• General Information
• Student Guidelines
• Faculty Guidelines
• Mission Statement
• Information Literacy
• Collection Development
• Library Staff
• More Info

More About the Library

Collections

The Library collection is developed by the librarians, who work cooperatively with faculty and students. The collection is shaped according to teaching needs, student interests, and wise fiscal management. For a complete understanding of what the Library does and does not purchase, please read the library's collection development policy.

The Library purchases new materials regularly throughout the year. At the beginning of every month, a spreadsheet of all of the library's recent purchases over the past month is emailed to a distribution list. If you would like to be on the faculty e-mail distribution list for this monthly publication, please contact the library.

Suggestions & Requests

We encourage participation in the development of the collection from everyone in The Art Institute of Seattle community. If an item can be related to a program, there is a good chance we will buy it. To make a suggestion, please fill out this form.

Your suggestion will be reviewed based on a number of criteria. Frequently, suggested items are already in the collection (or are in the process of being acquired) so feel free to check our catalog before you make a suggestion. If the requested item is substantially similar to an item already owned by the library, it may not be purchased. If the item is out-of-print, lacks finding information, or has incorrect descriptions, it may not be purchased.

Ordering: The library uses a traditional business-to-business system of submitting purchase orders to established vendors, and this system is subject to a variety of standard accounting controls. As a result, purchasing may take some time. If you would like to know more about purchasing, contact the library director.

Receiving: Once a shipment arrives, the material is processed, cataloged, then added to the library's collection and made available for circulation.

Timeline: 1 month average (varies largely depending on the item).

Donations

"No strings attached" donations are always welcome. This means that we will accept any donations only under the full understanding that said donations become the property of the Library and any decisions made regarding these materials are, therefore, entirely subject to the library's jurisdiction. This means that the library may decide, upon inspection, to keep donations, give them away students, or dispose of them.

The library does NOT house collections for donees, nor does it offer any sort of appraisal services or documentation for tax deduction claims. Please contact us if you would like to make a donation.

Lost and Found

The library is the location for the North Campus Lost and Found. Items may also be held at the Security Desk or the Tech Office. You will be required to provide an accurate, detailed description and signature to recover any lost item. The library Lost and Found is emptied between every quarter, and lost items are either donated to local charities or disposed of.

Library Faculty Advisory Committee

The library faculty advisory committee, which meets periodically, exists to keep the librarians informed on library-related faculty interests. The committee is comprised of a faculty steering committee that negotiates the interests of each of The Art Institute of Seattle departments, in addition to the librarians. Topics of past discussions have included the collection development policy, curriculum changes, new materials, revised or enhanced services, space planning, information literacy, etc. If you'd like to serve on the committee please let your department director know. Vacancies do occur.

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