Library Policies

Mission Statement

Century College Library is a full partner with the college community in inspiring, preparing, and empowering students to succeed in a changing world.

The Library:

• Is the major information resource for the College, and supports opportunities for success by evaluating, selecting, acquiring, and providing access to resources that broaden perspectives and enrich the curriculum.
• Provides welcoming and inclusive physical and virtual spaces.
• Provides information literacy training and outreach programs that prepare students to become independent seekers of information and life-long learners.
• Supports the accreditation process of the College’s instructional programs.
• Supplements and shares the collection through interlibrary networks and collaborates with external academic and community partners.
• Supports the ongoing research needs of faculty; provides recreational reading and other media for our students, faculty, and staff; and serves the broader community.

Fines, Loan Lengths and Overdue Materials for Students

Loan Lengths

• Books – Due 3 weeks from checkout date. One renewal allowed online unless item is requested by another user.
• DVDs/Videos – Due 3 weeks from checkout date.
• Journal Issues – Due 7 days from checkout date.
• Reference Books – No checkout. For in-library use only unless cleared by a librarian.

Reserves

• Closed Reserves: No checkout – For use in library only.
• All other Reserves: 1 day, 3 day, 7 day, and 3 week (varies per instructor).

ILL (Inter-Library Loan) Renewals

Contact the Reference Tech in charge of ILL. Renewals must be requested through the lending institution.

Overdue Materials

When materials are overdue, the library will take the following steps:

• First notices – List of overdue items sent.
• Final notice:
  • Hold placed on college records for replacement fees over $500 (blocks library use, transcripts, and grades).
  • Borrower will be billed for the cost of the item.
  • If the item is returned, the cost will be waived and the hold lifted.

Overdue notices are a courtesy–it is the borrower’s responsibility to keep track of due dates. Due dates are available online by signing in to My Library Account, and due dates are emailed to the patron at the time of checkout.

Replacement fees can be paid through the Century Business Office. 

Under the Minnesota Revenue Recapture Act, Statutes Chapter 270A, the college is able to place a claim with the Minnesota Department of Revenue on future tax refunds due to the borrower for the amount of library fees owed. Century library materials are state property—items should be returned on time.

Special Use of Library Space

The library is not normally available for activities such as filming, interviewing, fundraising, etc., without prior permission. We encourage you to consider other spaces for such activities. If the library must be used, please try to schedule activities for a time when the library can be closed, such as between semesters. Prior permission is not required for brief activities such as still photography that does not include equipment setup or short tours.

Please return the Special Request Form to the Circulation Desk at least one week prior to the planned event. A librarian will contact you regarding your request.

Collection Development Policy

The Century College Library’s collection development policy sets the standards for selecting, developing, and maintaining the Library’s collection. Within the constraints of available funds, facilities, and staffing, the Library will acquire and make available materials in various formats, evaluate existing collections, and develop policies and procedures to maintain the quality of collections and information services. The Library is involved in a number of resource sharing agreements that expand the range of accessible materials and information.

The goals of the collection development policy:

• Ensure collection of library materials and information resources that meet and support the instructional, institutional, and individual needs of the Century College population.
• Provide a planning document for the consistent and balanced development of the collection.
• Provide standards for the selection of library materials.
• Provide standards for the ongoing assessment of the collection.
• Assist in determining and documenting budget needs.

The Century College Library collection emphasizes those subject areas most directly related to the Century College curriculum, including arts and humanities; business; English, communication, and languages; health and medicine; science and math; social sciences; and technology and engineering.

General Selection Policies

The Library accepts recommendations for library materials from teaching faculty, administrators, staff, and students; however, ultimate responsibility for the overall quality and balance of the Library collection rests with the Library faculty. They are responsible for anticipating the need for specific items and acquiring them. To help ensure both the quality and scope of the collection, librarians consider reviews in both general and specialized review media, standard bibliographies, user requests, course syllabi, and reserve book lists.

The Library has ultimate responsibility for its materials budget. It does not assign annual allocations to subject areas or academic divisions/departments. The Library maintains the flexibility necessary to meet both anticipated and unforeseen demands for resources, and to be able to take advantage of the most economical purchase strategies.

In selecting resources, the Library attempts to include material representing differing points of view on controversial issues. As long as subjects fit into the general collection guidelines of the Library, they will be considered without censorship or prejudice when determining the collection’s balance. In recognition of the Library’s responsibility to make materials available to our users, the Century College Library adheres to the following policy statements by the American Library Association:

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

Selection Criteria

The Library attempts to acquire all types of library materials to meet its mission objectives. The Library acquires materials of both ongoing and current interest in all relevant subject areas. In addition, the Library strives to collect materials that offer a balance of viewpoints on controversial issues.

The selection objectives include acquiring and making available:

• Resources for current instructional programs
• Resources for new or expanding instructional programs
• Resources that support program accreditation requirements
• General research materials for students, staff, and faculty
• Resources needed for research, which are not available on campus, through interlibrary loan agreements
• Some easy-reading materials for developmental/recreational reading

In order to meet its objectives, the Library follows these general guidelines:

• Library funds are spent only for materials housed within the Library, databases linked to the Library homepage, or tools used within the Library for selection, processing, or providing access for users, etc.
• Materials used by only one class (e.g., videos) will be purchased at the discretion of the librarians. Decisions to purchase these items are dependent on the cost of the item and available funds.
• Duplicates are purchased only for heavily used items that will continue to be used on an ongoing basis. Multiple copies for classroom use are not purchased.

The following criteria are considered in selection of library resources. However, all of these criteria need not apply to an individual item for it to be acceptable.

• Relevance to the college’s curriculum, research needs, and educational goals
• Scope and content – comprehensiveness, depth of coverage, and factual accuracy
• Scholarly value or literary merit
• Authoritativeness of the author(s), editor, or publisher
• Currency and timeliness
• Positive reviews
• Relevance to and role in balancing viewpoints of existing collections
• Enrichment of special collections
• Availability of materials through interlibrary loan or document delivery
• Cost of the item or set of items

Special Collections

Special Collections are acquired through gift, transfer, or purchase. There is currently no budget allocation specifically for the purchase of Special Collections.

Century Librarians evaluate resources offered to the Library to determine if they meet our collection development policies. Once a collection is accepted, the Library reserves the right to de-accession the following types of items:

• Duplicate existing holdings
• Relate to subjects that are no longer a priority
• Are judged not to be of enduring value
• Are in an unsupported format

De-accessioned materials may be offered to the donor or donor’s heirs or transferred to other College departments.

Century College Library currently houses two special collections:

• A. Bennett Wilson Collection: This print collection is housed in the Library’s Reserve Collection area, and can only be used within the Library. The long-term objective is to digitize this collection. In the event that the Library can no longer house this collection, it will be transferred to the Digital Resource Foundation for the Orthotics & Prosthetics Community (www.drfop.org).
• Fire/EMS/Collection: The following practices are used to manage this collection:
  • Subscribe to and archive the following magazines:
    • Minnesota Fire Chief
    • NFPA Journal
  • Archive standards and codes
  • Focus on journals
  • Add print resources when requested
  • Update editions as needed
  • Consider becoming part of the inFire Consortium

Electronic Resources

The same general guidelines used for selecting print material are used to select electronic resources. Other considerations may include:

• Ease of access, including user-friendly interface and navigation tools, remote access, mobile options, accessibility for users with disabilities
• Licensing limitations and restrictions
• Unique features
• Added value over existing subject coverage and balance in collections
• Electronic resource stability and technical support from vendor
• Options for multi-user access
• Perpetual access
• Cost relative to available funds
• Availability of training and online tutorials
• Coverage & currency, including update frequency
• Compatibility of the resource with existing hardware and software

Ongoing de-selection of Internet resources is a necessity because of the dynamic nature of such resources. De-selection occurs when:

• Cost and usage relative to available funds is not sustainable
• Content overlaps with other holdings
• A resource is no longer available or maintained
• Currency, authority, or accuracy of content becomes questionable
• Content is no longer needed due to curriculum changes

Electronic resources may duplicate print resources to provide an additional point of access when different formats meet the needs of off-site users, users with disabilities, and other user groups.

Textbooks

As a general policy, the Library does not purchase textbooks for the collection when these are being used as a course text. We will add textbooks to the collection on a case-by-case basis, where the material represents a unique synthesis/summarization of existing knowledge in a field or where the material supports curriculum. (For example, the Library will purchase a physics textbook that is not being used for a course if the textbook summarizes the most recent scholarship in the field of physics. The Library will purchase a copy of Old Man and the Sea when this is being used for a course if a copy is not already owned.)

Some textbooks are available on reserve at the Library’s Circulation Desk; in general, textbooks may be used only in the Library. These reserve textbooks are often the property of a department or faculty member, or a donation from the bookstore. At the beginning of each semester, the Library tracks student requests for textbooks and uses these requests to serve as the basis for soliciting donations from the bookstore; the focus is on textbooks that are in high demand, used in multiple classes, and serve gateway courses.

The Library will attempt to obtain textbooks through interlibrary loan when a copy is available in the MINITEX region (MN, SD and ND), Wisconsin or Iowa, or when multiple copies are available in OCLC. The Library will not process interlibrary loan requests for multiple copies of a textbook or for textbooks that are available in the reserve, general or ebook collections.

Weeding

Keeping the collection current is an ongoing activity. A cycle of weeding is completed for every subject area at least once every eight years. For areas that involve current technologies and scientific knowledge, such as computers or nursing, weeding occurs as frequently as is needed to maintain the accuracy of the materials.

Criteria for weeding include:

• Physical condition
• Frequency of circulation
• Duplicate copies of low-circulating materials
• Currency of information
• Relevance to current curriculum
• Superseded editions of materials
• Availability in other libraries
• Faculty input

The Library retains items that meet the following criteria:

• Listed in Resources for College Libraries (RCL)
• Needed for accreditation
• Classic in field (determined by number of Minnesota State libraries holding the title)

Other Considerations for Retention:

• Only 2 or 3 other copies are listed in OCLC
• Unique in Minnesota

Copyright

The Century College Library endeavors to comply with U.S. Copyright Law (17 U.S.C.).

Gifts

Gifts of materials may be accepted with the understanding that they will be subject to the same criteria for inclusion in the collection as purchased materials. The Library reserves the right not to add gift materials to the collection, and to dispose of them as deemed appropriate. Library personnel cannot appraise gift materials for tax or inheritance purposes.

Items we are unable to accept:

• VHS tapes, DVDs, audio cassettes or CDs
• Magazines and encyclopedias
• Textbooks, computer books, or reference books more than 3 years old
• Items in poor condition or with writing/highlighting

If you have materials to donate that you believe would be a relevant addition to the library’s collection and support the educational programs at Century please contact us at askalibrarian@century.edu.

Challenged Materials

Selection of materials by the Library does not imply endorsement of the contents or views expressed in those materials. Because the Library strives to provide collections that represent a diversity of viewpoints, Library users may occasionally find materials owned by the Library to be controversial or objectionable.

Written complaints will be considered by a committee of the college librarians and their dean using the selection criteria outlined in this policy. In considering such complaints, the committee will adhere to the Library Bill of Rights, which states: “Materials should not be excluded because of the origin, background, or views of those contributing to their creation… . Materials should not be proscribed or removed because of partisan or doctrinal disapproval.”

No material will be excluded from the collection because of race, nationality, religion, gender, sexual orientation, political or social viewpoint, or controversial nature of either the author or the material.