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The purpose of the Collection Development Guidelines is to guide the Mohave Community College Library in assuring quality and relevance in the acquisition and retention of materials in a collection designed to support the mission and purpose of the college as stated in the current edition of the college catalog.
Philosophy of Selection
All materials acquired by the library should reflect resource needs of Mohave Community College. This underlying principle will determine such basic matters as type, quality and scope of resources to be acquired. The library will maintain an up-to-date, comprehensive and well-rounded collection of materials that will reflect one or more of the following:
1. Curriculum support
2. Professional growth and support of faculty and administration
3. Service to the community as an information center
4. Extracurricular or recreational interests
5. General information
Responsibility for Selection
The ultimate responsibility for materials selection rests, by law, with the Board of Governors. The president, operating within the framework of the Board policies, delegates the responsibility to the Campus Librarians.
It is a professional responsibility of faculty to make recommendations in their respective disciplines and to incorporate library materials into course development. Because the librarians can best judge the balance of the total collection and have daily access to current reviewing media, final acquisition decisions rest with them. Campus Librarians have an obligation to work closely with faculty, staff and students in coordinating the selection of materials and building a collection that is a true reflection of the resource needs of the college.
Principles of Resource Selection
The Mohave Community College Library is committed to the principles supported by the American Library Bill of Rights in that it provides:
1. Materials that will enrich and support the curriculum, taking into consideration the varied interests, abilities and maturity level of the users served;
2. Materials that will stimulate growth in factual knowledge, literacy appreciation, aesthetic values and ethical standards;
3. Materials that supply a background of information that enable users to make intelligent judgments in their everyday lives;
4. Materials on opposing sides of controversial issues, so that students may develop the practice of critical reading and thinking;
5. Materials representative of many religious, ethnic and cultural groups;
6. Materials on various learning and interest levels necessary to complement the open door policy of the community college.
Additional considerations include the following:
1. Acquisition of materials for new courses and programs in the curriculum will be given the highest priority.
2. Materials dealing with Mohave County and Arizona shall be acquired before acquiring similar materials about other states.
3. Materials for faculty research will be acquired only if the materials might also be useful to students. Whenever possible, faculty research will be supported by acquiring materials through interlibrary loan.
Guidelines by Format of Material
Collection Maintenance
Evaluation of the library collection is undertaken as time and other duties permit, recognizing that identification of obsolete and outdated materials is the professional responsibility of the librarian. Faculty members are encouraged to survey their subject areas and recommend additions to and withdrawals from the collection. Seldom used or damaged materials are withdrawn from the collection. These items and lost items are replaced at the discretion of the Librarian.
If materials no longer meet the acquisition criteria, they may be withdrawn. Efforts will be made to see if faculty or other agencies can use the materials before they are given away to the general public.
Archives and Special Collections
The archives of Mohave Community College will consist of college publications such as catalogs, periodicals, handbooks, reports, yearbooks and brochures housed at each campus. Each campus will have a "Special Collection" of materials that will be developed based upon the following criteria:
1. Local and regional emphasis
2. Local and regional historical relevance
3. Rare or out-of-print materials of a significant nature
Donations
The library welcomes gifts and accepts them with the understanding that the materials will be evaluated according to the same standards as items that the library purchases. Donations that are not suited to the library collection because of age, format, topic, physical condition or other factors will be distributed to other agencies, placed on the free cart, or disposed of in some other manner.
In accordance with Arizona State retention schedules, the library does not maintain a copy of donation records. Donors will be given a "Library Donation Form" which they may complete for their own records. Library staff will not make appraisals of materials either for resale value or statements of donation for income tax reports.
Questioned or Challenged Materials
The Mohave Community College Library does not add or withdraw materials at the specific request of any individual or group. Any individual or group questioning the appropriateness of materials in the collection may complete a "Request for Reconsideration of Library Materials" form. The request will be reviewed according to the collection development review procedure.
Review Procedure for Question or Challenged Materials
1.The challenger must fill out a "Request for Reconsideration of Library Materials Form" and give the form to one of the Campus Librarians.
2. The Librarian and/or the Dean of Instruction will reply to the "Request for Reconsideration of Library Materials" in writing within 30 days of receipt.
If the complainant is not satisfied with the reply, she/he can request that the complaint be forwarded to the College President for review.
