Library Policy

Owner: VPAA or designee
Author: Library Director
Contact information: Kevin McGrew
Effective Date: Original effective date: September, 1988 Revision history: February 1993; March 1994; March 1995; March 1996; March 1997; March 1998; April 1999; August 2003; October 2004; July 2006, September 2016; September 2023, April 2025

I. Purpose

As a vital part of the academic community the College of St. Scholastica Library plays a central role in the realization of the College’s vision. It strives to preserve, disseminate and instruct in the retrieval and use of knowledge in order to provide faculty, staff and students with the framework to realize the College’s and Library’s missions.

II. Definitions

Monographs: books (digital or print), and other one-time purchases such as audio visual material.
Serials: periodical materials such as journals, magazines, and newspapers.
Patron: library user.

III. Policy

Circulation

A current, active CSS or Community Borrower ID is required to check out materials from the CSS Library. Borrowers assume total liability for items checked out from the St. Scholastica Library or borrowed through Interlibrary Loan, this includes responsibility for payment for lost, damaged or mutilated items. Borrowers are responsible for making sure that items are properly returned to the Library. The responsibility and liability remain with the borrower until the item is checked in. The Library reserves the right to recall any materials.

Interlibrary Loan

The CSS Library strives to meet the majority of the needs of its own faculty, staff, and students. When additional resources are needed, the Library draws upon its membership in state and national interlibrary lending organizations such as MINITEX and OCLC. Interlibrary loan service is available to all faculty, staff, and students, often at no cost. "Fair use" provisions of federal copyright law may impose some restrictions on interlibrary lending. Library staff will inform patrons if their requests exceed these guidelines. Items which are borrowed from other libraries are subject to the lending library’s due dates. Unless special renewal is granted, items must be returned by the due date. Patrons are subject to fines if due dates are not observed. In addition, lost or damaged interlibrary loan materials are subject to replacement and/or processing charges levied by the lending library and CSS Library.

Confidentiality/Privacy

Confidentiality is an important ethical principle for libraries and is supported by state law. Library employees will not disclose to one patron what another patron has checked out, or who is using, or has used, a particular item. Individual patrons may agree to disclose their own personal information.

Reserves

Faculty may place materials on reserve for student use in specifi c courses for a semester, the academic year, or permanently. These may belong to the Library or to the faculty member, and must be originals or legally obtained copies.

Copyright

The College of St. Scholastica is an institution of higher learning dedicated to its mission and values. As such, all library resources and services are made available in compliance with U.S. copyright laws.

Library Use

The use of Library's rooms and public spaces for events and academic activities is a privilege, extended by the Library to the College community, and occasionally to the greater community. It is important that those using and visiting the Library recognize the Benedictine value of respect. The College of St. Scholastica respects individuals’ freedom of speech under the U.S. and Minnesota Constitutions. Individuals and groups using the Library are asked to be tolerant of differing points of view and to respect the rights of others to express themselves. Expression or actions, including solicitation, that are disruptive in any way to operations, infringes on the rights of others, or is considered a threat to the safety of the Library’s employees, including student workers, is neither acceptable nor permitted in the St. Scholastica Library at any time. Individuals engaging in such activities will be asked to leave the Library with the possibility of a ban on future access. CSS students engaging in such activities will be reported to the Dean of Students.

Use of Library facilities for public presentations, seminars, colloquia, etc., is permitted only if the activity furthers the mission of the Library or the College of St. Scholastica. Use of Library facilities by non-St. Scholastica groups is permitted only if a substantial collaboration exists between the Library and the non-St. Scholastica entity that furthers the mission of the Library and/or the College of St. Scholastica. Library space is available only during the Library’s operational hours.

Library Collections Policy

The primary purpose of the Library’s collections is to support the curricular, teaching, and research needs of the faculty and students as well as the scholarship and history of the College.
As an integral part of its philosophy of collection development, the Library supports the following statements from the American Library Association:
Library Bill of Rights
Intellectual Freedom Principles for Academic Libraries

Material Selection and Deselection Criteria

The following criteria are taken into account when adding or removing materials from the Library’s collection:

Contribution to curricular needs
Cost
Significance in both the short and long term
Reputation of author/creator/publisher
Availability within borrowing/lending consortia (e.g., MnPALS, MINITEX)
Reviews
Recency
Condition of material
Frequency of use (e.g., number of circulations in the past fi ve and ten years and/or most recent circulation)

Damaged or lost materials will be evaluated for replacement or removal from the collection on a case-by-case basis. Additionally, librarians will conduct a regular weeding program of all collections. Notice of items selected for removal will be sent to relevant academic departments for their review and consideration. This weeding should be conducted as part of an overall collection assessment program and should entail not just removal, but the purchase of replacement and substitute copies as needed.

Collection Responsibility

Librarians and teaching faculty share primary responsibility for the development of the Library’s monograph collection. Responsibility for other areas of the Library’s collection, such as reference materials or serials, resides with the Library faculty.

Textbooks

As a general policy, the Library does not purchase textbooks for the collection. Some textbooks are available on reserve at the Library’s Circulation Desk or in electronic format; textbooks that are on reserve may be used only in the Library unless otherwise stated by the course instructor. The Library will not process interlibrary loan requests for multiple copies of a textbook or for textbooks that are available in the reserve, general or ebook collections.

Monographs

Faculty have primary responsibility for the development of the general collection in their subject area. Each academic department or program has access to a portion of the Library’s material budget for the purpose of acquiring monographic materials. This allocation is determined annually by the Director of the Library based upon the College’s commitment to this budget and can be spent entirely at the department’s/program’s discretion. Librarians will order materials which fall between or outside academic departments or which serve general college-wide purposes.

Materials requests are made using the Library’s online order form. The deadline for faculty to order materials is March 15. This allows the Library to fully process requests and make payments before the end of the fiscal year. Departmental allocations unspent after March 15 may be re-allocated or spent by the Library. Purchases made with personal funds will not be reimbursed.

Serials

Development of the serial collection is the responsibility of the serials librarian, who works with the faculty to ensure the collection is properly developed and maintained. Faculty should route requests for particular subscriptions to their department chairs, who will work with the serials librarian to prioritize requests; the director will also assist in prioritizing between periodicals and monograph purchases. Serial purchases must be carefully considered with considerable librarian input. Periodical subscriptions are a lengthy commitment, and often serve more than one department.

Personal vs. institutional subscriptions

It is the Library’s policy that College serials are purchased at institutional rates.
If individual faculty members receive serials (e.g. through association memberships) they wish to donate to the Library, the Library will accept them if there is a commitment to do so in a timely manner for a period no shorter than 3 years; the Library will not reimburse faculty for subscriptions or memberships.

Reference Collection

The reference librarian has primary responsibility for development of the reference collection. Faculty may make suggestions for reference purchases, or may buy reference materials from their own monograph allocations.

Electronic Resources

The electronic resources librarian has primary responsibility for development of the electronic resources provided by the Library. Decisions to add or cut electronic resources are made using the same criteria as other materials while also considering licensing terms, copyright, user interface, and usage statistics.

Gifts

Gifts are conditionally accepted, with the understanding that the library may add them to the collection at its discretion or dispose of them if they do not meet the standards for selection. As a general rule, gift items will be added to the collection based on the same criteria as purchased material. The library reserves the right to determine the retention, location, cataloging treatment, and other considerations related to the use or disposition of all gifts. The library assumes no responsibility for the appraisal of gift items, nor can the library accept items under restricted conditions.

IV. Individuals and entities affected by this policy

Patrons of the St. Scholastica Library

VI. History and updates

The College reserves the right to modify policies at any time, ensuring the involvement of relevant committees and constituents in the decision-making process (e.g., policy committee, faculty assembly, staff council, student government association, etc.)

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