Community colleges are a cornerstone of higher education and serve the unique needs of the communities in which they reside. Collections and technical services librarians at these institutions need expertise in their area of library work, but also a deep understanding of the community they serve to curate and make discoverable the resources their users need.
The Community College Library: Collections and Technical Services highlights the various approaches to collection development and the technical services work being done by community college librarians around the U.S. You’ll find strategies for developing equity-centered collections, data-driven acquisitions, cataloging, systems migrations, zero textbook cost degrees, and more. These programs can serve as a model, providing new and innovative ways to approach this work at your own institutions.
Community college librarians are engaged in meaningful work designing and delivering library programs and services that meet the needs of their diverse populations and support student learning. ACRL’s “The Community College Library” series is meant to lift the voices of community college librarians and highlight their creativity, tenacity, and commitment to students.
Introduction
Chapter
1. Here For a Good Time, Not a Long Time: Creating a Space Where
Adjunct Cataloging Librarians Can Thrive in a Community College Library
Natalie Hall, Casey Kinson, Rebekkah LaRue, & Conal M. McNamara
Chapter
2. Collection Development and the Power of Multiple Voices:
Developing Equity Centered Collections Through Collaboration and Inclusion
Camila Jenkin and Crystle Martin
Chapter
3. Stop, Collaborate, and Listen: Creating Weeding Projects
between Librarians and Faculty
Amanda M. Leftwich, Fran L. Lassiter, Damon T. Gray, and Jeslin G. Mathew
Chapter
4. Curriculum Support: From the Beginning
Daniel K. Blewett
Chapter
5. Leveraging Diverse Knowledge to Support Collection Development:
Maximizing Student Engagement and Community Resource Value in Varied
Community College Settings
JosÉ AguiÑaga and Edward McKennon
Chapter
6. Creating a Collection Development Plan and Assessment Rubric: One
Community College Librarys Saga
Erica Swenson Danowitz
Chapter
7. More Inclusive Collection Development
Elizabeth Nelson
Chapter
8. Changing Perspectives: Finding a Balanced Collection Development
Plan for a New Age
Bryan Clark
Chapter
9. Collection Development Through Data Forecasting
Sam Suber
Chapter
10. Data-Driven Acquisitions in Community College Libraries:
Creating and Applying a Fund Allocation Formula
Susan B. Mythen and Dawn F. Washington
Chapter
11. Expanding Our Horizons While Maintaining Our Balance
Daniel K. Blewett
Chapter
12. Readers Advisory for Researchers: Marketing Academic
Collections to Todays Students
Kristen Cinar
Chapter
13. If You Build it, They Will Come: A Case for Manga in the
Academic Library
Rebecca Reece
Chapter
14. Zine Cataloging: Starting a Zine Library at Northwest Vista
College
Veronica I. Buendia, Rose Rodriguez, and Norma VÉlez-Vendrell
Chapter
15. Bibliographic Instruction and the Need for Librarian-First OER
Repositories
Michael Kirby
Chapter
16. Getting Started with OER
Jeff Benedetti-Coomber
Chapter
17. Unintended Consequences: How Centralizing Collection Development
Practices Facilitated Launch of a Successful E-Textbook Program During COVID
Kari Schmidt and Suzette Spencer
Chapter
18. Were on Our Way: Wests Path to Zero Textbook Cost (ZTC)
Degrees
Ryan Edwards, Ana Figueroa, and Anthony Cuomo
Chapter
19. How to Eat an Elephant: Changing a Community Colleges Catalog,
One Bite at a Time
Casandra Norin
Chapter
20. From Zero to One Hundred Ten: The California Community Colleges
Statewide Library Services Platform Implementation
Stephanie M. Roach, Ashley R. Coyne, Glenn S. Tozier, Mary Wahl, and Kaela
Casey
Biographies
Kaela Casey is a librarian at the Evelyn and Howard Boroughs Library at Ventura College. Her journey to becoming a librarian began just after high school when she became a student at Ventura College. Although her plan was to become a graphic artist, her path changed after a serendipitous course of events. First, a friend encouraged her to take a career assessment test, which showed that her best career match was a librarian. Next, a library student assistant position became available, which she applied for and got. Her experience working at the library inspired her to change her plan and work toward becoming a librarian. Kaela received her BA in Art from California State University, Channel Islands, in 2007. She worked full-time as a library assistant at the John Spoor Broome Library at California State University, Channel Islands, while raising a family and working on her MLIS. She is a 2009 ALA Spectrum Scholar and received her MLIS from San JosÉ State University in 2012. As a librarian at Ventura College, Kaela leads outreach efforts, provides support for library systems and technical services, and advances the information literacy instruction program through collaboration with faculty and student support services and creating a greater library presence online and in Canvas. Kaela has published and presented on topics including library outreach and social media, cross-institutional collaboration, online information literacy instruction, and partnerships with student support services. When not working, Kaela enjoys doing arts and crafts with her children, playing video games, and hiking. Janet Pinkley is a long-time adjunct librarian at Evelyn and Howard Boroughs Library at Ventura College. She is also the head of access services at California State University, Channel Islands, where she oversees circulation, equipment, reference services, and course reserves. Her part-time role at the community college provides a different level of engagement with a diverse group of students and informs her professional practice at both institutions. Janet received her BS in communicative disorders from California State University, Fresno, in 2004 and her MLIS from San JosÉ State University in 2006. Janets published and presented on topics including reference best practices, library and student affairs collaborations, integrating information literacy into online curriculum, and exploring collaborative opportunities between regional K12, community colleges, and universities to improve advocacy for informational literacy at all levels of education. In her free time, Janet enjoys spending time with her family, doing activities with her children, couponing, and gardening.
