Collection Development Policy

BC Library Collection Development Policy

Purpose

This policy is intended to guide the development and enrichment of the BC Library in accordance with the library’s stated mission (as stated in the following section). BC librarians will continue to develop and modify this policy to meet the changing demands of Bakersfield College. The intent of this policy is to define a collection development program to meet the following objectives:

Provide a current, diverse, and balanced collection of materials to support the curriculum at each Bakersfield College site
Provide access to information resources in appropriate formats
Encourage faculty participation in collection development

Mission of the College Library

The library’s mission is to contribute to and support the college mission by serving as an information and research center and by providing direct instruction and instructional support with a full range of timely information resources. Our primary goals are to help students college-wide to learn and succeed, and to support the college curriculum by serving students, faculty, staff and administration.

Collection Development Responsibility

Collection development is encouraged by all members of the college community. The librarians will recommend or select materials for purchase based on review of the college catalog, through library instruction, reading book reviews, participating in college governance committees, and their own professional expertise. Standard reviewing journals such as Library Journal or Choice are consulted for appropriate materials.

The librarians also depend on faculty to provide the subject knowledge needed to help build and evaluate the collection. Since the library collection should reflect the curriculum, it is important to have input from all campus departments. Librarians will continue to encourage faculty involvement through discipline liaisons, collaborating with faculty on research assignments, outreach to the campus community, and participation on committees such as Curriculum and FCDC.

Bakersfield College community requests for acquisition of materials are also welcomed and encouraged. All suggested titles are reviewed and evaluated by the librarians.

The Library Department Chair has final authority in the selection of materials.

Selection Criteria

Materials will be selected for addition to the collection which:

Meet student curricular needs in the courses and/or programs of instruction offered as reflected in the college catalog
Support student assignments
Support faculty preparation of class instruction
Support ongoing faculty professional development
Contribute to the diversity and inclusivity of the collection in order to reflect a variety of ideas, information, stories, and experiences, including content created by and representative of marginalized and underrepresented groups
Support reading advocacy via Popular and Children’s reading collections.

Formats of Material Collected

Materials in both print and electronic formats are collected based on the criteria above. Exceptions are listed below:

Generally, textbooks are not purchased due to their high cost and frequent revision.
DVDs, CDs, and musical scores are also typically excluded from purchase but may be added if they meet established selection criteria.
When possible, the Library does not purchase individual eBooks due to their high cost, instead preferring to collect these via eBook subscription services that include unlimited user access for each eBook.

Donations

The library accepts donations of materials when space and staffing are available to allow for processing. Donations must be delivered to the Panorama campus library. All donations are accepted with the understanding that they are added to the collection only after they have met the same selection criteria as materials which are purchased. The library reserves the right to add or not add donated items as appropriate. Items not added to the collection will either be sold as used books or discarded.

If requested by the donor, the library will provide a donation acknowledgement letter. The letter will include the number of volumes donated, but will not include a monetary value of the donation, unless determined by the donor.

Deselection of Materials

To maintain a well-balanced and useful collection, librarians will continually evaluate the collection and withdraw, update, and repair titles. Discipline faculty will be invited to participate in this exercise as they are the experts in their subject matter.

Replacing Lost Titles

The Technical Services Librarian will review all lost titles on a 12 month cycle beginning in late January (or the beginning of the Spring semester). In order to allow students ample time to return lost books to the collection, the librarians will evaluate whether or not to replace lost titles that have been lost for more than 12 months.

Intellectual Freedom

The library supports the American Library Association’s Library Bill of Rights. It is the responsibility of the librarians and faculty selecting materials to ensure that all points of view are represented in the collection and that materials are not removed or excluded from the collection because of an individual’s or group’s disapproval of the content matter.

If a member of the Bakersfield College community has a concern about materials in the BC Library, they may bring this concern to the Reference Desk of the Panorama campus library where they may fill out a Request for Review of Library Materials form, which will be reviewed by the BC Library chair and dean within 30 business days.

Policy Review

This policy will be reviewed and updated annually in order to reflect the changing information environment.

Policy last reviewed & updated October 2024