Book Selection

BOOK SELECTION

Book selection is a major responsibility of the librarian. In order to have a relevant, well-rounded, useful collection, the librarian is encouraged to seek the recommendation of faculty members for new acquisitions. If possible, faculty recommendations are honored and all patron suggestions will be considered for purchase. To implement book selection, the following criteria should be used when recommending library materials

1. curriculum-related
2. authoritative research sources
3. current and up-to-date subjects and topics
4. standard sources
5. not available in current library resources
6. recommended resources from peer-reviewed journals
7. recommended book reviews

The sources for selection should come from reliable sources such as the following: 1) CHOICE Reviews; 2) scholarly journals; 3) reviews in library and book trade journals; 4) published bibliographies; 5) recommended readings for the college’s courses, and 6) publisher’s catalogs.

Recommendation forms are available in the library and will be distributed from time to time at faculty gatherings. In addition, a suggestion box is kept at the circulation desk for patrons to leave comments and suggestions.

HOLDING OF BOOKS

The library’s holdings consist of both print and digital titles. There are over 10,000 print books and huge number of eBooks are accessible through the online resources. The library maintains subscriptions to print journals, magazines, and newspapers. WMCGW also subscribes ATLA Religious Database and other resources, which offer thousands of datasets to facilitate research, reference, and analysis. This helps ensure the students have access to scholarly work in their field of study and research.