Collection Development Policy
Introduction:
The library collection policy is designed to guide the selection, acquisition, and maintenance of materials for the Highland County Public Library. This policy is designed to establish a framework for ensuring that the collection provides materials for the informational needs, cultural development, and personal enjoyment of Highland County Public Library users of all ages and levels of ability, and interest.
The library must have in its collection material of varied viewpoints to fulfill its obligation to all members of its community, including those points of view which may be regarded by some as controversial. Materials available in the library represent a diversity of viewpoints, enabling citizens to make the informed choices necessary in a democracy.
The authority and responsibility of library materials selection is ultimately the responsibility of the Library Director. Materials will be selected on the following criteria (items need not meet all the listed criteria to be added to the collection):
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Demand: Materials will be selected based on the demand of and relevance to the community.
Demand: Materials will be selected based on the demand of and relevance to the community.•Quality: Materials will be selected on their intrinsic value, and the quality of the content and production.
Quality: Materials will be selected on their intrinsic value, and the quality of the content and production.•Authority: Materials will be selected based on the author’s authority, reputation, and expertise in the subject matter.
Authority: Materials will be selected based on the author’s authority, reputation, and expertise in the subject matter.•Currency: Materials will be selected based on timeliness and relevance to the community.
Currency: Materials will be selected based on timeliness and relevance to the community.•Diversity: Materials will be selected to reflect the diversity of the community, including cultural, ethnic, and linguistic diversity.
Diversity: Materials will be selected to reflect the diversity of the community, including cultural, ethnic, and linguistic diversity.•Cost: Materials will be selected based on the cost-effectiveness of the purchase and availability of funds.
Cost: Materials will be selected based on the cost-effectiveness of the purchase and availability of funds.•Accessibility: Materials will be selected for readability, clarity, and/or ease of use.
Accessibility: Materials will be selected for readability, clarity, and/or ease of use.•Importance: Materials will be selected for importance to the community.
Importance: Materials will be selected for importance to the community.•Reputation: Materials will be selected based on evaluation of reviewers in trade and professional publications and critics in the popular press, or inclusion in standard bibliographies, or by literary or professional trade awards.
Reputation: Materials will be selected based on evaluation of reviewers in trade and professional publications and critics in the popular press, or inclusion in standard bibliographies, or by literary or professional trade awards. •Requests: Materials may be selected in response to patron requests.
Requests: Materials may be selected in response to patron requests.Materials may include:
•Print books
Print books•eBooks
eBooks•Audiobooks
Audiobooks•DVDs and other media
DVDs and other media•Electronic databases and reference materials
Electronic databases and reference materials•Any unforeseen emergent format
Any unforeseen emergent formatAcquisition:
Materials are acquired for the collection through a variety of methods, these include purchase from a variety of sources, including publishers, wholesalers, and online retailers, and donations.
Donations:
Gifts and donations must meet the same criteria for selection as those materials which the library purchases. The library assumes unconditional ownership of all items donated and retains the right to use or dispose of them or send them to the annual used book sale. Gifts to honor or memorialize are accepted and selected with input from the donor and the Library Director.
Deselection, Replacement, and Weeding:
Weeding the collection is an essential part of the collection development process. Weeding must be continuous so that the highest standards are met. The following guidelines for weeding will apply:
1. Dated materials will be discarded. Standard guidelines for weeding various subject areas of the collection will be used (for example, medical and financial materials will be deemed out-of-date well before most historical works).
2. Badly worn materials or damaged items will be discarded, mended, or replaced.
3. Items with poor circulation statistics will be reviewed regularly.
4. As stated in the Code of Virginia, Title 15.2-953, “public library materials that are discarded from the collection may be given to nonprofit organizations that support library functions, including, but not limited to, friends of the library, library advisory boards, library foundations, library trusts and library boards of trustees”. (Standard practice in HCPL is that withdrawn materials are offered to the annual used book sale first). Withdrawn materials may occasionally be offered to community organizations to be distributed for reuse, upon request and at the Library Director’s discretion. Obsolete and damaged materials are sent for recycling.
Reconsideration:
Patrons who object to materials in the collection may request that the library reconsider its inclusion by submitting a Request for Reconsideration of Material Form, available at the front desk. Requests will be reviewed by the Library Director and/or the appropriate staff. The library will follow the ALA’s Library Bill of Rights and Intellectual Freedom Principles in making decisions about reconsideration requests.
Conclusion:
The library’s collection development policy is designed to ensure that the collection is relevant, balanced, and meets the needs of the community. The policy will be reviewed periodically to ensure that it remains relevant and up-to-date.
