LibAnswers: Library Policies

Collection Development Donation – Weeding Policy

Collection Development Donation – Weeding Policy

Collection Development

Based on annual allotment of funds - the Library’s top priority is to support Lehman College’s undergraduate and graduate curriculum and instruction. In addition, the Library acquires print, electronic, and multimedia resources to support faculty research and scholarship. Our overall objective is to build a balanced and comprehensive collection of quality, authoritative, and current research, reflecting a multiplicity of viewpoints and perspectives.

Purchase of course textbooks is limited by budget and number of students enrolled in the course. Faculty is
encouraged to provide a desk copy of the required text when publisher supplies one.

Multimedia

The Library collects multimedia resources to support Lehman’s curriculum across all disciplines, foster research, as well as enhance student learning, cultural enrichment, and intellectual advancement. The multimedia subject librarian welcomes purchase recommendations from faculty, though breadth is limited by the budget for multimedia resources.

Selection criteria include:

• Capacity to support curricula or faculty research
• Potential active use by Lehman community
• Faculty recommendation
• Quality and cultural enrichment value

Generally, the Library does not collect commercial or feature films, unless they have cultural value or are being
used within a course. Faculty will be referred to their local public library or commercial resources for these
products. Most films based on literary works will be purchased.

The primary collection format is DVD - with VHS as a backup when DVD is not available. Currently we do not
support high definition formats or computer application software.

Donations

The Library prefers titles published within the past ten years [five years for sciences and health sciences]. While we welcome donations of appropriate materials - gifts should be directed to the pertinent subject librarian. Before delivering materials, donors should prepare a list of items including author, title, publisher, publication date, and condition. The subject librarian reviews this list and determines whether or not material will be accepted.

Donors will receive an acknowledgement letter from the Library noting number of books donated. The Library reserves the right to incorporate materials into the collection - or may sell or dispose of it at its discretion.

Weeding Guidelines

Library faculty systematically reviews the stacks and donations to evaluate what to acquire or discard in order to maintain a useful and up-to-date collection. Weeding criteria may be modified for specific subject areas.

Replacements - New Editions – Binding – Mending

When identifying items for withdrawal – library faculty may decide whether to request replacements, newer editions, or recommend rebinding. Faculty should maintain ongoing list of titles to order when budget permits.

Government Documents

When withdrawing Depository items [Technical manuals in Science, Health; Education Reports] – please
inform Government Documents Librarian, as there are guidelines for discarding.

Criteria

Books to Consider Keeping

• Books donated with Gift Plates
• Books by Lehman faculty
• Check Faculty Publications, http://www.lehman.cuny.edu/library/faculty-publications.php
• Classic titles
• Titles on local history or by local authors
• College publications [yearbooks]
• Titles on current syllabi
• Out-of-print titles that are still useful and irreplaceable
• Biographical titles

Books to consider for Withdrawal

• Items with physical deterioration: missing pages, damaged bindings, water or mold damage
• Superseded editions
• Materials which no longer support curriculum, outdated, or contain inaccurate information
• Excess duplicate copies. Two copies are sufficient unless proven demand exists. Exceptions are  classics and consistently taught literary works.
• Old textbooks [more than 5-7 years old] - unless they are considered standards
• Encyclopedia sets, computer software and manuals, training manuals, or damaged spiral-bound books
• If uncertain, check circulation record or whether title is owned by another CUNY library

Compiled from:
Hunter College-Weeding, http://library.hunter.cuny.edu/about/collectionmanagement#weeding
Perma-Bound Weeding, http://www.perma-bound.com/library/weeding.faces;
ALA - Weeding Annotated Bibliography, http://www.ala.org/tools/libfactsheets/alalibraryfactsheet15
GPLS Collection Management Manual, January 2003
http://www.georgialibraries.org/lib/collection/colstaffman.pdf

Revised April 2019