Library Policies: Collection Development Budgets

The library’s book budget is established by the College Budget Committee as a part of the regular budget process. The book budget is then subdivided by the library into allocations for the support of individual academic departments and programs. Factors involved in determining a department’s level of support include total enrollment, majors, minors, regular faculty, average cost of materials, and historical support levels. Departmental allocations may be adjusted by consultation between the department chair and the library director. A special allocation is made available to newly appointed members of the regular faculty for the acquisition of standard resources in their subject specialties not yet present in the collection.

Funds allocated to the academic departments are expended by the library only at the recommendation of department chairpersons or department members designated to act as collection liaison to the library. College librarians are appointed to serve as liaison to specified departments. Approved order requests are forwarded from the department to its assigned liaison librarian and are ordered as time and funds permit from the source and on the terms most advantageous to the college.

Funds allocated to newly appointed members of the regular faculty may be used at their discretion for the purchase of library books or other information resources. These funds must be expended within the fiscal year and may not be used to initiate subscription orders or to acquire office copies.

Non-allocated funds in the library’s materials acquisition budget are used to purchase interdisciplinary, general, and reference materials that fall across or between departmental academic specialties and for major, expensive resources otherwise beyond the means of any single department’s allocation. Faculty, students, College administrators, and college staff are all invited to participate in the selection process by recommending book titles to the library.