The KyCAD Library advances the mission of the college through a comprehensive, readily accessible collection of informational materials, instructional technologies, and other academic support services that meet the ever changing educational needs of students, faculty, and staff. The Library provides a supportive environment, tools, and expertise that nurture and enhance the teaching and learning process for the entire college community.
While supporting the overall mission of the college, the mission of the libraries is to provide the information services and resources required to enhance, support, and respond to the ever changing needs of the students, faculty, staff, and community at large served by the Kentucky College of Art + Design.
The library provides and supports student and faculty access to information resources in various formats (including print, media and electronic databases). The physical collections are maintained at both the KyCAD Mansion and the 849 Gallery. Upon request of a patron, items can be transferred between the two campuses within two working days of a request. Additionally, KYVL membership provides free interlibrary loans among its members, thereby providing access to the library resources of Kentucky's senior research universities.
To ensure the quality and comprehensiveness of the total collection, the library assumes responsibility for building the collection. Faculty members are encouraged to recommend materials for purchase throughout the year, and their recommendations are given first priority. The library staff also select and deselect materials, review gifts, monitor the strengths and weaknesses of the collection, and maintain communication between the library and the faculty. The professional librarians are responsible for material selection and collection development.
The KyCAD Library is responsible for its materials budget. Allocated amounts are not assigned to programs or Centers; rather, the library considers the overall balance of the collection along with immediate needs when allocating resources. In a particular year, budget allocations may be adjusted to support new courses or programs, programs under review, programs up for re-accreditation, or quickly changing fields.
The scope of the KyCAD Library collection is defined by the college curricula.
The KyCAD Library attempts to collect at the “Initial Study or Instructional Support” level as defined in the American Library Association’s Guidelines for the Formulation of Collection Development Policies. At the Initial Study or Instructional Support Level, collections provide information about a subject in a systematic way, but at a level of less than research intensity, and support the needs of general library users and undergraduate students. The collections include:
A “Study” or “Instructional Support” level collection should be systematically reviewed for currency of information and for assurance that essential and important information is retained, including significant numbers of classic retrospective materials.
The primary criterion for selecting any item is its relevance to the Kentucky College of Art + Design’s teaching mission. As funds permit, the library will also purchase general informational resources, recreational reading, and faculty research materials. Faculty research materials will be obtained through interlibrary loan if the requested item does not meet the library’s collection criteria. The KyCAD Library staff are responsible for material selection.
The following selection criteria apply to all purchasing and gifts but may assume greater or lesser importance depending on the type of material under consideration.
A. Circulating Collection
The Circulating collection is maintained at the KyCAD Library located in the Mansion.
B. Reference Collection
The reference collection is non-circulating and includes works that are intended to directly or indirectly provide information in support of the college curricula. Standard general reference tools are also included. Deselected materials may be relegated to the circulating collection as appropriate. If online resources provide the exact or superior content and ease of access as the print version, then both online and print versions of a resource are not purchased.
C. Reserve Collection
Reserve items may be either instructor-owned or library-owned materials and are place on reserve at the request of faculty members. Upon the request of a faculty member, the library purchases items for the reserve collection provided the materials meet the collection development standards.
D. Paperback Collection
A collection of paperback books supports the college’s reading courses and also meets the leisure reading needs of patrons. Books in this collection are selected to appeal to patrons while still maintaining reasonable literary standards.
E. Periodical Collection
Access to periodical articles is often provided through the online databases. Print periodicals which duplicate the online titles are not purchased, however print periodicals are purchased to support the Kentucky College of Art + Design curricula where online resources are not available or if the print material is determined to be superior or essential.
F. Audio-Visual Collection
The criteria for selection listed above also apply to audio-visual materials. The choice of format of AV materials is determined on current technology and the type of hardware available in the library and the classrooms.
H. College Archives
The library maintains the Kentucky College of Art + Design archives. Included in the archives are:
Donations to the KyCAD Library are welcomed and encouraged and are contingent upon the approval of the Library Director.
Monetary gifts may be designated for the library in general, or the donor may wish to consult with the Library Director to determine specific needs of the library. Library materials given in memory or in honor of someone can have a book plate inserted with an acknowledgement in each book.
All donations of materials to the library must meet the same criteria as purchased items and must be in good condition. After evaluation by the library staff, materials may be added to the library collection, offered for book sales or free distribution, or discarded. Donations will not be returned to the donor.
Monetary value will not be assigned by the library. Donors who wish to have an evaluation of their gifts for tax purposes are advised to seek the needed information in appropriate IRS publications and/or have materials appraised prior to donation.
The KyCAD Library is building a collection which includes diverse viewpoints on many topics and issues. The library does not approve nor endorse any particular viewpoint or belief represented in its collection. A patron may reject materials for themselves but may not restrict access to the materials by others. 2A patron who feels that the collection does not provide diverse viewpoints on a particular topic is encouraged to recommend titles which will bring balance to the collection. All patrons with concerns regarding library materials must submit a written collection review request to the Library Director. The Library Director has final responsibility for deciding whether to add or withdraw materials from the collection. The library abides by the Library Bill of Rights of the American Library Association and by the Intellectual Freedom Principles for Academic Libraries adopted by the ACRL Intellectual Freedom Committee.
Collection development requires not only the careful selection of materials but also the careful deselection of materials. The library staff, in consultation with the faculty, are responsible for the thoughtful and systematic weeding of library materials.
Considerations for weeding include items that are:
Items which should be retained beyond the usual expectations are:
