LIBRARY COLLECTION DEVELOPMENT GUIDE

Mailing address:
Los Angeles Trade-Technical College
Library and Learning Resources Center
400 West Washington Boulevard
Los Angeles, California 90015
213 763-3958 FAX 213 763-5388

Overview

Collection Development is the process of selecting books, periodicals, and electronic resources for Los Angeles Trade-Technical College (LATTC) Library. In its Collection Development activities, the LATTC Library respects the principles of intellectual freedom as outlined in the American Library Association documents, the Library Bill of Rights and the Freedom to Read Statement.

Responsibilities for developing the Library's resources and collections are shared among the Library Faculty, also known as Library Faculty Liaisons.  They support collection development in specific disciplines and subject areas. The goal of Library Faculty Liaisons working with input from Faculty in their disciplines is providing information resources which support the campus curriculum and meet current and future needs of our campus community. Faculty with questions or comments about the Library's collection are encouraged to consult the Library Faculty Liaison in their subject area or the Library Department Chair at 213 763-3969, KiteLS@lattc.edu.

Collection Development Library Faculty Liaisons

Guidelines for Recommending New Titles

Books, Media or Electronic Resources:

LATTC students and faculty are encouraged to make new collection development recommendations for purchase to the Library. The Library will try to fulfill appropriate, curriculum-relevant requests within budget limits. Please note that the Library reserves the right to make all final decisions on Collection Development purchases.

Requested resources should be:

Faculty wishing to recommend resources are asked to contact their Library Faculty Liaison.  Faculty may submit written resource requests to their Library Faculty Liaison via email or campus mail.  Questions regarding a request will be routed back to the requester by the Library Faculty Liaison for that subject area.

The Library strives to collect the monographs authored or edited by LATTC faculty. If you have a new book being published, or if the Library is lacking an earlier one, please contact Library Acquisitions at 213 763-3977 or lozanomm@lattc.edu. Donations to the LATTC Library of faculty-authored titles are always appreciated. For all Library requests, please provide your name, department and the following information as known:

Books

Please include the ISBN and price if possible, as these will facilitate the processing of your requests. Feel free to legibly mark and submit pages from publisher catalogs, flyers and advertisements, photocopies of reviews from journals or bibliographies from books, etc., to your Library Faculty Liaison.

Faculty Reserves

Faculty members are encouraged to provide the library with a copy of their course textbook from the publisher for placement on Faculty Reserve for their classes.  Please provide the course number and semester. The loan period is generally two [2]-hours for Faculty Reserve. When received from the Faculty member these books will be processed and shelved in the Faculty Reserves area, LRC, first floor. A processing period of at least three (3) days is requested.

Periodicals

Due to budgetary constraints, the high inflation rates for periodical subscriptions and the ongoing fiscal commitment required of periodicals, the Library is very limited in its ability to fulfill requests for new periodical subscriptions.

Faculty wishing to submit a new periodical subscription request should do so via email to their Library Faculty Liaison. Please include with all requests information specifying how the periodical supports the curriculum and course numbers and assignments involving the requested title. Other factors used in evaluating periodical requests include cost, the availability of indexing, access to a full-text online version of the periodical, etc.

Please submit Collection Development item requests to the Library via:

Deselecting Library Materials

Library Faculty deselection of Library materials is the process of systematically removing items in all formats from the collection.  Deselection is vital to the maintenance of a current, academically relevant Library collection. The deselection process provides quality control by regularly eliminating from the collection materials that are outdated, inaccurate, worn-out or no longer appropriate to current curriculum or to student or faculty interests.  In addition, the deselection process creates space for new, curriculum-relevant Library resources.

LATTC Library Faculty have the responsibility for organizing and conducting planned, ongoing deselection.   LATTC Faculty with appropriate subject expertise are encouraged to participate in deselection in their disciplines and Faculty are regularly consulted when items are recommended for deselection.  Please contact the Library Faculty Liaison in your discipline area to arrange a meeting to review materials or review materials at your convenience when the Library is open.

Each fall and spring semester books and materials that meet the criteria for deselection are temporarily relocated next to LRC 220 for faculty review for that semester.  Faculty may request certain books and materials be reconsidered for the collection. Please email your Library Faculty Liaison with a written list of requested items and a brief rationale for retention. If there are no responses regarding a title within the semester, the Library will proceed with the deselection process.

Library Faculty criteria regarding deselecting materials include the following:  

Please contact the Library Chair at 213 763-3969 if you have any questions. 

Donating Materials to the Library

The LATTC Library and Learning Resources Center welcomes donations of books and other information resources which strengthen the existing collection and support the college curriculum and educational programs.  Gift materials are reviewed by the appropriate Library Faculty Liaison for inclusion in the Library's collection based on the Library’s Collection Development Guide.

Please note that gifts are presumed to be given without condition and upon receipt, gifts become the property of the college.  Any specific conditions placed upon an offered gift must be negotiated and agreed upon by the Library Chair before delivery.

Disposition of gifts not added to the collection is at the discretion of the Library and may include selling the items at Library book sales, donating the materials to other institutions or recycling materials.

Gifts - Basic Guidelines

Generally, current non-fiction books which fall within the scope of the current LATTC curriculum are the most appropriate materials to donate to the Library.  With few exceptions, the following types of materials may not be added to the library's collection:

Gifts - Periodical Subscriptions 

Please note that subscription prices for institutions are often higher than they are for individuals. Anyone interested in subscribing to a periodical on behalf of the Library should contact Library Acquisitions at 213 763-3977 or lozanomm@lattc.edu.

Gifts - Acknowledgments

Upon request, an acknowledgment of a donation will be sent to the donor several weeks after its receipt. If a gift acknowledgment is desired, please leave a name and address or contact Library Acquisitions, 213 763-3977 or lozanomm@lattc.edu.  Please note that the acknowledgment confirms the quantity and nature of the gift only. It is not an inventory and does not place a value on the gift for tax or other purposes.

Gifts – Delivery

In most cases, gifts are to be delivered to the Library. Gifts of a few volumes only may be left at the Circulation Desk ((1st floor, LRC) or the Reference Desk (2nd floor, LRC) when the Library is open.  Donations may also be delivered directly to Library Acquisitions, LRC 218 (through the LRC 220 office area) when the Library is open.

Please note that gifts of 25 or more volumes must first be reviewed by the Library Chair prior to being accepted or delivered.  Please call Library Acquisitions at 213 763-3977 or email lozanomm@lattc.edu, if you have further questions.