ACRL College & Research Libraries News

College & Research Libraries News

FINAL DRAFT

AAJC-ACRL Guidelines for Two-Year College Library Learning Resource Centers

Upon approval by the ACRL Board of Directors and the American Library Association at the Midwinter Meeting in January 1972 these guidelines will supersede and replace the “Standards for Junior College Libraries” (1960). Because the two-year college is innovative and changing this set of “Guidelines” is subject to annual review by the Joint Committee of the American Association of Junior Colleges and The American Library Association and by the Association of College and Research Libraries Committee on Standards.

Introduction.Junior and community colleges constitute one of the more dynamic sectors in American higher education largely because of the increasing number of students in attendance and because of the number of new institutions established annually. A statement describing adequate learning resources and services has been difficult to formulate for such institutions because of such factors as the widely diversified purposes and sizes of the institutions, private and public; the high proportion of commuting students; the comprehensiveness of the curricula; the willingness of administrators to experiment unhampered by tradition; and the heterogeneity of background among those enrolled. Although the diversity among the institutional patterns makes the establishment of generally applicable guidelines difficult, all two-year institutions need qualitative recommendations based on professional expertise and successful practices in leading institutions which can be used for self-evaluation and projective planning.

NOTICE

Please send all news notes to Michael Herbison, CRL News Editor, Library, University of Colorado, Colorado Springs Center, Colorado Springs, CO 80907. This is a change of address and all publicity offices should be notified.

The evolution of libraries from the traditional print-oriented centers into centers providing all types of resources and services to meet instructional and individual needs has been accelerated in the past decade. This integration of various print and nonprint materials into a single administrative unit to provide the resources, regardless of format, has been incorporated into these guidelines. There is no expectation that every institution should be forced into this single immutable mold. The guidelines are designed to aid the colleges in the implementation of their educational goals and strengthening of their instructional programs. In some institutions these goals and objectives will require alternative approaches.

College & Research Libraries is published by the Association of College and Research Libraries, a division of the American Library Association, 17 times yearly—6 bimonthly journal issues and II monthly, combining July- August, News issues at 1201-05 Bluff St., Fulton, Mo. 65251. Subscription, $10.00 a year or, to members of the division, $5.00, included in dues. Circulation and advertising office: American Library Association, 50 E. Huron St., Chicago, III. 60611. Second-class postage paid at Fulton, Missouri 65251.

News editor: Michael Herbison, Library, University of Colorado, Colorado Springs Center, Colorado Springs, Colorado 80907. Editor: Richard M. Dougherty, School of Library Science, Syracuse University, Syracuse, N.Y. 13210. President, ACRL: Joseph H. Reason. Executive Secretary, ACRL: J. Donald Thomas, ALA.

These guidelines are diagnostic in nature. Their immediate application is intended for an institution already established. They are not designed as minimal (or accreditation) standards for a new institution. New institutions and institutions not yet meeting their regional accreditation standards can use these guidelines chiefly for self-study and planning. For such institutions these guidelines will give direction for establishing the pattern of service and development of collections which anticipated growth will require. Application of the criteria should be governed by the purposes, goals, and students of each college. Since they represent established practices, any variant procedures should be supported by cogent reasons.

These guidelines contain no quantitative statements in the text. Rather than developing any new quantitative statements, reference will be made in appendixes to the California statement, most comprehensive of those currently available for guidance to those institutions requiring them for self-evaluation or planning purposes. Such numerations become too soon obsolete and inhibitory rather than remaining a desirable goal for development.

Many aspects of traditional librarianship and traditional audiovisual services in the two-year colleges and the integration of these services in the developing Library Learning Resource Centers have not been studied adequately for long-range projection of needs. Until such studies have been made these guidelines may serve as the foundations for research and for experimentation in organization, structure, and services.

The changing and expanding role of twoyear colleges in America today may well result in institutions quite different from those in operation at the present. These guidelines, therefore, may require significant upward revision when such institutions reach a new stage in their development. At that point, they may well need much larger and higher resources and greatly extended services. All concerned should be alert to this coming challenge.

Glossary

The terms listed below are used throughout these guidelines with the meanings indicated.

Two-year college.Any institution of higher education which offers less than a baccalaureate degree and which requires its students either to be high school graduates or to be beyond high school age. Included under this term are the following types of both public and private institutions: (1) Institutions offering courses similar to the liberal arts curricula in the first two years of a senior college or university; (2) institutions which provide for the first two-year programs as branches or extension centers of senior colleges and universities in anticipation of transfer to the parent institution or some other college at the junior year; (3) institutions for posthigh school ages whose concern is primarily vocational or technical and which are administered as specialized institutions of higher education; and (4) comprehensive institutions offering both liberal arts and occupational programs of posthigh school level. Comprehensive community colleges, public and private junior colleges, and technical institutes are included.

Library Learning Resource Center.An administrative unit on the individual campus which integrates print and nonprint forms of communication resources and the necessary equipment and services to permit their utilization.

Materials.Resources of all types to meet individual or curricular needs. Included in this term are items such as 16mm motion pictures, 8mm film loops, filmstrips, slides, transparencies, video tapes, art reproductions, charts, posters, models and specimens, disc and tape recordings, programmed learning aids, books, journals, newspapers, microforms (microfiche, microfilm, microcards), pamphlet materials, government documents, and other related resources.

Production.The preparation of material for individual or curricular needs. Included is work involving graphics, photography, cinematography, recording, and preparation of printed materials.

Center staff.The personnel who operate a Library Learning Resource Center. These have a variety of abilities and ranges of educational background. They include professional staff, technical assistants, clerks, secretaries, and student assistants.

Professional staff.Personnel who carry on responsibilities in the center almost always requiring professional training at graduate level appropriate to the assigned responsibilities.

Technical assistants.Staff members who assist and work under a professional staff member in duties requiring specific skills and special abilities. Such personnel may supervise clerks and student assistants. They make it possible for the professional staff to concentrate their time on professional services and activities.

The Role of the Library Learning Resource Center

Many diverse elements contribute to the quality of instruction and to the development of the students in the two-year college. No one of these is dominant in isolation from the others. Faculty, students, teaching methods, facilities, resources, and educational philosophy all play a significant role in the educational achievement of the institution.

Education is more than exposure through lectures and rote learning to the knowledge, ideas, and values current in society; education is a preparation for resolving the range of problems continuously encountered by man in living and in pursuing an occupation. The student must be able to explore fields of knowledge which will enhance his potential and be relevant to him. The means of exploration are through active participation in the classroom, as well as through self-directed study and the use of individualized instructional resources. Trained professional assistance is necessary to direct him in finding and interpreting the print and nonprint materials which relate to his individual needs and which are adapted to his level of skills and abilities.

The instructor’s success in guiding the student in exploration of knowledge and in arriving at predefined instructional objectives depends on access to materials. The widest possible variety of print and nonprint materials with appropriate equipment is necessary for implementation of innovative instructional techniques.

Both student and faculty member function at their best with the support of a Library Learning Resource Center adequately conceived, staffed, and financed. Independent learning by the student and innovative and quality teaching are both dependent upon breadth of resources, concerned anl involved staff, and provision for effective use of the center. More than almost any other element in the institutional program the Library Learning Resource Center expresses the educational philosophy of the institution it serves.

Because of its direct relationship to the institutional objectives the role of the Library Learning Resource Center is threefold: (1) To provide an organized and readily accessible collection of print and nonprint materials needed to meet institutional, instructional, and individual needs of students and faculty; (2) to provide a staff qualified, concerned, and involved in serving the needs of students, faculty, and community; and (3) to encourage innovation, learning, and community service by providing facilities and resources which will make these possible.

I. Objectives and Purposes

1. The college provides a Library Learning

Resource Center.

The educational program of every junior and community college (hereafter termed two-year college) requires that provision be made for adequate materials to support and supplement the curricular offerings and to meet readily the needs of the students and faculty. The integration of resources in a Library Learning Resource Center (hereafter termed a center) provides optimum services for students and faculty and gives instructors the opportunity to select from among the many resources the materials best suited for meeting individual and class needs. The combined administrative unit permits the maximum flexibility and best use of personnel and materials.

Peter M. Doiron is no longer serving as editor of CHOICE. This was announced August 4, 1971, by David H. Clift, Executive Director of the American Library Association.

A successor to Mr. Doiron will be appointed upon recommendation of the ACRL Publications Committee whose chairman for 1971-72 is Robert M. Pierson, Assistant Director for Administration, University of Maryland McKeldin Library, College Park, MD 20740. Persons interested in the position are requested to write Mr. Pierson.

2. The center has a statement of defined purposes and objectives.

Since the center is vital to the purposes and objectives of the college it serves, a clear definition of the role and scope of learning resources within the educational program is desirable. Because of the relationship of the center to the instructional program, ready availability of a copy of the statement to all faculty in an institutional publication such as a faculty handbook is needed.

3. The center focuses on facilitating and improving the learning process.

Emphasis of all services is upon the individual learner, upon facilitating inquiry, exploring ideas and concepts, and developing the ability to utilize the resources independently. Such emphasis requires a commitment of the staff to involvement in the instructional program, provision for individual guidance in the use of materials and resources and in the interpretation of learning tools, as well as formal instruction to groups. It involves provision for the preparation and production of materials for the classroom.

4. The center provides bibliographic support for utilization of all resources.

Bibliographic services are essential for instructional preparation and classroom presentations of faculty members, for advanced study, for personal development, for research, and for knowledge of innovational and experimental developments in two-year college instruction. In addition, students require maximum acquaintance with such works to be prepared to make current and future use of such facilities. Bibliographic support also facilitates development of the resources of the center, obtaining materials on loan or rental basis when needed for limited periods, and the implementation of regional cooperative systems.

5. The center is concerned with the needs of students and faculty as individuals.

Services and materials are related not only to the academic and occupational curricular needs of students, but also to the individual interests and developmental needs of every student and faculty member. Understanding and interpretation on the part of the center staff is necessary if needs are to be identified. Special assistance is given those who have difficulty articulating their needs or who have linguistic or physical handicaps. The stimulation and motivation may be achieved by using the center’s resources and materials to provide displays, publications, exhibits, film showings, etc.

6. The center, like the instructional staff, is a resource for teaching and learning.

Instructors who discover a need for resources to augment, enrich, or improve their instructional methods depend upon the personnel of the center to provide information about newly acquired materials, to make these materials available with speed and efficiency, to instruct students and faculty in use of equipment, to produce materials when they are not otherwise available, to instruct students in the use and resources of the center as these relate to their subject fields, to keep them informed about new developments, and to assist in developing learning activities. Faculty members are important to the center staff because student use is largely dependent upon faculty encouragement and because center expansion to meet instructional developments requires faculty support of its objectives as well as direct assignments and encouragement of student use.

7. The center serves as a community resource. Every two-year college, whether privately or publicly supported, has a responsibility to meet needs of the larger community in which it is located. Although the type and needs of the community may vary, attention at each college is placed on ways in which the center can serve that community. The community, in turn, serves as a reservoir of material and human resources which can be utilized by the center in meeting instructional needs.

8. The center cooperates in the development of area, regional, and state networks or systems.

If the needs of clientele are met, constant coordination of all resources and services with those of other institutions to extend the availability of such services and resources to meet wider needs is necessary. Multicampus districts are in an especially advantageous position to demonstrate cooperation as well as to stretch their budgets through such endeavors as centralized technical processing, development of specialization, etc. Reciprocal participation in consortia with other institutions for the development of networks or systems enables the individual institution to obtain and make use of materials and services which it could not afford to provide by itself.

II. Organization and Administration

1. The responsibilities and functions of the center within the institutional structure and the status of the chief administrator are clearly defined.

The effectiveness of services provided depends on the understanding by faculty, college administrators, students, and center staff of the responsibilities and functions of the center as they relate to the institution. A written statement, endorsed by the institution’s trustees or other policy-setting group, should be readily available.

To function adequately, the chief administrator of the center (whose title may vary in different institutions, but hereafter termed the director), reports to the administrative officer of the college responsible for the instructional program and has the same administrative rank and status as others with similar institutionwide responsibilities. These relationships are delineated as part of the written statement so that he has adequate authority to manage the internal operations and to provide the services needed.

2. The relationship of the center to the total academic program necessitates involvement of the professional staff members in all areas and levels of academic planning. Provision of learning resources is central to the academic program. As a result the professional staff members have interests which are broad and go beyond the scope of their day-to-day operations. The professional staff members are involved in all areas and levels of academic planning. The director works closely with the other chief administrators of the college, and the other professional staff members participate in faculty affairs to the same extent as other faculty. The professional staff members are involved in and represented on major college committees such as curriculum, building program, and budget. As far as possible the professional staff members ought to function as liaison participants in staff meetings of the various departments.

3. Advisory committees of faculty and students are essential for the evaluation and extension of services.

As a rule, there should be a faculty advisory committee appointed by the chief administrative officer of the college, elected by the faculty, or selected by the procedure generally followed in the formation of a faculty committee. It should include representatives of the various academic divisions of the college and consist of both senior and junior members of the faculty, chosen carefully for their demonstrated interest beyond their own departmental concerns. The committee functions in an advisory capacity to the director and acts as a connecting link between the faculty as a whole and the center. It should not concern itself with details of administration. The director is an ex-officio member of the committee and may serve as secretary.

A student advisory committee (or a joint advisory committee with the faculty) serves as a liaison between the student body and the center, and presents suggestions on center-student relationships. The committee should work closely with the director as an ex-officio member; he may use it as a sounding board for new ideas in developing a more effective program of services.

4. The director is responsible for the administration of the center which is carried out by means of established lines of authority, definition of responsibilities, and channels of communication defined in writing.

Each professional and supportive staff member knows which activities are his responsibility and knows to whom he is accountable. Every center requires a staff manual which provides policy and procedural statements, duty assignments and other organizational matters, and items of general information.

5. Internal administration of the center is based on staff participation in policy, procedural, and personnel decisions.

The internal organization is appropriate to the institution, and within this framework is based upon a considerable amount of self-determination guided by the need for meeting common goals. Regular staff meetings and clearly devised lines of authority and responsibility are necessary. All staff members share in the process by which policies and procedures are developed; all staff members have access to the director and his chief assistants.

6. Budget planning for the center reflects the campus-wide instructional materials needs and is initiated by the director. Any changes are made in consultation with him.

Adequate budget, essential to provide good services, is based upon needs of the curriculum and functions of the center. The director is responsible for fiscal planning and administering the funds for the center. He is consulted during all phases of development of the institutional budget. Through his own consultations with his staff, he acquires the information needed to prepare the request, with ample time to present and explain the budget request to the college administration as part of the budget process. Whenever consideration is given to adjustments or reallocation of funds or applications for grants, consultation is also indicated.

7. The accumulation of cogent statistics and maintenance of adequate records is a management responsibility of the director.

To meet needs for internal analysis and management planning and to provide data for annual and special reports needed by the college, accrediting associations, and government agencies, statistics providing a clear and undistorted picture of activities, acquisition of materials and equipment, utilization of personnel, and annual expenditures are essential for federal, state, and college use. These statistics and records are collected in terms of the definitions and methods of reporting set forth in federal and professional publications.

8. Adequate management includes planned informational releases to inform administration, faculty, and students concerning activities, services, and materials.

The close relationship which exists with instructional departments on the campus demands that information about the center be readily available. An annual report and other planned informational reports are essential for this purpose. Among other possible publications are bibliographies, acquisitions bulletins, current awareness lists, handbooks for faculty and students, releases to student and community publications through regular college channels, campus broadcasts, and utilization of other communications services which will reach students and faculty.

9. Responsibilities for all learning resources and services should be assigned to the center.

Only in rare cases is the establishment of a separate departmental collection of materials justified on a two-year college campus. Even when physical limitations due to excessive distance, limited space, or unique organization complexities compel an institution to make an exception, centralized administration continues to be desirable to provide coordination of resources and services, to develop systems approaches to needs, and to utilize staff effectively. Separated collections always are considered to be temporary.

10. Multicampus districts take advantage of the opportunity for close cooperation, exchange of resources, and shared technical processes while providing full resources and services for every campus.

Each campus in a multicollege junior college district has its instructional and individual needs met by a center on its campus. There is no need, however, for duplication of routine technical processes and production facilities where these can be centralized more economically. Organizational structure within the district should facilitate cooperation and exchange of resources between all campuses.

III. Staff

1. A qualified and experienced staff is available in sufficient number to satisfy the purposes and objectives of the center.

The number of professional and supportive staff will vary from one institution to another depending upon the number of students, the size and program of the institution, the hours operated, the physical facilities, and the scope and nature of the services performed by the center staff.

2. Every professional staff member has a graduate degree and meets all certification requirements which apply.

The graduate training is appropriate to his duties in the center. Additional graduate study in a subject field should be recognized for all personnel as appropriate to such assignments. Further graduate study should be encouraged and rewarded.

3. Every professional staff member has faculty status, together with all faculty benefits and obligations.

Faculty status for professional staff includes such prerogatives as tenure rights, sick leave benefits, sabbatical leaves, vacation benefits, comparable hours of duty, retirement and annuity benefits, and inclusion on the same salary scale which is in effect for faculty members engaged in classroom teaching. Where academic ranks are recognized, ranks are assigned to the professional staff independent of internal assignments within the center based on the same criteria as for other faculty. Faculty status also implies the obligation to meet all faculty requirements concerning advanced study, research, promotion, committee assignments, membership in professional organizations, sponsorships, publication in learned journals, etc., which the institution expects of other faculty members.

4. Professional staff belong to and participate in state and national professional organizations with financial assistance for travel and subsistence provided.

Participation in professional activities is expected of anyone assumed to be a professional. The institution provides travel funds for regular attendance of some staff members and for occasional attendance for every staff member at state or national meetings. Those staff members who serve as an officer or committee member or participate on a program are given special financial allocations.

5. The director of the center is selected on the basis of educational achievement, administrative ability, community and scholarly interests, professional activities, awareness of the functions and purposes of the center, and concern for users.

The director has a dual administrative function. He is concerned and involved in the entire educational program of the institution as well as with the internal operation of the center. He must be professionally knowledgeable about resources and services of both print and nonprint materials with adequate experience in both areas. Because the ultimate success of the center is to a large extent dependent upon the ability of the director to perform his multiple duties effectively, the recruitment and selection of the director is of paramount importance.

6. All personnel are considered for employment on the recommendation of the director, and upon employment, are responsible to him for the performance of assigned duties.

The effectiveness of the center is determined by the performance of the staff. It is essential, therefore, that all personnel, professional or supportive, be recommended for employment by the director with the advice of center staff who will be involved in the supervision of the new staff member.

a. Professional staff members are assigned professional duties.

Professional staff members provide faculty and students with a wide variety of services, including instruction in the use of the center and its resources to individual students or in the classroom, helping students to gain skills in the techniques of research and evaluation, encouraging the development of desirable listening, viewing, and reading patterns, serving as materials specialists and consultants to the faculty, evaluating and selecting materials for the center, making materials accessible to students and faculty through the cataloging and classification system, producing and assisting faculty in producing materials for instructional use to supplement those available through other sources, and supervising the work of the center.

b. All supportive staff members are responsible to a professional staff member.

The supportive staff provide assistance to the professional staff of the center and are, therefore, under their direction. Direct supervision of clerks or student assistants may, however, be performed by technical assistants.

c. Technical assistants with specific skills and special abilities are provided to assist the professional staff members.

The number and kind of technical assistants needed will be determined by the size of the college and the services performed. The educational background and experience of such technical assistants should be appropriate to the tasks assigned. In many situations graduates of a two-year technical program will have the training desired; in other cases, their skills will have been learned through extensive work experience in a related position.

Technical assistants perform such tasks as supervision of circulation activities, production of transparencies, designing and illustrating promotional items, preparing graphics, handling interlibrary loans, bibliographic searching, details of technical preparations of materials for use, servicing equipment for films, television, and classroom, handling routine computer operations, doing camera work and developing pictures and slides, scheduling films, doing cinematography for instructional television or classroom films, and similar work requiring skills and abilities beyond those expected of clerks or secretaries.

d. Student assistants are employed to supplement the work of the supportive staff.

Student assistants are important because of the variety of tasks they can perform effectively, because they encourage other students to use the facilities and services, and because they serve as significant means of recruitment for supportive and professional positions. They do not, however, replace an adequate fulltime staff, nor can their work be matched on an hour-to-hour basis with that of regular fulltime employees.

7. Teaching assignments by center staff members are considered dual appointments in calculating staff workloads.

When members of the center staff are assigned regular teaching responsibilities in training technicians or other classroom assignments, the hours scheduled in the center are reduced by an equivalent time to allow preparation and classroom contact hours. In effect, such staff members have dual appointments and thus cannot be considered as available more than part-time for duties in the center.

IV. Budget

1. Provision is made in the budget for salaries, student wages, purchase of all types of materials, binding, production of instructional materials, supplies and contractual services (including data processing services), repairs, replacement and new equipment, travel of staff to professional meetings, and other related items.

For management purposes, costs relating to the various types of materials and services are separately identifiable. Where specialized facilities are a part of the center, it is desirable that costs for these be identifiable as well.

2. The director has the authority, whenever necessary, to reallocate individual amounts assigned to the various categories as long as the total expenditures are within the total amount budgeted.

Flexibility within the amounts budgeted is desirable, when not prevented by specific legal provisions, in order to satisfy varied demands which develop during the academic year.

3. The budget of the center is sufficient to meet normal requirements of the curriculum and the functions of the center.

The basic budget is dependent upon due consideration of many factors, including the purposes and functions of the institution, adequate prior provision of a basic collection of print and nonprint materials, growth rate of the institution, curriculum change or growth, type of service rendered, size of faculty, size and kind of student body, center staff, physical facilities in which the center operates, availability of other learning resources to faculty and students, and the extent to which commercial processing centers are utilized.

4. Financial records are maintained by or are accessible to the center.

Costs analyses and financial planning are dependent upon the adequacy of records, with sufficient additional information to enable comprehensive planning and effective utilization of all funds available. These records are not necessarily the same records as are needed in the business office.

5. All expenditures, other than payroll, are initiated in the center with payment made only on invoices verified for payment by the staff.

Purchases are initiated by the staff through preparation of purchase order or requisition. Institutional business operations require approval of all invoices by the operating departments.

6. To the extent legally possible and within the policies of the board of trustees, purchases of materials are exempted from restrictive annual bidding requirements.

Materials often are unique items obtainable from a single source. Equivalent prices and speedier services often can be obtained by direct access to the publisher or manufacturer rather than through a single vendor. Satisfactory service requires prompt delivery; a larger discount might justifiably be rejected if it entails a delay in filling the order. Satisfactory service rendered by a vendor in the past may more than compensate for the confusion and interruption of service inherent in frequent changes of vendors through annual bidding requirements.

7. Purchases are made throughout the year based on curricular requirements and other factors rather than annually or semiannually.

Expenditures are based on need, availability, and practical considerations such as processing time, rather than through fixed sequences which inhibit the functions of the center.

8. Efforts are made to pay vendors promptly.

A major problem for suppliers dealing with academic institutions is that months may pass before payment is made. Every effort to approve invoices and to encourage prompt payment by the business office involved improves relations with all suppliers.

V. Facilities

1. The physical facilities in which the center is located provide sufficient space for present operations, and long-range planning provides for growth during the next ten years.

No two institutions have the same space requirements or need the same types of facilities, but flexibility and expansion are certain if adequate support and comprehensive services are provided. Because modification and expansion of facilities cannot be accomplished as a rule with sufficient speed to prevent overcrowding and impairment of services, long-range planning is essential. Factors to be considered include projections of student enrollment, community services, growth of collections and services, staff needs, impact of curricular development, and technological advances.

2. The physical facilities provide a wide variety of learning and study situations. Students require various types of facilities for learning and study. Some require programmed learning equipment; others learn best by use of isolated individual study areas. In some circumstances they need to study together as a group or relax in comfortable lounge chairs.

3. The physical facilities are attractive, comfortable, and desgned to encourage use by students.

Attractive and well-planned areas encourage student utilization. Air-conditioning and comfortable heating, proper lighting, acoustical treatment, regular custodial care, prompt maintenance of equipment, and regular and systematic repair of damages are necessary.

4. Space requirements and physical arrangements and construction provide for full utilization of specialized equipment.

Specialized facilities are necessary for certain types of equipment. For example, data processing services, dial access listening and viewing equipment, television production, and use of other types of electronic equipment require special consideration in terms of electrical connections, cables, conduits, lights, fire protection, and other factors.

5. Planning of new or expanded facilities is accomplished with the participation and concurrence of the director in all details and with the wide involvement of users and staff.

The director works with the architect and the administration in every decision and has prime responsibility in the functional planning of the facility. In most cases employment of a knowledgeable learning resource or library building consultant results in a more functional and useful building and for this reason should be given serious consideration. Many buildings fail to fulfill their functions because those persons who will be working or using the building have not been involved in planning. Staff, faculty, student representatives, and others who will utilize the facilities should be consulted.

6. The internal layout of public service areas allow adequate service at all times.

The number of users varies in all centers from peak periods when crowded conditions make service difficult to times when few students are present. Physical arrangements make continued service with minimal staff possible during quiet times and at the same time provide for augmented service at other periods.

7. Internal arrangement of services and work areas are planned with consideration as to flexibility, relationship between areas, and function, with particular attention to staff needs.

Flexibility is essential to meet advances in technology and changes in instructional requirements. Areas within the center are grouped to aid the user and to permit the staff to perform duties effectively. Services provided are dependent upon staff, whose efficiency is in term dependent upon adequate office, workroom, and storage space. The staff areas are so located that an efficient flow of work is possible. A staff conference room, apart from the director’s office, is desirable in all but the smallest institutions.

VI. Instructional Equipment

1. Instructional equipment is purchased with a systems approach.

A systems approach means methodology— the framework for the design and implementation of technical resources. When a systems approach is adopted equipment is purchased in view of purpose, process, and content. This orderly procedure makes possible an ultimate and proper utilization.

2. Instructional equipment is selected upon the basis of quality of performance, effective design, ease of operation, competitive costs, portability or accessibility, ease of maintenance and repair, and available service.

While many general criteria apply to instructional equipment which are also applicable to other purchases, use to be made of the equipment, ease of operation, availability of parts and repair services, and quality of performance are more important than initial cost. Specifications as to function and quality should be carefully developed; these should be made available to department chairmen and personnel responsible for purchasing functions.

3. Media equipment is available at the right time and at the right place.

To accomplish this concept centralized control of distribution is needed. A thorough and continual evaluation is desirable to insure that enough equipment is available when required.

4. Principal facilities for instructional equipment are adequate for proper utilization.

Proper arrangement and sufficient space for utilization of equipment is provided both for individualized instruction and for media browsing.

5. Classroom and center use of equipment is accomplished effectively to minimize operational mishaps.

Although a comprehensive in-service training program reduces the necessity for the center to provide operation of equipment, personnel is available in emergencies. This provision for personnel is an adjunct to the in-service training program rather than a substitute for one. All instructional equipment is serviced regularly in order to be operational when needed.

6. In-service training in use of instructional equipment is provided as essential for faculty and desirable for students.

For a high degree of utilization of media equipment a continuing program of operational training is provided. Space in the center is designated for such instruction.

7. Because of changing technology, the staff remains alert to new developments in instructional equipment.

Responsibility for evaluating and selecting equipment, both new and familiar, is assigned to center staff.

VII. Resources

1. Selection of materials is based upon a policy statement developed by the staff in consultation with faculty, students, and administration.

A written policy statement for acquisitions is of sufficient importance and of such general effect upon the instructional program and the services of the center that all segments of the academic community are involved in its development. The policy statement is readily available in an official publication such as a faculty manual.

The stand of the American Library Association on the subject of censorship is firmly adhered to in the statement: The center must provide all types of materials which present all sides of controversial issues.

2. Selection of materials is based on careful evaluation in terms of selection policy.

Usefulness of any materials is determined by the needs of the students and application of current learning theory. Each selection must be carefully evaluated to insure conformity with the selection policy. Appropriate sources for evaluation include bibliographic guides, reviews, consultation with experts, and personal examination.

3. The center encourages and provides the leadership in helping faculty in the acquisition and production of materials which will enhance the teaching and learning process.

The selection of materials is a responsibility shared by members of the faculty and members of the center staff. Faculty members are encouraged to make recommendations as an instructional responsibility. Short-term utilization of specialists’ skills in the center for collection development is encouraged. Materials needed for the educational program which are not available from commercial sources or which must be geared to a specific need of an individual instructor or student are produced jointly by the center staff and the faculty. Consultation with department chairmen in the acquisition and production of materials is desirable.

4. The final decision as to the order in which materials are to be purchased or produced is the responsibility of the director or his delegated subordinate.

Many factors enter into priority ranking of purchases or production. The decision must be based upon knowledge of total commitments, provision for similar materials in the existing collection, needs of academic departments, and the development of new curricula. Purchase and production of materials is determined by the allowed budget and special funds available in accordance with acquisition policies. Primary concern, of course, is given to faculty needs relating to their courses and to the suitable balance of expenditures among departments, but final determination of priorities has to be centralized.

5. Selection for purchase, while giving priority to those materials which meet direct curricular needs, includes representative works of high caliber which might arouse intellectual curiosity, counteract parochialism, help to develop critical thinking and cultural appreciation, or stimulate use of the resources for continuing education and personal development.

Student and faculty needs are not met by providing only those materials directly related to the curriculum. One function of higher education is to develop adult citizens intellectually capable of taking their places in a changing society; provision for materials beyond curricular needs is essential for this goal.

6. The collection provides evidence that materials relevant to the various ages, cultural backgrounds, intellectual levels-, developmental needs, and vocational goals represented in the student body have been supplied.

Junior college students represent all strata of community and national life. To meet their needs the collection must contain materials of all kinds and at all levels. Those students who require basic remedial materials, those who seek vocational training or retraining, those who seek an understanding of their culture, and those who are utilizing their retirement years for personal stimulation should each find the materials which can serve their interests and solve their problems. Special care is taken to include representative materials related to the needs of cultural or racial minorities as well as materials reflecting divergent social, religious, or political viewpoints.

7. All materials in the center are made accessible through an acceptable classification and cataloging system.

Learning resources must be organized, indexed, and readily available if they are to serve their purposes. Although there is no uniformly accepted system, all materials are so organized that an instructor needing them for a classroom presentation or a student desiring them for study or recreational purposes can obtain them.

8. A board policy is developed concerning gifts.

Generally gifts are accepted only when they add strength to the collection and have no significant limitations about housing, handling, or disposition of duplicate, damaged, or undesirable items presented. It is recognized that gifts frequently require more time to screen, organize, catalog, and process than new materials. Storage space and staff time requirements must be considered in accepting gift materials. In acknowledgment of gifts, attention should be called to government recognition of such contributions for tax purposes, as well as the impropriety of any appraisal by the recipient of a donation.

9. In local reproduction of materials for instructional use, care is taken to secure permission in accordance with copyright regulations.

Laws restrict the copying of many items without permission. Because of the ease with which materials can be reproduced, each center should establish procedures to prevent violation of copyright.

10. The reference collection includes a wide selection of significant subject and general bibliographies, authoritative lists, periodical indexes, and standard reference works in all fields of knowledge.

Every two-year college requires extensive bibliographical materials for use in locating and verifying items for purchase, for borrowing through interlibrary loan, for providing for subject needs of users, and for evaluating the collection.

11. Microforms are given as high consideration as the printed originals in development of backfiles of materials.

Consideration should be given to the use of microforms rather than the purchase of backfiles of the printed volumes because of possible cost reduction, storage space required, and control. Monographs in microform are acceptable when originals cannot be obtained, but do not replace holdings of printed volumes as needed in the center.

12. Newspapers with various geographical, political, and social points of view on national and state issues are represented in the collection.

Newspapers should reflect community, national, and worldwide points of view. Backfiles of several newspapers are retained in print or microform.

13. Government documents are acquired as significant sources of information.

Some two-year colleges which are document depositories receive government publications as a matter of course. All centers should acquire regularly such publications.

14. Files of pamphlet and other ephemeral materials are maintained.

An effective and up-to-date pamphlet file is a strong resource in any college. Included are vocational and ephemeral materials developed through systematic acquisition of new materials, including subscriptions to pamphlet services and requests for free materials. Reference cards in the catalog to subjects contained in the pamphlet files are desirable in providing the fullest access to the materials. Periodic weeding of the collection is essential.

Manufacturers’ and publishers’ catalogs and brochures which describe new materials anl equipment are needed to supplement published lists and to provide up-to-date information.

15. A planned procedure for conservation or elimination of unneeded items is developed.

Prompt attention is given to damaged materials so that repairs (including rebinding of printed materials or replacement of portions of projected or recorded materials) are handled systematically, along with prompt action to replace important items, including those discovered to be missing.

The materials in the collection are examined regularly to eliminate obsolete items, unnecessary duplicates, and worn-out materials. Assistance from faculty members should be solicited when items are considered for total elimination to avoid removal of useful historical materials.

VIII. Services

1. Services provided by the center include provision of materials needed by the students or the instructional program.

The college may own, rent, or obtain through a cooperative program the materials it provides to its users. Usually all three sources are used to meet the requirements of the diverse learning abilities of two-year college students who represent all levels and types of abilities. It is not enough to provide such materials without also providing the equipment to utilize them and sufficient duplication to make the resources readily available.

2. All resources are readily available during all times classes are held and during extended hours required to meet the needs of the students.

The center is open when there is demonstrated need for the use of the facilities, including such times as evenings, Saturdays, Sundays, and vacation periods.

3. Professional staff members are available for providing assistance to users at all times the center is open for full service.

Assistance from professionally trained staff members in the use of the resources of the center is the right of all students. Faculty members receive assistance in the selection and evaluation of materials and in their own research and other learning activities.

4. Students receive assistance in meeting their needs, articulated or unexpressed, regardless of age, economic or social status, or educational level of achievement.

5. Faculty members receive assistance in obtaining materials for professional or personal needs or for research on request.

6. Services of the center are organized with sufficient flexibility so that they readily support the instructional program.

7. In meeting curricular or individual needs the center is prepared to develop new means of service whenever existing means are inadequate.

Experimentation in services, whether this means creating a film or slideset for the classroom or a new bibliographical tool for use by the students, is an indication of a center geared to meet educational needs in a creative manner.

8. The center provides for larger community needs beyond the immediate needs of the institution.

The center has a continuing responsibility for serving as a resource for local business and industries, for the collection and preservation of community history, for the accumulation of local statistical data, and for promotion and augmentation of other types of library service. This responsibility is shared with other local libraries and needs to be coordinated with them. Charges for extensive community services may sometimes be appropriate when these demands impinge on institutional needs.

9. The center functions as an archive for historical information and documents concerning the college itself.

An effort should be made to locate, organize, and house institutional archives to the extent defined by the alministration.

IX. Cooperative Activities

1. Cooperative arrangements for sharing of resources are developed with other institutions in the community and region.

In order to provide the best possible service to the students and faculty in the twoyear college, close relationships with other local institutions and with institutions of higher education in the area are essential. Through consortia, media cooperatives, and loan arrangements institutions can share resources. When there are large libraries or resource centers nearby to which the two-year college student may go for materials, the college may need to make arrangements, including financial subsidy when appropriate, so that an undue burden is not placed on the neighboring institution. By cooperative planning much expense and wasteful duplication can he avoided in the community and region.

2. The institution is willing to consider participation in cooperative projects, such as shared cataloging, computer use, and other services which may he mutually beneficial to all participants.

Center personnel and institutional administrators need to be alert to cooperative activities of all kinds and to be willing to explore the possibilities of participation for their own institution. ■ ■