Library Policies

Process

The Library dean charges the Reconsideration Request Review Panel as a standing Library governance assignment to consider requests. The panel includes five members drawn from Library and Media Services faculty and staff, with a preference for members whose credentials include training in the ALA Code of Ethics and the U.S. Constitution’s First Amendment, and whose work schedules include summer.

When a person or group requests reconsideration of material in the Library, Photo Services, Media Services, Learning Centers or any other area administered Library dean, the process shall be:

• The person or group makes completes a Request for Reconsideration Form, which are also available at public service desks including circulation, research, media loan and photo services.
• Upon receiving a request, the dean schedules a meeting to consider it. If appropriate, the dean may consider an interim measure before the panel is convened. The dean facilitates the meeting, but does not advocate for a position and does not vote.
• Consideration is guided by principles found in the American Library Association’s Library Bill of Rights, as well as the college's Social Contract. Consideration of the request is conducted within a process of active listening from all present. The group may arrive at a unanimous finding or it may decide to conduct a roll call vote. In the latter case, a simple majority carries the finding.
• A member or members of the group provide the dean with the finding and, if applicable, the vote count in writing.
• The dean receives the finding, ordinarily within two business days of the meeting, and reviews it in consideration of the Social Contract and any relevant college policy. The dean may or may not concur with the finding. If the dean does not concur with the finding, the dean will provide a written explanation to the review panel. The dean will share their decision with the person or group who made the reconsideration request so long as that person provided contact information.

Introduction

This policy statement describes guidelines for building and maintaining The Evergreen State College Library collection, which serves the College Mission of interdisciplinary teaching and learning among undergraduate and graduate students and faculty in support of the Five Foci of Learning and Six Expectations of Graduates. The policy outlines responsibilities and procedures for collection building and criteria for selecting materials. It is also intended to inform the short-term and long-term planning processes of the Library and the college.

The Library adheres to and supports policy statements of the American Library Association, in particular the Library Bill of Rights, the Freedom to Read Statement and the Intellectual Freedom Statement. In vigorous support of College policies and goals, the Library places the highest priority on collecting materials which reflect the concerns, history, interests and needs of a culturally and socially diverse user population. We are committed to collecting works and providing information service of the highest quality to support the finest education possible for Evergreen students.

1.0 Collection Development Responsibilities

The library dean and associate dean oversee the budget and participate in collection development when appropriate. The selectors have overall responsibility for developing the Library collections in the context of the Resource Selection Committee.

1.1 Resource Selection Committee and Selectors

Membership in the Resource Selection Committee includes the library dean and associate dean, faculty and staff librarians, and the head of processing and acquisitions. Selectors within the committee include the faculty and staff librarians and occasionally the library dean or associate dean.

The library dean and associate dean determine the overall amount of money available for resource acquisitions at the approach of the fiscal year. The committee works together to determine how that money is allocated prior to the beginning of the fiscal year.

Selectors consult with the committee about major purchases and collections that will have an effect on user access and technical support. Selectors are responsible for communicating new and updated resources to faculty, students, and the greater Evergreen community.

During the summers, when the committee is dormant, selectors will consult with both contracted and off-contract members if they are available and responsive for consultation about major purchases exceeding $1,000, or individual materials that exceed $500.

1.2 Archives, Special Collections and Rare Books Room

The Library archives and special collections select materials based on the Archives Collection guidelines and the college's records retention schedule.

The Rare Books Room has a separate collection development policy.

2.0 Selection Criteria

We follow several strategies for developing our collections, including but not limited to:

• Working closely with faculty in the curriculum planning process to acquire materials that support teaching and learning.
• Coordinating with the Greener Bookstore to determine required course materials.
• Working within subject areas to consult reviewing sources, catalogs, exhibitions, book fairs, upcoming events and other outside sources for selection.
• Regularly reviewing and storing up-to-date usage data to inform renewals and new purchases.
• Routinely reviewing and purchasing materials requested by students, faculty and staff via the Purchase Request Form.
• Routinely reviewing gifts and donations according to our current Donation Guidelines.

Resources added to the library's collections must meet at least one of the following criteria for selection. If none of the following criteria is met, the materials in question may be removed or declined for purchase. Material is:

• Integral to the curriculum, learning and teaching, and overall mission at Evergreen.
• Demonstrated to be used frequently according to current usage data with an overall cost per use not to exceed $15.
• Unique and significant to the area, liberal arts in general, or in relation to the broader Orbis Cascade Alliance collection.
• Representative of diverse voices not currently represented in the collection.
• Representative of scholarly work completed by faculty, students, and alumni of Evergreen.

2.1 Guiding Principles and Policies

Collection content is determined by the selection criteria. Individual materials that exceed $500 will be reviewed by members of the committee to determine if an acceptable alternative can be found. Faculty librarians may work with faculty to determine these alternatives, or the committee may determine that the purchase is justified at the cost.

Current emphasis in subject collections is given to all aspects of Evergreen's current Fields of Study, Paths, and Academic Certificates. Emphasis is given to supplying a collection of many different viewpoints and authorship, particularly perspectives of BIPOC, LGBTQIA+, and women community members.

Emphasis in the general collection is also on adding significant and representative studies in all subject areas of interest to the curriculum and to liberal arts education in general.

The Library collects material in all formats with a current emphasis on electronic resources and databases to support both in-person and remote learning. Print materials will be preferred over electronic if it is the only format available for an item, the cost of print is substantially lower, or the format is expressly favored by the requester.

The Library selectively collects materials in foreign languages for the Curriculum Room and to support current language and literature courses and programs.

In general, duplicate copies will not be purchased, but duplication may occur via donations or when missing materials are replaced and the original material is subsequently returned. The library may also choose to purchase a duplicate copy of an item when a request is made:

• for a course reserve, and the current copy is checked out and will not be returned in time to be put out on the ‘Course Materials on Open Reserve’ shelf before the quarter begins; or,
• for material in a format other than what is currently owned (print, electronic) with reasonable justification provided, including accessibility needs, support for remote learning, support for multiple simultaneous use, very high demand, etc.

Requests for duplicate materials will undergo additional scrutiny, especially around affordability and workload, and will be brought to the committee for discussion when deemed necessary by the head of acquisitions.

2.2 Cooperative Collection Development

The Library participates in a number of cooperative collection development initiatives, including but not limited to projects and group purchases coordinated through the Orbis Cascade Alliance, Washington state’s Cooperative Library Project initiative administered through the University of Washington, and group database packages offered through the Washington State Library's Statewide Database Licensing Project.

Since the Library works in the context of a shared collection and shared catalog with the Orbis Cascade Alliance, we add and remove materials with the greater collection in mind and are guided by the Alliance's Statement of Collection Development Best Practices.

2.3 Course Materials

At least one copy of every required course material, in print or electronic format, will be purchased by the Library. Course material requests are made by faculty directly to the Greener Bookstore. The library receives those requests directly as well and maintains its own course materials requests spreadsheets.

Our ‘Course Materials on Open Reserve’ program is intended to efficiently and reasonably help the greatest number of students get access to the most amount of materials. Given workload and budget constraints, it cannot reasonably assume to provide access to all materials to all students.

Collection development considerations particular to course materials:

• We will prioritize purchasing e-books with unlimited or concurrent licenses that are DRM-free, when possible.
• When unlimited or concurrent licenses for e-books are not available, we will typically purchase 3x user licenses with attention given to affordability, cost difference vs print book, and cost-to-value ratio when compared to students purchasing the book on their own. In situations where this brings the cost over $500, or seems questionable given these criteria, the head of acquisitions may bring these purchases to RSC for discussion.
• In situations where we already own the print book, we will purchase the e-book as well if there is an unlimited access license available.
• If a request is made for a book in a specific format other than the one we already own, we will purchase that material in that format if we deem there is a reasonable justification and that it is affordable to do so.

Acquisitions staff will use their best judgment when making decisions around purchasing course materials, weighing value and benefit vs cost and workload. The head of acquisitions will bring difficult purchase decisions to the committee for discussion and approval.

2.4 Low-Cost and Open Educational Resources

In response to HB 1119 and college policy, the Library will work in collaboration with faculty members to purchase course materials and find low-cost alternatives within the requirements for requesting material purchases.

2.5 Gifts and Donations

The Library welcomes gifts for the collection that follow our current Donation Guidelines.

The Library will not assess or estimate the value of donated materials, nor accept donations with any stipulations or requirements placed on our disposal of the materials.

The associate dean will act as the primary point of contact for donation requests. When donations are accepted, selectors will be responsible for determining which donated materials will be added to the collection.

2.5 Resource-Sharing Requests & Dissertations

When an Evergreen student, staff, or faculty makes a resource request via the library’s catalog that is not able to be filled by our sharing partners in Summit or Rapido, then the next step will be to attempt to locate and purchase a copy of the requested material.

• For books, these requests are made by circulation staff and sent to the acquisitions department.
• Dissertations are purchased in electronic format directly by circulation staff and then sent to the technical services area for cataloguing.

3.0 Weeding and Collection Maintenance

Subject selectors weed the collection in their respective subject areas, guided by changes in the curriculum and the selection criteria. Further criteria for removing material from our collection may include:

• Outdated or superseded materials
• Materials with more accessible formats available
• Physical space or shelving concerns
• Excessively worn or damaged materials
• Missing materials

3.1 Damaged Materials

Materials returned to the Library in a damaged state will first be reviewed by the Library technician assigned to conservation assessment.

Materials deemed damaged beyond repair by the technician will be pulled from the collection and reviewed by the relevant selectors for a final decision of repair or replacement.

Materials selected for discard will be sent to technical services to be removed from the collection and when necessary the appropriate notifications will be placed on the patron’s record.

Selectors send replacement requests to acquisitions. Damaged materials are paid for out of the replacement budget.

3.2 Missing Materials

Titles which are determined to be missing or lost will be reviewed annually for potential replacement.

Mission

The James F. Holly Rare Books Room collection explores the art of the book by collecting and providing access to handmade books, small press works, limited edition prints and broadsides, and rare artist reference materials.

Rights and Responsibilities of the Rare Books Group

The Rare Books Group is responsible for developing and maintaining the collection housed in the Rare Books Room according to the selection criteria and available material budget. Membership includes the associate dean, archivist, two members of the Resource Selection Committee and up to two student representatives. The group meets at least once per quarter to discuss collection development and collection care.

The group has the right to remove any purchased or donated materials from the Rare Books Room if the mission, focus or available space has changed.

Items that become damaged will be evaluated by the group to determine if mending or de-acquisition is necessary. A replacement may be ordered, if available.

Donated or purchased materials that are widely available and traditionally bound may be added to the general collection for circulation. Materials that require a high level of care and handling may be suggested for donation at a larger institution.

The group is responsible for ensuring proper housing and shelving of rare materials as well as ensuring access to the collection within visitor guidelines.

Selection Criteria

The scope of the Rare Books Room is broad. Due to our limited space and budget, we are focusing new acquisitions on materials that are locally significant to the Pacific Northwest or locally created by Evergreen students, faculty, staff and alumni. As part of the Library's Equity Action Plan, focus is being given to new acquisitions on materials created or written by Black, Indigenous and People of Color.

What do we collect?

• Fine press works, artist books and broadsides created by and about diverse populations, marginalized voices and indigenous communities.
• Finely printed or illustrated books by small presses.
• Handmade artist books of all sizes that are unique and limited in print. 
• Specimens that demonstrate the variety and history of bookbinding techniques, book structures and printing methods.
• Exceptional, seminal or capstone works that were printed and/or bound in book arts programs at Evergreen or by students, faculty, staff and alumni. Individual and group class submissions will be assessed by the group for potential inclusion in the collection.
• Book arts reference materials, indexes, manuals and instructional books that are limited edition or out-of-print.
• Genuine limited editions (250 copies or fewer) considered on individual merit and relationship to Evergreen's mission and curriculum.
• Limited edition broadside prints that are unique and cover diverse topics relevant to or created by the college's community.

What don’t we collect?

• Widely circulated trade books.
• Autographed materials that do not meet the above criteria.
• Historical materials that do not pertain to the Pacific Northwest region or the curriculum.
• Materials that are actively deteriorating due to pest infestation, red rot, mold, mildew or general wear. Materials that are wet or have an odor.
• First editions of literary works that are not fine press or limited editions.

Resources 

National:
Printed Matter
Fine Press Book Association and Parenthesis
Vamp and Tramp Booksellers
Print/Book Artist/Scholar of Color Collective
Codex Book Fair

Local:
23 Sandy
The Book Arts Guild
Puget Sound Book Artists
Community Print