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Objectives

A. The purpose of the Raymond Village Library is to provide all individuals in the community with carefully selected books and other materials to aid the individual in the pursuit of education, information research, pleasure, and the creative use of leisure time.

B. Because of the volume of publishing, as well as the limitations of budget and space, the library must have a selection policy with which to meet community interests and needs.

C. It is the policy of the Raymond Village Library to cooperate with, but not to perform the functions of, the school libraries in the community. The library's collection seeks to complement but not supplant the materials of the school library.

D. The materials selection/collection development policy is used by the library in the selection of materials and also serves to acquaint the general public with the principles of selection.

E. The Library Bill of Rights, The Freedom to Read Statement and The Freedom to View Statement, and Access to Electronic Resources, as adopted by the American Library Association, have been endorsed by the Raymond Village Library Executive Board and are integral parts of this policy.

F. The material selection/collection development policy will be reviewed and/or revised every three years or as necessary.

 

Responsibility for Selection

The ultimate responsibility for selection of library materials rests with the library director who operates within the framework of the policies determined by the Raymond Village Library Executive Board.

 

Criteria for Selection

A. The main points considered in the selection of materials are:

  • individual merit of each item
  • popular appeal/demand
  • existing library holdings
  • budget

B. Reviews are a major source of information about new materials. The primary sources of reviews are Booklist, Library Journal, School Library Journal, Publishers Weekly and The New York Times Book Review.

C. The lack of review or an unfavorable review shall not be the sole reason for rejecting a title which is in demand. Materials are judged on the basis of the work as a whole, not on a part taken out of context. Consideration is, therefore, given to requests from library patrons and to books discussed on public media. Patron may be asked to fill out a material purchase request form.

D. The library asserts its right and duty to maintain on its shelves a selection of materials on current and historical topics with representative points of view, within the limitations of space and budget.

 

Interlibrary Loan

Because of limited budget and space, the library cannot provide all materials that are requested. Therefore, interlibrary loan is used to obtain from other libraries those materials that are beyond the scope of this library's collection.

 

Gifts and Donations

A. The library encourages and appreciates gifts and donations which assist us in carrying out our purposes.

B. The library accepts gifts of books and other materials with the understanding that they will be added to the collection only if appropriate and needed. If they are not needed, the library will dispose of them in a responsible manner. The same criteria of selection which are applied to purchased materials are applied to gifts.

C. Memorial gifts of books or money are also accepted with suitable bookplates placed in the book. Specific memorial books can be ordered for the library if the request meets the criteria stated in this policy. It is desirable for specific books or titles to be offered after consultation with the library director. Book selection will be made by the director if no specific book is requested.

D. By law, the library is not allowed to appraise the value of donated materials, though it can provide an acknowledgment of receipt of the items if requested by the donor.

 

Weeding/Deselecting

A. An up-to-date, attractive and useful collection is maintained through a continual withdrawal and replacement process. Replacement of worn volumes is dependent upon current demand, usefulness, more recent acquisitions, and availability of newer editions.

B. It shall be the responsibility of the library director employed by the Raymond Village Library Executive Board to use his or her own knowledge of books and the advisory assistance available to him or her, when necessary or possible, to make the decision to remove materials from the shelves and dispose of them in a suitable manner.

 

Potential Problems or Challenges

A. The Raymond Village Library recognizes that some materials are controversial and that any given item may offend some patrons. Selection of materials will not be made on the basis of anticipated approval or disapproval, but solely on the basis of the principles stated in this policy.

B. Responsibility for the reading of children rests with their parents or legal guardians. Selection of library materials will not be inhibited by the possibility that materials may come into the possession of children.

C. Library materials will not be marked or identified to show approval or disapproval of their contents, and no library material will be sequestered except to protect it from damage or theft.

 

Challenged Materials

Although materials are carefully selected, there can arise differences of opinion regarding suitable materials. Patrons requesting that material be withdrawn from or restricted within the collection may complete a "Request for review of library materials" form which is available in the library. The Library Director will review the request and notify the patron of his/her decision. The patron may appeal the Director’s decision to the Raymond Village Library Executive Board at their next regular meeting.

 

Material Purchase Requests

Procedure will be the same as stated in challenged materials above.

 

 

Adopted December 18, 2002

Reviewed 2006

Reviewed March 1, 2009