Library Policies & Procedures

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The Overton Classroom for Library Instruction is used for Library Instruction sessions, which are taught by the User Services Librarians.

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J. Drake Edens Library Collection Development Policy

Collection Development

The purpose of the J. Drake Edens Library’s collections is to support the teaching, research, and learning of Columbia College. To achieve this purpose, collection development is a shared responsibility between the faculty and the library. The faculty of the academic divisions and programs are the experts in their respective disciplines and the library professional staff has the responsibility for managing the library funds for books and media; selection and location of purchased library materials; evaluation and disposition of gift materials; management and continuing assessment of the collections themselves.

Faculty participation in collection development is critical because:

• Library materials are acquired to support their teaching and research
• The scope of the collection evolves through their course assignments

Ordering Procedures

Columbia College faculty may submit book and media library purchase requests in either of the following ways:

• E-mail Lin Lake (linlake@columbiasc.edu) and cc the division chair with title(s)
• Send a written list via campus mail
• Submit publisher’s blurbs indicating the titles to be purchased via e-mail or campus mail
• In person. You are always welcome to stop by to request titles. Technical Services Department is located on the mail floor in room 212, directly behind the Director’s Office, with regular hours between 7:30AM - 4:00PM.

Requesting books and media:

Each division receives an allocation for book and media library purchase requests. Each faculty member within a division is encouraged to submit requests to build a viable collection to support the College’s curriculum. Titles will be ordered until the allocation is depleted or the deadline of February 26 for purchasing is met.  After the deadline date, any remaining balance will be spent by the User Services and Collection Development librarians for recommended titles needed. The budget allocation is reviewed annually.

The most important information needed in requesting purchases is the title and the author. The publisher/producer, ISBN / catalog number, and publication year are also helpful. Only the latest edition will be acquired. As soon as a title is ordered, a bibliographic record will appear in the catalog with a message indicating when it was ordered.

The length of time it takes to receive and process a title depends on the type of material requested. Titles will be processed as soon as possible. Please let us know at the time of requesting a title if it is a rushed item. We will make every effort to meet your goal but depend on the jobber’s or producer’s response time. Depending on how material is requested, you will be notified by e-mail or phone upon its receipt. 

The library acquires media titles in the form of CD and DVD. We only purchase VHS cassettes if the title is not available in DVD format. Media titles requested will be ordered and placed at the Circulation Desk when received so the requesting faculty member may preview it in the library before it is processed. A preview slip will be attached to the title for the faculty member to indicate whether or not to purchase the title. 

The following guidelines apply for specific categories of materials:

Textbooks:  Textbooks are not generally purchased or added to the circulating collection as they quickly become outdated.
               
Multiple copies:  Generally one copy of a title is adequate since the Library tries to provide a wide range of materials to support the curriculum. If you mistakenly request a title that the library already has we will not order another copy.

Children’s Award-Winning Books:  The Library orders two copies each of the Caldecott and Newbery Medal titles each year. The Coretta Scott King Awards for African-American authors, Scott O’Dell Award for Historical Fiction, Belpre for Latino works, the Schneider Awards for books containing an expression of the disability experience, and the Printz for young adult titles are acquired each year for the Overton Children’s Collection.

South Carolina Instructional Materials and Textbook Collection:   This state adopted instructional materials and textbook collection is located on the second floor. Columbia College’s education majors use these materials to fulfill their student teaching and practicum requirements. The Library automatically adds the newly adopted materials in May each year after the State Department of Education publishes its approved list. Superseded editions of these materials are deselected from the collection.

Gifts:  J. Drake Edens Library gratefully accepts book and media gift titles for the development of its collection. These gifts are especially valuable if they fill existing gaps and support the curriculum. Please contact the Collection Development Librarian about the appropriateness of your gifts before sending them to the Library. Gifts may be accepted under the condition that the Library may dispose of them if not appropriate. The Library will not provide an appraisal of the items for tax or other purposes but will acknowledge with a letter giving the number of titles or items donated.

Collection Maintenance

Duplicates, dated materials, and titles no longer appropriate in the J. Drake Edens Library’s collection will be deselected and discarded. Titles beyond repair will be discarded and replacements, if available, will be acquired.

Collection Development Policy Revised 10/2009