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Collection Development

I. Introduction
Southwestern College is a Methodist liberal arts college in Winfield, Kansas. The library strives to support the research and curricular needs of the college community with physical and virtual materials.

Due to costs, publishing outputs, and demand for information, the library provides the following policy as a statement for the selection of materials and for the maintenance of the collection.  The collection will be developed with an understanding of the immediate and future goals of the institution, the college community, and the library and with an efficient use of allotted funds.

In this policy, the phrase "college community" includes faculty, staff, administrators, and all students of the college. 

II. Collection Objective
The primary objective of the library is to build a collection of materials that support undergraduate and graduate curriculum at Southwestern College.  The objective is directed by the college's vision stated below and its mission statement.

Southwestern College in Winfield, Kansas, is a learning community dedicated to

• intellectual growth and career preparation,
• individual development and Christian values,
• lifetime learning and responsible citizenship, and
• leadership through service in a world without boundaries.

III. Selection Responsibility
The Library Director has the ultimate responsibility for the collection.  The director will assign selection responsibilities to librarians.  Faculty is encouraged to request resources that are found in professional literature and that support their courses and student research needs.  The library welcomes acquisition requests from the entire college community.  All requests will be reviewed by the below selection criteria.

IV. Fund Allocations
The Library Director allocates the materials budget to fulfill the collection development objectives.  Full-time faculty members receive a money allocation for the purchase of materials in their discipline.  Some funds are maintained to be used at the discretion of the Director and the librarians.

Faculty and administrators are reminded that library support is an additional cost which must be considered when implementing new programs or courses.

V. Selection Criteria
Collection objective in section II gives the basis for selection.  Therefore, the main priority of the library is the support of the curriculum.  Materials for faculty studies and research are purchased if needed by the curriculum or requested through interlibrary loan.  A lower priority is the purchase of cultural, recreational, and general materials for the entire college community.

Specific criteria include the following:

• Quality of the content
• Authority of the author
• Reputation of publisher
• Level of scholarship except for materials purchased for the children's collection
• Cost
• Lasting value of content
• Publication date
  • The library recognizes the need for retrospective materials and will purchase older editions to fill gaps. However, it is most important to purchases current publications to prevent future need for retrospective buying.
• Language
  • The primary focus for the collection will be materials in English.
  • A secondary focus, on a funds available basis, will be items in Spanish given the changing demographic of Kansas. 
  • Exceptions are:
    • Materials that support foreign language instruction or faculty research.
    • International films but with English sub-titles.
• Format
  • Paperback will be preferred over hardback.
  • For recordings, CDs are preferred.
  • DVDs are preferred for videos.
• Number of Copies
  • Only one copy will be purchased.
  • Materials that are recommended for courses can be placed on reserve.

Other guidelines enforced:

• Textbooks and required texts for courses will not be purchased.
  • Exceptions are when:
    • they are considered "classics" in their discipline or
    • they are the only or best source of information on that topic
• Periodicals, databases, and other materials that require annual commitments or subscription fees may be suggested.  Purchasing of these items depend on the library's long-term (beyond the current year) financial commitment.
• All materials purchased by the library are intended for inclusion in the library collection and will be housed in the library.

VI. Periodicals/Databases
Periodicals and databases differ from other materials in that they require an ongoing financial commitment. Their subscription fees increase annually; thus, the library must ensure an ongoing commitment that does not consume a disproportionate share of the total materials budget. Generally, a new subscription will not be entered unless another subscription of similar expense can be canceled. Faculty members who wish to request the addition of a new subscription will be asked to review existing subscriptions in their subject discipline to identify a current title that might be discontinued.

Some or all of the following criteria are used in evaluating titles for acquisition or cancellation:

• support of present academic curriculum
• strength of the existing collection in the subject area -present use of other serials or databases in this subject area
• projected future use
• cost
• reputation of provider
• availability online/electronically through reliable and reputable sources
• avoidance of redundancy across formats
• number of recent interlibrary loan requests for this serial or topic

VII. Gifts
Gifts are welcomed by the library with the understanding the library may add them to the collection or dispose of them at its discretion.  Gifts will be evaluated according to the selection criteria in section V.

VIII. Deselecting Materials
As materials become worn, dated, damaged or lost, replacement will to be determined by the library staff, who will determine whether or not:

• The item is still available and can be replaced;
• Another item or format might better serve the same purpose;
• The remains sufficient need to replace the item;
• Updated, newer, or revisited materials better replace a given item;
• The item has historical value.

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