Service Alert
Service Alert
a. Evaluation of Collection and Identification of Weaknesses
i. Jones Library staff will work collaboratively with faculty, staff, and students to evaluate the Library’s collection. Evaluation mechanisms may include comparing Jones Library’s collection against standard lists such as those in Books for College Libraries, lists of prize-winning books for adults and children, outstanding book lists, and bibliographies published for specific disciplines. Gaps are filled through the Library’s Acquisitions budget.
ii. The collections and resources of Jones Library support and enhance the curriculum of Greensboro College, including the core requirements, academic majors, and the program of lifelong learning. Materials reflect an effort to represent the historic as well as the current, a range of languages and literatures, a spectrum of political and social views, and a grounding in biblical tradition. To the extent possible, the collections and resources of the library support faculty teaching, research, and scholarship, reflect the history and traditions of Greensboro College, and support the personal growth and development and recreational needs of students.
iii. Jones Library does not have a program in which funds are allocated to specific departments for purchasing library materials, however academic departments are strongly encouraged to make suggests on new materials to The Director of the Library.
iv. Materials that are purchased by request from individuals or departments are to be housed in the Library and will be accessible to all members of the Greensboro College community, in accordance with circulation policies. Materials to be housed in academic departments outside the library, including books and audiovisual material, must be purchased from the requesting department’s own budget.
i. Jones Library’s Librarians select materials for the collection after consulting reviews, bibliographies, recommended lists, or publishers’ catalogs and considering the following:
1. Relevance to the curriculum or interest of the Greensboro College community
2. Quality of the text and illustrations
3. Authority (e.g. of author, publisher, editor)
4. Contribution of the item to the existing collection
5. Availability for consortia or interlibrary loan borrowing.
ii. Materials selected are those with high standards of quality in content and format, and should support the stated goals of the Library and the College.
c. Multiple copies
i. The Library generally does not order multiple copies of books or journals. Occasionally, the Library will purchase or add an additional copy of a book that is in great demand on a permanent basis. The Library specifically does not purchase multiple copies of reserve materials unless the need for multiple copies is expected to continue. Library staff identify lost, missing, and damaged items and consider replacement.
d. Retrospective Collection Development
i. The amount of material purchased to fill gaps in the collection is contingent on the availability of funds in the acquisitions budget.
ii. Gaps in the collection come to our attention through interactions at the Reference Desk, reviews, examination of bibliographies, syllabi, “best books” lists, articles, and other resources.
iii. The Library Director generally initiates these purchases. Because our collection is to be actively used by the Greensboro College community, the Library does not usually purchase rare books, collectors’ items, or other materials in need of protection or special handling.
e. Government Documents
i. State, local, federal, and international publications are acquired, cataloged, and classified with Library of Congress call numbers according to guidelines for the general or Reference collections, as appropriate. Jones Library does not have a separate Maps collection, but does sometimes acquire atlases as part of its Reference Collection. The Library will add specialized atlases to the general circulating collection if requested by a departments.
f. Textbooks
i. The Library does not usually purchase textbooks for the general collection or to place on reserve, unless the book is a reference source, survey, literary work, or other publication that will be of lasting value to the collection. Jones Library does receive a copy of each K-12 state adopted textbook used by Guilford County Schools. Because of their agreement with the State of North Carolina, publishers of state adopted textbooks must deposit one copy of each adopted textbook with each institution that offers a teacher education program. Jones Library’s collections are housed in the Curriculum Materials Center.
g. Book Format
i. Jones Library purchases hardcover books when they are available. The Greensboro College Community does have access to electronic books (e-books) through NC LIVE and the Jones Library does not actively duplicate in print those books available through as e-books through NC LIVE. NC LIVE resources, including electronic books are available through links on the Jones Library website. The Library makes information on how to gain access to them available to faculty, staff, and students. All NC LIVE resources and most other electronic resources offered through the Jones Library are accessible off-campus through a proxy server login. The library has a collection of newspapers and journals on microfilm, but does not actively maintain the microfilm collection.
ii. Non Print collections include music CDs, VHS tapes, DVDs, as well as computer software, and educational media for the Curriculum Materials Center.
h. Suggestions for purchase
i. All members of the Greensboro College Community may recommend items for purchase any time by contacting the Director of the Library by email, phone, or in-person.
i. Standing orders
i. Standing orders are funded through the Library’s acquisitions budget.
j. Periodicals
i. Periodicals in the Library live in two locations. Bound periodicals are located on the lower-level of the library and current, popular periodicals are located on the main floor, in the reference room.
ii. Bound periodicals, available on the lower-level are organized in alphabetical order. They include journals & magazines on a wide range of subjects supporting the college’s curriculum, as well as the Education Curriculum.
iii. Popular periodicals, located on the main floor in the reference room consist of local and national newspapers and popular magazines.
iv. Thousands of periodicals are available in full text through NC-LIVE and other electronic databases available to the Greensboro College community. These databases are accessible off-campus via the Greensboro College Proxy Server. (Access requires a valid College email). Periodicals may be acquired in print or electronic format or both, determined through consultation with faculty in appropriate disciplines. When electronic periodicals are acquired through aggregators, the Library will cancel print versions only after consultation with the appropriate faculty members. The Library will make access to electronic journals as seamless as possible for faculty.
k. New Journal Subscriptions
i. New journal subscriptions must be approved by the Director of the Library. Generally, the Library does not place new subscriptions for journals that are available electronically through databases such as NCLIVE, Proquest, or Lexis-Nexis but length of retention and embargoes will be taken in consideration.
i. Main Circulating Collection
1. The library has a main circulating collection of over 100,000 circulating items. These circulating items are located on the four floors of the stacks and are accessible from the main floor and the lower level of the library. The main circulating collection includes all fields of study and is easily accessible using location guides posted throughout the library. Materials located in the Main Circulating Collection are checked out for 30 days.
ii. Reference Collection
1. The Reference Collection is located in the Reference Room on the main floor of the library and houses thousands of print resources such as encyclopedias, indexes, statistical sources, critical reviews, law research materials, biographical information, and subject specific dictionaries and encyclopedias. The Library also subscribes to electronic references sources that are available both on and off campus. For more information about this collection visit the Reference Desk in the main lobby. The Reference Collection consist of materials needed for:
a. consultation, rather than cover-to-cover reading,
b. identifying specific pieces of information,
c. answering reference questions, and
d. identifying resources for further reading.
2. Reference materials are selected based on the best judgment of Jones Library’s Librarian and by suggestions from teaching faculty, other library staff members, or students. Most reference materials circulate for 7 days with some exceptions.
iii. Reserves
1. Professors place supplemental readings and other materials for their courses on Reserve so that all students in the class will have access to them. Reserve items are available at the Circulation Desk, on the main floor of the library. Reserve materials can include sample tests, solutions manuals, books, videos, study guides, periodicals, photocopied articles, computer software, and many other items.
2. Because instructors consider student access to reserve materials important, these materials are held where all students will have a chance to examine them for limited periods of time. Reserve items can be loaned out for 3 hours, 24 hours, or 7 days at the behest of the faculty member adding the item to reserve. The faculty member adding the reserve item can also decide if students may take the item out of the library or not.
3. The Library does not purchase items for Reserve.
4. The Library follows Greensboro College’s Fair Use guidelines in determining what materials can be placed on Reserve. The Library does not place on Reserve items acquired through Interlibrary Loan or checked out from another Library. The Library will place an instructor’s personal copy of an item on reserve, with the understanding that the Library will not be responsible for loss or damage.
iv. Music Library
1. The Music Library Collection is located at one end of the Reference Room on the main floor of the Library. This collection provides access to thousands of circulating musical scores, compact discs, LPs, and phonograph recordings. Media stations are available for in-house listening, but compact discs and phonographs may also be checked out.
v. VHS Collection
1. The VHS collection is located on the lower level. The Jones Library does not actively maintain the VHS collection, however we will consider faculty requests for VHS items. This collection contains feature, instructional, and documentary films. Any VHS can be viewed at the library by any person. Circulating videos may be checked out for seven days.
vi. DVD Collection
1. The DVD collection is located on the main floor. The DVD disc are kept in a locked cabinet at the entrance to the stacks. The DVD display cases are on display in a nook area in the Learning Commons area, on the main floor of the library. DVD’s are available for 7 day check out.
vii. Curriculum Materials Center (CMC)
1. The CMC, located in the lower level of the library, houses more than 5000 resources for teacher education faculty and students. Materials include professional literature, juvenile books, activity books, curriculum guides, videos, kits, and North Carolina state-adopted textbooks.
viii. Reavis Reading Area
1. The Reavis Reading Area, located within the Curriculum Materials Center on the lower level of the library, includes publications published by the Phi Delta Kappan Education Foundation. This Foundation provides "fastbacks" (concise, informative booklets) along with books on a wide range of educational topics.
ix. Levy-Loewenstein Holocaust Collection
1. The Levy-Loewenstein Holocaust Collection was established by Richard and Jane Levy to provide Greensboro College students with a complete and up-to-date collection of publications on Holocaust history. The Levy-Loewenstein Holocaust Collection is located on the top floor of the Library. Additions to the Levy-Loewenstein Collection are made by donation. Levy-Loewenstein materials are available for 30 day check out.
x. Theses
1. The Thesis collection at Greensboro College contains theses of students from the Greensboro College TESOL program. The collection is located on the main floor of the library in the learning commons area. Theses check out for 30 days.
xi. Microfilm Collection
1. While the Jones Library has a collection of newspapers and journals on microfilm, we do not actively maintain the microfilm collection.
xii. Bound Periodicals
1. Bound periodicals are located on the lower-level of the library and organized in alphabetical order by title. Bound Periodicals do not circulate.
2. Current Periodicals, Magazines, and Newspapers are located on the main floor, in the reference room and do not circulate.
xiii. Electronic Resources
1. Jones Library librarians select electronic resources including both databases and websites to make available to the Greensboro College Community through the “Databases A-Z” and the “EResources by Subject” section of the Library website. Thousands of periodicals are available in full text through NC-LIVE and other electronic databases available to the Greensboro College community. These databases are accessible off-campus via the Greensboro College Proxy Server. (Access requires a valid College email).
xiv. Recreational Reading
1. The Recreational Reading collection is located along side the DVD collection in a nook in the learning commons area of the library. Recreational Reading Materials check out for 30 days.
xv. Graphic Novels
1. The Graphic Novel collection is located in the learning commons. Graphic Novel materials check out for 30 days.
Collections section updated 5 April 2016
