Institutional Mission
The Library collection directly supports Lane Community College’s mission as a learning-centered community. Our Library endorses the Freedom to Read Statement and the ALA Bill of Rights. We provide quality, relevant resources for:
- Professional and technical career programs.
- Humanities, social sciences, and sciences college transfer.
- Foundational academic, language, and life skills.
- Lifelong personal development and community enrichment.
Purpose and Responsibility
This policy guides the selection, management, and fiscal planning of Library resources that support the students, faculty and staff.
- Librarian Role: Faculty librarians manage subject allocations, liaise with departments, and ensure a diverse, balanced collection.
- Community Input: Students and faculty are encouraged to suggest acquisitions that align with instructional needs.
- Budgeting: Fund allocations are reviewed each term based on curricular relevance, program size, and discipline-specific costs.
Selection Criteria and Limitations
Librarians prioritize resources that offer high intellectual value and support credit-bearing courses and personal and intellectual development..
General Guidelines
- Curricular Focus: Priority is given to materials supporting LCC’s active curriculum.
- Level: We build a strong foundational collection. Advanced research is supported via Interlibrary Loan (ILL) and the Summit consortium.
- Format: We balance print and digital resources for broad availability but maintain print for high-demand or tactile subjects.
- Language: Materials are limited to English and languages taught at the college.
- Cost: Items exceeding $125 require collective faculty librarian approval.
Exclusions and Restrictions
- AI-Generated Content: To ensure academic integrity and factual accuracy, the Library does not collect books authored or significantly generated by Artificial Intelligence.
- Self-Published Materials: We generally do not acquire self-published or "vanity press" books unless they provide unique local historical value or have received significant critical acclaim in professional review sources.
- Standard Exclusions: The Library does not typically purchase print textbooks, loose leaf sheet music, audiobooks, or standalone computer software.
- Gifts and Donations: We do not accept gifts or donations of materials due to lack of space and high processing costs.
Format-Specific Policies
- Reference: Current print and digital tools (encyclopedias, stats, etc.) are selectively maintained for quick information retrieval.
- Periodicals: Emphasis is placed on online database subscriptions with a few print periodicals of general interest.
- Audiovisual: Streaming video is preferred over physical DVDs. Selection focuses on durability and multi-course utility.
- Specialty Collections: Selective acquisition of popular fiction, children’s literature, and low-literacy materials supporting specific programs like Adult Basic and Secondary Education and English as a Second Language.
Collection Maintenance
To ensure the collection remains relevant and accessible, the Library follows a continuous cycle of evaluation.
- Deselection (Weeding): Materials are removed based on low usage, obsolescence, poor physical condition, or discontinued programs.
- Replacements: Lost or damaged items are replaced only if they still meet current curricular needs.
- Reserves: The Library accepts items to place on reserve to support specific classes, provided they meet general collection standards.
Reconsideration Policy
A person who wishes to request the reconsideration of library material must file a formal written Statement of Concern using the library-provided form. The form will be reviewed by the Library Review Committee composed of the subject liaison librarian, the Library Dean and a member of the Library staff. Faculty from the affected discipline will be consulted if appropriate.