding our library materials, they may fill out a "Learning Resource Materials Comment Form" form located at the circulation desk of both campuses. (Appendix B.) The Director of Learning Resources will review the form and make a decision regarding the challenged material. The complainant will receive a written copy of the decision.

Requests for Purchase

All library users are encouraged to make recommendations for purchase to the Library. Item Purchase Request forms are available at the circulation desk of both campuses. (Appendix C.) Teaching faculty and adjuncts are especially encouraged to recommend items for purchase and to incorporate Library materials into their course instruction. The Director of Learning Resources coordinates all purchasing activities and makes final decisions about purchases.

Selection Tools

The Library will use a variety of selection tools, including professional library literature, and will make those tools available to faculty when possible.

Guidelines for selection

Priorities for Selection: The first priority will be to provide students items that support curricular instruction. Materials supporting specific courses will take precedence, and materials supporting standard academic subjects in a broader way will have secondary priority. General interest reading material will be purchased at a lower priority level.

Appropriate Level: As a Community College, Library concentration will be given to materials targeted to an undergraduate audience, although more advanced materials will be purchased as warranted. Textbooks may be purchased to provide a general introduction to a topic. No effort will be made to purchase textbooks currently used in LFCC courses, although faculty are encouraged to place course textbooks and other materials on reserve in the Library.

High Demand: Subject areas that exhibit higher demand for books will be supported at a higher level in order to meet that demand. It is to be expected that academic subjects which concentrate on written texts (Literature, History) will exhibit greater use. Circulation statistics will be used to gauge use.

Cost: The Library has a finite budget; therefore, cost must be a factor in selecting materials. Items with unusually high costs will be scrutinized to be sure their anticipated level of use will justify the expense. This is especially true of serials, which can be expensive and require a commitment over time.

Balance in the Collection/Accuracy and Objectivity: The Library will make an effort to maintain a balanced collection reflecting a variety of intellectual perspectives. At the same time the Library will concentrate on materials that exhibit accuracy and objectivity, whatever their viewpoint.
Leisure Reading: The Library will direct a small portion of its budget to purchase best-selling books in order to meet the leisure reading needs of the LFCC community.

Serials/Electronic Resources: The Library has an extensive selection of full-text serials and other resources available through VIVA (The Virtual Library of Virginia) and the VCCS. The Library will supplement these materials for serials of high reading interest and for serials and electronic resources that fill curricular needs and are not available through the Library's consortiums.

Multiple Copies: Multiple copies may be purchased for one or both campuses when warranted by high demand, but single copies will be the norm for most purchases.

Donated Materials

The Library welcomes donated materials that support the teaching, research, and general needs of the College community. The Libraries reserve the right to determine retention, location, and other considerations relating to use of donated items. The Library review will include:

Relevance to the academic mission and programs of the College and the Libraries
Appropriateness of content, currency, and format with regard to existing Library collections
Potential usefulness
Conditions of material and potential costs of maintenance

Accepted materials will be cataloged and placed in the appropriate Library collection for use by the College and community. Materials not accepted for the Library collections may be offered to other academic or public libraries, traded for materials the Library can use, placed in the Library's book sale, or discarded.

Collection Maintenance

In order to maintain a relevant and up-to-date collection, the Library will periodically evaluate sections of the collection and identify items to withdraw. Items may be withdrawn because of condition, lack of use, or because they contain outdated or incorrect information. Items may be replaced, either by a new copy or edition of the same work, or by another more recent work that is similar. Replacement will be determined on a case-by-case basis. When subjects are no longer relevant to the curriculum they will not be replaced.

Appendix A: The Library Bill of Rights

The American Library Association affirms that all libraries are forums for information and ideas, and that the following basic policies should guide their services.

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.
Libraries should provide materials and information presenting all points of view on current and historical issues. Materials should not be proscribed or removed because of partisan or doctrinal disapproval.
Libraries should challenge censorship in the fulfillment of their responsibility to provide information and enlightenment.
Libraries should cooperate with all persons and groups concerned with resisting abridgment of free expression and free access to ideas.
A person's right to use a library should not be denied or abridged because of origin, age, background, or views.
Libraries which make exhibit spaces and meeting rooms available to the public they serve should make such facilities available on an equitable basis, regardless of the beliefs or affiliations of individuals or groups requesting their use.

Adopted June 18, 1948
Amended February 2, 1961, and January 23, 1980
Inclusion of "age" reaffirmed January 23, 1996
by the ALA Council.

Appendix B: Learning Resource Materials Comment Form

Lord Fairfax Community College has delegated the responsibility for selection and evaluation of library resources to the Director of the Learning Resource Center. Reconsideration procedures have been established to address concerns about those resources. If you wish to request reconsideration of library resources, please return the completed form to the Learning Resource Center Director, Lord Fairfax Community College, 173 Skirmisher Lane, Middletown, VA 22645.

Name ___________________________
Date ___________________________
Address ___________________________
City ___________________________
State ___________________________
Zip ___________________________
Phone ___________________________
Do you represent self? ____ Organization? ____

Resource on which you are commenting:

____ Book ____ Video ____ Display
____ Magazine ____ Audio Recording
____ Newspaper ____ Electronic information/network (please specify)
____ Other ___________________________
Title ___________________________
Author/Producer ___________________________

What brought this resource to your attention?
Have you examined the entire resource?
What concerns you about the resource? (use other side or additional pages if necessary)
Are there resource(s) you suggest to provide additional information and/or other viewpoints on this topic?

Revised by the American Library Association Intellectual Freedom Committee
June 27, 1995

Appendix C: Item Purchase Request Form

Date__/____/____ Item Purchase Request

Your Campus: Middletown___ Fauquier___ Status: Student___ Faculty__ Patron___

Name: ________________________________________ Date needed by: ___/____/_____
Contact Me When Item Arrives By: Phone: ____________________
Or
Email: ______________________________________
Item Information (You may attach item information to this form.)
Item Type: Book_______ Journal______ Media______ ISBN: _____________________________
Author: __________________________________________________________________________
Title: ____________________________________________________________________________
Make This Item: Regular Collection_____ Course Reserve____ If For Course Reserves See Reverse

Notes: