Library Liaisons and Librarians' Collection Development Role

Responsibility for selecting library materials

The librarians have the responsibility for the overall development of the Library collections. Determination of the educational resources of the Library is a professional consideration of great magnitude, requiring the cooperative efforts of librarians and faculty members, along with the Dean of Learning Resources.

Librarians are assigned subject areas to develop in conjunction with faculty from those respective areas in the selection of current and retrospective resources. Librarians review the selection of materials requested by faculty members and may question the appropriateness of selections. Librarians will select materials for their assigned subject areas as well as make recommendations to faculty for their consideration. Faculty are requested to make recommendations for additions and withdrawals on an ongoing basis and to provide lists of materials to be used in support of their courses one term ahead of anticipated need.

Librarian Liaisons to Faculty

Librarians serve as liaisons with the teaching faculty to determine the depth and breadth needed for each collection area. Recommendations are accepted from SCC staff and students for additions to the library collection overall. Please contact these librarians for assistance throughout the year with adding materials to or withdrawing them from the collection. For all other subject areas, feel free to contact any of the librarians.

Levels of Development

Levels of development will be reviewed annually.

Minimal

Few selections are made beyond very basic works and reference sources. Material is difficult to departmentalize but is of general interest and of significance to the Library. The material is interesting, provocative, challenging, or innovative.

Basic

A collection of up-to-date library materials which serves to introduce and define a subject and to indicate the varieties of information available elsewhere.

Instructional Support Level

Materials are selected which adequately support the curriculum needs of the institution. Material may be required reading, suggested reading, or useful for student research. It includes a wide range of basic monographs, a selection of representative journals, access to appropriate databases and the reference tools pertaining to the subjects. Material is useful for faculty course preparations and the development of new courses.

Faculty research materials

The Library will acquire faculty research materials for the study and teaching of a subject but will carefully review faculty requests that are deemed highly specialized, excessively expensive, or inappropriate for research or teaching of a community college curriculum. In lieu of acquiring these definitive materials, the Library will make every effort to locate and borrow the needed books and serials through interlibrary loan.

Recommendations are accepted from faculty and administrative staff doing research for institutional or instructional development or improvements. The Library will acquire materials if their addition to the collection will be of more than temporary value, i.e., will be of potential value for longer than the life of the project. These research materials will be evaluated by the same criteria as other titles requested. Attempts to meet the researcher's need with borrowed books or serials will be advised if requested titles are excessively expensive or of an ephemeral nature.

Effective June 2006

Did you know?

SCC has full service Libraries at Sanford/Lake Mary, Oviedo and Altamonte Springs Campuses.