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revised 9/21/00
I. Selection Principles
A. A written materials selection policy aids the Library staff in building
a useful, well-rounded collection to meet the needs of the community.
B. A policy statement helps the Board to determine whether the staff
is doing an acceptable job of building a collection that is relevant
to community needs and one that meets accepted standards of quality.
C. A policy statement helps to answer question from the public regarding
the presence or absence of certain materials, and shows the basis on
which materials have been selected.
D. The Library, under the direction of the Director, and with the participation
of the staff, will provide any materials which help meet its objectives.
Materials may include books, periodicals, pamphlets, newspapers, pictures,
slides, films, videos, music scores, maps, recordings, microforms, computer
software, and electronic information services.
E. The Library will not furnish readers or textbooks needed for formal
courses of study in local schools or institutions of higher learning.
The Library will not select for inclusion in its collection, material
required for courses offered in the area unless such materials meet
the objectives of library services. Providing library resources for
local schools and institutions is primarily the responsibility of those
schools and institutions.
F. It is the policy of the Library to maintain an up-to-date collection
of the standard works in all fields of knowledge; this collection is
to be supplemented with materials on current issues and items in great
demand.
G. The Library will keep itself informed of other publicly available
resources in the area to avoid unnecessary duplication.
H. The Library subscribes to the Library Bill of Rights, which is attached
to this statement, and to the Freedom to Read statement, attached to
this statement and available at the Lending Services Desk.
II. Method of Materials Selection
Any materials selection policy must be fairly general, and librarians
must always exercise theirknowledge and experience of all library materials
and of the community served. Certain methods and principles must be followed
as closely as possible.
A. Criteria: Each type of material must be considered in terms of its
own merit and intended audience. All selections, both purchases and
gifts, must meet some of the following criteria:
- Appeal to the interests and needs of individuals in the community
- Permanent value as source material or interpretation
- Vitality and originality of thought
- Contemporary significance
- Artistic excellence
- Entertaining presentation
- Accuracy and objectivity
- Suitability of physical form to library use
- Skill, competence of the author
- . Relations to other materials and existing areas of coverage
in order to maintain a well balanced collection
- Technical quality in selection of non-book material
B. Reviews: Reviews in professionally recognized periodicals are a
primary source for material selection. Standard biographies, booklists
by recognized authorities and the advice of competent people in specific
subject areas will be used.
C. Requests: All requests from patrons for specific titles or subject
requests will be considered. Whenever there is enough demand or interest
in a title or subject, an item with unfavorable reviews may be purchased
unless it is completely without literary or social value, or the subject
in question is already adequately covered by better materials.
D. Specialized Materials: Specialized materials of limited community
interest will not be ordinarily purchased. Referral to other library
collections and interlibrary loan will be used to supply patrons with
these materials. Supplementary materials for students and information
for specialists are provided on a limited basis.
III. Withdrawal of Materials
A. Materials which are no longer useful in the light of the stated
objectives of the Library will be systematically weeded from the collection
according to accepted professional practices, and based on the following
guidelines:
- Remove physically worn out or damaged materials
- Eliminate obsolete information
- Remove duplicate copies of titles which are no longer in demand
B. Disposition of withdrawn materials is the responsibility of the
Director. Materials may be sold at Library book sales, given to other
library sales, sold to used book dealers, donated to the fund-raising
efforts of nonprofit organizations, or recycled as paper.
IV. Gifts
A. The Library welcomes bequests and gifts for memorial purposes. All
material purchased with memorial funds shall be marked appropriately.
B. Gifts of money, real or personal property or securities will be
accepted if the conditions attached thereto are acceptable to the Board.
C. Books and other materials will be accepted for inclusion in the
collection only if they meet the same standards as those required of
purchased materials. Gifts not meeting those standards, or duplicates
of items already in the collection, or gifts not easily integrated into
a Library collection may be disposed of by the Director in a manner
similar to withdrawn material (Paragraph III above).
D. Gift items will be integrated into the regular collection in normal
sequence, available to all Library patrons, and handled as any other
material in the Library.
E. Whenever a gift is no longer needed, it will be disposed of in the
same manner as purchased material.
F. The Library will not accept deposit collections which are not outright
gifts and which do not meet the materials selections policy of the Library.
G. A letter may be sent to the donor acknowledging receipt of the gift,
if requested for tax purposes,
V. Requests for Withdrawal of Objectionable Materials
A. A patron who finds objection to material in the Library collection
shall be referred to the Director. The Director will explain the materials
selection policy to the patron and will make every effort to give him/her
a fair and serious hearing. If the patron is still dissatisfied after
this discussion with the Director, he/she will be asked to give the
objections in writing, either on a "Request for Reconsideration"
form or in his own writing.
B. Upon receipt of a written complaint, the Director will check reviews
on the item in question, determine if it meets the standards of the
materials selection policy and if it is helpful in meeting the Objectives
of the Library. The Director will then decide whether or not to retain
the material, and will inform the patron of the decision. The patron
will be informed of his right to appeal the decision to the Board.
C. If an appeal is requested, the Director will immediately inform
the Board. At the next meeting, the Board will consider the presentations
of the Director and the patron. The Board will determine the disposition
of the material after reviewing the Library's objectives, the material
selection policy, the Director's recommendation and the patron's written
complaint. The patron will get a written notice of the Board's decision
and the basis therefor. Materials subject to complaint shall not be
removed from use pending final action.
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