Collection Development Policy
Collection Development Policy
The Slater Library’s goal is to provide the communities of Griswold and Lisbon access to material of a diverse nature that will meet the needs and interest of the community. The aim of the library is to provide material representing different points of view for the educational, informational, and enrichment of its users.
The purpose of this policy is to inform the public about the guidelines used to develop and manage its collections.
Objectives
• To provide resources and materials which inform, educate, entertain and enrich the community
• To include works of enduring value as well as timely materials on current issues • To select materials based on community needs and interests
• To supplement resources through use of electronic access and interlibrary loan • To help people learn new skills and improve literacy
• To increase social awareness and community involvement
• To preserve and encourage the free expression of ideas essential to an informed community.
Responsibility for Selection
Ultimate responsibility for developing and enhancing the collection rests with the Head Librarian who operates within the framework of this policy. The Children’s Librarian, in conjunction with the Head Librarian, is responsible for selecting materials for the children’s collection. All staff members are encouraged to participate in the selection of Library resources.
Scope of the collection
The Library provides material and services that reflect the diverse informational, educational, and recreational needs and preferences of its users. In doing so, the Library provides access to content through print, multimedia and digital resources. The Library recognizes that content and media should be suitable matched, and that patrons have different learning styles and preferences for how they receive information. Therefore, Slater Library provides material in a variety of formats, including but not limited to:
• Print – such as hardcovers, paperbacks, magazines, and newspapers
• Non-print – such as audio and visual formats
• Downloadable content – such as ebooks
• Equipment – such as tablets and specialized hardware
Criteria
The Library is primarily a popular materials library, emphasizing breadth of subjects over depth and general over specialized knowledge. The Library focuses its resources on popular works that will be of interest or educational value to a majority of the community’s residents. It does not maintain resources of a specialized or academic nature, but when feasible, will attempt to borrow such items from other libraries.
Children’s Library Guidelines
The Children’s Library offers developmentally appropriate materials that meet the informational and recreational needs of children ages birth through twelve. In addition, the Children’s Library provides materials and programs on childrearing for parents and caregivers.
The Children’s Library maintains a collection that is relevant, and of appropriate size and quality, and that represents a diversity of views and expressions. To ensure that all parts of the collection are appropriate and well chosen, the Children’s Librarian consults professional review sources before purchases. The Children’s Librarian may also rely on the recommendations of patrons and educators.
Factors that may influence the selection of children’s material which include print book, DVDs and video games are:
• Content
• Authority
• Literacy merit, artistic quality, originality and creativity
• Accuracy, objectivity, clarity, logic and effectiveness of material
• Relevance to the needs of the community
• Current interest in subject matter
• Local interest in subject or author
• Popular demand
• Limitations on space or funds
Some materials in the children’s collection might not be considered appropriate by all adults for all children. Only each child and his or her parent or caregiver can decide what material is suitable for that child to read.
Young Adult Guidelines
The Young Adult Collection offers developmentally appropriate materials that meet the informational and recreational needs of preteens and teenagers age twelve to eighteen. The Young Adult area contains a collection that is relevant, of appropriate size and quality, and diverse in nature to encompass a variety of viewpoints. To ensure that all parts of the collection are appropriate and well chosen, the Head Librarian consults professional review sources before purchase, but also relies on the recommendations of library patrons. Some material in the
Young Adult collection may not be considered appropriate by all adults for all teenagers. While some books may be too mature for one teen, other teens may be ready for them. Only each teen and their parent or caregiver can decide what material is suitable for that teen to read.
Adult Selection Guidelines
All or some of the following criteria are considered when adding new items to the collection: • Accuracy, timeliness, accessibility, durability, and ease of use
• Cultural significance and critical acclaim
• Current or historical significance of author or subject
• Diversity of viewpoint
• Literary merit
• Price and availability
• Public appeal or local interest
• Relevance to the present and potential needs to the community
Periodicals are added to the collection on the basis of relevance, price and community interest.
Audiovisual material is added to the collection with consideration to patron demand and budget constraints. The library acquires material that is deemed to be in the most popular format for its patrons.
Textbooks or other materials that support an educational curriculum are not generally purchased, nor accepted as a donation.
All criteria need not be met for purchase consideration.
Collection Maintenance
In order to provide the best service to our community, the collection is regularly evaluated. To keep the collection fresh and relevant, the Library maintains a schedule of evaluation, applicable to both print and digital resources.
The criteria for withdrawal from the collection are:
• Items are worn, stained or damaged beyond repair
• Items are out of date, contain inaccurate data, or are not historically significant • New, more current, or more comprehensive resources are available
• A more desirable format of the content is available
• Duplication
• Low circulation
Items removed from the collection may be sold with proceeds to benefit the library, or disposed of at the discretion of the Head Librarian.
Collection evaluation and maintenance is a continuous and ongoing process based on quantitative and qualitative evidence and professional judgment.
Patron Suggestions
Suggestions are welcome and all requests from Slater Library patrons are considered, using the same criteria for all parts of the collection.
If an item is unavailable or not financially feasible for purchase, we will attempt to obtain the item from interlibrary loan.
Gifts
Slater Library may accept gifts of new materials with the understanding that the same guidelines of selection for the rest of the collection are applied to gifts. The Library reserves the right to evaluate and dispose of gifts in accordance with our Collection Maintenance policy.
Controversial Materials
Slater Library does not promote a particular belief or viewpoint. The library provides material that showcase a variety of opinions that may be considered important or controversial. Language, situations or subjects that may be offensive to some community members do not disqualify material whose value is to be judged in its entirety.
Free access to the collection is important to the mission of the library. The Slater Library supports the following documents:
• The First Amendment to the Constitution
• The Library Bill of Rights (adopted June 19, 1939 by the ALA Council; amended October 14, 1944; June 18, 1948; February 2, 1961; June 27, 1967; January 23, 1980; January 29, 1980; January 29, 2019. Inclusion of “age” reaffirmed January 23, 1996)
• The Freedom to Read Statement (adopted June 25, 1953; revised January 28, 1972; January 1+-6, 1991, July 12, 2000; June 30, 2004, by the ALA Council and the AAP Freedom to Read Committee)
Challenged Material
Freedom of expression is protected by the Constitution, which requires a procedure to scrutinize challenged expression before it can be suppressed. Therefore, any legal attempt to regulate or suppress materials in the Library should be closely researched to ensure that the protected expression is not unfairly censored.
In order for material to be reconsidered as part of the collection, a patron must: • be a resident of Griswold or Lisbon
• hold a valid Library card for Slater Library
• have read, viewed, seen or heard the challenged material in its entirety • complete a Request for Reconsideration form
Once a form has been completed and submitted, the Head Librarian, in conjunction with a designated Board member, will review the request and write a written response to that request. A patron may ask that the full Library Board of Trustees review the decision.
Request For Reconsideration of Material
Title: _____________________________________________________________________
Author: ____________________________________________________________________
Date of Challenge: ___________________________________________________________
Request made by: ____________________________________________________________
Telephone number: ______________________________________
Address: ___________________________________________________________________
1. Have you watched/ read the material in its entirety? ______ Yes ________ No
2. How was the item brought to your attention? ____________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________
3. Please cite specific examples of ideas or passages that prompted this submission. Use page numbers when possible.
__________________________________________________________________________
4. What resolution are you requesting from the Library?
________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Signature _________________________________ Date _____________________________