Material Selection Statement

The Library's selection policy emphasizes its educational, informational, and recreational functions.  Materials have value if they contribute to the growth of a person, either as an individual or as a member of society.  This includes materials that broaden horizons and experience, encourage informed discussion, or allow the imagination to soar.

The Library will select reference and research materials for the direct answering of specific questions and for continuing research.  Very specialized works in certain fields will not be collected because of the availability of college and university level collections in the immediate vicinity.  However, the collection will be developed to at least a basic level in all needed areas and to a general or advanced interest Level in areas of particular interest or relevance to the Library's users.

Selection of any given book or non-print material by the Library is not an endorsement of particular viewpoints or beliefs expressed by the author or authors.  The Library's goal is to provide materials representing all sides of controversial public issues, in accordance with the Library Bill of Rights and the Freedom to Read Statement that have been adopted by the American Library Association and the Campbell County Public Library.

The Library recognizes that many materials are controversial and that any given item may offend some users.  Therefore, the Library will make selections solely on the merits of the work in relation to collection development and to serving the interests of the Library's patrons as a whole.  Once an item is selected for the collection using approved selection methods, it will not be withdrawn on the basis of patron complaint alone

Parents and legal guardians bear sole responsibility for materials chosen by or for their children.  Selection will not be inhibited by the possibility that library materials may inadvertently come into the possession of children.  Materials will not be labeled by the Library to identify the content other than Dewey Classifications; no cataloged items will be sequestered except for the express purpose of protecting them from injury or theft.

General Guidelines for Selection

The Library will follow a collection development plan to build and maintain the Library's information resources in the most cost-efficient and user-relevant manner possible.

The resources of other libraries in the community will be considered in the selection process.  However, the Library will purchase any item with a potential for repeated use, for the convenience of its users.

Formats collected will include print as well as selected media and computer products.  The Library may add and discontinue formats according to their availability and practicality for the Library.

Textbooks or other curriculum-related materials will not be purchased unless such materials are the only resource in a needed subject area.  An exception is made for materials supporting the Literacy program.

Materials of various reading levels and complexity will be collected to serve a public composed of a wide range of ages, educational backgrounds, and reading skills.

In developing the collection, the Library will consider the special, commercial, industrial, cultural, and civic enterprises of the community.

While most materials are selected for scholarly or artistic merit, some materials are selected for the sheer enjoyment of the Library's users.  Significant demand for an item is an important selection factor.

Evaluation of an item will be based on the entire work, not on parts that may be objectionable to some readers.

Material under consideration for the collection will be judged by criteria appropriate for that type of work or genre.  This would be artistic merit or scholarship for some titles; level of public demand would be more important for other titles.

Materials presenting different sides of social, political, and religious issues, including unpopular viewpoints, will be collected, with the goal of providing our patrons with well-balanced information.  Items in the Library that bore or repel some users are considered very worthwhile and meaningful to other users.

Selection guidelines apply to purchased, as well as donated, material.

General Criteria for Selection

• Format is consistent with collection development standard.

• Reviews by critics, staff, or library users.

• Reputation of the publisher or producer.

• Authority or significance of author, composer, artist, etc.

• Timeliness of the material.

• Quality of the work regarding writing, design, illustrations, or production.

• Relevance to the community's needs.

• Current or potential demand for the material.

• Technical level of subject treatment consistent with needs of the Library's users.

• Availability of the same material at area libraries.

• Price.

De-selection Policy

De-selection or weeding is an important part of collection development.  Materials must be reevaluated when growth and change occur in areas of expanding knowledge, technological advances, and cultural differences.  The Library regularly weeds (discards or withdraws) materials that are out of date, damaged beyond rebinding, or no longer popular enough to warrant multiple copies.  Materials may be transferred to other branches when space constraints require it, or when a branch collection becomes overbalanced with a certain type of material.

Specific Criteria for Selection

Different criteria are used for factual works, works representing a specific viewpoint, and imaginative works.  Factual works are evaluated as to the accuracy and currency of the information and competency of the author or authors.  Objectivity, comprehensiveness, and depth of treatment are important, as well as clarity of writing style and ability to hold the reader's interest.  The importance of a good index cannot be overemphasized; the inclusion of footnotes and a selected bibliography is an indication of good scholarship.  The citation rate of a work in bibliographies and indexes pertinent to the field is also indicative of its importance.

The selection of titles representing one point of view depends on the availability of materials on the subject.  Other important criteria are logical presentation and completeness of treatment.  As in the evaluation of factual works, quality of writing and the inclusion or lack of an index, bibliography, and footnotes are considered.

Works of the imagination must be evaluated in a substantially different way from nonfiction.  Quality of writing is still important, but a work will also be evaluated with regard to originality, artistic treatment of plot, setting, theme, characterization, point of view, ability to sustain reader interest, and entertainment value.  Works may also be selected as representatives of a genre or cultural trend.

Adult Materials

The Acquisitions Librarian is primarily responsible for adult materials selection.  Selection tools include book reviews, authoritative discussions of the literature of a subject, bibliographical publications, publishers' catalogs and backlists, advertisements, and requests or recommendations of library users.

Review sources may include a variety of publications such as Publishers' Weekly, Library Journal, American Libraries, The New York Times Book Review, and others, as well as book review columns in local newspapers.  Reviews provide information on the credentials of an author in general and with respect to the subject of the work, the scholarship level of that particular work, the quality of writing and an idea of the intended audience.  Some items are purchased in spite of a negative review because the topic or author is of great interest to the Library's users.  Conversely, not all materials with positive reviews are purchased; they may not fit into the Library's collection development plan.

Science and technology areas must be kept current by using authoritative articles on scientific literature and bibliographies.  These selection tools are also useful when retrospective collection development is necessary to strengthen a weak area of the collection.

Publishers' or vendors' catalogs and advertisements are a good source of information about new materials.  Although they are not an unbiased source of information, they are often the earliest information available on new and forthcoming books.  The books of many authors are so popular that the Library must order them ahead of publication to ensure its clients will get the newest titles.

Requests and recommendations of users are a very important source of selection ideas.  Many library users are avid readers of a particular genre or are subject specialists in a field unfamiliar to the selecting librarian.  The Library respects the opinions of its users.

Children's Materials

The Children's Services Librarian is responsible for the selection of children's books or other materials.  The aim of the Children's Collection is to serve the whole child in his/her educational, recreational, and informational needs, as well as parents, teachers, or any others wishing to serve children.  Promoting the love of reading for reading's sake, satisfying natural curiosity, and contributing to the growth of a child as an individual and responsible citizen of an expanded world are also goals of the Children's Collection.

Specifically, this collection is aimed at children from infancy through the eighth grade, with reading levels from beginning through advanced.  The Juvenile Easy Collection is mostly "picture book" fiction, with some easy vocabulary nonfiction; it is mainly for use with infants, preschoolers, and children up through approximately third grade.  The Juvenile Fiction Collection contains books for children from approximately third through eighth grade.  The Juvenile Nonfiction Collection contains books for all reading levels from preschool through eighth grade on all subjects of major interest to children.

Young Adult Materials

The Children's Services Librarian is primarily responsible for the selection of young adult materials.  The aim of the Young Adult Collection is to widen the horizons of the adolescent patron, enrich his or her life, and fill recreational and emotional needs.  This library collects fiction specifically for young adults, but nonfiction materials for young adults are in the reference and general Adult and Juvenile Collections.

Works of fiction for the young adult audience will be qualitatively evaluated by the same criteria as adult fiction.  The use of profanity or frankness about sexual issues may be controversial, but if a work develops understanding of other people, breaks down intolerance, or unlocks a clearer vision of life, these virtues must be weighed against the possible harm done by a shocking word or passage.  As stated earlier in this document, parents and legal guardians bear sole responsibility for the reading of their children, including young adults.

Gifts

The Library welcomes gift materials in good condition with the understanding that these items are subject to the same collection development guidelines as purchased materials; the Library will use or dispose of the items as appropriate to the collection.  Donors will be given a copy of the Library's gift policy.  The Library will not provide appraisals of gifts for tax purposes.

The Campbell County Public Library is grateful to its benefactors for useful gifts that can be added to the collection.  The Library accepts gifts with the understanding that they may be handled in any way that best suits the purposes of the Library, including donations to the Friends of the Library book sale.  Their classification, housing, and circulation will be determined in the same manner as purchased items.  Since gift materials are screened as closely as new purchases, in the case of gifts of marginal value, processing cost and optimum use of shelf space will be considered.

Once an item is donated, it becomes the property of the Library and may be handled as the Library sees fit.  However, the wishes of the donor will be respected as far as possible in the location and housing of gift items.

Campbell County Public Library welcomes donations of money and encourages unrestricted gifts so that contributions can be used in ways that best support the Library’s strategic plan and the needs of the community.  Donors may designate only the general nature or subject area of the item(s) to be purchased with the donated money, provided that the nature or subject area is consistent with the Library’s Selection Policy.  Unfortunately, on occasion, the restrictions set by the donor may make accepting the monetary gift impossible.  The donor must understand that any materials purchased with monetary gifts might someday be sold or disposed of in the best interests of the Library.  The Library cannot commit itself to continuously housing any materials.