The Collection Development Guidelines are designed to provide clear guidance for the selection and deselection of library materials. In addition they document the rationale for collection development decisions, and demonstrate accountability for disbursement of resources and selection decisions.

1. Responsibility
   
   
2. Selection
     Responsibility
     Priorities and criteria
     Languages
     Free materials
     Materials not collected
     Multiple copies and replacement copies
     Types of materials and formats:
       General considerations
       Books - Journals - Databases - Visual media - Sound recordings - Maps
   
   
3. Collections budget / accounts
   
   
4. Course materials on Reserve
   
   
5. Gifts and donations of materials
   
   
6. Collection maintenance, weeding and assessment
   
   
7. Challenges to the collection
   
   
8. Collaboration with other libraries
     Interlibrary loans, reciprocal loans, and consortia
   
   

Responsibility

The Coordinator of Collection Development guides policy and planning decisions and chairs the Library's Collections Committee. The Collections librarians coordinate collection development within their areas of responsibility, with input from other librarians and faculty. Ultimate responsibility for managing the budget lies with the Director, Library Services, and the Dean of Student Services.

Selection Priorities and Criteria

All materials purchased with Library funds are housed in the Library or accessed via the Library web site.

Priorities:

• To support current course and program goals
• General order of priority:
  • to support curriculum needs of students
  • to support instructional needs of faculty
  • to collect materials beyond the academic curriculum but related to academic success
  • to collect materials of current topical interest
  • to support faculty research related to course development
• Other considerations for priority:
  • to remedy collection deficiencies and support the collection’s upgrading
  • to support new course or program materials, but with due consideration to factors such as the library budget or permanence of course

Criteria:

• Relevance to the curriculum
• Use by several disciplines
• Merit of work:
  • Authoritativeness (author’s expertise and publisher’s reputation)
  • Accuracy
  • Appropriate level for college students
  • Scope of coverage (basic, study, research, comprehensive)
  • Presentation/style (accurate, clear, logical, visually appealing, physical quality)
  • Unique features (original approach, illustrations)
  • Currency
  • Projected shelf life
• Regional relevance to British Columbia and Canada
• Relevance to the existing collection (updates, supplements, completes or fills a gap)
• Faculty recommendation
• Availability through resource sharing activities
• Cost relative to budget, or other comparable materials
• Cost relative to the overall expenditure for the discipline
• Repeated requests through interlibrary loans
• Accessibility of materials for students and staff with perceptual disabilities, especially for media (audiovisual materials) and electronic resources

Back to the top

Languages

The primary language of collecting is English. The library supports limited collections of foreign language materials as needed in order to support the College curriculum. The selection of non-english language materials to support study and instruction will be done by the subject librarian in close consultation with the department. Non-English language items will be interfiled in general collection under the appropriate LC call number.

ESL materials and new readers are selected if course-related, at faculty request, or for self-study purposes, and at the appropriate reading level. ESL instructional materials are purchased; chiefly TOEFL, and in a variety of formats.

Any further non-english collection issues are elaborated in the appropriate subject guidelines (e.g. Modern Languages, Continuing Studies).

Free materials

• Free materials may be retained using the same selection criteria.
• Media items must meet appropriate licensing and performance rights requirements.
• Free unsolicited materials are checked for strongly biased opinions, distorted or misleading information and extensive commercial messages.

Back to the top

Materials not collected

• Textbooks adopted as "required" texts for class use will not normally be purchased for the collection. Instructors are encouraged to donate a copy to be placed on Reserve, as a convenience for students while on-campus. Examination, evaluation, review or desk copies of textbooks, intended solely for the use of an instructor, will not be accepted. Purchases may be made in cases of extremely high demand, in which case one copy may be purchased to be placed on Reserve. If additional copies are required for reserve use, these copies should be purchased with instructional department funds.
• Workbooks associated with current textbooks
• Biographies, unless including significant historical/social commentary or other contextual value
• Application software
• Software manuals and other manuals
• Recreational materials are not purchased, but donations may be accepted selectively
• The library is not responsible for collecting or maintaining the College archives.

Further guidelines for specific formats and areas of the collection are presented under their own categories.

Back to the top

Multiple copies and replacement copies

• Duplicate copies are in general avoided. At librarian's discretion a second copy may be acquired, based on factors such as high use, instructional department request, and lasting content.
• Lost or damaged copies will not be automatically replaced. Replacement will depend on relevance to the collection, circulation statistics, special demands and availability of better, newer materials and editions.
• Any replacement charges are based on the replacement cost.

Types of materials and formats

The library will collect materials in appropriate formats. Although content is the main criterion for selection, format is also a major factor. Increasingly, the same content may be published in more than one format, making clear guidelines about format preferences essential.

A major, ongoing format shift is the move from physical to virtual resources. Therefore, information found in electronic sources, both acquired and freely available, increasingly has an impact on the physical collection. Electronic resources may offer numerous benefits such as:

• increased access in terms of location, hours and convenience
• increased number of simultaneous users
• more current information and frequent updates
• improved searchability
• decreased space/storage/handling requirements
• integration into mixed-mode or online courses
• meeting user expectations in a networked information environment

Electronic resources may, however, entail complications or drawbacks in areas such as:

• content availability
• cost
• copyright and digital licensing restrictions
• subscription to rather than ownership of content
• ongoing or archival access
• technical issues, both for the user and the library
• usability

The library will monitor both the College and external information environments and adjust its format preferences as needed in order to remain responsive to user needs and make best use of the collections budget.

Some general format considerations include:

• Appropriate format for the content
• Cost relative to other formats
• Convenience of use
• Delivery method of curriculum
• User preference for remote access
• User demand or preference for format
• Projected volume of use
• Projected number of simultaneous users
• Space and maintenance impacts
• Availability of equipment necessary to support the format
• Integration with rest of the collection

Types of materials collected and format considerations are listed below.

1. Monographs (books)
   
   Books are non-serial publications that may be published in any format. Some general guidelines for the selection of electronic vs. print books are detailed below.

Electronic is preferred for:

• Reference books, and other works not normally read cover-to-cover
• Maximizing access to users
• Books with added utility in the electronic format
• Titles that undergo frequent revisions
• Supporting online or mixed-mode courses
• Books available on a vendor platform already offered at the library
• e-book collections available in a cost-effective way via subscription
• Titles acquired via patron-driven acquisition, including short-term loans

Print is preferred for:

• Titles with visuals or graphics critical for use
• Works with important content missing from the electronic version
• Books that are not useable in electronic format

Both print and electronic formats may be acquired for:

• Books available electronically from temporary or unstable web sites
• Books with mutually exclusive utility in both formats e.g. literary texts that are read cover-to-cover in print, but analyzed electronically
• Books preferred in electronic format, to which the Library would also like to ensure permanent access
• Books selected in one format, with the alternative format provided at no additional cost

Print items: hardcover vs paperback

Hardcover is preferred for items of permanent retention. Paperback binding will be selected for materials whose content will be quickly outdated. If a significant price difference exists between hardcover and paperback editions, the latter may be selected and the item covered or sent out for binding.

Reference

Reference includes materials designed to be consulted when authoritative information is needed, rather than read in entirety. Types of reference materials collected include, but are not limited to, works such as atlases, concordances, dictionaries, directories, encyclopedias, handbooks, and literary and statistical compendia.

Reference selection criteria:

• Materials which are current, authoritative, balanced and relevant to the major fields of study at the college
• Materials which provide a comprehensive store of information on a wide range of subjects, including topics not in the general collection



2. Journals (periodicals)

   Journals, magazines and newspapers are selected to support curriculum taught at Langara, to cover recent developments in a discipline, and to cover current events reading.

   Selection criteria

   • Cover recent developments in a discipline
   • Cover current events reading
   • Newspapers selected for local, regional, national and international coverage
   • Recommended/requested by faculty
   • Indexed in a source available at Langara in print or online
   • Cost of subscription in relation to potential/actual use
   • Reputation of periodical
   • Usage data (for existing subscriptions)
   • Interlibrary loan requests for periodical
   • Library supports both electronic and print formats, but in general prefers electronic format

   Electronic (Web) preference criteria

   • All articles are provided, preferably no later than the paper version unless an embargo period is deemed to be acceptable
   • Other content if deemed important to Langara users such as ads, graphics, supplements, etc. is included
   • Remote access is supported with IP authentication (no id/passwords for individual journals)
   • Archival availability - access to the journal is available for the desired retention period
   • Technical requirements are met for factors such as site licensing, server reliability, accessibility, image quality, ease of navigation/good layout, and ease of searching
   • License is not overly-restrictive and allows such features as printing, emailing, interlibrary loan, electronic reserves
   • Usage statistics are available

   Print preference criteria

   • Faculty preference
   • Not available electronically or no site license option
   • Substantially cheaper than electronic
   • High general use for popular reading
   • High circulation
   • Usability better in print e.g. for browsing or theme issues
   • Good visuals or graphics critical for use
   • Important content missing from electronic version

   Retention:
   All periodicals actively collected in a physical format will be assigned a retention period, based on projected use. Long-term retention is required for periodical titles with a projected long lifespan. Format choices for long-term retention include electronic and print; microform is supported but no longer collected. Print periodicals are not bound regardless of retention period. For more detail, consult the Journal retention guidelines.
   
   

3. Indexes, abstracts, and full-text databases
   
   The library collects digital indexing and abstracting sources that provide article-level access to the periodicals collection. Existing print index collections will be retained as needed in order to to maintain access to historic content.
   
   The library actively acquires aggregated third-party databases of electronic periodicals in order to provide both indexing and cost-effective access to full text periodical contents. Currently the library's full-text databases provide access to a greater number of journals than direct periodical subscriptions do, by a factor of at least ten. As with periodicals, databases are selected to support curriculum taught at Langara, to cover recent developments in a discipline, and to cover current events reading.
   
   The library also actively collects databases which offer full-text collections of e-books and e-reference materials.
   
   
4. Visual media
   
   The Library collects DVDs and videos, primarily to provide instructional support at the College, but also some primarily for student academic use. DVD is the current preferred format unless the material is otherwise not available, and the library has a growing number of titles in streaming format. VHS is supported but no longer collected. All video formats are acquired with Public Performance Rights so that they can be used in a classroom setting on Langara College premises.
   
   16 mm film is supported but no longer collected; due to the difficulty in obtaining supplies and carrying out repairs, it will gradually be phased out. Titles in the film collection will be replaced in DVD or other digital format when use/content warrants and copyright permits.
   
   The Library collects visual images to support teaching at the College, preferring digital images where available i) in a format supported by the Library; ii) with unrestricted educational use, and for use by authorized members of the college community from both on- and off-campus. Current formats collected include licensed Web-based image collections such as ARTstor, in addition to CD-ROM and DVD-ROM.
   
   
5. Sound recordings
   
   The Library collects sound recordings to support instruction at the College, in particular materials of interest to instructional departments such as Modern Languages, Continuing Studies, English, and Theatre Arts. Music is seldom acquired and by instructor request only. Digital formats such as audio CDs are collected; analogue formats are no longer supported.
   
   
6. Maps
   
   Print maps are a very small part of the collection. Local, city and regional maps are selected, as are topical or broad interest maps. Additional maps will be purchased as needed to provide direct support for classroom instruction and only at the request of the instructor. Atlases are included in the reference collection. National Geographic maps received as part of the periodical subscription are retained and catalogued. Not selected: Geological Survey maps, detailed topological maps. These may be kept in instructional departments.
   
   Digital maps are also a very small part of the collection. Formats collected include networked CD-Rom and selected free or government depository Web resources.

Back to the top

Collections Budget / Accounts

Library acquisitions are charged to the following accounts, based on a combination of factors such as the type of material and the purchase model (e.g. purchase or subscription). Library acquisitions are vetted by the Acquisitions/Orders Librarian or the Collection Librarian (or designate) as appropriate. All purchases are further coded by subject area.

• Media - Account 71209
  Purchases or subscriptions to visual media and sound recordings, or collections of the same, regardless of format.
  
  
• Books - Account 71211
  Individual monograph purchases, regardless of format.
  
  
• Periodicals - Account 71212
  Individual periodical subscriptions, regardless of format. Subscriptions are billed in advance of shipping or online delivery. Magazines, journals and newspapers are included in this account. The periodicals subscription list is reviewed and revised annually.
  
  
• Standing Orders - Account 71213
  Orders placed with a publisher, jobber, or dealer to supply each volume or part of a specific title or type of publication as published, until further notice. Many but not all are reference works. Formats include both print and electronic. Unlike subscriptions, standing orders are billed as each volume is shipped. Titles may be purchased at specific intervals determined by the library, e.g. every 3 years, rather than every new issue from the publisher. Standing orders are reviewed annually.
  
  
• Electronic Reference (TS) - Account 71214
  Subscriptions to materials that primarily support the Library's Technical Services & Systems. Some subscriptions are shared with Langara Contract Services. Items from this account may be accessible to library staff only. Subscriptions are reviewed annually.
  
  
  
• Electronic Subscriptions - Account 71215
  Subscriptions that provide electronic access to collections of books, journals, or other non-media materials. Typically this type of subscription does not include ownership or archival access rights. Aggregator databases of journal articles, or online collections of e-books or reference works are included here. This account does not cover one-time purchases of collections or individual items, but it does cover annual hosting fee charges. Subscriptions are reviewed on an ongoing basis.

Back to the top

Course Materials on Reserve

Reserve items include:

• High demand items for specific courses
• High demand items of general interest (e.g. test preparation books like LET, LPI)
• Donated copies of textbooks and study guides for current courses

Placement in reserve / weeding

• Placement is initiated by either teaching faculty or librarians
• Loan period is assigned by the person initiating the placement
• All items need an end date when placed on reserve
• End dates will be reviewed at the end of each term for weeding purposes
• Usage data will be reviewed annually for weeding purposes

Formats

• Reserve items may be held in print, media or electronic format (see “E-Reserves” below)
• New requests for articles will be checked to see if an electronic version is available. If this is the case, a link to the electronic version will be placed in the catalogue
• The maximum number of copies of photocopied articles is 3 per section of a course. Additional copies may be made at the discretion of a librarian.

E-Reserves

• Electronic reserve items (“e-reserves”) are direct Web links to articles from a number of article databases that the Langara Library subscribes to or that are freely available on the Web
• E-reserve items are only created if permission has been granted by the publisher or licensing agent
• Links to online articles can be created for faculty to place in course Web pages, in addition to or in place of e-reserves. Details about this service are provided in the faculty guide.

Back to the top

Gifts

Donated materials are subject to the same selection criteria as purchased materials. The library particularly welcomes donations of current textbooks.

• Gifts are accepted with the understanding that items received might not be added to the collection. The materials become the exclusive property of Langara College Library, to be retained or disposed of in whatever ways seem most appropriate.
• Items not suitable for addition to the collection will be disposed of as per the gift policy.
• The library does not notify donors of the final disposition of individual items nor does it return items.
• A receipt for income tax purposes will be issued for materials kept by the Library if they are valued at over $100.00. Tax receipts cannot be provided for publishers’ complimentary copies.
• The donor’s signature is taken as assurance that the materials donated are the property of the person to whom the receipt is to be issued.

Some exceptions will apply based on the Gift librarian’s recommendation.

Non-fiction donations

• Donated non-fiction items in good physical condition will be assessed for content. If appropriate for the library, based on the Guidelines for Selection, they will be catalogued, given an LC call number and shelved in the stacks.

Fiction donations

• Donated fiction hardbound items in good physical condition will be assessed for content. If appropriate for the library, based on the Guidelines for Selection, they will be catalogued, given an LC call number and shelved in the stacks.
• Donated fiction paperbacks items in good physical condition will be assessed for content. If appropriate for the library, they will be catalogued, given a call number of FIC + first 3 letters of author’s last name and shelved in the Paperback collection.
• When a bibliographic record for a hardbound fiction item with an LC call number already exists for a donated paperback title in good physical condition, the paperback item will be attached to that hardcover bibliographic record with a FIC call number.
• Only one copy of each paperback title will be kept.

Media/audiovisual donations

• Donated media items must include any licensing and public performance permissions required for use at Langara.

Back to the top

Collection Maintenance, Deselection and Assessment

This section is still under development.

The library's collection of resources in all formats is systematically reviewed. The collections librarians are responsible for reviewing selection in their respective format areas. Subject librarians are responsible for reviewing the print collection in their liaison areas, for monitoring use, and for deselection.

Challenges to the Collection

The library collects materials containing a range of viewpoints. From time to time a library user may object to material in the collection, and request that it be withdrawn. Any challenges, complaints or requests for reconsideration concerning the collection should be forwarded to the Coordinator of Collection Development.

The library supports the BC and Canadian Library Association statements on intellectual freedom. While all challenges to library material will be given consideration, the library’s goal in such cases is to uphold the principles of intellectual and academic freedom and contribute to an environment of openness, inquiry and innovation at the College.

Collaboration with other libraries

Langara Library actively pursues cooperative arrangements and consortial arrangements with other libraries and library organizations to enhance the collection, and to improve access to information resources.

Reciprocal borrowing

• Langara library has reciprocal borrowing agreements with other publicly funded B.C. post-secondary institutions. Details are described in the CPSLD Reciprocal Borrowing Policy.

Interlibrary loans / Media booking

• Langara Library partners with a number of libraries and consortia in order to provide interlibrary loan and media booking services, including the BC Electronic Library Network, Media Exchange Cooperative, NRC-CISTI, and others.

Consortial Licensing

• Langara Library participates in consortial purchasing and licensing agreements in order to acquire electronic resources and media on the best possible terms. Partners include the BC Electronic Library Network and COPPUL.

Back to the top

Maintained by: Alison Curtis
Last updated: February 15, 2012.