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Faculty & Staff Information Guide: PURCHASE

Collection Development Guidelines

The library provides students, faculty, staff, and the local community with materials in a variety of formats which serve to:
Support the mission of the college
Support the curriculum and the achievement of course, program, and institutional student learning outcomes
Support the instructional needs of the faculty
Support lifelong information literacy and intellectual growth
Support the recreational and general reading interests of the constituencies served

Textbook Policy

Textbook Policy – The library normally does not purchase course textbooks as the cost and shelf space required are prohibitive.  Moreover, textbooks are subject to constant updates.  The exception to this is that the library does order books that are at times selected as required textbooks for courses in theology, biblical studies, and ministry.

Weeding

Faculty are asked for their assistance in reviewing and weeding the library collection in their areas of expertise.  This process removes items from the collection that are outdated / superseded, in poor condition, or that no longer support the curriculum.  The weeding process also allows faculty an excellent opportunity to see the breadth of materials available in their discipline.  This aids in collection development in two ways.  Weak areas are observed that can be targeted for material ordering and strong areas are recognized for future assignment development. All weeded materials are reviewed by the Library Director before the final deselecting process.