Eastern Gateway Community College provides quality, flexible, innovative and affordable educational opportunities to serve our communities through helping students achieve success.
The mission of the EGCC Library and Information Commons is six-fold:
The primary goal of the Library and Information Commons’ Collection Development Plan is to provide systematic guidance to the selection and maintenance of collections that support the curriculum and instructional programs of Eastern Gateway Community College. Periodic review of this document will ensure that it remains up-to-date and relevant.
The Library and Information Commons is guided by the ACRL Standards for Libraries in Higher Education (2018) and the ACRL Standards for Distance Learning Library Services (2016) as guidelines for collection building.
The Library also supports and is committed to the principles of the American Library Associations’ Library Bill of Rights (1948, 1996), as well as the Intellectual Freedom Principles for Academic Libraries (2014).
These criteria are designed to systematically guide the Library and Information Commons in the development and management of its online and physical collections. It has the following objectives:
The Library and Information Commons staff, as well as the Library Director, participates in Collection Development. The purpose for this activity is to:
Although the Library Director is ultimately responsible for the Library's collection, the entire College community is encouraged to recommend additions at any time.
Materials selected for the EGCC Library and Information Commons will primarily support the curriculum of the College. Secondarily, the collection will provide a basic reference collection that will support the instructional needs of faculty and staff as well as meet the educational needs of the student body. Finally, at a lower priority, and dependent on budget availability, materials will be purchased that encourage recreational reading and reading for general informational purposes.
The following guidelines assist in the selection of quality materials for inclusion in the collection:
Items not to be purchased with Library funds include:
Online Resources: Online trials or demos should be utilized prior to the purchase of online resources, databases or tools.
Duplication: The Library will attempt to limit unnecessary duplication. Duplicate copies of a title may be purchased when high demand is anticipated, or to meet requirements for alternative formats. The holdings of OhioLINK may be considered in purchase decisions.
Textbooks: The purchase of textbooks will be avoided, with the goal of having primary source material in the collection. Exceptions will be made for textbooks that are classics in their field, or when holdings in a field are sparse.
Cataloging: Information resources purchased with Library funding will be entered into the Library’s Catalog or Digital Collections Holding Management System.
The Library welcomes donations of materials that are consistent with the collection development policy, provided that there are no restrictions attached. Materials received as gifts will be evaluated by the same criteria as materials purchased. Donors understand that gifts may be disposed of at the Library’s discretion.
Those wishing to make donations of special collections should reach out to the Library Director.
Decisions may be made to replace lost, damaged, missing, or worn out materials based on the following criteria:
The Library will place materials on reserve at the request of faculty and limit their circulation to in-library use. Any materials that are required or optional for student use may be put on Reserve if the general circulation would not permit the necessary access to these materials. Faculty may temporarily place their own copies of materials on Reserve if they are willing to let the library place the necessary Reserve labels on them.
Weeding is an important aspect of Collection Development. Materials may be withdrawn in order to maintain a current, active, useful, and manageable collection which reflects the goals of the Library and the College. Withdrawals should be made with consideration as to what impact the removal of the material will have on current programs or courses. It should be understood that older editions of resources will not always be replaced. Consideration for replacement will include whether significant advances have been made in the field or if significant positive changes are present in the newer edition of the material.
Some of the criteria used in making specific withdrawal decisions are:
Considerations for the withdrawal of serials:
EGCC faculty are encouraged to alert the library staff to the presence of obsolete materials in their respective disciplines.
It is understood that no library can be completely self-sufficient in meeting all of the needs of its users. Our membership in the OhioLINK consortium and the use of interlibrary loan is a necessary complement to the Library’s collection. If a user needs a resource that is not available in our local or online collections, the library will attempt to obtain the resource through interlibrary loan. The materials obtained through OhioLINK and interlibrary loan are subject to their respective circulation policies.
The Library and Information Commons does not add or withdraw materials that have been chosen or excluded according to the outlined selection criteria and principles or at the request of any individual or group. Any questions or concerns regarding the appropriateness of materials should be sent in writing to the Library and Resource Director, Eastern Gateway Community College, 110 John Scott Highway, Steubenville, OH 43952. The Director will consult with the EGCC Administration and appropriate staff. After a review of the concern, a final determination will be made and a written response will be provided.
References: Procedure 9.04.02