|
This
policy sets broad guidelines for the selection of library materials that
correspond to the library's mission and identified roles. It is also used
to guide its librarians and to inform the public about the principles upon which
selections are made.
1.
Goal of Collection Development
The library's major goal for collection
development is to provide access to information resources in the pursuit of
knowledge, education, enlightenment, and recreation.
2. Objectives
To accomplish the above goals, the library has established
the following objectives for material selection:
-
To collect materials of both contemporary
significance and permanent value. The library will be guided by a
sense of responsibility to both current and future patrons in adding
materials that will enrich the collection and maintain an overall balance.
-
The library also recognizes an immediate duty to make
available materials for enlightenment and recreation, even though such
materials may not have enduring interest or value.
-
The library will provide, too, a representative
sampling of experimental and ephemeral material, but will not always attempt
to develop an exhaustive collection of such material(s) The library
considers it neither necessary nor desirable to acquire all materials on a
given subject if such materials are duplicative.
3.
Definitions
-
"Selection" refers to the decision to add, retain, or
withdraw materials from the library's collection. It does not refer to
reader guidance.
-
The words "book," "library materials," or other
synonyms as they occur in the policy have the widest possibly meaning.
This policy covers all items in the library's collections regardless of
format.
-
"Access" refers to the availability of materials in a
variety of formats for users of all ages and abilities.
4.
Responsibility for Selection
-
Final responsibility for material selection rests with
the Library Director, who operates within the framework of policies
determined by the board of trustees. The Library Director
delegates material selection to library staff with professional education
and training in the principles and practices of material selection.
-
Both the general public and staff members may recommend
materials for consideration.
5. Use of the Library's Collections
-
The library recognizes that some materials are
controversial, and that any given item may offend some patrons.
Selections will not be made on the basis of any anticipated approval or
disapproval but solely on the merits of the work in relation to the building
of the collections and to serving the interests of library patrons.
-
Library materials will not be marked or
identified to show approval or disapproval of the contents, and no
catalogued book or other item will be sequestered, except for the express
purpose of protecting it from injury or theft.
-
Some materials, however, may be marked for in-library
use only (such as reference materials) or as items belonging to the library
staffs' professional collection.
-
Access to the use of rare and scholarly items of great
value will be controlled to the extent required to preserve them from harm.
-
Responsibility for the material content choices of
minors rests with their parents and legal guardians. Selection will
not be inhibited by the possibility that materials may inadvertently come
into the possession of minors.
6.
Criteria for Selection
-
The library supports intellectual freedom and has
adopted as policy: the American Library Association (ALA) Freedom to Read
Statement and the ALA Library Bill of Rights (included as addendums to this
policy).
-
Each type of material will considered in
terms of its own merit and the audience for whom it is intended. No
single standard can be applied in all cases. Some materials may be
judged primarily in terms of artistic merit, scholarship, or value to
humanity; others are selected to satisfy the literacy, informational,
recreational, or educational interests of the community.
-
The selection of an item does not imply the library's
endorsement of the opinions expressed by its creator, nor does the failure
to purchase an item imply library disapproval of those opinions.
-
All librarians have a professional responsibility to
be inclusive, not exclusive, in developing collections. Efforts will
be made to provide materials representing all viewpoints.
-
Reviews from professionally recognized resources are a
primary source for material selection, but not the exclusive source.
Other sources will include, but not be limited to, standard bibliographies,
book lists by recognized authorities, the advice of competent people in
specific subject areas, and the judgment of the professional staff.
-
The library keeps its collections vital and useful by
retaining or replacing essential materials and by removing, on a systematic
and continuous basis, those works that are worn, outdated, of little
historical significance, or no longer in demand.
-
The library acknowledges a particular interest in
local and state history. Therefore, it will seek to acquire state and
municipal public documents and it will take a broad view of works by and
about Michigan authors as well as general works relating to the State of
Michigan, whether or not such materials meet the standards of selection in
other respects. However, the library is under no obligation to add
everything about Michigan (or produced by authors, printers, or publishers
with Michigan connections) to its collections if it does not seem to be in
the public interest to do so.
7.
Gifts
-
Gifts shall meet the same selection criteria as
purchased materials. The library retains unconditional ownership of
all donations and makes the final decision on acceptance, use, or
disposition of donated material. No conditions may be imposed on any
donated item accepted by the Library. The appraisal of the gift for
tax purposes is the responsibility of the donor and cannot be provided by
the library.
-
When the library accepts a cash gift for the purchase
of materials, whether as a memorial or for any other purpose, the general
nature or subject area of the materials to be purchased will be based upon
the wishes of the donor. The library staff, in accordance with the
needs and selection policies of the library, will make the actual selection
of specific titles.
-
Special collections and memorial collections may be
shelved as separate collections or integrated into the general collection at
the discretion of the professional library staff. The form of memorial
or gift identification will be a gift plate.
8.
Reconsideration Procedure
-
The patron's choice of library materials for personal
use is an individual matter. Responsibility for the use of materials
by children and adolescents rests with their parents or legal guardians.
While a person may reject materials for himself or herself and for his or
her children, he/she cannot exercise censorship to restrict access to the
materials by others.
-
Any adult patron in the library's service area who objects
to the presence of a work must present that objection by
completing a "Patron's Request For Reconsideration of Library Resource"
form. The library will not consider the request if the reconsideration form
has not been completed fully, and if the item in question has not been
completely read, listened to, or viewed. The patron will receive a
notice of receipt of their reconsideration form. The Library Director
and the professional staff will review the request and the resulting written
decision will be followed by a formal discussion with the concerned party.
-
If a satisfactory resolution is not reached during the
formal discussion the patron may request an appeal within 60 days of
receiving the written decision. The reconsideration form submitted by the patron, a
written summary of the review and discussion, and the recommendation of the
Library Director will be forwarded to the library board of trustees for
consideration and formal action at the next regularly scheduled public
meeting.
-
No item under reconsideration will be removed without a formal directive
from the board of trustees.
-
The decision by the board of trustees is final.
Once a item has been reconsidered and either retained or removed, it will
not be reconsidered again. A permanent file will be kept of all
records pertaining to any challenged item.
Approved: September, 1973
Revised: September 4, 2001
Reviewed: September 13, 2004
Reviewed: July 30, 2007
Revised: September 14, 2009
|
Other Library Policies |
