The Administration of the College has delegated the responsibility for development and maintenance of the Bellingham Technical College Library (BTC Library) collections, facilities, and services to the Director. Collection selection and maintenance responsibilities are carried out by BTC Librarians in cooperation with the college’s faculty consistent with the selection objectives and criteria defined in these policies. Instructors have responsibility for recommending purchases in their subject specialties and for arranging for BTC Library support when planning new programs and in addressing student needs in their curricular area. Faculty, students, administration and staff are invited to submit suggestions for purchase in any subject area.
In order of priority, new materials are added to the collection to:
Support the instructional curriculum for students and faculty.
Provide information consistent with instructional professional technical fields.
Provide materials for independent study.
Provide a balanced collection, including materials that promote equity, diversity and inclusion, that represents a rich variety of views and expression.
Criteria considered in the evaluation and acquisition of materials are:
Relevance to instruction.
Timeliness & currency.
Historical value.
Accuracy.
Effective expression and quality production.
Professional evaluation in recognized critical guides.
Appropriateness of medium.
Availability of materials on a subject in the BTC Library or the broader community.
Demand.
Accessibility.
Cost.
Storage needs.
Materials will be purchased in the most efficient and effective formats in order to respond to varying learning preferences.
Periodical and digital database subscriptions will be evaluated on the basis of:
Relevance to the curriculum.
Historical use.
Projected use.
Access and Authentication.
Interface.
Cost.
Vendor reliability.
Reporting.
Periodical and Newspaper back files will be evaluated on the basis of available indexing and relevance to the curriculum.
Requests for software should be made by the faculty through their dean to CISS. Library staff should be appropriately notified.
A broad range of materials presenting diverse points of view on current and historical issues will be provided in order to help students develop critical and analytic skills. No material will be excluded because of race, nationality, sex, sexual orientation or the political, economic, religious, philosophical or social views of the author. The BTC Library adheres to the American Library Association’s Freedom to Read Statement (Appendix A) and to the Library Bill of Rights (Appendix B.).
With few exceptions, the BTC Library does not hold:
Items used only in the classroom, such as lab manuals, workbooks or reference materials necessary for instruction.
Serials that are not indexed in the BTC Library’s owned indexes.
Textbooks that students are expected to purchase, although instructors may place personal copies on reserve for student use.
Multiple copies.
Faculty, staff, administrators, and students are encouraged to make suggestions for purchase. A form is available at the Circulation Desk or you can print out a copy of the form from the link on the left-hand side of this page.
The continuous review and evaluation of library material is necessary as a means of maintaining an active library collection that supports the current curricular, research, and informational needs of its users. In the collection review process, new material may be added, and physically deteriorated or obsolete materials may be replaced or removed. Librarians work with faculty subject matter experts whenever possible to assess areas of the collection. All withdrawals are approved by the Director and/or Lead Librarian.
Criteria considered during collection review include:
Date of publication or acquisition.
Physical condition.
Circulation history/usage.
Currency/relevance of content.
Editions available.
Appropriateness of level.
Material format.
Bellingham Technical College Collection Development Policy Revised: 0221