Library Policies: Collection Development Policies

QCC is dedicated to academic excellence and rigor and to providing an affordable, high-quality education to pre-college, college, and lifelong learners. Our faculty and staff are committed to the holistic development of today’s students in a nurturing and diverse environment that prepares them to be successful in a dynamic workforce. The College affirms its open admissions policy and its strong support of critical thinking, intellectual inquiry, global awareness, civic responsibility, and cultural and artistic appreciation.

 

• To increase the number of students who receive information literacy instruction

• To improve the quality of library instruction and to assess student learning in library sessions

• To investigate the incorporation of the ACRL Framework into IL instruction at QCC

• To contribute to an increase in faculty scholarship by providing education for faculty members regarding data management and possible venues for publication in the disciplines and in community college pedagogy

• To provide library resources needed by faculty members for their scholarship and teaching

• To contribute to the college mission of offering an affordable education by assisting faculty members who are converting courses to OER/ZTC

The Library seeks to purchase resources in the format that will be the most useful to our faculty and students. Requests for alternative formats for textbooks will be considered if requested.

The Library collects primarily English language materials. Collection in languages other than English is undertaken primarily in support of the study of languages, literatures, and cultures. 

Maintaining the quality and usefulness of the collections is a central goal and responsibility of the Libraries.  Associated with that responsibility is decision-making regarding which materials are accurate, current, and relevant, and which should be deselected or transferred. The deselection of unwanted items and the storage of infrequently used items will relieve overcrowded shelves, increase ease of access and improve the efficiency of retrieving materials.

Materials should not be proscribed or removed because of partisan or doctrinal disapproval. Library materials will be considered for deselection or relocation from the collection if they fall within one or more of these categories:

• multiple copies available (trigger: more than one copy, especially with low aggregate circulation)

• superseded editions, provided that newer editions incorporate important information from earlier editions

• lack of circulation, when warranted

• obsolete physical format

• poor physical condition, or damaged beyond usefulness

• lacking obvious historical value

• ephemeral materials that are not easily accessed or bound

• textbooks (generally not to be included in the collection)

 

 

Resources in the library may be challenged by students, faculty and staff of Queensborough Community College. A challenge to a resource in the Queensborough Community College Library must be based on the failure of that resource to fall within the Library's selection and collection development policies, including the commitment to intellectual freedom as expressed in the Intellectual Freedom Principles for Academic Libraries: an Interpretation of the Library Bill of Rights. In keeping with the American Library Association’s Challenged Resources: an Interpretation of the Library Bill of Rights, challenged items will remain in the collection and accessible to Library Users during the review process.

 

 In selecting books, the major emphasis is on acquiring new or current titles, although important retrospective titles may be acquired when appropriate for the collection. The Library will always attempt to obtain the latest edition of a title except in rare instances when an earlier edition may be preferred. E-books as well as print books will be purchased, but duplication of titles will be avoided unless requested for a class assignment. If the budget allows a print book copy of an ebook will be purchased. Students, staff, and faculty are also encouraged to suggest additions to the collections. Requests can be made by using the "Acquisition Request Form"( create a direct link to the form) on the library’s homepage under the Faculty Portal.  

Donated works by faculty and/or alumni authors are also welcomed and will be added to the collection unless these works do not meet the criteria outlined in the Collection Development Policy or they are inappropriate for an academic library.

The donor permanently relinquishes ownership of the items. Final decisions on the retention and disposition of gifts are the responsibility of the Collection Development Coordinator and other librarians based on the Collection Development Policy guidelines regarding library material standards. 

Gifts not retained by the library may be given to academic departments, other libraries, state agencies, sold at book sales, or discarded. 

The library does not appraise or attach monetary value to any gift title or collection based on the guidelines of the Association of College and Research Libraries. An appraisal, if desired by the donor, should be done prior to the presentation of this material to the library. All donors can receive an acknowledgment letter from the library with the number of titles and format donated if requested.

Usually, a gift of books or other material will qualify as a deduction for income tax purposes.  Donors who request a letter of acknowledgment for the materials donated may email Mary Bowie at MBowie@qcc.cuny.edu. The letter must be approved and signed by the chief librarian. The responsibility for establishing the fair market value of an item lies with the donor.  Donors may wish to refer to the IRS Department of the Treasury publication, "Determining the Value of Donated Property" (pdf, html), Publication 561 in the IRS Forms and Publication Series. 

QCC does not provide tax advice. A donor seeking to claim a deduction for a gift(s) valued at $500 or more in one calendar year must file an IRS Form 8283.  For gifts valued at $5,000 or more, an appraiser must complete the appropriate section of the form.

Electronic Resources Collection Development 

The Queensborough Community College Electronic Resources Development Policy falls under the scope of the General Collection Development policies. In order to avoid redundancy, included below are only essential issues that apply to the scope of Electronic Resources in accordance with acquisition, procurement, and access to the resources already established.

The Queensborough Community College electronic resources are currently selected by the City University of New York’s Electronic Resource Acquisition Committee (ERAC) with the additional discretion of the Campus Electronic Resources Librarian, working collaboratively with the Queensborough Library faculty liaisons, and is freely open to suggestions and requests or resources from the entire-Queensborough-wide user community, including academic departmental faculty and students. The community’s specialized needs, and the confines of available funding through Student Tech-Fee and other budgetary sources are also taken under advisement when selecting resources.  

• Electronic resources considered for acquisition should fall within current collecting guidelines as described in the collection development policies and other appropriate guidelines. 

• All electronic materials should be relevant and appropriate to a significant segment of the Library’s user community and reflect current academic needs and the University's mission. Special attention should be given to electronic resources that provide coverage of high-priority areas such as Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. 

• If the electronic resource duplicates another resource already available in the Library, the proposed electronic resource should offer some value-added enhancement; for example, wider access or greater flexibility in searching. If a product changes format, it should be reevaluated and a selection/retention decision made in the appropriate manner.

• The product should be user-friendly, that is, provide ease of use and guidance for the user via appropriate menus, help screens, or tutorials.

• The product should reflect the quality expected of similar materials in other formats.

• The Queensborough Community College Electronic Resources and Serials are compliant with the University’s policies on Computing and Networks, including access and restrictions for computer, network, and wireless use.

The Kurt R. Schmeller Library serves the learning, teaching and research needs of Queensborough Community College. We:

• Create hospitable physical and virtual environments for teaching, learning and research

• Teach patrons to locate, evaluate and use information successfully

• Embrace diversity in all its forms

• Preserve the cultural heritage of QCC

• Deliver excellent customer service to QCC members and the wider community

• Provide the knowledge and technology resources to enhance learning

• Work collaboratively with other QCC departments to maximize student learning

The primary goal of the library is to develop and maintain collections that support the curriculum and instructional programs of QCC and the needs of students, faculty and staff at the college. Within the constraints of available funds, facilities, and staffing, the library will acquire and make available materials in various formats, and evaluate existing collections. In order to collect materials, which will support the curricular needs of QCC, the Library chooses resources based on the following selection criteria

• A Diverse Well Balanced Collection that supports the needs of the users

Library workers have an obligation to select, maintain, and support access to content on subjects by diverse authors and creators that meets—as closely as possible—the needs, interests, and abilities of all the people the library serves. This means acquiring materials to address cultural awareness, popular demand, and direct community input, as well as addressing collection gaps and unexpressed information needs. Library workers have a professional and ethical responsibility to be proactively inclusive in collection development and in the provision of interlibrary loans where offered.

• Timeliness of Information

A well-balanced collection should strive for equity in content and ideas that takes both structural inequalities and the availability of timely, accurate materials into account. A diverse collection should contain a variety of works chosen pursuant to the library’s selection policy and subject to periodic review.

•  General reference and research needs

If a subject selector determines an item to be of value to their subject area, in accordance with the appropriate subject or general collection policy, then the selector may make a good-faith effort to put in a request for purchase. Community colleges focus on the immediate needs of the students and the library collections are curriculum driven. 

• Contribution to breadth or depth of the collection 

The library's subject specialists select and retain materials for the collection that support degree programs commensurate with the needs of community college students, support researchers within our community, and request books to be purchased that meet the needs of new or emerging areas of research.

•  Inclusivity

Books and other library resources should be provided for the interest, information, and enlightenment of all people of the community the library serves. Materials should not be excluded because of the origin, background, or views of those contributing to their creation.

 People with disabilities are to be reflected in the collection not as a single group but as an intersectional part of the community, across age, race, gender, class, and orientation. In order to be inclusive, libraries must provide accurate, up-to-date, and representative materials in their collections to meet the information needs of their users. The collection should also preserve historic materials that reflect an accurate depiction of the progress toward inclusion and equality that has occurred within American society.

• Faculty recommendation

Specific to community college libraries, classroom faculty are often involved with material selection. If a request is made for a non-textbook to be purchased for their class this will be of high consideration if funding is available. If a faculty member makes a request for the library to purchase a book they have authored such a purchase can be made if funding is available. In most cases the collection emphasizes current, English language material. Nursing education accreditation visits require nursing books to be kept up to date.

• Depth of coverage and adequacy of scope 

             The collection should match the instructional and research needs of the campus. This includes the specific needs and requests from the various disciplines.        

•  Community College based

Choice magazine’s list of top books for community colleges is consulted when choosing books. The reading level of our students is taken into consideration when ordering books. Specific publishers selling easy readers or basic books are consulted. This is in keeping with the National Center for Educational Statistics on the high below-grade-level reading numbers.  Holdings at other CUNY Community Colleges are also taken into consideration. Current nursing books are chosen by consulting the American Journal of Nursing January issue which lists the top nursing books.

• Multiple Copies
  The Library’s budget does not allow us to purchase everything needed to support teaching and research, and Library space is always limited; therefore duplication will be held to a minimum. Multiple copies will be acquired for titles in heavy, continuous use, or in heavy use in more than one branch.

• Textbooks
  College level textbooks of a general survey nature published primarily for classroom use will rarely be selected as library material. Exceptions will be made if faculty requests a textbook to be put on reserve for a class.

•  Physical Space Considerations

Librarians requesting purchases for their subject collections recognize preservation concerns in general, particularly housing and shelving arrangements, as important ongoing concerns.

 

 

The Queensborough Community College Library welcomes gifts of appropriate materials or funds for the purchase of materials, recognizing that gifts may provide valuable additions to the library collection. Donated materials are expected to meet the same standards of quality and relevance to the collection as new titles. They should support the college's needs and curriculum and the mission of the library as well as meet the collection development guidelines and policies, in regard to physical condition, format, language, etc. 

Procedures

• Donations brought or mailed to the library are referred to the attention of the Collection Development Librarian who in turn may refer them to a subject specialist or staff. 

• Small donations of just a few books, including very recent textbooks, may be taken to the Circulation desk. 

• For large donations, please fill out this Donation Form. You will be contacted once the collection is evaluated.

• Please note that the Library requires that donors pay the cost of delivery or shipping and handling of all items given to the

• Library.

• The library reserves the right to discard or sell donated material.

Additional Suggestions for Places to Donate Books

• Reuse | Re-Read: NYC Book Donation Centers (GC)

The library staff is the people who work with the collection and the clientele day in and day out. They are able to note how the collection looks and comment on its physical condition. The staff is an invaluable source in giving feedback on book donations and acquisitions because of their familiarity with the library’s holdings and the needs of its users.