Collection Development Policy : Collection Evaluation and Maintenance

Books purchased for the NVC Library are not permanent acquisitions. Continuous deselection, also referred to as weeding, is vital task for maintaining a current and up-to-date collection to support the curricular and extracurricular needs of the student body and the NVC community. 

What do we look for when we weed?

• Physical Condition. Some books are beyond reasonable repair, this includes but is not limited to books with: stains, water damage, brittle, yellow or browned pages, missing pages, tattered binding, foul odors, mold, mildew, and infestations.
• Usage. The circulation statistics or other usage reports are consulted. 
• Currency. Outdated information. The title is superseded by a newer/updated or revised edition. Books where historical context and a comprehensive understanding of a topic is needed, the older editions will be retained.
• Duplicates - when statistics have been considerably low for a long period of time and there are multiple copies available, duplicate copies will be withdrawn.
• Unique - the library has a small special collection considered rare or unique. These books are routed to the Special Collections Room for safe storage.
• Obsolete or Obsolescent. Materials that are no longer in a supported format or the format has been phased out with be deselected. 
• Complete. Sometimes single volumes in multi-volume sets are lost or damage. Other volumes in the set may be deselected. 
• Shelf space. The NVC Library is a small community college library. Deselecting books helps us make room for new books. While we teach the principles of research, information literacy and more, the library is not a research library where it is vital to have a comprehensive history in every subject area. 

Every deselected book goes through a multi-part review. Every effort is made to replace deselected materials when appropriate. The guidelines above are a guide. Each title is considered on a case by case basis. 

CREW and MUSTIE

We have adopted the CREW Method for withdrawing books from the collection. CREW is an acronym for Continuous Review, Evaluation, and Weeding. A quality collection focuses on quality versus quantity. Deselection processes can be labor intensive. To streamline processes, deselection will be scheduled in conjunction with the collection assessment cycles. 

In an intentional effort to ensure the quality of the library general collection the CREW method will be used to identify candidates for possible withdrawal. The MUSTIE factors as identified in the CREW method and the FRESH factors will be used to assist in making the final deselection decisions. 

While we will make every attempt to order quality material and remove obsolete materials. It is the responsibility of the user to evaluate each resource used. 

Guidelines for Deselection:

According to CREW guidelines, there are three criteria for identifying candidates for  possible withdrawal. 

1. the years since the books latest copyright date

2. the years since the last checkout. Usage Statistics. 

3. MUSTIE factors. 

MUSTIE is an acronym for:

1. Misleading. The material is factually inaccurate.  

2. Ugly. The material is worn, damaged and no longer in good condition. 

3. Superseded. The material is superseded by a new edition or new book.

4. Trivial. No literary or scientific merit.

5. Irrelevant. Not relevant to the community needs, interest or curricula.

6. Elsewhere. The material is readily available through other libraries.

FRESH is an acronym for:

1. Foster. The material fosters the love for reading. 

2. Reflect. The material reflects the diverse student population.

3. Equitable. The material reflects an equitable global view.

4. Support. The material supports the curricula.

5. High-quality. The material is current and up to date.

Books and materials in the general library collection will be weeded during summers and throughout the academic semester as time allows due to limited staffing. Weeding is the responsibility of Library Liaisons and Librarians who are signed up to deselect/select. 

Damaged or missing items are not automatically replaced. Instead, the titles are evaluated based on usage data, requirements for a course or program accreditation, relevance and accuracy of information. Damaged or missing items marked for replacement will be replaced with an updated edition or newer version whenever possible.

We make every effort to give deselected and weeded books a second life through donating the books to Book Donation programs like Better World Books.   

Books that are not in the condition for donation are sent to a book recycler. The NVC Library participates in the Baker & Taylor Sustainable Shelves program. Through this program, libraries reduce environmental impact and give life to items made out of recycled books.

Through the Sustainable Shelves program, books are placed in large bins or boxes and they are picked up by a book recycling company.
 

Rare or historical books may be donated to Archive.org