Skip to Main Content

Collection Development Policy: Home

More Information

Profile Photo
Karen Greever
Contact:
Chalmers Library 122
greeverk@kenyon.edu
740-427-5420
she/her

Collection Development Policy

Kenyon's library collections and our collection development practices are attuned to Kenyon's overall educational mission as an undergraduate,liberal arts college.  Our collection development practices are flexible and encourage creative ways of meeting Kenyon's information needs. We are prepared to meet new collection management challenges, anticipate future needs, and take advantage of promising opportunities as they present themselves.

We are building a strong, coherent, balanced, dynamic and versatile library collection. We provide support for a diverse curriculum including all majors, departments, and programs.  Our collection is a resource for faculty research, but our resources do not allow us to systematically collect at the "research" level.  We address specific requests for local purchase of research-level materials on a case-by-case basis.  In addition to supporting the College's formal academic programs, the library provides support for the general academic interests of the Kenyon community. 

Librarians and faculty share responsibility for developing the library collection. Librarians coordinate their efforts to ensure that the library collects to meet the needs of the college as a whole, and the individual departments.  Faculty and librarians in different departments may collaborate on collection development in different ways, depending on the needs of the discipline and the resources available. 

Kenyon is fortunate that our collection does not exist in isolation but as a subset of the larger OhioLINK collection, which spans almost all the academic libraries in Ohio.  This enables Kenyon patrons to have quick, practical access to a wide variety of materials beyond our local collection.  Our membership in OhioLINK also helps provide access to many electronic books, journals, and databases.  This collaborative effort informs all of our collection work.

The library collects a broad spectrum of resources in a variety of formats. The formats collected include printed books, periodicals, sound recordings, video recordings, maps, microforms, and various electronic resources. The primary criterion for selecting any item is its relevance to Kenyon's teaching mission. When we evaluate information resources we consider their content, cost, accessibility, and viability.  The library collects primarily English language materials, but also collects in other languages as required by the curriculum. 

The library assesses the usefulness, relevance, and condition of its physical collection on a continuing basis to ensure that we make the best use of the available space and provide a dynamic, relevant and effective collection in support of the curriculum.

 

This document was reviewed and revised by Karen E. Greever, Collection Development Librarian, Chris Hudson, Director of Collection Services, and Amy Badertscher, Library Director, in 2019.

Suggesting Titles for Purchase

Requests for library materials are welcome, although budget considerations may mean that not all items can be purchased. We continue to reduce unnecessary duplication of materials, in order to expand the breadth of our collection and make the best possible use of our resources (physical space and budget dollars). In keeping with that policy, Kenyon acquires only a single copy for most materials.

Suggested titles may be submitted via the online web form. 

Requests for new subscriptions and expensive items may be made as well.  Providing as much information as possible about how ongoing or large expenditures relate to the curriculum greatly assists in the evaluation process.  Again, due to budget constraints, not all requests can be filled.