Pearl A. Wanamaker (TCC) Library Collection Development Policy

Pearl A. Wanamaker Library

Image: TCC Library Mural is licensed under CC BY SA 4.0

Introduction

Collection development is defined as the systematic and ongoing process of building, maintaining, and assessing a library collection to ensure that it meets the needs of its users.

Written by the faculty librarians, the collection development policy gives us a concrete set of objectives and procedures to assure that we effectively allocate resources towards a useful, high quality collection to support students' curricular needs, as well as their extracurricular and personal interests.

The Pearl A. Wanamaker Library actively demonstrates through all library services and resources an openness to and ability to engage with divergent perspectives through:

• teaching and promoting information literacy;

• collecting and providing access to resources that are relevant and representative of the campus community and curriculum; and

• providing a welcoming and collaborative environment for students, faculty, and staff.

Guiding Principles

The guiding principles of the Pearl A. Wanamaker Library are directly tied to, informed by, and in observance of our Library mission; Tacoma Community College’s Mission, Vision, and Values; and the American Library Association’s [Key Action Areas] [or] [Library Bill of Rights].

At the broadest level, the objectives of collection development – the process of building, maintaining, and assessing a library collection at the Pearl A. Wanamaker Library are to:  

1. Support the College's strategic plan as approved by the Board of Trustees  

2. Support the mission and program outcomes of the Library  

3. Provide students with easy access to materials that support their curricular needs, as well as their extracurricular and personal interests

4. Support the overall development of students, i.e., the “whole student,”  by offering resources that are of interest to and representative of the TCC community, which includes diverse racial, ethnic, cultural, social, and economic backgrounds 

Our collection decisions are driven by our guiding principles, to which we are committed. All of these principles are interrelated. They are:

Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging

Grounded in TCC’s core theme of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion, the TCC Library both champions and endeavors to represent the diverse experiences of our community. The Library asserts that access to a broad collection of resources creates a foundation of learning that fosters the support and celebration of all people. Specifically, the library strives to address critical gaps in the collection and to give voice to those groups that have been historically oppressed or marginalized, including those from the BIPOC, LGBTQIA, and other underrepresented communities. This work is accomplished through the ongoing critical evaluation of the collection and through the intentional purchasing of materials that represent values, perspectives and voices that fall outside of the dominant culture.

Intellectual Freedom

The TCC Library supports the tenets of Intellectual freedom as expressed in the American Library Association’s Intellectual Freedom Principles for Academic Libraries.  In adhering to these guidelines, we select materials according to the collection development policy and without prejudice or censorship, regardless of our personally held beliefs.

Accessibility

• Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG)
• Central to the core mission of the library is the quality and accessibility of its collection. 

A Philosophy of “Open”  

• Creative commons licensing on all library materials
• OER librarian and resources
• Goes hand-in-hand with Anti-Racism, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging by championing open resources (combatting prohibitive costs)

Critical Information Literacy

Critical information literacy involves the ability to locate, evaluate, and ethically use information while empowering individuals to navigate complex information landscapes, making informed decisions, and understand the social and political factors that shape how knowledge is produced and distributed, influencing how information is interpreted and used. 

The TCC Library acknowledges the role libraries – as institutions traditionally centered on whiteness and patriarchy – have played in supporting systems of oppression to those outside the dominant culture.

Collection Overview

The Pearl A. Wanamaker Library collection consists of over 30,000 print volumes, 147,000 e-books, and 37 print periodical titles. In addition, the Library currently subscribes to 58 databases, which contain full-text access to journal articles, reference resources or streaming film (as of April 2021).

Intellectual Freedom, Copyright, and Censorship

The Pearl A. Wanamaker Library adheres to the American Library Association’s Bill of Rights, Freedom to Read Statement,  Intellectual Freedom Principles for Academic Libraries, as well as the ACRL Diversity Standards.

Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion

The TCC Library is committed to supporting Tacoma Community College’s core theme of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion.

As such, the Library endeavors to develop a collection that champions equity, reflects the diverse experiences of our community, and fosters the inclusion of historically marginalized people, topics, and events.

Objectionable Content

Some of the materials within the TCC Library’s collection were produced in earlier times. As such, Library users will likely encounter materials that include stereotypic and offensive portrayals of people, and colonialist descriptions of historic events. 

The Librarians at TCC choose to retain these materials because they are either seminal works or are important in the study of human culture and society.  Such materials should be viewed within the historical, political, social, and cultural contexts of the time in which they were created.  

Providing access to these materials does not endorse any attitudes, prejudices, or behaviors depicted, but aligns with Tacoma Community College’s core theme of Cultivating Exceptional Learning.