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Technical Services & Collection Development Policy

Technical Services

This section is responsible in acquiring all library materials needed in the library.  Here, newly acquired library materials are processed before they are made ready for circulation.  Technical services include the following activities:

a. acquisition of books and other library materials for the library by purchase, gift, and exchange;

b. organizations of materials which concerns with the cataloging and classifications of materials for their easy location; and

c. conservation of library materials through binding, mending, simple repair, etc.

Collection Development : Selection & Acquistion of Library Materials

Purpose

Collection development is the process of assessing the strengths and weakness in a collection, and then creating a plan to correct the weakness and maintain the strength

Collection development hopes to achieve the following:

• a unified view of what the areas of the collection should be developed
• coordination between individuals responsible for the selection
• consistency in the collection or having a balance collections
• avoidance of confusions in the minds of the selectors and patrons as to what the collection is and is not.

Thus, the primary goal of the St. Thomas of Villanova Libraries is to support the teaching and educational function of the College. The objectives of collection development are: (1) to support the college curriculum, (2) to strengthen the collection, and (3) to provide for the research and information needs of the college community

Selection Responsibility

The development of a well-balanced library collection lies on a working combination of administrators, faculty and library staff. Broadly speaking, no member of the academic community be excluded from the process of library materials’ selection and deselection. It is a professional responsibility of the faculty to make recommendations in their respective disciplines and to incorporate library materials into course development. Suggestions from faculty through their liaison officer/s are strongly encouraged in order to support their current and planned programs/courses for they are considered experts in their field of specialization. Suggestions coming from students will also be given importance.

The final responsibility in the selection and deselection of library materials lies upon the Academic Liaison Librarians/Level Librarians with the approval of the Director of Libraries.

Allocation of Funds

It is the policy of the Library to formally allocate funds for the acquisition of books, periodicals publication, audiovisual materials, etc. Allocation is based on the informational and curricular needs of the academic community. Areas with weak collection are given priority. The Director of Libraries is given the responsibility to prepare the Libraries’ materials & equipment budget in order to fulfill the Library’s collection development objectives.

Statement on Gifts / Donations

All materials donated to the library automatically becomes its property and thus the library reserves the right to determine its retention, location, processing and other considerations relating to the material’s use or disposition. Gifts are also accepted based on the set of selection criteria to determine their appropriateness for addition to the collection.

Additional / Supplemental Considerations: Copyright Issues

The library acquire materials that conform or adhere to existing Intellectual Property Laws/ Copyright Laws and to maintain the highest possible ethical standards in the use of copyrighted materials for instructional purposes.

Acquisition of Library Materials

Acquisitions include ordering and claiming of materials and maintaining records. The Library acquires materials to support the needs of the College.

Acquisition Methods

Library materials are acquired through purchase, donations, and through interlibrary loan from another libraries or media centers.

Purchase. Library materials acquisition is largely dependent upon the demand or needs of the academic community. Titles requested/recommended for acquisition are subject for evaluation based on the criteria given and usually checked against standard selection tools, reviews in generals, catalogs, or preview the material/s. If found relevant the said request is then approved for purchase. Then, the materials are ordered directly from publishers or through a jobbers/distributors.

Donations/Gifts. The Library accepts gifts of books or materials and items in other formats. Gifts are generally accepted in order to supplement existing collections, support curricular programs, or provide the Library with materials of interest. The Library acknowledges all gifts and reserves the right to refuse a donation if the donor specifies special conditions. Once a gift is accepted, it becomes the property of the Library. Gifts that are not suited to the media collection, because of age, format, topic, physical condition, or factors will be either disposed of or passed/donated to other media libraries.

Types of Materials Acquired

The Library will develop, organize, and exploit collections of book and non-book materials, primarily within the subject areas covered by the college but which the regard also items of fundamental importance in related area, in order that the   overall  aspect  of  the  collections  may  be coherent  and well rounded. The following types of material are acquired- books (general/subject related), periodicals (local/foreign) and audiovisual materials such as videos in VHS cassette tape or laserdisc (VCD/DVD). Request for other audiovisual materials in other formats are also considered such as audiocassette recordings, slides, filmstrips (as needed), transparencies, compact disc, multimedia kits, CD-ROMS, etc.

Cataloging : Organization of Library Materials

In order to provide access to the holdings of a library an index or list of the materials in the collection must be maintained.  It is in the cataloging section where these materials are cataloged and organized. Cataloging is the process of preparing a catalog, or preparing entries for a catalog.

Collection Evaluation and Weeding Program

Evaluation and assessment are essential aspects of collection development. They are accomplished by librarians and faculty members working in concert to build, appraise, and strengthen the collection through a periodic, comprehensive review of the appropriate collections.

The purpose of collection review is to ensure a useful collection which meets the academic and general information needs of the college. In collection assessment / evaluation, the following principles must be considered:

1. the collection of the library must be supportive of the purpose and objectives of the institution;

2. the collection of library materials is adequate to support the institutional/curricular needs;

3. a continuous weeding program is maintained to keep the collection relevant and up-to-date.

Weeding is the process by which library materials no longer useful are removed form the library collection. It is the final step in the cycle of library materials. The librarian goes through the collection systematically removing dead growth, looking at everything and pulling out items that detract from the collection. It is a part of and a result of taking inventory. This is done to keep the library collection, fresh, alive and up-to-date.

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Note: For complete details of the library’s collection development and cataloging policies, see Chapters’ III and IV of the STV Libraries’ Administrative and Procedures Manual.