The following guidelines set basic standards and limitations for materials in the collection:
- Librarians will select books and other instructional materials to secure an adequate basic collection to support all areas of the curriculum.
- Librarians will not develop in-depth collections which are unrelated to the curriculum.
- Librarians generally select basic academic materials appropriate for the first two years of college coursework. They may select advanced academic and professional level materials for programs that require that level of knowledge.
- The purchase of material written in languages other than English is limited to languages taught at the College.
- Faculty requests for videos costing greater than $250 will require approval from their dean.
- Librarians will attempt to balance print, electronic, and online resources without unnecessary duplication. Duplicate copies of a title may be purchased when demand is anticipated, or to meet requirements for alternative formats.
In general, the library does not collect:
- Audio CDs
- Audiobooks
- Computer software
- Games
- Instructors’ manuals
- Laboratory manuals
- Materials intended to be housed in schools or administrative offices
- Out-of-print materials
- Pictures, photographs
- Pocket-sized or other undersized materials
- Specialized materials particular to the research of individual faculty
- Textbooks, unless they are recognized as classics in their field, are the best or only sources on a subject, or are donated to the library by a faculty members who wished to make a superseded text available to students
- Theses, dissertations
- Workbooks and other consumables
