Collection Development Policy

Kilgore Memorial Library Collection Development Policy

Library Mission Statement

Kilgore Memorial Library is your place to recall yesterday, inform today, and inspire tomorrow.

PRINCIPLES

  1. Materials are selected to support the Library’s Mission Statement to, “strengthen our communities by connecting people with ideas, information and innovative services.”
  2. The Library enables all individuals in the community to exercise their right to access constitutionally protected information as guaranteed in the First Amendment to the Constitution of the Unites States, which protects the freedom of expression and the corollary freedom of access to information. The Library Selection Policy is guided by The Library Bill of Rights, The Freedom to Read Statement, and the Freedom to View Statement adopted by the American Library Association.
  3. The library board affirms upholding these Constitutionally protected rights with guidance from the American Library Association’s Library Bill of Rights, Freedom to View, and Freedom to Read policy statements in support of acquiring and managing collections.
  4. While it is this policy’s intent to encourage free access to materials, the Library reserves the right to designate some materials for in library use only.
  5. Parents and/or legal guardians have sole responsibility for what their children read, view, or hear. Only parents or guardians may restrict their own children’s access to library materials. Selection of library materials will not be inhibited by the possibility that materials might inadvertently come into a child’s possession.
  6. The Library will attempt to provide materials for all members of the community. Access to and use of materials will not be denied or abridged because of origin, race, age, background, sex, or views. Likewise, none of these factors shall be cause to exclude any material of authors, artists, publishers, or producers.
  7. The Library will consider the following criteria as valid factors in the selection process as they relate to library customers of all ages, walks of life, value and interest patterns, education, opinion, and persuasion:
    • Content
    • Subject of interest
    • Date of publication
    • Style and presentation
    • Format and genre
    • Organization of material
    • Range of appeal
    • Age appropriateness
    • Quality
    • Availability
    • Authority
    • Scope
    • Relationship to other items in the collection
    • Budgetary constraints
    • Variety of items, of subjects, and of opinions
  8. Special Considerations for electronic information sources will include:
    • Ease of use of the product
    • Availability of the information
    • Equipment needed to provide access to the information
    • Technical support and training
  9. Selection of materials by the librarian does not imply agreement with or approval of the content, viewpoint, implication, or expression of the material.
  10. Librarians will evaluate materials on the basis of the content and style of the work as a whole, not by selected or random passages or scene.

POLICY

The following policy is established in accordance with the principles above:

Selection

The Library has funds to purchase only a small portion of what is published or produced each year. Therefore, to best use public money, library staff will select materials in accordance with the principles and policies of this document. At the same time, they will strive to maintain diversity, quality, and responsiveness to community interest patterns.

  • Criteria aiding in selection as listed under PRINCIPLES will be used to guide in selection of all library materials. No single standard applies in all cases. Individual items which, in and of themselves, may be controversial or offensive to some, and may appropriately be selected if their inclusion in the collection will contribute to the balance and effectiveness of the Library collection as a whole.
  • Diversity of materials to meet the purposes of use, age levels, and educational levels will be maintained by providing for alternative and/or opposing views and unpopular as well as popular materials in order to reflect the diversity that exists in our culture and society.
  • Quality of materials will be maintained by the application of professional discretion and standards established by the library profession and through the use of appropriate selection tools.
  • Responsiveness to interest patterns will be maintained by careful consideration of requests for purchase, patterns of use of existing materials, patterns of purchase of similar materials from retailers, and any other source of information that informs librarians of community interest patterns.
  • Inclusiveness will be exercised. Library staff will select materials of interest to all individuals or groups within the community and will not restrict selection based on the expressed opinion of an individual or group.
  • Funding availability and budgetary constraints must be taken into consideration during the selection process.
  • Request for purchase by patrons will be evaluated according to this policy.

Accessibility

The Library will not restrict access to any library materials in public areas.

  1. All library cardholders may check out materials in accordance with circulation rules and procedures.
  2. The Library observes a distinction between children, young adult and adult collections on the basis of reading level, language comprehension, and audience. Adult, young adult, and children’s collections may be housed in separate and designated areas. Determining the appropriateness of materials for minors is the sole responsibility of the parent or guardian.
  3. Some materials are designated for use in the Library only.
  4. Some materials will be shelved separately for ease of customer browsing.

SPECIAL COLLECTIONS

 Special collections provide access to information that is specialized, rare or unique, valuable, or no longer in print nor readily available. Many of the items in the special collections are designated as reference and may be used only in the library. Special collections are established upon approval of the library administration based on local interest, space, cost, funding and other criteria. The Library does not house private collections unless the collection is presented as a gift and it meets all the necessary criteria for inclusion.

WEEDING

 The professional staff will systematically weed worn, dated, or damaged library materials as an integral part of the selection process. Weeded materials are donated to the Friends of Kilgore Memorial Library.

RECONSIDERATION OF LIBRARY MATERIALS

 The Library recognizes that full information about issues of public concern requires access to information sources that embody, represent, and illustrate those concerns. The Librarian also recognizes the right of individuals to question both materials in the Library or those not selected for the Library. Material under question will remain in the active collection until a judicial determination is made. A “Request for Review of Library Materials” form may be requested from the Library Director and submitted according to the procedures included with the form.

RESPONSIBILITY AND AUTHORITY

 The responsibility for selection and discarding is vested in the Library Director and, under their direction, in members of the staff qualified by education and sufficient pertinent experience with public library collections.

GIFTS

 Gifts of money are the responsibility of the library director, and donations of materials are subject to the evaluation criteria stated for the selection of materials.  Once a donation is accepted by the Library, it becomes property of the Library and cannot be returned.  Donations are accepted with the understanding that the Library has the right to determine the disposition of the items.  Materials not accepted by the library are offered to the Friends of the Library.