This policy is a guide for the faculty, the librarians and other library staff for collection management activities. The libraries of Iona College serve a multi-campus institution comprising the School of Arts and Science and the Hagan School of Business which together offer baccalaureate and master degrees in more than 40 disciplines to a student body numbering approximately 4,000 FTE.

It is the mission of the libraries (Appendix) to facilitate access to information sources in support of the learning, teaching, and research activities of the Iona Community. Specifically, the libraries make available through acquisition or access or both:

• Materials supporting the curriculum of Iona College
• Materials for research by Iona College faculty, staff, and administration
• Materials to develop and enhance library special collections

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Students: The collections primarily serve the research needs of the students of Iona College enrolled in traditional, hybrid, and distance learning courses. The libraries acquire or provide access through electronic means to the materials needed to support the undergraduate and basic graduate curricula of the College, supplementing where necessary with document delivery.

Faculty: It is the intent of the libraries to offer collections that support faculty syllabi and teaching both in the classroom and online. This is done with full faculty participation in the selection process. In addition, through close collaboration with faculty, librarians endeavor to meet faculty research needs by acquisition, by electronic access, by document delivery, and by making special arrangements for the use of other libraries’ collections.

Staff and administrators: The libraries acquire and provide electronic access to reference materials in support of the work of campus administrative offices and, in addition, develop and maintain a higher education administration collection. Additional materials needed for the performance of administrative activities are accessed as needed.

Alumni and other visiting scholars: The libraries extend on-site print, video and audio collection use privileges to the graduates of Iona College and other visiting scholars. Additionally, Iona Alumni may borrow books from the libraries.

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The budget allocation is reviewed annually. The Director of Libraries, in consultation with the Coordinator of Technical Services, the Acquisitions Supervisor, the Serials Librarian, and the Electronic Resources Librarian, is responsible for allocating resources for collection development.

Funds available for collection development and maintenance are allocated across the range of subject areas according to projected need. In determining these allocations consideration is given to such factors as the numbers and variety of courses and numbers of students taught, the circulation patterns of the existing collection and interlibrary loan volume in related subjects, and the relative cost of materials in the field. Flexibility is necessary to address changes such as new courses or new emphases on existing programs.

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Under the general guidance of the Director of Libraries, the Coordinator of Technical Services has overall responsibility for the selection process, working with the librarians who select materials for the libraries' collections. In collaboration with faculty, the librarians develop the collections in accordance with general and specific selection criteria such as:

• Relevancy for the curriculum and appropriateness of the level of treatment.
• Need for developing or balancing the subject area.
• Quality, including scope, accuracy and currency or permanent value of the content.
• Authority of the author or issuing body.
• Suitability of format to content and compatibility of technology.

While the collections represent holdings in most subject areas at a level extensive enough for general inquiry, collection intensity is greatest in those disciplines taught in the undergraduate and graduate curricula. The collections may support advanced graduate-level and faculty research in some areas, however, the libraries recognize the need to use interlibrary borrowing to support most in-depth research.

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The special collections of the Iona College libraries serve special information needs and interests of the libraries user community or serve to preserve Ionas history. Inclusion of materials in special collections is at the discretion of the Director of Libraries.

The Reference Collection: The libraries acquire and provide access to standard reference publications for academic libraries, making available in greater depth reference works in the disciplines studied at the College. The Ready Reference Collection, shelved at the Reference Desk, consists of a subset of the Reference Collection and includes reference books used frequently by librarians assisting patrons at the Reference Desk. It comprises common sources including almanacs, directories, finding aids, etc. Its content changes according to need.

The Reserve Collection is comprised of materials in the circulating and reference collections that are in high demand and/or assigned for use in current courses. Personal copies of works owned by faculty may be placed in this collection temporarily, provided they comply with current copyright regulations.

The Faculty Publications Collection is housed in Ryan Library.

The Librarian Reference Shelf Collection consists of works in the field of library and information science and is purchased to assist members of the library staff in the performance of their duties.

The Curriculum Collection: The libraries purchase items for this Collection for the teacher education programs. Covering all subject areas in PreK-12 education, it includes student texts, teacher editions, teacher manuals, answer keys, childrens encyclopedias, childrens literature, and indexes and reference books.

The Leisure Reading Collection contains popular fiction and non-fiction titles. Updated monthly, this collection is intended to serve the recreational reading interests of the Iona Community.

The Collection in the Art of Teaching (CAT) is housed in the offices of the Center for Excellence in Learning and Teaching at Iona College (CELTIC).

The Irish History and Literature Collection is housed in Ryan Library.

Ryan Library also houses a collection of materials related to the history of Iona College, the Congregation of Christian Brothers, and their founder, Blessed Edmund Rice.

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Gift items are accepted with the understanding that they may be added to the collection or disposed of solely at the discretion of the library. Due to the cost of accession and in consideration of limited library shelf space, potential gifts are accepted only if they are highly relevant to the libraries needs. The libraries assume no responsibility for the appraisal of gift items, nor can the libraries accept items with restrictions.

When a monetary donation is given, the libraries are willing to adhere to reasonable wishes of the donor, such as the purchase of works within a given subject area meeting the selection criteria of the library.

Ordinarily, the libraries do not acquire rare books or materials of exceptional monetary value. However, consideration will be given to the acceptance of gifts of this nature, provided they comply with acquisition guidelines.

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The libraries strive to maintain a collection that is useful, relevant, and in good condition. To achieve this, the librarians regularly evaluate the collection and repair damaged materials. Materials that cannot be repaired or that no longer meet collection criteria are withdrawn. Input from faculty is sought whenever necessary.

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Iona College Libraries
Mission Statement
-Revised June 14, 2002-

The Iona College Libraries provide resources and services that reflect, support, and enhance the mission of the College by:

• developing and maintaining a balanced collection of materials to support and enrich the curricula of the College
  
• making the information and resources of the Iona Libraries, and other libraries, readily accessible to our students, faculty, and other library users

• providing appropriate library services in an open and caring environment, showing concern for and response to our patrons

• teaching the principles of library research, utilizing traditional and ever-changing methods of access, thereby promoting critical thinking, information literacy, and lifelong learning

• encouraging and facilitating library staff development

• following accepted principles and practices endorsed by the American Library Association

By applying these principles, the Libraries will fulfill our responsibility as a Center of Excellence at Iona College and make a positive difference in our patrons’ education and life experience.

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