4.0 Collection Management Principles & Guidelines

The library collects materials in format appropriate to current technologies  

Books – print and electronic 

o Paperback books are generally favored  “appropriate” when available, but selectors may use their discretion in choosing formats and consider the subject area and "shelf life" of the book in terms of retention.

o Hardcover books are often preferred when the subject area (such as history or literature) has a longer "shelf life."

o Consumables (e.g.: workbooks, testing practice and study guides) are purchased and noted in the catalog in order to track the usage. This is a pilot study in an effort to determine the viability of featuring "consumables" in the circulating collection.

o Subscriptions of subject specific e-collections, e.g.: 

Rittenhouse e-books and the AWS Standards online

 

Serials, periodicals, newspapers – print and electronic 

o Print titles are purchased to fulfill accreditation requirements or per faculty for curriculum enrichment/instruction 

o Print titles are not purchased if an equivalent e-title is available in full-text and allowed by accreditation 

o Print titles are purchased when a suitable e-title is not available or affordable, e.g., if an art journal is only available in html with low-quality images 

o Electronic access to thousands of full text professional, trade and general reference periodicals are accessible through the library’s and NCLive databases alone: these publications are accessible via desktop, notebook and tablet computers/devices, as well as mobile applications, thus reducing the need for and space devoted to print periodicals, and serving both f-t-f and distance patrons more fully and equitably. 

Selected state and local government documents 

Textbooks adopted for classroom use by the college are not purchased/accepted for the library collection: any textbooks found in the library collection may represent the only resource on a specific topic available to purchase at the time of acquisition. 

Audiovisuals – DVDs, streaming instructional video collections 

 

The Library does not systematically collect:

 

Textbooks currently adopted at CPCC, instructor’s manuals or course outlines 

❖ Realia, specimens 

❖ Games 

❖ Theses, dissertations 

❖ Pictures, photographs (See College Archives) 

❖ Manuscripts and archival materials, incunabula 

❖ Laboratory manuals 

❖ Maps 

❖ Galley proofs 

❖ Desk copies (material used routinely in a secretary’s or faculty member’s offices, e.g.: software manuals or dictionaries) 

❖ Outdated media formats

Books for Newly Literate and Literate Emergent Adults  

The library purchases books at appropriate reading levels to support the college's Career & College Readiness programs.

Languages and Translations  

The library collects primarily English language materials in print and media formats. Exceptions include  foreign language studies and ESL materials used for foreign language/English language acquisition and  materials that reflect the diverse college community with an emphasis on Spanish language materials.  

The library will accept gifts of foreign language fiction and non-fiction in accordance with the Library gift/donation guidelines.

 

 

 

Recreational Reading  

The library selectively acquires materials of general interest in addition to purchasing materials  directly related to the college’s curriculum. These materials may be in print or electronic format, and are dependent on the budget, and may include: 

Popular fiction and biographies

Popular non-fiction (how-to, DYIs and personal improvement/life skills) 

Leisure books, periodicals or films in electronic, mobile format via NCLive and vendor databases

Leased Collections  (up to 2 years)

The library leases up-to-the-minute popular bestsellers and other recreational and leisure reading books  that are shelved in the library the same day they appear in retail stores via a pre-publication alert.  Library staff members select new titles on a monthly basis. The collection is evaluated periodically to  identify titles to return to the vendor, or titles to be added to the library’s permanent collection at  drastically reduced cost.  

Central Piedmont Publications  

The library receives CP publications such as the catalogs, college newsletters, college organization/ committee meeting minutes, institutional reports, publications of the Office of Planning and Research, and documents concerning accreditation by SACS and other accrediting agencies. All documents  received are organized and stored in the Central Piedmont Archives Department. Items deposited in the Archives may be viewed by making an appointment with archives staff. The Library Archival  Collection policy is further described in §8.2. Copyrighted print or audiovisual materials produced and/ or published by college employees will be acquired in accordance with established selection criteria. 

Gifts/Donations 

The Assistant Director of Resource Services and the Campus Managers receive and respond to donation inquiries and assess all potential gifts/donations to the library, in conjunction with appropriate library staff and/or college faculty, to evaluate the donations within the  context of the library collection and program needs.

 

Gifts are accepted by the library with the explicit understanding that the library may use or dispose of these materials in accordance with established  collection development criteria and processes. Gifts/donations may be officially accepted and acknowledged by the Central Piedmont foundation using the Gift in Kind form. The library does not provide a tax statement or monetary evaluation of gifts.