General Collection Policy

Talladega College is an institution rich in history whose mission is to equip its graduates for the global community through academic excellence, moral values, community service and professional development.


Talladega College provides library facilities and services to its faculty, students, staff, and other scholars and information users through Savery Library.

Savery Library supports the college’s mission to “equip its graduates for the global community through academic excellence, moral values, community service and professional development.”

Collection policies and principles have shifted in the 21st century. The library develops collections based on the curricular and research needs of the campus, with the assistance of the library committee and faculty members. The focus of the main collection uses a patron-driven acquisition model to provide access to materials for faculty and students. This is achieved through faculty textbook requests and student book requests. (See Forms Tab)


Savery Library Archives collects rare and unique materials, including manuscripts, personal papers, books, maps, photographs and other graphic materials, and college records, in specific collecting areas that fulfill the teaching and research missions of Talladega College. (See Special Collections Policy Tab)

Electronic resources are available through the current collection.  These include databases, electronic journals, and electronic books.  These resources must support the curricular and research needs of the campus community.   Electronic resources are reviewed on an ongoing basis to determine if they are relevant and cost effective.  We will explore alternative methods for providing access to high cost, low use electronic resources through our resource sharing partners and Interlibrary Loan (ILL).

The institution ensures the availability of archived official catalogs, digital or print, with relevant information for course and degree requirements sufficient to serve former and returning students. These catalogs are available in Savery Library College Archives. A request form needs to be submitted to the College Librarian. These catalogs are available during normal library hours. If a digital catalog is requested, please allow up to 48 hours for processing, the item will then be emailed to the email address on the request form. The official catalogs that are available are from 1870-2018. (See Forms Tab)


For information on donations to the general collections of Savery Library, please see the Gifts Policy.

 

Weeding Policy

Weeding (or de-selection) of materials in the collection is a component of collection development and serves to maximize the usefulness of the library collection. Weeding the collection provides space for new materials and increase the value of the collection by removing outdated/unwanted material or items in poor condition. The collection will be periodically examined for material to be withdrawn, usually under the direction of the College Librarian. Candidates for disposal will included superseded editions, duplicate copies no longer needed, alternative formats, out-of-date works and materials in poor condition. Procedures will include consultation with faculty and staff.

Deselection of materials is done with care.  There is no systematic process of deselection that fits all collections.  We may remove print materials that duplicate stable electronic archives.  Books or materials that are damaged, are held in multiple editions, or duplicated across collections may also be removed.  Lack of use may be a consideration but is rarely the sole factor in deselection.

 

Intellectual Freedom Statement

Savery Library adheres to the position governing censorship and intellectual freedom adopted by the Council of the American Library Association and published in the Association’s Library Bill of Rights. Librarians are guided by these principles of intellectual freedom rather than political, religious, or personal biases in making selection decisions. Savery Library’s collections contain and will contain various opinions which apply to important, complicated, and controversial questions, including unpopular and unorthodox positions. Factual accuracy, effective expression, significance of subject, and responsibility of opinion are factors that are considered when materials are selected for Savery Library.