Policies for the Library

The library, housed in the Kenneth W. Schuler Learning Resources Center (LRC) is an integral part of the Thaddeus Stevens College of Technology’s educational mission. Our primary goals are to provide students with the information they need to complete their training programs and to provide faculty and staff with resources to help students succeed. We are also committed to maintaining collections of supplemental and recreational materials for use by anyone in the College community.

The library includes the LRC computer lab, which is for the use of students, faculty, staff, and approved guests. The library is not open to the public.

Circulation Policy

The library has a wide range of materials available for students, faculty, and staff—circulation differs according to the nature of the item:

• Books can be checked out and are renewable.
• DVDs can be checked out and are renewable.
• Headphones, webcams, DVD players, reader pens, chargers) are checked out either four hours/in library use only (students) or 30 days (faculty/staff).
• Laptops are checked out for two weeks and are renewable if other units are still available. Students can also request approval for semester-long checkout.
• Calculators are checked out for two weeks and are renewable.
• Reserve materials are checked out for four hours (in-library use only).

ID Card Policy

Library materials are available to anyone holding a valid College ID card or approved guest credentials. ID showing name, picture, and number must be presented for all transactions.

Library Behavior Policy

The library has designated quiet areas. In all other spaces, noise should be kept to a minimum but is not restricted. Library users should not use speakers that broadcast sound, and go outside for phone calls. No tobacco products or weapons are allowed in the library, and we ask that users be respectful of other users and cooperative with library staff. Eating is allowed, but please dispose of trash and wipe the table afterward.

Printing/Scanning

There are two black and white printers in the computer lab—these can be accessed only through the lab stations (i.e., you cannot print to them from your own device). There is no charge for printing.

Double-sided printing is not available at the library; color printing is possible but done at the discretion of the library staff. A copier/scanner near the front desk is available free to library users. Please ask the staff for assistance using this device.

Study Rooms

There are three study rooms and one conference room available for closed-door use. Faculty/staff have priority for use of these rooms  and can reserve them.

• Reputable, professionally prepared selection aids.
• Specialists from departments and disciplines in the College.
• Recommendations submitted by students, faculty, advisory committees, administrators, staff and alumni.

NOTE: The library does not purchase copies of required textbooks for College courses; however, some of those textbooks are on reserve and can be checked out for in-library use.

Donations of Materials

All material donations to the library must be processed through the office of the Director—an inquiry is encouraged. Donated materials become the property of the College upon donation, and their disposition is at the sole discretion of the Library Director. Any donated material not chosen for the collection will be donated to a registered charity (i.e., it will not be sold or otherwise distributed) unless the donor has requested that the items be returned.

The library does not accept financial donations—potential financial donors are encouraged to work with the College Foundation.

Removal of Materials

Library materials are regularly removed from display and from the catalog in a process called “weeding.” This step is important in maintaining a useful, relevant collection. The Library Director has the final say about removal of materials. In general, items are removed because they are:

• Out-of-date (content has become obsolete, inaccurate, or misleading).
• Superseded by new or revised editions.
• Duplicates of titles no longer in heavy demand.
• Damaged beyond simple repair.

When materials are discarded, markings of College ownership are removed or covered. Materials are then discarded according to guidelines issued by the Pennsylvania Department of Education.

Library Security

Users are encouraged to be respectful of other library visitors and the staff, and to remember the following:

Staff members reserve the right to ask anyone creating a disruption to leave the LRC and to call Security if problematic behavior warrants that step.

Users may not leave unattended bags or laptops anywhere in the library for any length of time. The staff reserves to right to remove any such items from the general-use areas of the library and keep them locked up until they are claimed.

College Archives

The library houses the College archives, and the Library Director is responsible for that collection. The archives primarily contain materials associated with the history of the institution, but also has items connected to its founder and alumni.

Anyone wishing to donate items to the College archives should first contact the Library Director. Our collection policy restricts acceptance to materials having direct connection to the College (e.g., photos of College activities, administrative records, publications produced by, at, or about the College, artifacts with the College logo).

Lost and Found

The library maintains a lost-and-found drawer at the circulation desk. Anyone who might have lost something in the LRC is encouraged to check with library staff.

Collection Development Policy

Philosophy

The Library in the LRC is an integral and indispensable part of the college curriculum. The Library s a place to learn, to investigate, and to study, as it provides a myriad of educational opportunities. Recognizing that both traditional and non-traditional material formats are valuable information resources and stimuli, print material, software, and the hardware necessary to implement their use are supplied by the Library.

The faculty, aided by Library staff, strives to become familiar with resource materials that are available there and to make intelligent and efficient use of the Library and those resources. All members of the college population cooperate in developing and working within a program design that provides for the informational and recreational needs of all.

Objectives

The college strives to prepare the whole student for a role as a contributing member of our society. The freedoms to read and to develop an awareness of humanity’s diverse heritage are essential rights in a democracy. It is the responsibility of the Library staff to provide a collection of materials representative of all fields of interest and geared to the many needs of the students and the college staff.

Our goals are:

1. To assemble, organize, preserve, and make easily available all materials necessary to fulfill the academic and vocational needs of the students, faculty, and staff of the Thaddeus Stevens College of Technology.
2. To provide adequate and comfortable facilities that will encourage the utilization of Library materials and maintain the proper atmosphere conducive to independent study and research.
3. To provide professional Library instruction and programming necessary for the support of the various curricula as prescribed by the faculty and administration and documented in the educational goals of the college.

Standards

The Library endorses the general principles in the American Library Association’s statements Freedom to Read and The Library Bill of Rights.

Standards for community, junior, and technical college learning resource programs, as prepared by the Association of the College and Research Libraries and the Association for Educational Communications and Technology are accepted as measurements for ensuring excellence.

Responsibility

The responsibility for the selection of print and non-print materials is delegated to the professionally trained Library staff of the Thaddeus Stevens College of Technology.

Criteria for Selection

It is the primary responsibility of the Library to acquire all materials necessary to meet the informational needs of the students and faculty of the Thaddeus Stevens College of Technology. The collection must be able to support a post–secondary, two-year technical degree program which develops academic proficiency and personal growth of students, faculty and staff.

The nature of higher education at Stevens Tech requires a selection of resources that represent contemporary industrial, technical, and construction methods employed by practicing technicians and professionals. The collection must also provide research material sufficient to satisfy the requirements of the academic curriculum. Further, the Library must provide representative works of high caliber that will allow the students to discover and experience the universe beyond the limits of technical knowledge and thereby encourage a desire for continuing education.

Collection development decisions will be based on input from the college’s population. Faculty participation in the selection process is essential and cannot be overemphasized. The final decision for the acquisition of Library materials is the responsibility of the Library staff and the director.

The selection of materials is a continuous process because of changing curriculum content and the publishing of new media. The development process necessitates the utilization of various acquisition methods and sources, and the purchase of commercially available materials will usually suffice. However, the rental or leasing of materials may be necessary when purchase is neither possible nor practical.

Media housed in the Library may include: books, periodicals, charts, maps, models, microforms, disc and tape recordings, slides, transparencies, video tapes, CD-ROM, computer software, and Internet and World–Wide–Web applications. Media may be recommended for selection by faculty, administrators, students, alumni, and advisory committees.

The following criteria will be used as they apply:

1. Materials shall support and be consistent with the curriculum and educational goals of the college.
2. Materials shall be appropriate for the subject area and ability level of the students for whom the materials are selected.
3. Materials shall provide up-to-date content. Materials in some curriculum areas may fulfill this requirement even though they carry old copyrights.
4. The quality of the writing or production must be sufficient to warrant the materials’ inclusion. 
5. Format:
   PRINT
   – Paper of good quality 
   – Print adequate and well-spaced 
   – Sufficient margins to permit rebinding as required 
   – Effective and pertinent illustrations 
   – Firmly bound 
   – Inclusive and accurate index 
   – Bibliographies, charts, maps, glossaries present
   
   NON-PRINT
   – High artistic quality 
   – Medium appropriate for the message 
   – Technical quality-good visual images, clear sound reproduction, effective use of color, synchronization of sound and visuals.
6. The media shall contribute to the academic and or personal growth of the user.
7. Content of significant contribution to the subject shall be preferred.
8. Media properly indexed shall be preferred.

Procedures

In selecting materials for the collection, the Library staff evaluates the existing collection and consults:

• Reputable, professionally prepared selection aids. 
• Specialists from all departments and disciplines in the college. 
• Specific recommendations for purchase that are submitted by students, faculty, advisory committees, administrators, staff, and alumni.

Guidelines

The expansion of college Library’s collections to include a diversity of materials is a natural outgrowth of the acceptance of the Library as an integral part of the total instructional program.

With the advent of local area and wide area computer networking and the combining of various digital delivery systems, medium must be subordinate to the delivery of required information sufficient to satisfy the college’s teaching mission. Therefore, the consideration of physical location, format and temporality, although necessary, may no longer be a sufficient indicator of appropriateness. Authenticating source authority and providing unobstructed access to, and free interaction with, the creators and users of information may be the Ultimate LRC responsibility.

1. Reference Collection: The purpose of this collection is to provide basic tools such as dictionaries, encyclopedias, atlases, yearbooks, and other source material in major fields and subjects so that students can become familiar with the diversity of information to be found therein and can learn to utilize it systematically. 
2. Nonfiction: Information resources in every general area form the basis of the nonfiction collection. In a subject area which is changing rapidly and where recency is important, materials will be added frequently. 
3. Fiction: The importance of recreational reading as an educational tool cannot be underestimated. The fiction collection provides a means of acquiring insight and understanding of all kinds from individuals and situations far beyond the boundaries of student’s personal experiences. 
4. Periodicals: Periodicals are chosen to enhance specific areas of the curriculum, to represent points of view on current issues and ideas, and to document technological advances and scientific thought. Particular consideration is given to titles, which are indexed in Applied Science and Technology Index, Readers Guide to Periodical Literature and other commercially available indexes. 
5. Newspapers: Newspapers of general circulation dealing with matters of local, national, and international importance are available in the LRC for patron use. 
6. Free and inexpensive materials: Free and inexpensive materials are subject to the same standards of evaluation stated above. Materials whose main purpose is advertising or which are largely commercial in nature will be excluded.

Gifts

Gift materials added to the collection of the Schuler Learning Resources Center must meet the same criteria as materials selected for purchase. Gift materials are accepted with the understanding that those, which are unsuitable for the collection, will be disposed of at the option of the director either by discarding outright or by presentation to a more suitable facility. Gift materials shall not be transferred to any individual or agency in exchange for money, property, or service. The Library staff does not appraise gift materials but will provide a listing of the same to the donor as a courtesy.

Holds

Only materials of academic nature may have a hold placed on them. There are no holds on circulating DVDs and Videos.

Weeding

Weeding is the process of clearing the collection of those materials which have outlived their usefulness. This procedure is crucial in order to provide the Library with a reputation for reliability and to utilize, in the best and most economical manner, available shelving space. The same thought and care given to selection of materials must be exercised in weeding so that the collection remains both balanced and useful to the unique clientele it is meant to serve. Once materials have been designated for removal, the appropriate instructor will be consulted before final action is taken. However, the final responsibility for removal of material belongs to the Library director.

Removal of Materials:

Materials shall be removed from the collection when they are:

• Out-of-date because their content has become obsolete, inaccurate, or misleading. 
• Superseded by new or revised editions.
• Duplications of titles no longer in heavy demand. 
• Too worn to be mended or rebound or are missing pages.

Discarding of Materials:

• When materials are to be discarded, all ownership markings shall be removed or covered. Materials will then be discarded with regard to guidelines issued by the Pennsylvania Department of Education.

Limitations

Although the Library’s responsibilities include acquiring all materials necessary to meet the informational needs of the college community, purchase of some materials would be better suited to other administrative areas. Provision of educational consumables including textbooks, workbooks, and commercially available tests is not, and should not be, the Library’s concern. The Library will not acquire personal copies of materials for students, faculty, or members of the administration, but will provide bibliographic guidance relevant to such purchases.

The director will endeavor to facilitate cooperation with local technical libraries, local academic libraries, and library consortia. Programs such as reciprocal borrowing privileges and interlibrary loans are currently in operation. The collection content of local libraries and the continuing development of remote electronic resources will have an influence on the depth to which the Library develops its collection.