Staffing
Collection responsibilities at the Hope College Libraries have historically been decentralized.
The Dean of Libraries, the Head of Collections and Access, the Head of Technical Services and Systems, and the Collection Development Team share oversight of various collection responsibilities. Selection of materials is a joint responsibility of library faculty and classroom faculty at the college.
- Department Representatives
The Hope College Library relies heavily on classroom faculty for the selection of materials to be added to their sections in the collection. Each department appoints a faculty member as a representative to oversee the selection of materials by their department. Ideally the representatives have been teaching at Hope College for a few years before taking on this task so they have a working knowledge of the library and its collections. Also, the department representatives encourage their colleagues to submit orders and review them, helping to build a balanced collection.
- Liaison Librarians
Librarians act as liaisons to the departments and are available to help the representatives in the selection of materials. The liaison librarians may meet with representatives and attend department meetings to help build a good relationship with the department. The liaisons serve as contact persons for the department members when they have questions or suggestions regarding the library.
From a collection development perspective, this program is a vital way for librarians and classroom faculty to work together to develop the library’s collection. It allows a formalized mechanism for librarians to consult with faculty about a number of collection development issues such as weeding, evaluation of the journal collection, and changes in the curriculum.
(Last revised October 2020.)