MCC Libraries empower students to become critical thinkers, effective researchers, and life-long learners by designing and implementing innovative instruction, fostering interdisciplinary and community collaborations, curating high-quality collections, and providing welcoming gathering spaces for the college. Through our commitment to equity and inclusion, we support the holistic needs of the diverse MCC community.
Ground-breaking for the Brighton Campus of MCC took place on June 11, 1965, with a slated completion date of September 1967. Construction problems delayed the “official” opening of the campus until September 1968. The library was up and running at that time.
There are three floors open to the college community that total 51,843 square feet. That includes EVERYTHING within the exterior walls.
The Brighton Campus library is officially known as the LeRoy V. Good Library and is named after MCC's first president. He died on September 14, 1972, while still holding the office of president. The dedication of the library, in his honor, took place on May 18, 1973.
The Downtown Campus is served by the DC Learning Commons, which combines a computer lab with a traditional library setting. It is officially known as the Anne M. Kress Learning Commons. The MCC Board of Trustees renamed the Learning Commons to honor past MCC president Dr. Anne M. Kress on December 9, 2019. Dr. Kress was president of MCC from July 2009 to January 2020.
A. Objectives
The mission of the MCC Libraries is to provide all individuals in the college community with a selection of books and other resources and materials to aid the individual in the pursuit of curricular excellence as well as the furtherance of personal educational goals. Because of the volume of publishing, as well as the limitations of budget and space, the library must have a collection development strategy with which to meet the college’s interests and needs. The collection development strategy is to be used by the library staff in the selection of materials and also serves to acquaint the libraries’ users with the principles of selection. The collection development strategy, like all other policies, will be reviewed and/or revised as the need arises or on a designated periodic basis.
B. Responsibility for Acquisition
The ultimate responsibility for selection of library materials rests with the Collection Management Librarian who operates within the framework of this strategy. This responsibility is to be shared with other members of the library staff through the library liaison program.
C. Methods of Acquisition
1. Library materials may be purchased from library suppliers, local retail outlets, subscription agencies or any other legitimate, accepted source.
2. Patron-driven acquisitions (PDA). This system allows for a purchase-on-demand model via the MCC Libraries’ Interlibrary Loan service. When a patron initiates an interlibrary loan request for certain materials, instead of borrowing that material from another library, it may be purchased for the permanent collection instead. To be eligible for purchase, the material must meet certain content and cost criteria. This procedure can actually result in lower costs to the library.
D. Criteria for Acquisition
The main points considered in the selection of materials are:
1. Individual merit of each item.
2. Suitability of material for the support of the curriculum.
3. Existing library holdings.
4. Budget.
E. Collection Evaluation and Assessment
The collection needs continuous evaluation to ensure that the library is fulfilling its goal to provide materials in a timely manner to meet patrons’ interests and needs. Statistical tools (circulation reports, collection turnover and fill rates) as well as patron input via surveys, requests for titles and feedback are also useful in evaluating the collection.
F. Withdrawal
1. An up-to-date, attractive and useful collection is maintained through a continual withdrawal and replacement process. Replacement of worn volumes is dependent upon current demand, usefulness, more recent acquisitions, and availability of newer editions. This ongoing process of weeding is the responsibility of the library as a whole. Withdrawn materials will be handled in a way consistent with current practice.
2. As a guide, items are identified for withdrawal when they are:
a. factually inaccurate or obsolete
b. worn beyond repair
c. irrelevant to the needs of the community served
d. not circulated in a five-year period
e. superseded by a new edition or a better title on the topic
f. of no discernible literary or topical merit
G. Scope of Collection
Curricular Content
Aims to provide students, faculty and staff with the materials needed to support and further the needs of the college curriculum. Suggestions from all in the college community are welcomed and encouraged. Any appropriate format will be considered. Textbooks, as a rule, are not acquired by the library, due to their cost and the frequency of new editions. Instructors are encouraged to request examination copies of needed texts from publishers to place at the library Reserve Desk for student use.
Professional Development
Content that enables professional growth and the betterment of faculty and staff is also encouraged. Any appropriate format will be considered.
Serial Publications
Full-text or text-accessible serial sources are strongly desired to maintain the most current body of literature to further the curricular goals of the college. The desired format for such collection is electronic, to provide 24/7 access to all.
Audio-Visual
DVD, CD, streaming and all similar formats are to be provided when appropriate.
H. Interlibrary Loan
The library cannot collect comprehensively in every subject area due to a number of factors including space and budget. Therefore, interlibrary loan is used to obtain from other libraries those materials that are beyond the scope of this library's collection. In return for utilizing interlibrary loan to satisfy the needs of our patrons, the MCC Libraries may choose to lend its materials to other libraries through the same interlibrary loan network.
I. Gifts and Donations
The library accepts, at the discretion of the Collection Management Librarian, gifts of books and other materials with the understanding that they will be added to the collection only if appropriate and needed. If they are not needed, the library may dispose of them as they see fit. The same criteria of selection that are applied to purchased materials are also applied to gifts. Donated items suitable for inclusion in the general lending collections must:
1. Meet the basic selection guidelines.
2. Be published material in demand.
3. Be in an appropriate format for MCC Library usage.
4. Be in exceptional condition ready for loan.
J. Censorship and Intellectual Freedom
Although materials are carefully selected, differences of opinion may arise regarding suitable materials. The MCC Libraries will consider opinions regarding materials in its collection, but will never remove or censor any holding strictly based upon an individual’s or group’s unsupported demand to do so.
NOTE: The Content Strategy is designed to highlight the main points of the complete Collection Development Policy. The Policy itself can be accessed below.
Last updated June 24, 2022.
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