Building
Your Library Collection
Criteria
- The
following general selection criteria should be considered when requesting
the libraries purchase materials:
- Importance of the subject in relation to the curriculum.
- Currency and accuracy of information.
- Timeliness and importance of information.
- Author's reputation and significance.
- Availability of other material on the subject in the library, in other campus or area libraries, and in print.
- Inclusion of the title in standard bibliographies or indexes.
- Recommendation in standard reviewing sources.
- Price and demand.
- Language - English only is selected, except for those items selected to support the foreign language curriculum.
- Format, including legibility, binding, and type.
- Scope and depth of subject coverage.
- Ease of use.
- Publisher- vanity presses are normally excluded.
- Duplication - single copies are normally collected unless there is an overriding need in the curriculum for duplicates of an item.
- Current vs. retrospective materials - Both current and retrospective materials are essential to the needs of a college library, however, current materials will generally receive a higher priority. Current materials are those in print in their original editions. Retrospective materials are those out-of-print or available only as reprints either in full-size or microform editions.
- Out-of-Print materials - Efforts to obtain materials from the out-of-print market will be made if it is judged that the material is of enough importance to justify these efforts and costs Probability of use and frequency of use by primary clientele are factors in the judgment of importance.
- Paperbound materials - Hardbound volumes are generally preferred.
home | benefits | process | criteria | contacts | tools | form | checklist
Author:
Beverly D. Hills, MSLS Created: 20040316 Email: bhills@tcc.edu
Tidewater Community College - Learning
Resources Center