East Central College Board Policy
2.15 Library Materials(Adopted 6-1-1987; Revised 8-28-2003)
Library materials are intended to support the mission of the College and to provide information and enlightenment to the community and its citizens. Thus, the library should provide the fullest practicable access to materials presenting all points of view concerning the problems and issues of our time. The principles of academic freedom and the freedom to read will be defended.
Procedures: (Revised 6-14-2021)
2.15.1 Selection of Materials
2.15.2 Accepting Gifts
Specific procedures for accepting donation of materials, including criteria for such acceptance, may be found in the ECC Library Policies and Procedures. Any potential donor should contact the Executive Director of the Foundation or the Director, Library Services about donations.
2.15.3 Complaints
The procedures for lodging and receiving complaints as contained in the Library Bill of Rights, Freedom to Read Statement, and Code of Ethics adopted by the American Library Association will be followed. Request for Reconsideration forms are available upon request from the Director, Library Services.
General Comments
The East Central College Librarians use a variety of qualified sources and data for collection development.
Responsibility for Collection Development
Librarians are responsible for collection development of resources. They may take into consideration reflections of other library staff to assist with area of the collection such as rentals (Leisure), audiobooks, visuals, children's and print journals.
Development Purchase Plan
The primary goal of this collection is to provide the resources and services necessary to meet the educational, recreational, cultural and informational needs of the library. In order to meet these goals, East Central College Library uses qualified sources and recommendations in making purchases. College faculty also provide recommendation of purchases in their specific subject area, and refer to sources of professional societies, subject specific book catalogs, etc. in their field of knowledge.
Examples of qualified librarian sources are:
| Book Review Journals | Publisher Catalogs | Literature Awards |
| CHOICE | H.W. Wilson | American Library Association awards |
| Library Journal | Gale/Cengage | Missouri Library Association awards |
| American Libraries | Sage | Nebula Awards |
| Foreword Reviews | Oxford Press | National Book Award |
| New York Times Book Reviews | Omnigraphics | |
| Eerdmans |
Influencing Factors
Purchases and buying patterns are also determined by cost, availability and other materials already in collection. Currency, usage and condition of current materials in the collection are also considered prior to additional purchases.
Purchases are made directly through publishers, Amazon, MOBIUS and Emery-Pratt. Additional book vendors can also be considered. Third party vendors may also be used depending on price and availability.
Collection Maintenance
Deselection is an essential component of collection development. It is the maintenance of an active, relevant, academically useful library collection. It results in a vibrant collection by eliminating outdated, inaccurate, little used and worn-out materials. Deselection can be done at any time of the year, though most often completed during interim breaks and summer. Librarians are responsible for deselection and may confer with faculty in areas of expertise. Similar influencing factors in purchases are used as well as data from circulation software and hand review of materials.
Faculty Collection Maintenance
Faculty are invited to review the library collection in their area of expertise, including print, audio/visual, serials and electronic resources and make recommendations for deselection. Programs with outside accreditations, such as Nursing, Music, Art, Culinary, etc., should regularly review the collection. Circulation reports, database statistics, course reserve usage, etc. are available from Librarians upon request. A systemic review early in each Fall semester is the recommended time frame.
Disposal
Items selected for deselection will be disposed in a variety of options.