Service Alert
Philosophy
The mission of Jacobs Library is to provide services and resources that support the educational goals and purpose of Illinois Valley Community College. The library is dedicated to providing the highest quality service, resources, and environment for students, faculty, and staff of the college, and for residents of Illinois Valley Community College District 513.
Objective
Accordingly, it is the policy of Jacobs Library to:
Responsibility
All members of the College community are invited to make suggestions for the purchase of library materials. All suggestions will be evaluated using the criteria listed elsewhere in this policy. The library encourages departmental faculty participation in the process and relies on the faculty’s subject expertise to assist in the building of strong subject collections.
Selection
Selection Guidelines
Each item will be considered in terms of its own merit and usefulness to the students, faculty, and staff who use the library. Selection guides used to develop the library collection vary but Choice Reviews is the standard guide to use. For all materials, the following general criteria will be considered:
Criteria for Specific Materials
Books: The priorities for purchasing titles that are cataloged within the Main Circulating Collection are as follows: a) titles needed by faculty for assigned reading; b) titles within high-volume subject areas; c) faculty requests for materials to support the curriculum; d) new materials which supplement the curriculum; e) current fiction and other books of general reading interest to our students, faculty, and staff. Books can be purchased either in physical or electronic format. Freely available titles are added at the discretion of the Collection Development & Access Librarian or at the behest of other staff and faculty.
Databases & Electronic Resources: Much of the criteria for print selection can also be applied to the selection of databases and electronic resources. However, as many databases are subscription-based rather than single-purchase, it is important to consider the potential cost over time of maintaining such resources, and on-going subscriptions are evaluated upon each renewal cycle. Priority is given to titles, journals, or databases that support the curriculum, are indexed in locally available sources, and are recommended in standard sources. Because electronic content represents a major expenditure for library materials, the library staff evaluate these materials frequently.
Textbooks: The Library does not purchase textbooks, workbooks, or instructor/exam copies. Instructors wishing to make textbooks available for student use in the library may refer to the Course Reserves Guidelines and procedures. Study guides for tests administered by the College may be considered for the collection and updated every few years, as needed.
Course and Leisure Videos: Videos are purchased in either physical DVD format or via a streaming platform. Course videos are purchased at the request of faculty members for use in specific classes or by student organizations. Selection criteria are as follows: a) the video directly supports stated educational objectives and supports instructional programs; b) the information contained should be authoritative and current; c) videos satisfies an area of need within the collection and does not duplicate holdings c) the format should be consistent with campus equipment; d) videos should be closed captioned. Funding allocated for course videos but not spent on faculty requests may be used to purchase educational or documentary films selected by the Collection Development and Access Librarian. The leisure video collection is developed primarily through donations.
Local History Collection: The Library’s Local History Collection is defined as a collection of materials with direct and demonstrated relevance to Illinois Valley Community College. Items added to this collection adhere to the additional criteria as stated elsewhere in this document.
Illinois Valley (IV) Authors: Items within this Collection must meet at least one of the following criteria: a) the author(s) are a current or former student of IVCC; b) the author(s) are a current or former staff member of IVCC; c) the author(s) are a current or former faculty member.
Gifts: Books and other donations will be accepted at the discretion of the Collection Development & Access Librarian. Books and other materials will be added to the collection only if they meet the same standard by which materials are selected for purchase. Gifts will not be kept as separate collections nor will memorials be set up as distinct or auxiliary collections.
Collection Maintenance
Replacements: It is not the library’s policy to automatically replace materials because of damage or loss. The following criteria will be considered on a title-by-title basis:
Withdrawal: In order to maintain the currency, quality, relevance, and condition of the collection (whether in physical or electronic formats), titles are reviewed periodically and systemically. The Collection Development Librarian is responsible for the continuous and systematic evaluation of the collection.
The withdrawal process is an integral part of collection maintenance. Materials are withdrawn in order to maintain a current, active, and useful collection. When evaluating materials for withdrawal, the criteria used for the selection of materials as well as the following may also be considered:
Final decisions to withdraw are made by the librarians on a title-by-title basis.
Challenged Materials
Jacobs Library supports the principles of intellectual freedom inherent within the Constitution of the United States and expressed in the Library Bill of Rights of the American Library Association. Below is an abridged version of the Bill of the Rights to meet the needs of the college library:
http://www.ala.org/advocacy/intfreedom/librarybill