Books are acquired to support the needs of Penn College students, faculty, and staff. Books may be collected in print and electronic/online formats. Popular fiction is not selected unless the work has literary merit. Classic works, the works of famous authors, critically acclaimed works, and award winning works will be considered for purchase.
The reference collection includes encyclopedias, dictionaries, atlases, directories, indexes, bibliographies, statistical compilations, and handbooks. The reference collection is regularly reviewed for currency, accuracy, and relevance. Reference materials may be collected in print and online formats.
The periodicals collection supports the Penn College curriculum as well as providing a core collection of general interest periodicals. Periodicals are primarily acquired electronically through subscription databases. New print subscriptions are only acquired after careful consideration by the librarians.
Nonprint media includes DVDs, CDs, streaming audio and video, and a variety of other formats. These materials may be collected in physical, electronic, and online formats and must be in an accessible format to provide equal access, for example, closed-captioned.
Some nonprint media items (such as specialized, course-specific DVDs) requested by faculty for instructional purposes may be designated as such, as well as print materials designated by the librarians for use by students, faculty, and staff.
Electronic resources include Web-based resources, licensed resources and databases, electronic periodicals, and eBooks. The library may purchase or provide access to online resources in lieu of other formats. Selection criteria for electronic resources include:
Children’s books are purchased to support the Robert & Maureen Dunham Children’s Learning Center. Newbery, Caldecott, and Coretta Scott King winners are purchased, as are books which deal with life events such as divorce, adoption, death, etc.
Maps are a very small part of the collection and include a small number of topographic quadrangle maps of the local area. Atlases are included in the reference collection.
In addition to purchasing materials directly related to the College’s curriculum, the library participates in the McNaughton lease service from Brodart to offer a rotating collection of popular materials. Books are received periodically and added to this collection. At the end of the rental period, librarians review titles for possible purchase and addition to the regular library collection before the items are returned to the vendor.