Collection Development Guidelines

The purpose of the Collection Development Policy is to establish guidelines for the library’s collections. These policies will be reviewed every two years or as needed. Last Updated August 9th, 2023.

DACC Library Mission Statement:

DACC Library upholds the mission of the college by providing excellent educational resources for a diverse community of learners. The DACC Library fully supports academic interests, workforce development, economic growth, and lifelong learning.

2019-2020 DACC Student Demographic Profile:

• 58% female
• 42% male
• 74% Hispanic
• Average age is 23.7 years.
• Median age is 20.0 years.
• 60% of new full-time students received a Pell grant.
• 31% of new full-time students are first generation in their family to attend college.

Doña Ana County Census Data

The responsibility for the selection of materials for the library is shared by the faculty and the professional librarians. Each of the professional librarians acts as a liaison between the library and an academic division. Although the librarians are primarily responsible for selecting, supporting, and maintaining the collection and resources, these responsibilities are shared with faculty and other relevant members of the college community. The library accepts recommendations for purchase.

The Director of the Library applies a funding formula, based on the previous academic year's SCH, each August for the current years library budget allotment by Division and Department.

While no formula is used to allocate funds by department or discipline, the allocation of funds by discipline is roughly based upon these factors:

• The number of students enrolled in a program
• Size and adequacy of the library's current collection and resources
• Actual use of library materials
• Cost of materials
• Research orientation/needs of the discipline
• Distance learning requirements
• Accreditation requirements

All resources that become a part of the library’s collection are selected to serve the research and curricula needs of DACC. Every effort will be made to keep the collection up to date in accordance to the specific requirements of all programs at DACC. For the Espina and East Mesa campuses, each will house the specific print collections for the programs that are specific to each campus.

The library will provide a variety of print, electronic, and audiovisual materials. Materials will be selected according to the following principles:

• Currency, relevance, scope & breadth, authenticity, authority, and cost
• Educational suitability for development of the subject
• Presentation that is well-researched and thoughtful
• Financial and space constraints of the library
• Timeliness and enduring value
• Competence and reputation of authors
• Thoughtful presentation of all sides of controversial issues
• Durability of print materials intended for library circulation

Priority will be given to:

• Materials that enrich and support the curriculum, taking into consideration the varied interests, abilities, and maturity levels of the students served.
• Materials that afford a range of research opportunities from elementary to advanced.
• Materials that encourage personal and intellectual growth, accommodate diverse viewpoints and represent a range of religious, ethnic, and cultural heritage.
• Materials that present a variety of views on controversial issues so that students may develop the practice of critical reading and thinking.

• Circulating materials: These are materials that are typically available for check-out, such as books and audiovisual media.
• Reference collection: These are materials made for the immediate use inside the library and are not meant to be checked out.
• Course Reserves: These are materials kept in the library for in-house or limited checkout use only. The parameters of the length of time, etc. will be set by each individual instructor or department.
• Fiction, Children’s, and Literature: These are collected to support campus departments and programs. Some library databases include this content.
• Academic and professional journals, popular magazines, and newspapers: These are available in either print or electronic formats and are meant to support DACC academic programs and patron interests.

• Books: An emphasis on acquiring new or current titles is made, although significant retrospective titles may be acquired if they reflect the curriculum.
• Textbooks: The library does not routinely acquire textbooks. The library offers textbooks that are provided by instructors for Course Reserves, and occasionally acquires textbooks for Course Reserves as needed.
• Reference works: Unless specifically requested by departments, electronic formats of reference materials will be preferred because of their wider accessibility and flexibility.
• Media: DVDs are currently the only media the library actively collects, but special requests by instructors or departments will be considered.
• Serials & periodicals: The library will continue to collect and maintain the traditional serials that support DACC programs. All new requests by departments will be considered on a case-by-case basis.
• Electronic resources: The Library will continue to prioritize accessibility and this typically means that preference is given to electronic formats.
• Foreign and/or non-English language materials: The Library will only consider those non-English print materials that directly support courses and instruction at DACC. The library subscribes to a variety of electronic books and specialized databases that provide support in this area.
• English as a second language: The library subscribes to a variety of electronic books and specialized databases that provide support in this area.
• Other materials: The library will consider these on an individual basis.

DACC Library participates in several reciprocal borrowing programs and is able to request books and articles from outside of our system for free for DACC Library patrons.

The elimination of older or outdated content from the collection is an essential part of the process of maintaining a vibrant and relevant library collection. The library director will rely on close communication with faculty to ensure that outdated materials are replaced on a regular basis. In general, the following materials may be withdrawn from the collection and discarded or exchanged:

• Obsolete materials: Information that has become outdated and could be misleading, e.g., encyclopedias, directories, travel, Geography, Science, Computer Science, Technology, Health Sciences, and Careers
• Materials acquired in support of a program no longer offered by DACC
• Superfluous duplicates
• Badly worn or defaced volumes for which there are suitable replacements
• Materials reported lost and not recovered within two years will be marked withdrawn in the inventory records

DACC Library may accept some donations on a case-by-case basis. Acceptance of gifts does not a mean that they will be added to the collection and their final disposition will be at the library’s discretion. Materials donated or bequeathed to the library shall be evaluated and accepted according to the same criteria as purchased materials. All gifts will become the property of the library and will be subject to the library’s rules of distribution, housing, withdrawal, and disposal.

Factors affecting retention of gifts include endorsement by professional associations, positive evaluations in professional journals, or if requested by faculty or staff.

What is not collected:

• Any items not tied specifically to a DACC program and/or deemed not essential for the collection
• Specific textbooks unless they are provided by instructors for the specific use of course reserves

The library will provide a donation receipt, but will not place a value on the donation.

The library recognizes that there are items within the library that may be considered controversial and offend some persons. Materials in the library are selected to support the instructional and research needs of the university community. A person who wishes to request the reconsideration of library material must file a formal written request for reconsideration using the DACC Library Request for Reconsideration form (please contact the Library Director for the form). The request will be reviewed by the appropriate subject librarian and the library director. Together, these librarians will develop a recommendation. The library director is responsible for making the final decision. Selections for this library will be made based on the merits of the materials. 

The DACC Library supports and endorses the following American Library Association policies:

• Library Bill of Rights
• Intellectual Freedom
• Freedom to View