Titles of items to be purchased for addition to the collection originate in
recommendations from (1) the faculty, (2) the library staff, (3) students and other
library users.
Faculty. Faculty members have expertise in the various subject areas represented in
the curriculum which it is the library's primary responsibility to support. Faculty
members who know personally what is in the collection and hold students responsible for
course-related use of library resources help the college to maximize the value of its
library expenditures.
Library Staff. Librarians bring to the process of selection their own areas of
professional experience and expertise and in some cases specific subject area expertise.
They watch publishing trends and take note of items noted in a variety of sources. By
virtue of their bibliographic training and expertise, they are also able to recommend
items that are cross-disciplinary and/or of general interest.
Students and Other Library Users. By attending to recommendations and suggestions
from various borrowers, the library shows its responsiveness to its various
constituencies. While not every recommendation may be accepted, it is the library's
policy to invite such suggestions and to act on them when feasible.
The final decision on whether to add a specific item to the library's collections,
whether through purchase, subscription, or acceptance of a gift, rests with the Director
of the Library.
