Bakalar Library Mission Statement

The Bakalar Library serves the students, faculty, staff, and other community members of the Longy School of Music of Bard College. It supports Longy’s mission to center music as social change and prepare musicians to make a difference in the world. The Library’s unique role is to help the Longy community foster a lifelong relationship with an evolving information landscape. Through face-to-face and virtual reference interactions and instruction, the Library Director and student library workers teach current and future musicians and educators the skills to navigate and grow those relationships in their performances, compositions, teaching, and beyond.

We value diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging, as well as the rights to privacy, access, and intellectual freedom for all Longy community members. Librarianship follows specific Professional Ethics to uphold and protect the rights of all library users. Regardless of “origin, age, background, or views,” students, faculty, staff, and other Longy community members will not be denied access to library services or materials. Following the Collection Development Policy, the library will provide materials and information presenting a variety of views. However, we will not purchase or provide any materials that incite, encourage, or otherwise endorse violence, hate, or exclusion towards human beings.

Library Policies

Donations & Gifts Policy

The Bakalar Music Library is not accepting donations or gifts currently.
However, the Library may accept donations from faculty and staff on a case-by-case basis in order to support the curriculum and mission of the conservatory. When the Library accepts donations, the Library Director reserves the right to weed, deaccession, or otherwise discard materials; the person who donated the items retains no ownership once donated. The Library will not circulate items on behalf of faculty and staff unless an item is put on reserve for a course.

Collection Development Policy

Guiding Principles

Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging

Compositions and works by people who are BIPOC, women, LGBTQ+, and living are prioritized to support Longy’s goals in diversifying the standard repertoire.

Just in Time

We respond to the needs of the Longy community as they arise. The Bakalar Library also relies heavily on resource sharing and external resources, such as the Boston Public Library and The Internet Archive.

If the Bakalar Library does not have an item, students, faculty, and staff can request the item through InterLibrary Loan, where the Library borrows the item from another library, at no cost to the patron.

Students, faculty, and staff may also suggest items for purchase. Purchase requests are considered following the Acquisitions guidelines below.

Acquisition and Weeding Guidelines

Acquisitions

We will consider all purchase requests for any type of material submitted to us by any Longy community member (students, faculty, and staff); however, we will not purchase any materials that incite, encourage, or otherwise endorse violence, hate, or exclusion towards human beings. Patrons wishing to research and/or comment on materials which present these views can consult the Library Director for access if they do not wish to purchase those materials themselves.

When purchasing and/or licensing* digital materials and electronic resources, we keep several factors in mind:

• Will the item have frequent use over an extended period?
• Do we need to own the item, or does temporary access meet our needs?
• What are the license terms of the item?
• Items which we do not own can technically be removed at any time without our control.

*Licensing in this context means access through a subscription service such as nkoda.

Weeding

Weeding is the practice of removing items from a library, such as one would remove weeds from a garden. Libraries must remove materials to:

• Create space on the shelves for new materials;
• Keep subject information current, relevant, and reputable; and
• Replace damaged materials.

The library follows the CREW-MUSTIE guidelines, widely accepted by the library profession, in making weeding decisions. This means that the Library Director does Continuous Review, Evaluation, and Weeding of the collection, removing items which are Misleading, Ugly, Superseded, Trivial, Irrelevant, or Obtained Elsewhere.

When books and other items are removed from the collection, they are donated (usually back into the Longy community), recycled, or used for internal projects.

Privacy Policy

The right to privacy and freedom of intellectual pursuit are core values of the Bakalar Library and the library profession as a whole. We maintain the privacy of patron circulation records as recommended by the American Library Association and will not disclose these records, either casually or upon request. Requests for research or reference consultation will also remain confidential. Records containing information about patrons are kept to the minimum needed to maintain library workflows.

If you would like help navigating your digital privacy, please contact the Library Director.

Data Retention

Patron library accounts will be deleted upon graduation or resignation. Each July 1st, all checkout history will be anonymized except for currently checked-out items.

What information do we collect? 

The library collects both personally identifiable information (PII) and anonymous information in order to provide library service to users.

Personally identifiable information is any information that could potentially identify a specific individual. The library strives to collect the least amount of personally identifiable information possible in order to provide services. We avoid creating unnecessary records. The personally identifiable information collected by the library could include:

• Name
• Email address
• Banner ID
• Library barcode number
• Items currently checked-out, requested, canceled holds, and Interlibrary loans
• Overdue items (until returned)
• Sign-up information for library classes and events

Who has access to it?

All library user records are confidential. Library records may only be disclosed to:

• Library staff performing job duties
• Account holders upon proof of identity
• Law enforcement with a valid subpoena, national security letter, or warrant

Library materials and borrowing history

The library does not keep a record of your borrowing history beyond operational requirements. Once you return an item, it is removed from your account.

Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology is used to check out library materials, keep a record of the library collection, and secure the collection from theft. RFID tags attached to items only contain the barcode number of the item. No personal library user or transaction information is on the RFID tag.

Third-party vendors

Note: Some online services offered by the library are serviced by third-party vendors. These vendors have their own privacy policies and terms of service and they are not beholden to the library’s privacy policies or terms or service.

The library works with third-party vendors to provide online learning, digital collections, streaming media content, analytics, and more. When you leave the library website, your interaction with these systems will be governed by their individual privacy policies. Some of these vendors may collect and share information you provide to them or require you to create a personal account in order to use their services. Check the vendor’s privacy statement and terms of service to learn more about how your data is tracked, stored, and used by them. We have provided links to individual privacy policies and terms of statements for a majority of our third-party vendors for your review. Some vendors do not have a public-facing privacy policy or terms or services. We have noted vendors with no public policy; please exercise caution when visiting these vendors or providing personal information to them. Inquire with the vendors directly if you have any specific questions about their data collection and management policies.