Hours

The hours are modified during semester breaks, holidays
and during the summer. Please call the library or stop by
for a current schedule.

ILL - Interlibrary Loan (x 1003)
library@pcad.edu

Library Mission Statement

The Pennsylvania College of Art and Design Library’s mission is to support and reflect the mission of the institution. The library offers students, faculty and staff access to a diverse collection of print and non-print resources from the Study Level to the Comprehensive Level as defined in the American Library Association (ALA) Guidelines for the Formulation of Collection Development Policies. The holdings support the curriculum while also collecting material that fall between or across disciplines that have curricular value. The library acquires, organizes and makes available resources in the areas of art, design, art history and will continue to develop and maintain a core collection of primary and secondary materials in all liberal arts disciplines, regardless of curricular emphasis. In addition, the library makes available resources for general reference and information outside of the areas of academic instruction, providing a general information resource for the college.

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Collection Management

Collection Responsibility

The development and the maintenance of the library’s collection is the responsibility of the library director. Faculty, students and staff requesting material to be added to the collection must complete an online request form, which can be found on the library website under the Services tab. All requested material is reviewed for its adherence to the library’s selection guidelines and must be approved by the library director. It is the library director’s responsibility to solicit selections from the faculty in their respective areas of expertise. It is the faculty’s responsibility to monitor their professional literature and to inform the library director of assigned textbooks and other material useful for course requirements as well as material for students’ research needs.

Collection Selection Guidelines

The library’s mission statement will provide the framework for selection of all formats of materials to be added to the collection. Gifts will be accepted based upon the same criteria as purchased items. Fulfillment of academic goals and the quality of the content are first considered in making a selection. In addition, the following are also considered: strength of current holdings in a particular area, lasting value of content, appropriateness of level, suitability of format, authority of author, reputation of publisher, and cost.

Additional Considerations

• Duplicates are purchased under special considerations determined by the library director.
• Hardcover copies of books are preferred over paperback.
• Current publications will be the majority of selection. In terms of the difficulty and expense of obtaining out-of-print and reprinted material, it is important to spend funds for valuable current publications of long-term worth, thus preventing a future need for retrospective buying.

The library acquires primarily English language reference and research sources. Foreign language titles with exceptional visual images will also be considered.

All historical periods and world geographical locations will be considered for acquisition.

Formats considered for library acquisitions are: print material, audio-visual and electronic resources. Any and all developing technology will be reviewed and considered for further acquisitions.

The following are used, but not limited to, by the Library Director as primary selection resources:

• Library Journal
• American Libraries
• BookForum
• Booklist
• ARLIS publications
• PaLA publications
• Publishers’ catalogs and pre-publication literature
• Baker & Taylor E-Lists
• ALA publications
• Publishers Weekly

Collection Weeding

The library director periodically reviews the collection to identify any outdated or damaged material and will determine if the material should be withdrawn or replaced. Faculty members are encouraged to identify any material in their area of expertise which they feel is irrelevant.

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Intellectual Freedom

“Intellectual freedom is the right of every individual to both seek and receive information from all points of view without restriction. It provides for free access to all expressions of ideas through which any and all sides of a question, cause or movement may be explored.” --ALA Bill of Rights Intellectual Freedom Statement

The Pennsylvania College of Art and Design supports the American Library Association’s Bill of Rights Intellectual Freedom Statement and its statement on Challenged Material. Attempts will be made to acquire material which represents differing opinions on controversial matters. Selection is without partisanship regarding matters of race, sex, religion, or moral philosophy.

In the event that some materials selected are challenged, the following procedure will be followed. The library will not remove any challenged material acquired under present selection policies until a formal review mandates such action.

1. Any person wishing to challenge any library holding may do so by first completing an online Request for Reconsideration of Library Resources form, which can be found on the library website under the Services tab.
   
   
2. The library director will analyze the work in terms of the ALA policy on Intellectual Freedom, the College's policy on Academic Freedom and library’s current Collection Development Policy.
   
   
3. If the complaint is not resolved at this point, the Chairs Council will convene an ad hoc committee to review the work in question. The committee will consist of 1) the library director, 2) faculty member(s) representing the subject area most closely related to the work in question, and 3) student representative(s).
   
   
4. The complaint will be reviewed by the committee in an open meeting at which time a decision will be made by simple majority. A formal report of the decision will be supplied to the complainant and a copy will be filed in the Library Director’s office.

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Library website updated September 2008