Public services librarians, with the involvement of relevant Division faculty, will give systematic attention to collection evaluation and maintenance. This will include acquiring knowledge of existing holdings, identifying weaknesses relative to the curriculum and making the necessary acquisition and de-selection decisions.
A. Collection Evaluation
The collection will be maintained by continuously evaluating the contents both qualitatively and quantitatively. The purpose of evaluation is to identify "gaps" in specific subject areas and to maintain a well-balanced collection in terms of the philosophy and purpose of the E.P.C.C. libraries, and therefore the College.
The collection should be evaluated systematically and on a regular basis by a combination of methods. Possible evaluation techniques include:
Observation of use patterns and evaluation of unanswered reference questions
Formal questionnaire or survey of students and faculty to determine the nature of use and the level of satisfaction
Comparison of library holdings against standard subject bibliographies, course reading lists and core holdings at other community college libraries
Tracking the growth rate and size of the collection as a whole, and in parts, and gauging the amount of use within specific subject areas
Annually reviewing “Resource Sharing” requests made by students, faculty and staff
Reviewing holdings relative to adjustments in course and program offerings
Analysis of usage logs for online databases
B. Weeding
Responsibility
Primary responsibility for weeding the collection is held by the Division Liaison librarians with the involvement of relevant Division faculty in the specific subject areas.
Criteria
The following general criteria are considered when discarding materials:
Obsolescence
Superseded editions with no historical value
Poor physical condition
Insufficient use or basic value
Changing curricular needs
Additional Criteria for canceling a subscription to or weeding Periodical titles includes:
Content duplicated in another source
Material not indexed in Library-owned indexes
Expensive titles readily available through other local libraries
Additional guidelines for weeding within certain subject areas and by format are contained in the Library Resources Operations Manual under “Withdrawal of Materials from Collection.”
Schedule
a. The Reference collection will be weeded annually.
b. The Circulating collection will be weeded every three years in a piecemeal process. The Library will follow a written weeding schedule, arranged by subject area, for the Circulating collection.
c. The Periodicals collection will be weeded annually. Decisions regarding subscriptions to be canceled are made no later than August of each year. No title will be dropped without consultation with the relevant Discipline Coordinator, except when the same title is currently available in a different format (for example, electronic format). If questions or problems arise, the Division Dean will be consulted.
Identification and Replacement of Damaged, Lost or Stolen Materials
The entire collection will be inventoried every three years to identify damaged or missing material. The E.P.C.C. libraries Circulation Department will perform the inventory.
The same general and specific criteria for selection will apply when determining if the material is to be replaced in the library collection. For more specific criteria, see “Withdrawal of Materials from Collection,” “Identification and Repair of Damaged Books,” and “Disposal of Discarded Materials” in the Library Resources Operations Manual.
