Collection Development Policy

The Nursing and Allied Health Division includes Nursing, Radiologic Technology, Respiratory Care, Dental Assisting, and Medical Assisting. In addition to divisional curricular support,  current popular materials on consumer health topics provide general information to the community while supporting courses such as speech and writing.

Books and eBooks

Essential criteria to keep in mind when selecting and curating materials for Nursing & Allied Health:

• Divisional faculty are specifically consulted to select materials appropriate for student projects in either print or electronic format if the budget allows.

• Clinical reference books comprise some of the Libraries’ most expensive purchases. Past editions’ circulation statistics or similar alternate titles assist in decision making. 

• Selected title lists include Doody’s Core Titles, Doody’s Special Topics, and American Journal of Nursing Book of the Year Award which are found in GOBI Library Solutions Spotlight Lists.

• Aside from classic titles and biographies, circulating books should be no older than five years. 

• Accreditation criteria is evaluated regularly as official visits are scheduled. Manuals may be provided by the department, but most are available online. In accreditation manuals, the liaison looks at sections pertaining to research materials as the department often requests resource lists specific to the program. 

  • The Nursing program is accredited by ACEN – Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing. During an accreditation visit, the team usually visits the library to ask questions of the liaison. The liaison should be able to answer affirmatively and honestly when asked about librarian/faculty collection development collaboration.

  • The Radiologic Technology program is accredited by JRCERT - Joint Review Committee on Education in Radiologic Technology.

  • The Respiratory Care program is accredited by CoARC – Commission for Accreditation for Respiratory Care. 

  • The Dental Assisting program is accredited by CODA - Commission on Dental Accreditation. 

  • The Medical Assisting program is accredited by CAAHEP - Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Programs.

Databases

The Faculty Librarian provides input on licensing decisions concerning the health sciences databases. The Libraries currently license two specific databases in order to provide appropriate electronic resources for the health sciences.

• CINAHL Complete 

• Ovid Nursing Community College Basic Journal Collection 

In addition, the Libraries license the EBSCO eBook Collection which provides over 15,000 eBooks on the topic of Health & Medicine.