Collection Development Policy: Foreign Languages
General Objectives
To support the Foreign Languages and ESL curriculum, materials will be acquired to keep the collection current on new theories and techniques in the field of language acquisition.
Scope of Coverage
LANGUAGE: English will be the primary language of the collection. Translations of works written in other languages will be purchased, especially for the following languages: Arabic, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Latin, and Spanish. Materials written in languages other than English will support the language learning needs of elementary and intermediate foreign language students. Bilingual texts, short stories, anthologies, dictionaries, and other reference works, as well as some audio-visual materials, will compose the bulk of foreign language material purchases.
GEOGRAPHY: United States publications are emphasized, though some foreign language publications, especially reference materials, may be published in countries other than the United States.
Chronology: Emphasis is placed on the purchase of materials published within the last five years, except in areas covering the history of the subject.
MATERIAL TYPES
All formats may be considered for purchase. Serials are heavily relied upon for current material. Books, with an emphasis on composition, conversation, culture, and grammar, provide background information. CD-ROMs and DVDs are generally added when accompanying print material. In addition, DVDs in foreign languages geared to beginning and intermediate foreign language students, and those with English subtitles will be considered for purchase.
SELECTION TOOLS
Faculty and student recommendations
Choice reviews
Publishers’ Discoverys and flyers
Book Reviews from http://www.nytimes.com/and other online publications.
RETENTION POLICY
Reference materials, including foreign language dictionaries, glossaries, thesauri, handbooks and the like will be updated on a regular basis. Older editions of these materials will be moved to the circulating collection or removed from the shelves. Materials of lasting value, which include those with a local connection, historical dictionaries, and critical editions of translated works will be retained indefinitely.
Eileen Oliver, Updated: December 10, 2013
