The collective mission of the Libraries of Miami Dade
College is to provide access to collections, resources, services and
facilities in support of the College’s purposes and educational programs
for all students. In support of thRe educational and developmental
role of the College, on behalf of students, the Libraries emphasize
their instructional role in assisting faculty, staff and students
to use collections, research tools and services effectively.
I. Purpose
The purpose of the Collection Development Policy is
to provide guidance to the Miami-Dade College Libraries in the acquisition
and retention of relevant and quality materials that support the mission
and curriculum of the College. Of utmost importance in the library
collection are materials that support the transfer, four-year degree
programs, and career and continuing education programs of the College.
The following major factors influence collection development decisions:
1. Relevance to the educational programs of the
College
2. Balance in the collection
3. Accuracy, objectivity, and suitability
4. Professional reviewing media recommendations
5. Reputation of the author, publisher and/or producer
6. Timeliness of the delivery of information
7. Current holdings in the subject area
8. Price
II. Responsibility for
Selection
The Libraries rely primarily upon the librarians and
classroom faculty of the College for purchase recommendations. It
is the professional responsibility of these two groups to develop
the collection in sync with curriculum goals. Final decisions concerning
selection of library materials should rest with the Library Director
or his/her designee.
All library users, regardless of status, are invited
to make purchase recommendations.
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III. Budget
The Libraries maintain day-to-day control of their
materials budgets, and balance the assignment of annual allocations
to subject areas or academic divisions/departments as funds allow,
and needs are identified. This practice enhances effective cooperation
between librarians and classroom faculty. Funding for library collection
development purposes, regardless of budgetary source, is subject to
this same policy.
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IV. Standards and Ethical and
Legal Principles
A. Standards
The Miami-Dade College Libraries follow the standards
for Library/Learning Resources of the Southern Association of Colleges
and Schools, as well as those of any other accrediting agency or association
requiring library support for any of the specialized educational programs
of the College. Since accrediting agencies may use the standards of
the American Library Association (ALA) to evaluate libraries and library
collections, it is important that MDC Libraries strive towards meeting
the most recent version of standards for Community Colleges and for
College Libraries, as set and revised, by ALA’s Association of College
and Research Libraries.
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B. Ethical and Legal Principles
Intellectual Freedom and Censorship
It is the responsibility of the librarians and
other selectors to insure that all points of view relevant to the
College mission are represented in the collection. The Libraries endorse
the American Library Association’s Library Bill of Rights and Freedom
to Read. The principles of these documents frame the MDCC Libraries’
views of intellectual freedom and censorship.
The Libraries do not, at the request of any
individual or group, add or remove materials that do not meet the
College’s stated selection criteria. Library users with a complaint
about an item in the collection should complete a form, available
in each campus library. All complaints will receive written responses.
Confidentiality of Student Records and Privacy
The MDC Libraries subscribe to the Code of Ethics
of the American Library Association (ALA), and the recent publication,
Privacy: An Interpretation of the Library Bill of Rights, which states,
The American Library Association affirms that rights of privacy are
necessary for intellectual freedom and are fundamental to the ethics
and practice of librarianship.
College Procedures are followed to insure compliance
with College policies on confidentiality of student records, as well
as recent laws and regulations concerning these evolving issues.
Copyright:
The Libraries abide by the Copyright Law of the United
States (Title 17, U.S. Code). Any person using library equipment or
resources is liable for any infringement.
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V. Resource Sharing
The Miami Dade College Libraries support and subscribe
to the resource sharing statement of the College Center for Library
Automation (CCLA).
Florida’s publicly supported community and college
libraries provide resources supporting the mission and curriculum
of each institution. Recognizing that no one institution, in isolation,
can provide the full range of available resources, free access to
information is encouraged through cooperation among libraries in Florida
and beyond. The College Center for Library Automation (CCLA) supports
these efforts by facilitating resource sharing.
(Statement of the CCLA Resource Cooperation Standing Committee, adopted
by the Executive Committee of the Advisory Board of CCLA, June 23,
1993)
These resource-sharing activities encompass, for valid
borrowers, the ability to use the LINCC online catalog to initiate
an online inter-library loan request from any of the 28 community
college libraries. The College also participates in the reciprocal
borrowing agreement with the 10 State Universities, in the Florida
Library Information Network (FLIN), in SOLINET/OCLC, and in the local/regional
consortium of libraries, SEFLIN, as well as specialized agreements
to support academic programs.
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VI. Selection Criteria
A. Curriculum Support:
The Libraries’ first priority is to provide a current,
core collection of materials to students in support of curriculum
requirements. “Current” is defined as, in general, published within
the past ten years. Since the College’s focus is on the first two
years of an undergraduate curriculum, as well as four-year programs
in certain subject areas, materials recommended for undergraduates
will receive first priority for purchase. As a second priority, the
Libraries will purchase more advanced materials to meet faculty research
needs, when funds are available. General materials to meet the needs
of the community at large are purchased only as funds permit.
B. Areas of Concentration:
Campus libraries are responsible for allocating funds
for the acquisition of materials that support areas of emphasis at
the campus level. Additionally, each campus is required to provide
a functional level of support materials for the students’ needs in
general areas.
C. College Documents:
The Libraries serve as a repository for major college
documents, such as the Minutes of Board of Trustee meetings, the College
Catalog, and SACS reports.
D. Cooperative Acquisitions:
All libraries will work toward the goal of a balanced
collection college-wide that maintains the integrity of the campus
collections, supports the cluster concept, and minimizes duplication
according to the allocation plan.
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VII. Selection Criteria
by Type of Material
A. Reference Materials:
The Libraries are committed to building quality reference
collections including general and subject encyclopedias, dictionaries,
almanacs, periodical indexes, and other materials, print and electronic,
which support the curriculum and meet the information needs of the
Library users.
B. Serials:
The Libraries give priority to relevant titles indexed
in services to which the library subscribes. The financial resources
of the Libraries, availability of titles elsewhere in the geographic
area, and the availability of titles in electronic format in the LINCC
databases or in the College’s collection, are additional considerations.
The Libraries may choose to bind periodical holdings. Microfilm and
microfiche are purchased by the Libraries in order to preserve periodicals
and other documents, and to save storage space.
C. Textbooks:
When they provide an authoritative, general introduction
to a topic, textbooks may be purchased. The Libraries do not purchase
the specific edition of a textbook used in a College course.
D. Hardbound versus paperbound books:
For their greater durability, hardbound editions are
the preferred format.
E. Government Documents:
The Libraries are not depositories for federal or
state government publications. International, federal, state and local
government publications are selected according to the same criteria
as other library materials and are shelved in the regular collection.
F. Foreign language materials:
The library collects primarily English-language materials.
Literature and materials in other languages, needed to support the
curriculum, are collected as needed.
G. Literature and Fiction:
Items in this category are purchased according to
the same criteria as other library materials.
H. Popular works:
Popular works are generally purchased only after evaluating
circulation statistics of the leased McNaughton popular books, which
may then be purchased at a substantial discount.
I. Electronic information products:
The Libraries and Learning Resources Divisions of
the College strive to maintain a balance of print and non-print materials,
taking into consideration these factors: accuracy or completeness,
quality of presentation, and ease of use, price, licensing or contract
requirements, stability, accessibility to all campuses, consistency,
and archival considerations. The Libraries use and contribute to the
selection of databases and full text materials accessible to the Libraries
from the state’s College Center for Library Automation (CCLA). These
databases are not owned or archived by the College and thus are not
a substitute to the development of the electronic collections of the
Libraries.
J. Non-print media:
Each campus library may purchase non-print materials
to support the curriculum following collection development guidelines
stated in this policy.
K. Gifts:
The selection of materials as gifts will be governed
by the same criteria that govern the selection of purchased items.
The Libraries reserve the right to refuse donations, and to dispose
of unwanted material. The Libraries are not responsible for a monetary
statement to the donor for tax purposes, but will acknowledge the
number of items donated in writing. The Libraries assume no responsibility
for the use donors make of such acknowledgements.
L. Special Collections:
The Libraries may develop specialized subject area
collections if additional funding sources are identified and/or upon
the request of the academic areas with the approval of the Library
Director
M. Reserves:
Departments may be asked to purchase Reserve items
due to budget considerations. When possible, priority will be given
to the purchase of these items.
N. Collection Maintenance/Weeded Materials:
Library faculty and management will withdraw library
materials according to established weeding policy. Continuous evaluation
of holdings is an essential ongoing practice.
Whenever possible, classroom faculty members and other
subject specialists are invited to participate in the weeding process
to assure that materials of historical, literary or research interest
are retained. Weeded materials are officially withdrawn from the collection.
Library materials reported missing may be replaced
after evaluation of the item according to the same criteria for selection
as regularly purchased items. If after one (1) year an item is still
missing, it is to be considered permanently lost and withdrawn from
the catalog (LINCC). Professional librarians responsible for collection
development are responsible for assuring that missing, lost, and damaged
materials are replaced as needed.
O: Format Guidelines:
Materials will be purchased as needed to support the
curriculum in all formats for which the Libraries have equipment and
facilities. The Libraries will normally not collect such items as:
article reprints, pre-prints, costumes, dissertations, educational
games, equipment manuals, medical instruments, models, specimens,
pamphlets, maps, and ephemera.
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Revised November 11 2002, November 19, 2002
and September 2003 by CS
Credit
Programs
Students
