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Collection Development Assignment: Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning Technology Marilyn Sherman March 11, 2005 The Library My goal is to work as an academic librarian for the Billington Library at Johnson County Community College (JCCC) located in Overland Park, Kansas. JCCC is a two-year undergraduate college serving Johnson County and its surrounding community. JCCC is a leader in innovative programs, offering over 40 degrees and certificates. Academic librarian’s duties include, but are not limited to, reference, teaching, and collection development for specific areas of study. A new librarian may be assigned an area of study that is not his or her area of expertise. I chose to develop my collection for the Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning (HVAC) technology program, a program that is not in my area of expertise. I wanted to investigate a field that is unfamiliar to me, but is quite popular at JCCC. JCCC offers degrees and certificates in both the residential and commercial fields of HVAC technology. JCCC prides itself to be on the “cutting edge” of technology. The 64-credit–hour associate of applied science degree program focuses on developing an awareness of basic mathematical and scientific principles, and how these principles affect human comfort. The main focus of the curriculum is the design, installation, testing, and servicing of those systems that affect comfort, both in commercial and residential buildings. UsersThe users of this collection include the student who may be a first generation student fresh out of high school, or a non-traditional student returning to make a career change, and faculty, staff and community members. Some students may be seeking a one-year certificate while others are completing the two-year A.A.S. degree. The typical student at JCCC is hard to define because students range in age from 18 to 65 and older. The average age of a JCCC student is 27 years. This information comes from the college website and the descriptions of its programs and student population. The users of this collection will need up-to-date materials that will give them the information they need to seek employment upon leaving JCCC. The program includes hands on work as well as theory. Practical applications are most important to this group of students. When students leave this program, they expect to have the necessary skills to design, install, service, and repair, residential and commercial gas and electric furnaces, heat pumps, air conditioners, cooling towers, and steam boilers. Proposed BudgetI think I will spend $1,500 on materials as follows:
Materials Before beginning my search for material for this degree program, I read through the list of required courses. Areas covered in both residential and commercial associate degrees include electromechanical systems, reading blueprint and ladder diagrams, plumbing, refrigerant management, technical mathematics, and electrical codes in additional to air conditioning and heating systems. To understand the materials that would be needed, I looked at the content of the courses for the programs as listed below. HVAC Commercial Service Technician, A.A.S. First Semester HVAC 121 Basic Principles of HVAC*............................4 HVAC 123 Electromechanical Systems............................4 HVAC 143 Reading Blueprints and Ladder Diagrams...............2 HVAC 155 Workplace Skills.....................................1 INDT 125 Industrial Safety....................................3 ENGL 121 Composition I*.......................................3 EMS 121 CPR I-Basic Life Support Healthcare Provider.........1 TOTAL CREDIT HOURS..................................18 Second SemesterHVAC 146 Plumbing Systems Applications........................3 HVAC 150 Refrigerant Management and Certification.............1 HVAC 167 Sheet Metal Layout & Fabrication.....................3 HVAC 221 Commercial Systems...................................4 HVAC 231 HVAC Rooftop Units*..................................3 TOTAL CREDIT HOURS..................................14 Third SemesterMATH 133 Technical Mathematics I*.............................4 Social Science and/or Economic Elective..............3 HVAC 223 Commercial Systems...................................4 ELTE 122 National Electrical Code I...........................4 CPCA 105 Introduction to Personal Computers...................1 TOTAL CREDIT HOURS..................................16 Fourth SemesterHVAC 229 Advanced Controls Systems*...........................4 ELTE 205 Industrial Electrical Wiring*........................4 Technical Elective...................................2 Humanities Elective..................................3 General Education Elective...........................3 TOTAL CREDIT HOURS..................................16 TOTAL PROGRAM CREDIT HOURS..........................64 Technical ElectivesHVAC 125 Energy Alternatives..................................2 HVAC 271 HVAC Internship*.....................................3 HVAC 291 Independent Study....................................1 ELTE 125 Residential Wiring Methods*..........................4 (General Education Electives)ENGL 123 Technical Writing I*.................................3 SPD 120 Interpersonal Communication..........................3 *Prerequisite/Corequisite required Need help with this Web site? HVAC Residential Service Technician, A.A.S. First SemesterHVAC 121 Basic Principles of HVAC*............................4 HVAC 123 Electromechanical Systems............................4 HVAC 143 Reading Blueprint and Ladder Diagrams................2 HVAC 155 Workplace Skills.....................................1 INDT 125 Industrial Safety....................................3 ENGL 121 Composition I*.......................................3 EMS 121 CPR I-Basic Life Support Healthcare Provider.........1 TOTAL CREDIT HOURS..................................18 Second SemesterHVAC 146 Plumbing Systems Applications........................3 HVAC 150 Refrigerant Management and Certification.............1 HVAC 137 Residential Systems..................................4 HVAC 124 Equipment Selection and Duct Design*.................4 HVAC 167 Sheet Metal Layout and Fabrication...................3 TOTAL CREDIT HOURS..................................15 Third SemesterMATH 133 Technical Mathematics I*.............................4 Social Science and/or Economics Elective.............3 HVAC 127 Residential Systems..................................4 HVAC 148 HVAC Installation and Start-up Procedures*...........3 Technical Elective...................................3 TOTAL CREDIT HOURS..................................17 Fourth SemesterHVAC 235 Residential Heat Pump Systems*.......................4 Humanities Elective..................................3 Technical Electives..................................4 General Education Elective...........................3 TOTAL CREDIT HOURS..................................14 TOTAL PROGRAM CREDIT HOURS..........................64 (Technical Electives)AUTO 230 Automotive Heating and Air Conditioning*.............3 ELTE 122 National Electrical Code I...........................4 ELTE 125 Residential Wiring Methods*..........................4 HVAC 125 Energy Alternatives..................................2 HVAC 271 HVAC Internship*.....................................3 HVAC 291 Independent Study....................................1 (General Education Electives)ENGL 123 Technical Writing I*.................................3 SPD 120 Interpersonal Communication..........................3 *Prerequisite/Corequisite required Need help with this Web site? Copyright 2004 © Johnson County Next, I interviewed the librarian that selects for this subject area. She gave me several suggestions for resources to use to begin my search for materials. I looked at JCCC’s HVAC collection only after I had done my own research for materials. I found that my resources pointed me to many of the same resources that the college already owns. The Association of College & Research Libraries of the American Library Association has lists of suggested materials on the web and in their book titled Vocational and technical resources for community college libraries: selected material, 1988-1994. JCCC holds this title in its reference collection. Other online resources I used were Baker & Taylor and Books in Print. Books in Print gives a good synopsis of the materials that was valuable in deciding whether the item was suitable for my users and collection. I learned that there is no national group that is responsible for accrediting educational programs in HVAC. (Self, 1995, p. 150-154). Certification is done at the state or local level. However, there are several national HVAC associations that provide information on education and industry trends. I consulted several associations for resources. The American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air-conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) publish handbooks that are a must for the collection. I found several resources that I would include in reference: Zurick’s Air conditioning, heating & refrigeration dictionary and Wang’s Handbook of air conditioning and refrigeration. There are several specific books that I would add to the collection that may not pertain directly to HVAC, but cover information that is needed to understand the main content material. Coffin’s book, Direct digital control for building HVAC systems covers the use of computers to control HVAC systems, also part of the curriculum. Langley’s book should be included because students take a course in electromechanical and electronic controls for HVAC. The Audel HVAC series by Brumbaugh are used by workers at job sites so would be a good resource for students to investigate information about their future employment. I found reference to these books, updated yearly, in several of the association websites. Thompson’s 2005 National plumbing and HVAC estimator gives material prices and man-hours for plumbing, heating, ventilating, and air conditioning installations. I tried to balance this small beginning collection between heating, air conditioning and ventilation resources as well as other areas included in the program like plumbing, wiring, and digital controls. List of Materials and Cost
Budget I had planned to spend my budget fairly equally between print, CD-Rom and video or electronic materials, spending a little more on print materials. I discovered that purchasing a VHS tape set really changed my budget. I found print materials that I think should be included in a general collection if this were to be the start of the collection, but if I had to stick to $1500, then I would have to make a decision between the print materials and the 12 tape set of videos on Electricity for HVAC. I left my budget and materials at a little over $1800, but if I had to cut some materials to purchase the video set, I would leave out the print materials by Chadderton, Coffin, Haines, and Moravek to reduce the budget by $305.40. I was surprised on the cost of the videotapes. On a small budget, it would be difficult to obtain all types of materials and not go over budget. I discussed this with the JCCC librarians and learned that videotapes are extremely popular in the HVAC program. It would probably be a good choice to split the collection between visual and print materials. I did not find it hard to spend $1500, however I did find it hard to limit myself. I found materials that I thought would be good for a beginning collection, but did not include them to stay within the budget, an issue I’m sure most librarians face in their everyday jobs. There are many videotape series that would be beneficial for this program. A mix between print, e-books and videotapes or DVD’s would be very beneficial for the diversity of students in the HVAC programs. What I Learned This was an interesting experience for me in collection development because I purposely chose an area that was unfamiliar. My first step was to become familiar with the subject. Then I interviewed a librarian that collects for that field before using online and print resources to search for materials. The use of slip plans or approval plans that I didn’t think was a good idea because the materials presented would be those chosen by the publisher, now seem like a better idea because the slip plan can be profiled to meet the criteria set by the librarian. This would save time. I think time is a big issue. If a librarian has collection development duties for many different areas, I can understand the value of bibliographies and lists, working with faculty in the subject area, using book reviews, publications, and approval plans to locate new materials. The biggest issue I can see is one of finding the time to devote to collection development if that is not the primary duty of the librarian as is the case at JCCC. I looked at the reading level and appropriateness of the materials because that is important to the community college user. Reviews were helpful because I found several materials that seemed like a good fit for the collection, but in reading reviews I discovered the materials would be more appropriate at the master or doctorate degree level at a four-year institution. Budget could be a big issue. I found out videotapes are very popular for the HVAC student at JCCC. They are also very expensive. JCCC is fortunate to have a large collection budget, but that may not always be the case. It will be a challenge to decide on types of materials to add to the collection if budget is an issue. I found locating materials to be more work than I had originally thought. Although for this project I did not search other school’s HVAC programs to view their collections, this might be a good way to become familiar with a particular collection and not duplicate materials in the same geographical area if they are available through interlibrary loan. To summarize my experience, collection development is about making choices for the users of the collection within the budget allowed. This involves making decisions based on the user’s needs, the diversity of the learning styles of the users, and the appropriateness of the individual items. I was pleased to discover there is much information available to assist the beginning collection development librarian to make those choices. It was an enjoyable experience and one that I hope to put into use one day in a college library. References Air conditioning and refrigeration Institute, (n.d.). Retrieved Mar. 08, 2005, from ARI Cool Net Web site: http://www.ari.org/. American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air-conditioning Engineers, (n.d.). Retrieved Mar. 08, 2005, from ASHRAE Web site: http://www.ashrae.org/. Balay, R. (Ed.). (1996). Guide to reference books. Chicago: American Library Association. Johnson County Community College, (n.d.). Retrieved Mar. 8, 2005 from JCCC Web site: http://www.jccc.net. Plumbing-Heating-Cooling Contractors Association, (n.d.). Retrieved Mar. 08, 2005, from PHCC Web site: http://www.phccweb.org/index.cfm Self, S. (1995). Heating, ventilation, and air conditioning. In M.A. Laun (Eds.), Vocational and Technical Resources for Community College Libraries (pp. 150-154). Chicago, IL: Association of College and Research Libraries, American Library Association. |