The Materials Selection Policy offers guidance to Library staff in the selection and retention of materials for the Cross’ Mills Public Library and serves to inform the public of the Library’s philosophy for selection and collection maintenance.
The Collection Development Policy is based on the Library’s Mission Statement and the long-established principles of the Library Bill of Rights, Freedom to Read Statement, Freedom to View Statement and Access to Library Resources and Services to Minors, as adopted by the American Library Association.
The scope of the collection is designed to meet the changing interests and needs of this community of year round residents of all ages, summer residents, and visitors.
The purpose of the collection is to provide a contemporary collection of resources in a wide range of formats to meet the informational, educational and recreational needs of our community.
The Library strives to meet these needs within the limitations of space, staffing, and budget. The Library endeavors to make use of new technologies and formats to offer library users the greatest access to information and ideas.
The Library maintains a wide variety of fiction and nonfiction materials. Materials and formats are not maintained past their relevance. This ensures a collection of current interest to our patrons. Textbooks and materials of a highly technical or specialized nature more appropriate for research or special libraries are generally excluded from the collection.
The Library recognizes that there are ideas, opinions, viewpoints and philosophies which are subject for discussion and debate and that any community will be made up of citizens with divergent viewpoints. The Library endeavors to provide equal access to all points of view within the limits of financial resources and physical space. When judging the merit of materials for purchase, Library staff refer to professional review publications, news media, recommended lists by professional organizations, patron requests, literary awards, and the popularity of similar items. Cultural diversity will be considered in the selection of materials.
The ultimate responsibility for selection of Library materials rests with the Library Director. The Library Director can, at his/her discretion, delegate selection of library materials to library staff.
Guidelines for Materials Selection
Collection development is based on these specific criteria:
- Community needs, interests and demands
- The importance of subject matter to the collection
- Price and availability for purchase
Reviews are a major source of information about new materials. However, the lack of review or an unfavorable review shall not be the sole reason for rejecting a title which is in demand. Consideration is, therefore, given to requests from library patrons and books discussed on public media. Materials are judged on the basis of the work as a whole, not on part taken out of context.
Inclusion/Exclusion
Occasionally, there may be objections to materials, which have been selected for inclusion in the collection. The procedure in this case calls for the use of the attached Objection to Inclusion form which will be reviewed and followed up as described on the form.
A similar procedure will be followed when requesting reconsideration of materials which have not been selected for inclusion in the collection. The written form in this case is the attached Objection to Exclusion form, which will be reviewed and followed up in like manner.
Board approved: March 15, 2005
- Mission Statement and Service Policy
- Statement on Confidentiality and Privacy
- Library Patron Code of Conduct
- Circulation Policy
- Displays and Exhibits Policy
- Computer, Internet, and Wireless Use Policy
- Fundraising and Donations Policy
- Social Media Policy
- Unattended Children Policy
- Use of the Library by Outside Groups
- Anonymous Letters Addressed to the Board of Trustees
- Photography, Filming, and Video Policy