I am a faculty member and I am concerned that the library will discard older and less used books that are still important for my students and research.
Similar to the acquisition of library materials, the judicious deselection of books and other physical material is an important part of library collection development. Librarians deselect books in a professional and responsible manner and apply criteria that is set out in the library's Collection Development Policy before recommending books for deselection. Additionally, librarians engage in a robust consultation process with the Library Committee, faculty and campus community prior to removing books from the collection. An exception to the consultation process includes books that are in poor physical condition (e.g. damaged, deteriorated, moldy, stained, or defaced). In the case of removing a book in poor condition, the library will attempt to purchase a replacement.
The section in the Collection Development Policy on the deselection of books in included below:
Deselection
The library's book collection will be reviewed on an as needed basis to ensure that it is meeting the current curriculum, educational, scholarship, and informational needs of students, faculty, and staff. Materials that no longer meet the needs of the college community may be withdrawn from the collection. The library’s deselection process ensures the professional and responsible removal of material from the collection. In addition, the deselection process is collaborative, transparent, sustainable, and inclusive. The library will consult with the campus community prior to the permanent removal of material from the collection. The following criteria should be considered when identifying material for deselection:
- Circulation history
- In-house use
- Acquisition date
- Last check in date
- Publication date
- Availability at other SUNY libraries
- Availability in digital format
- Citation counts
- Listed in core lists/subject bibliographies
- Listed in Choice as Outstanding Academic Title
- Local author
- Local subject matter
- Value to college curriculum/campus users
- Significance to the discipline
- Value as primary source
- Value representing diverse perspectives
- Physical condition
- Duplicate copies