General factors to be considered in adding resources to the library’s collection include the composition of the present collection and collection development goals. Additionally, the following factors may be considered, as appropriate to the type of resource:
- Relevance to the curriculum and appropriateness to the user population
- General college level reference and research needs
- Contributions to depth of the collection
- Accuracy of information
- Patron needs, including requirements of special population
- Faculty recommendations
- Timeliness and lasting value of material
- Authoritativeness and accuracy
- Physical space requirements
- Reputation of the author, issuing body and /or publisher
- Ease of access or user-friendliness
- Suitability of the format for library use
- Depth of current holdings in the same or similar subject
- Demand, including frequency of interlibrary loan requests to borrow similar materials from other libraries
- Cost of material relative to the budget and other available material
Further recommendations for resources in the collection not covered above are:
- Individual research interests will be supported to the extent that they are reflected in the curriculum and do not undermine the balance of the collection.
- Advanced level research in most fields is not supported by the collection. Interlibrary Loan is provided to meet these needs.
- The Libraries will try to balance print and electronic resources without unnecessary duplication. Duplicate copies for a title may be bought when high demand is anticipated or discovered.
- In general, the Libraries do not collect computer software, instructor’s manuals workbooks, laboratory manuals, pictures, photographs, musical scores, theses, or dissertations.