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  • New CVCC Student ID/Library Cards will be issued no earlier than three weeks prior to the beginning of each semester. 
  • A form of government-issued photo ID (driver's license, passport, etc.) must be presented.  If you have no photo ID, a birth certificate or Social Security card will be accepted.
  • After the information has been verified, your photo will be taken. Those who come to the Library will be able to receive their card after it is made at the circulation desk. Those who have their photo taken at an Off-Campus Center will have to wait several days before the card is made and shipped to the Center.
  • There is no charge for your first ID Card; if you lose your card and need a replacement within two years of date of issue, the charge is $10.00 (subject to increase).  Replacement cards are only issued to students who are currently enrolled in classes.
  • The card is valid only if you are a currently enrolled student.  The expiration date on the card (two years from date of issue) is for replacement purposes only.  If you stop taking CVCC classes, hold onto the card; it will be valid again if you resume taking classes.

Loan periods

  • Books - 4 weeks
  • DVDs - 1 week
  • Periodicals - do not circulate
  • Reference books - do not circulate
  • Reserve books - loan periods are at the discretion of the faculty and may be for one week, overnight, or two hour in-library use

Renewals

Books and DVDs may be renewed over the phone or by e-mail, 434-832-7750 or library@centralvirginia.edu, if a hold has not been placed on a particular item and if the item(s) is/are not overdue.

The following have borrowing privileges and for the specified amounts of materials:

  • Faculty and staff of CVCC may borrow an unlimited number of items.
  • Students currently enrolled in credit or non-credit courses with CVCC, including dual enrollment and distance courses, may borrow up to a total of twenty (20) books.
  • Community borrowers may borrow up to a total of three (3) items at one time.
  • All borrowers are limited to no more than six (6) DVDs at one time.

Library books and DVDs may be returned to the book drop outside on the side of Bedford Hall facing Merritt Hall or at the Library circulation desk. Contact the Library by phone at 434-832-7750 or e-mail at library@centralvirginia.edu to arrange for an alternate pickup or drop-off method.

Books which are checked out can be placed on hold. When the book is returned, the person who requested the hold will be notified by email. The held item will stay on the hold shelf for one week after notification. If the item is not picked up within the week, it will be returned to circulation or offered to the next patron on the hold list.

  • Materials placed on reserve by faculty are located behind the circulation desk.
  • Loan periods vary for each item placed on reserve, but can be either two hours (in-library use only,) overnight (due back to the CVCC Library by 8:30 am the following business day,) or one week.
  • CVCC distance students may request reserve materials using the Interlibrary Loan Request form. Reserve materials will be mailed or faxed to the distance student's residence or they may be sent to the nearest off-campus center as appropriate.
  • Students must have a valid CVCC library card to check out reserves.

Placing materials on reserve

Due to the heavy influx of materials being placed on reserve at the beginning of the semester, it may be forty-eight hours from the time the request is made until items are available for use. Later in the semester materials can be placed on reserve within twenty-four hours.  A Library Reserve Request form is available online or at the circulation desk.

  • The library does not charge overdue fees.
  • Books which contain supplementary material, such as discs or maps, will not be checked in unless the supplementary material is returned with the book.
  • Students cannot register for classes until they have paid for or returned overdue materials in good, circulating condition. Borrowers who have overdue materials will not be allowed to check out additional items.
  • Borrowers will be billed $50 per item for unreturned books and DVDs. Unpaid bills will be turned over to the Accounting Office for collection.
  • Borrowers will be billed repair costs for damaged items. Costs will be determined by the Coordinator of Library Services.
  • If a book is found after it has been paid for, the borrower must present the book (in usable condition) and the receipt to the library. The Accounting Office will be notified to request reimbursement from the Virginia State Treasurer.

  • Items printed from any of the Library's computers are $.05 per page, with the first five pages free daily. There will be no charge for blank sheets or pages with only a header.

  • Computers in the library are intended to provide access to the library catalog, electronic library resources, the Internet, and Microsoft Office applications. They may be used to search for information, research term paper topics, explore interests, and use applications already loaded.
  • Access to computers and electronic resources in the library is open to everyone with a valid CVCC library card. All users must agree to abide by the IT Resources Acceptable Use Policy and all student conduct guidelines in the Student Handbook .
  • Remote access to the library's electronic resources is available to CVCC faculty, staff, and students registered for any credit or non-credit course at CVCC, including synchronous or asynchronous learning courses. See directions for accessing Library E-resources.

  • Interlibrary loan services are extended only to current CVCC faculty, staff, and students, including distance offerings via synchronous or asynchronous transmission. The library does not secure materials through interlibrary loan for community borrowers, CVCC alumni, or former CVCC employees or students.
  • An Interlibrary Loan Request form for requesting materials is available at the circulation desk and online. CVCC distance students may also use this form to request books and periodical articles owned by the CVCC library.
  • The library strives to obtain interlibrary loan material for free. In the event that an interlibrary loan cannot be filled for free, the person making the request will be given the opportunity to pay the loan's full cost or cancel the request.
  • Renewals must be requested prior to the due date indicated on the book cover.
  • Interlibrary loans may be returned to the library front desk, the drop box located on the side of Bedford Hall facing Merritt Hall, or arrangements may be made for returning by calling the Library at 434-832-7750.
  • The library will bear the cost for mailing materials back to the lending institution.
  • Borrowers are responsible for any overdue or damage fees assessed by the lending institution.

  • The Library has six (6) study rooms for students.
  • Study rooms are reserved for CVCC students.
  • Two study rooms (3108 and 3109) have been specifically designated as group study rooms (two or more persons). An individual may use either of these rooms but must vacate the room in favor of a group.
  • Study room 3104 is specifically designated as a Family Study Room and is only available to students with children present. Families must request access to the room at the Library front desk.
  • Any personal items left unattended will be removed and taken to the Front Desk to be claimed. Items not claimed within two (2) days will be sent to the Lost and Found, Campus Police.
  • No sleeping or other inappropriate behavior is allowed in the study rooms.
  • Study rooms are to be vacated no later than five (5) minutes before closing time of the Library.

Any student enrolled in a synchronous or asynchronous learning course at CVCC will have library use and borrowing privileges identical to every CVCC student in good standing. These library services include, but are not limited to, free interlibrary loan service, book checkout, use of in-house periodicals, and access to computerized indexes, databases, and other electronic resources. Librarians and other staff members will assist these distance students in the same exhaustive manner as they assist all students, faculty, and staff.

CVCC's distance students will be able to request library materials owned by CVCC using the Distance Student Material Request form.  They may also use this form to request library materials which are not owned by CVCC. Requested materials will be mailed, shipped, or faxed to the distance student as appropriate. There will be no photocopying charges.

Distance learning programs delivered off-campus will be supported through online access to the library's catalog, databases, Ask a Librarian online chat service, and telephone access to librarians. Course reserve materials, interlibrary loans, books, and periodical articles will be delivered via U.S. mail, fax, or email as appropriate.

Introduction

Central Virginia Community College (CVCC), a two-year institution established as a member of the Virginia Community College System, was founded in 1966 and provides post-secondary, state-supported educational facilities for the cities of Lynchburg and Bedford and the counties of Amherst, Appomattox, Bedford, and Campbell. The student body is multi-cultural and covers a wide range of ages, learning styles, and socioeconomic groups. Its two-year college transfer programs in arts and sciences and in certain pre-professional areas lead to associate degrees and offer courses accepted for transfer to four year institutions. Its occupational and technical programs lead to diplomas, certificates, or associate of applied science degrees. Other programs include developmental work, special training for area industries, continuing education, and community service to groups in the area.

Purpose

The purpose of the Collection Development Policy is to establish guidelines for selecting and maintaining materials. In addition to addressing the initial selection of resources, the policy also covers the associated functions of preservation, removal and replacement.

Materials Selection

The Coordinator of Library Services provides final approval for the acquisition of all materials purchased with library funds. The Coordinator and all professional Library Staff consult with faculty and staff on selection. Requests from CVCC faculty, staff and administrators, students and the community are encouraged; they are accepted and processed as appropriate.

Information needs of the student body are the top collection priority. These needs are filled according to the following guidelines:

  1. Requests from teaching faculty for resources to support instruction are given the highest priority in the allotment of funds (after constant costs such as serials, continuations and necessary reference updates).
  2. Priority for materials acquisitions follows a three year cycle (Business and Allied Health; Humanities and Social Sciences; and Science, Math, and Engineering).
  3. Requests from instructors of new courses for which few or no existing resources are available take precedence among faculty requests. Materials to support existing curricula come next, and current interest and recreational materials come last.

Languages

The predominant language of material to be collected will be English. The college teaches beginning Spanish and French, so materials in those languages may be collected as requested by faculty teaching each language. Foreign language dictionaries are purchased for their value as general reference sources.

Formats

Formats to be collected are numerous and varied. Formats not collected as a matter of policy include textbooks in use on campus, dissertations and theses, art works, posters, musical scores, and music videos. As new technologies appear, they may not be purchased immediately but formats which make information more accessible to larger numbers of users will be considered and evaluated, weighing relative merit, cost, production standards and convenience of use, comparisons with existing formats to make logical decisions based on usefulness.

Intellectual Freedom

The CVCC Library subscribes to the American Library Association's Library Bill of Rights and its various interpretations. The concept of censorship is antithetical to the free pursuit of knowledge and exploration of ideas so necessary in the formation of values and beliefs and is a primary goal of education.

Selection Criteria

The specific criteria used in considering an item for purchase include the following in relative order of importance:

  1. Relevance to user needs at CVCC and/or user requests
  2. Appropriateness to community college learning level
  3. Predicted likelihood of use by students and/or faculty
  4. Authoritativeness, accuracy, and timeliness
  5. Reputation of author and publisher or producer
  6. Positive reviews
  7. Price
  8. Appropriateness of format to need
  9. Organization and style

Periodical Selection

The selection of periodicals involves using the same considerations as with books but in a different order of importance, and there are some distinctive features as well. Periodicals in specific subject disciplines are usually selected at the request of teaching faculty. General interest magazines and newspapers are chosen because they appear on a list of basic sources, or are cited in one or more library indexes, and requested by users. Price is also a factor in determining which title(s) may or may not be added.

Interlibrary Loan

The existence and increasing ease of use of Interlibrary Loan has impacted the selection process. In the case of periodicals, a title needed only a few times over the course of several years can be borrowed from another library much more cost effectively than it can be purchased. That capability must be weighed against the cost of buying it and balanced by a projected number of uses in order to decide on its selection. Those same variables may be used in considering a book purchase but it is more difficult to gauge projected usage; and one must bear in mind that most libraries will not lend a very new title. If currency is an issue, one should purchase it. Audiovisual materials are seldom available for interlibrary loan. CVCC's participation in the Lynchburg Area Library Consortium, participation in VIVA, and inclusion in a reciprocal interlibrary loan agreement with most of the libraries in the Commonwealth guarantees the availability of good cooperative resource sharing through lending.

Gifts

CVCC is appreciative of community philanthropy in the form of useful gifts to its collection. The staff would be pleased to consult with donors concerning appropriate selections of materials for the Library. Gifts may be identified with the name of the donor as well as any other individual being honored or memorialized, and written acknowledgments sent.

In considering donated items which donors may own already and wish to get rid of, the only criterion deleted from the selection list above is cost. All other criteria maintain the same level of importance. Acceptance of donated items from the general public must always be accompanied by the caveat that we reserve the right to use or not use items as appropriate, and donations on which the donor places conditions cannot be accepted.

Staff will be glad to give donors a receipt for donated items but cannot attach a value to those items.

Removal, Replacement, And Preservation

Collection management must include a program of periodic or ongoing collection review based on space constraints, changing user needs, and deterioration or obsolescence. Deciding what to do with items that have outlived their usefulness or ones which are in poor physical condition is done on a continuing basis. If they are to be preserved, they may be rebound, mended, replaced, or protected in some manner. CVCC's collections do not lend themselves to costly preservation methods or removal to a restricted, environmentally controlled location since the holdings include almost nothing that is rare or irreplaceable. If items are to be removed, a Library staff member evaluates them and decides about replacement.

Weeding

Weeding the collection, or choosing items for reconsideration, may be done piecemeal or in a more systematic manner depending on available time. Some materials are weeded at the time of circulation if their condition is critical. Others are evaluated as part of inventory or periodic review of particular areas of the collection. A complete cycle of collection review should occur at least every three years.

Removal or discarding

When rebinding and mending are not feasible solutions, a book (or piece of media) may be discarded. Ownership stamps, call number and bar code are removed or obliterated. The bibliographic record and circulation records are updated. Physical disposal of materials purchased with state funds is accomplished in accordance with accepted state guidelines.

Collection review for the purpose of deselecting items can be done by Library staff or by faculty. Input from faculty members for the discipline involved is sought and recommendations for replacements are encouraged. Responsibility for deselection ultimately falls to library staff.

Criteria for Removal

There are other reasons to consider discarding a title besides poor condition, including:

  1. Lack of currency
  2. Failure to conform to program or class needs
  3. No lasting importance; ephemera
  4. Past or projected lack of use based on circulation
  5. Lack of reference, historical or critical value

Curriculum-related media is purchased almost exclusively at the request of faculty. Its removal from the collection also is coordinated with the faculty member for whom it was purchased. As with print formats, there are a number of reasons for performing a collection review and choosing to deselect items in the multimedia collection. The more significant ones, in addition to ones noted for books, include:

  1. Damaged, brittle, or otherwise irreparable media condition
  2. Deteriorated visual or audio quality
  3. Content inaccuracies or irrelevance of themes
  4. Unfairness in racial, cultural, or sex role depiction
  5. Continued relevance to curricular or research needs
  6. Availability and operating condition of equipment on which material is used

A further consideration in this entire process is that if material is not added or removed from a collection, it diminishes the vitality of the collection. It is much more useful to students to be able to go to the shelf and find a small number of well-chosen, relevant items on a subject instead of a mass of useless or outdated material.

Replacement

When a book is discarded because of its poor physical condition, it should be considered for replacement. Factors to be considered include: whether it has been superseded by a new edition or more current information, relevance to student needs, availability, and price.

Periodicals (Serials) Review

Ongoing and continual review of periodicals must be done, and subscriptions may be canceled for some of the same reasons that apply to other materials such as lack of space, infrequent use, conversion to another format, obsolescence, or poor condition. Other considerations include declining quality, increasing cost, and the availability of online access.