Faculty Resources: Resource Development

Resource Development Policy - Introduction and Purpose

The purpose of the Resource Development Policy is to provide guidelines that will assure quality and relevance in the materials of the Prince George’s Community College Library. The acquisition and retention of materials in the Library collection is intended to support the mission and vision of the College.

The Library’s primary goals in this endeavor are to develop and maintain a collection that will enhance the curriculum of the College and to provide resources that meet the needs of students, faculty, staff, administration, and the community.

Principles of Resource Selection

All materials acquired by the library will reflect resource needs of Prince George’s Community College. This underlying principle will determine the format, quality, and scope of resources to be acquired.

The library will maintain an up-to-date, comprehensive and well-rounded collection of materials that meet the following needs:

• Enrichment and support of the curriculum 
• Professional growth and support of faculty and administration
• Service to the community as an information center
• Extracurricular or recreational interests
• General information

Additional Considerations for Resource Selection

The Prince George’s Community College Library upholds the principles of the American Library Association's Library Bill of Rights and Freedom to Read statements. Also:

• Resources for new courses in the curriculum will be given a high priority.
• Interlibrary Loan will be encouraged for obtaining resources for faculty research.
• Selection of materials by the Library will not indicate that the Library endorses the contents or the views expressed in the materials. Materials on opposing sides of controversial issues will be intentionally included in the collection so that students may develop the practice of critical reading and thinking.

Policies by Resource Format

• Hardcover editions of a book are preferred for their physical durability. However, if only a paperback edition of the book is available or economically affordable, it will be purchased to fill the needs of the collection.
• Textbooks and workbooks for class instruction will normally not be purchased.   
• Periodicals that support the curriculum will generally be obtained in electronic format as part of an online database. If a specific periodical title is needed for instructional support that is not available full-text electronically, print or microform subscriptions may be purchased. 
• Print subscriptions may be purchased for titles where color illustrations or other graphics are important, such as those in art and nature.
• Print subscriptions will be purchased for basic periodical resources such as newspapers and news magazines. 
• Microforms are purchased only if a periodical needed to support the curriculum is not available full-text in an online database.
• Government Publications, international, national, state and local, are selected according to the same principles as other library materials.   
• International language materials written in languages other than English are purchased only if needed to support the course curriculum of those languages taught at the college.
• Literary Fiction is purchased according to the same principles as other library materials.   
• Popular Fiction is generally not purchased.  Library clientele are directed to the extensive collection at the Prince George’s County Memorial Library.
• Electronic Reference books that support the curriculum may be purchased in online format.
• DVDs, videos, and sound recordings that support the curriculum may be purchased. Popular DVDs and videos are generally not purchased. Faculty may be requested to preview and review these items before purchase is finalized.

Responsibility for Selection

The college librarians retain an overview of the resource needs of the collection and also have constant access to current reviewing media.  For these reasons, final acquisition decisions rest with them. In addition, the college librarians will liaison with faculty in order to collaborate in building a resource collection that will support curriculum and instructional needs. 

Budget

The Library receives funding from the College to purchase or provide access to new materials, both print and electronic. There is no specific budget allocation amount for individual subject departments or topics. This is to provide the flexibility to meet unanticipated needs, such as departmental or program changes or increased demand for resources in a particular subject.

Collection Maintenance

Evaluation of the library collection is undertaken as time and other duties of the librarians permit. Identification and removal of obsolete and outdated materials are the professional responsibilities of the librarians. Faculty members are encouraged to survey their subject areas and recommend additions to and withdrawals from the collection. Seldom used or damaged materials are withdrawn from the collection. Damaged and lost items are replaced at the discretion of the librarians.

Gifts

The Library graciously welcomes gifts. Gifts are accepted with the understanding that the items will be evaluated according to the same standards as materials that the Library purchases. The Office of Institutional Advancement will acknowledge gifts. The institution does not do financial evaluations of donations.  By means of discard or donation, the Library will dispose of gifts that are not suited to the library’s collection of resources, due to age, format, topic, or physical condition. The library reserves the right to refuse a donation if the donor specifies special conditions, such as retrieval from their home or special display arrangements.

Resource Development Policy Review

This Resource Development Policy will be reviewed periodically by the college librarians.  Changes will be incorporated when appropriate.