The Library Director has the overall authority and responsibility for making sure the collection is balanced at Decker Library, although the tasks of selection are distributed amongst all Liaison Librarians.
Concentration collection development or teaching falls under the department that is teaching the particular class. Liaisons are welcome to ask for support from colleagues who have particular expertise.
While the Subject Librarian is the final authority for the selection of materials for the Decker Library, the librarians should consult with a variety of parties and/or sources. College staff, faculty, and students are all encouraged to request items, to express opinions on selections, and to offer suggestions and guidance in materials selection. Requested items will be checked against the collection criteria to make sure they are in scope before being accepted for purchase.
Faculty members are encouraged to work with their librarians, either individually or through their departments, to suggest appropriate materials for their disciplines and to provide specialized knowledge needed to help evaluate the collections and select additional titles for acquisition. Faculty members should consider not only the specialized needs of their courses or programs but also the general purpose of the collection and the collection’s scope.
The library staff assists in the selection process by checking requested titles against current holdings and by verifying the availability of requested items. Reference interviews with individual students or faculty members often identify titles or subject areas to which new or additional materials need to be added.
The library staff also monitors interlibrary requests to determine trends and patterns in ILL requests that show gaps in the library’s collections and acquisitions.