Introduction
The Bethel College Library faculty has drawn up these statements. These statements clarify the general policies of the library with regards to principles upon which the library collections are built and maintained, both in general and with regard to specific types of resources. These statements are subject to review at all times by the library staff, faculty and administrators at the college. They will be carefully reviewed at least every five years or when new programs are proposed/added.

Purpose
The primary function of the College Library is to provide access to information to support the curricular and research needs of Bethel College students, faculty, administration and staff. This information should reflect an appropriate balance between materials necessary and available within the library’s own physical collection and the increasing number of resources outside of the library accessible through emerging technologies. Resources for non-academic use may be collected if they are of general interest to the Bethel College and Bethel Temple faith communities.

The library must be informed of forthcoming research and programs with enough lead time to acquire or access resources which will be needed, a minimum of six months for new courses. For this reason the library staff has representation on the curriculum committee and will be actively involved in the planning of all curriculum to determine the adequacy of library resources and staff to service the proposed offering. In addition, recommendations including both individual titles and subject areas are actively solicited from the faculty, staff, and students. Faculty are expected to communicate with the library as to materials required for their courses and research as indicated in the faculty handbook. Final decisions concerning library resource acquisitions are the responsibility of the academic dean in consultation with the director of library services and the library faculty.

The Library’s Resource Development Policy’s first commitment is to its enrolled students as well as current faculty, administration, and staff. Secondarily, the library serves alumni and local ministers and church friends in the Tidewater area. Finally, the library will honor requests for interlibrary loans from the circulating collections in accordance with the American Library Association’s Interlibrary Loan Code.

Resource Development Policy Mission Statement
It has been pointed out that “The primary characteristic of a good academic library is its complete identification with its own institution.” Therefore the mission of the Library reflects the mission of the college to glorify God and to provide the resources, services, instruction, and facilities essential to help prepare students spiritually, practically, and academically for professional and lay ministry.

GOALS

1. To model Christian leadership in a caring and dynamic organization that values its individuals as its most prized resource. (2 Chr. 1:10)


2. To create a learning environment that promotes Christian thought as its center for study, research, scholarly,  and cultural interaction among the diverse members of the university community. (Col. 2:2-3)


3. To acquire, maintain, and promote print and electronic resources that support the curriculum and research  needs of the Bethel College community. (Proverbs 23:23)


4. To provide accurate information to all users in a professional and courteous manner. (Tit. 3:2)


5. To provide equal and easy access to resources and services for all members of the college community.
   (Mark 6:39-42)


6. To educate students in information literacy to enhance their opportunities for success and develop lifelong learning habits. (Matt. 13:52)


7. To be a advocate for technology used to develop, maintain, and provide access to resources and services.  (Romans 12:8)

Intellectual Freedom
The library will attempt to provide for the free exchange of all ideas. The collections will be available to all patrons of the library and should offer the widest range of viewpoints and treatment, regardless of the popularity of those viewpoints or of the sex, religion, political philosophy, or national origin of their authors. The sole test of the suitability of a controversial item will be its contribution, direct or indirect, to the academic programs of the college and to the needs of the library patrons.

Collection Management Priorities
Library resources, including print, non-print, and electronic, will be acquired in accordance with the following priorities:

Priority 1
Resources to support the current teaching program of the college current curriculum or anticipated change.
General reference works and works dealing with topics of current and general concern
Resources to support information services and management of the Library

Priority 2
Resources to support the research of the college community
Resources to assist administrative and service personnel in the effective performance of their duties

Allocation of Funds
The library staff in consultation with the college administration will determine allocation of library funds for collection development. Factors that influence the allocation of library funds are:

Existing and anticipated academic programs and curriculum
Levels of collection intensity as defined later in this document
Cost of materials
Material Type i.e. paper, electronic, microfilm, audiovisual

The above listed factors are not listed in priority order.

Audiovisuals
Many types of media such as videocassettes and videodiscs, films, slides, sound recordings, and media kits, are important in the transmission of information. These formats are the only appropriate means of communication for some types of information. The library, therefore, acquires such non-print items on the basis of curricular and research needs of faculty and students. Because the unit cost for audiovisuals is higher than for books, selection criteria include an assessment of the format, expected usage, evaluation found in reviewing sources, and actual preview of the material.

Books
The College Library will supply, if possible, all books required or recommended by the faculty for reading by the students. Although multiple copies of the same title do not strengthen the library’s collection, additional copies will be acquired when justified by the significance of the material or user demand. The library will obtain all reserve books assigned by professors, if possible.
Textbooks for courses offered by the College will not be purchased unless a professor specifically requests them, with justification. Texts that are expected to become out-of-print, while remaining relevant, may be purchased in order for the materials they contain to be available for reserve reading.
Electronic books will be purchased in increasing numbers in order to make their contents more readily available to distance students.

Current Scholarship
Current publications of lasting and scholarly value will take precedence over older and out-of-print materials. Major emphasis will be given to current scholarship and modern editions of various works.
Older editions of major scholarly importance will be added to the collections as deemed necessary by a subject specialist.

Duplication
If the library holds a title in one format, a second copy will generally not be purchased or maintained in a different format unless sufficient cause is shown.
It does not strengthen the book collection to purchase multiple copies of a single title. However, when justified by the significance of the material involved, program enrollment, or user demand, additional copies will be purchased. The library will obtain, in adequate number, all reserve books which instructors assign to their classes.

Electronic Resources
An electronic resource is defined as any encoded resource that requires computer access. Electronic resources may be accessible either on-site or off-site.

These resources are purchased, leased or otherwise accessed with the following considerations in mind:
Relevance to curriculum
Level of quality
Ease of use
Speed of access
Licensing requirements
Cost
Full-text availability
Required equipment
Necessary staff
Training
Service
Suitability for use by distance as well as on-campus students
Possible duplication of printed material

Fiction
Fiction will be selected to support curricular programs only. Titles that increase understanding of fine literature and its relationship to the Christian faith will be considered. The library maintains a small collection of book and electronic media focused toward the Christian family. This section is comprised of donated materials only.

Foreign Language
Publications in English will be given higher priority. Resources in foreign languages will be purchased only when an adequate translation into English is not available or when a specific need is evident for a foreign language edition.

Formats
Resources will be acquired in the most cost-effective and easily accessible formats. If the library holds a title in one format, a second copy of the title will not be purchased or maintained in a different format unless sufficient need for this title is shown.

Geographic Areas
All geographic areas will be considered when selecting resources, although those relating to the Western world will be emphasized. Certain areas of the world will be emphasized as needed by the curriculum. Resources in ethnology, folk, and popular culture will be included as needed to support the curricular and research needs of college patrons.

Gifts
The Library welcomes donations of books and other materials as well as money designated for the purchase of library materials. The following criteria will be followed.

1. Gifts shall be donated at the college administrative office. The donor shall fill out a gift release form that shall include a clear statement that the Library is free to dispose of duplicate and unwanted materials as it sees fit.


2. All donations for library materials and funds will be acknowledged in writing by the staff in the college administration. The number of items should be included in the acknowledgement. The acknowledgement may be used as a receipt for income tax reporting purpose by the donor.


3. The library does not appraise gifts. The donor needs to be aware of the current tax law which may require an official receipt for charitable gifts or donations. The donor may engage the service of a professional appraiser to appraise the gifts.


4. The library encourages gift funds that are not earmarked for specific items in order to permit the most flexible use of the donation for the enrichment of the collections.


5. The library staff along with college administrators will determine the expenditure of gift funds for acquiring material for the library unless the donor has suggested the purchase of specific items.


6. Publications received in the library as gifts will be reviewed by the same standards that govern the selection of purchased items.


7. Gift materials requiring continuing obligation on the part of the library will not be accepted without serious consideration of the library’s ability to house and maintain the material.


8. The value of gifts of materials will be weighed against space limitations and the cost of processing the materials.


9. The library does not accept gifts on a temporary basis for the purpose of leaving them in the building for others to read.


10. The library does not serve as a point of distribution of publications for any institution or organization.

Levels of Collection Intensity
The requirements for library resources vary in the different subject areas. In certain fields the primary needs are met by serials; in some, books are of main importance, and in others, non-print and electronic sources. Current and projected course programs and research areas are considered in deciding the degree of acquisitions intensity the library will seek to achieve in meeting the needs of the academic programs and the college community.
Bethel College students have access to library services from other academic and public libraries in the local area as identified in the library brochure. The Bethel College collection will be supplemented with the collections of these other libraries.
Definitions of collection levels are derived from the American Library Association’s Guide for Written Collection Policy Statements, 1996. The subject arrangement is based on the Library of Congress classification schedule.

Level One: Minimal Level – A collection of very basic resources for which only the most general information is needed.

Level Two: Basic level – A highly selective collection that serves to introduce and define subject areas not represented directly in the college curricula. It includes basic works of recognized writers, selections of basic texts in all subject fields, major dictionaries and encyclopedias, selected editions of important works, historical surveys, important bibliographies and a few major periodicals in the field.

Level Three: Study level – A large well-developed collection that provides at least minimally adequate support for curriculum program. It includes a wide range of basic monographs, complete collections of the works of important writers, a selection of representative journals, and the reference tools and fundamental bibliographic apparatus pertaining to the subject.

Level Four: Research Level – A collection that includes the major published source materials required for portfolios, theses, dissertations and independent research. It includes materials containing research reporting, legal opinions, new findings and experimental results, and other information useful to researchers. It also includes all important reference works and a wide selection of specialized titles, as well as an extensive collection of journals and major online indexing and abstracting databases in the fields.

Level Five: Comprehensive Level – A collection in which a library endeavors, so far as is reasonably possible, to include all significant works of recorded knowledge (publications, manuscripts, other forms), in all applicable languages, for a necessarily defined and limited field. This level of collection intensity is one that maintains a “special collection”; the aim, if not the achievement, is exhaustiveness.

Microforms
Microforms, including microfilm, microfiche and ultrafiche, are currently not being considered for purchase.

Out-of-Print Materials
Current publications of lasting and scholarly value will take precedence over older and out-of-print materials. Older editions of major scholarly importance will be added to the collections as copies may be obtained as gifts or for a reasonable price as determined by the subject specialists.

Paperbacks
Hardbound editions of books are preferred, however paperback editions may be purchased if they are half or less than half the cost of the hardbound, if they are the only available format, or if the paperback makes the book more usable.

Pamphlets/Government Documents
Curriculum-related pamphlets, documents, and corporate annual reports are acquired for the general collection. Curriculum-related government documents are acquired for the general collection. The Library encourages the use of Old Dominion University government document repository for more extensive research. ODU is located in Norfolk, Virginia, just 30 minutes from Bethel College.

Serials
In order to provide access to the most up-to-date information, the library will maintain current subscriptions to a variety of general and subject-specific serials and periodicals. Serials may include resources such as indexes, directories, loose-leaf services, and other materials that are updated regularly, as well as scholarly journals and other periodicals.
New journal titles selected for purchase should generally be indexed in a paper index or electronic database held by the library. Periodicals are usually retained permanently, unless the content is also available in another format (such as microform) or is of limited value to researchers (such as some “popular” magazines).
The library may acquire older volumes of periodicals for which it has a current subscription, but will generally not accept gifts of periodicals for which it does not have a regular subscription.
Due to budgetary and space constraints, it will sometimes be necessary to consider canceling some periodical subscriptions. Any decisions to cancel subscriptions will be based on the following considerations:
Is it an important title that our college program must have?
Is it available through one of the library’s full-text databases? If so, is the availability of the electronic   version dependent on the library also having a current print subscription?
A form documenting the reasons for cancellation will be circulated among the librarians and faculty while the cancellation is being considered. A notebook containing completed forms for cancelled periodicals will be maintained by the Librarian.

Weeding
The library staff and/or the college faculty will pursue a systematic and continuous weeding process, maintaining the quality of the collection by discarding unneeded materials. In June of every year, the library staff will perform an annual inventory and pursue an annual weeding process. Specific types of materials to be considered for weeding include items containing obsolete or misleading information, superseded editions, surplus copies of works no longer in demand, works whose subject or level are not relevant to the college’s curriculum, books in poor condition, and broken files of non-indexed periodicals. A checklist indicating the reasons for weeding will be inserted in each item to be withdrawn. Faculty members will be consulted if there is any question concerning the continuing value of a title, and all librarians will have the opportunity to review items being considered for weeding before the final withdrawal takes place.