(Click here for a printable PDF version of this policy.)
Materials Selection Policy
The purpose of this policy is to establish a guide for staff in selecting materials and to inform the public about the principles upon which selections are made. A policy supports the judgment of librarians and the stating of objectives and criteria assists them in choosing from the vast array of available materials. The goal in collection development and material selection is to provide informational, educational, cultural and recreational materials in all media for the St. Bernard Parish Public Library community.
Responsibility for Materials
Final responsibility for selection and development of the collection lies with the Library Director who operates within the framework of policies determined by the Library’s Board of Control. The Director authorizes qualified staff to apply the policy in building and maintaining the collection.
Objectives
The Library recognizes an immediate duty to make materials available for the enlightenment and recreation of the community. In addition, the Library strives to collect materials of contemporary significance and permanent value that reflect the diversity of the community and strives to meet these needs within the limitations of space, staffing, and budget. The Library collects materials in a variety of formats: print, audiovisual media, electronic media, etc.
Criteria of Selection
Selection of materials is based on these specific criteria:
- Community standards of the population served by the library is the first consideration when acquiring library materials through donation or purchase
- Community needs, interests, and demands
- Present and potential significance and compatibility of the work to the collection
- Recommendations by professional reviewers from trusted journals, from bestseller and award-winning book lists
- Reputation, qualifications, and significance of the author, illustrator, publisher, or producer without regard to political, racial, religious, etc. affiliation
- Skill, competence and purpose of the author
- Availability of other information on the subject
- Literary, artistic, historical, social, scientific, or intellectual merit
- Contribution to diversity or breadth of collections and suitability of format
- Price and availability for purchase
- Author or creator already has popular works in the collection
- Suitability of subject, style, and reading level for intended audience
- Significance of the author’s work to the St. Bernard Parish Public Library service area
The importance or weight of each of these factors will vary from one acquisition to another; others factors may also be considered, and materials for adults, teens, and children will each be judged differently.
Evaluating materials for selection is shaped by the changing needs of the citizens of the parish and requires evaluation on a continuing basis. Materials are evaluated as a whole and not on the basis of a particular passage or passages. The Library does not exclude or remove materials from the collection on the basis of race, nationality, sexual orientation, or social, political or religious beliefs. The Library does not act “in loco parentis”. It is the duty and responsibility of parents or guardians to oversee the reading and viewing activites of youth under the age of 18. Materials selected primarily for children and adolescents are marked accordingly and are located in designated areas of the Library.
Parents and legal guardians have the responsibility to monitor the use of library materials by their children. A parent or guardian has the ability and responsibility to indicate whether a minor child under the age of 18 is permitted to or is restricted from borrowing sexually explicit physical or digital materials that may be available in the library collections. The responsible adult has the ability to filter digital media within the individual platforms, Libby and Cloud Library. Selection of library materials for adults is not limited by the possibility that children may come in contact with them.
A parent signs responsibility for all children under the age of 18. The Library restricts the borrowing of DVDs to cardholders under the age of 16 years. The responsible adult must consent to 16+ cardholders borrowing DVDs. R-rated DVDs are limited to adults or to 16+ cardholders with parental/guardian permission.
Maintaining the Collection
Librarians are expected to use good judgment to remove from the collection materials that no longer serve a need. Withdrawal of materials is an important aspect of collection management. When library materials lose the value for which they were originally selected, they are withdrawn. The purpose of the withdrawal policy is to insure that the collection remains vital and useful by:
- Discarding and/or replacing items in poor physical condition
- Eliminating items with obsolete, misleading or superseded information
- Reducing the number of copies of titles whose relevance to the community has lessened
In the interest of sustainability, whenever it is possible, items withdrawn from the collection will be offered to the public without charge. Materials that have no informational value or materials that are worn or damaged beyond use will be discarded.
Gifts and Donations
The Library accepts donations in suitable formats from members of the community. All donations become the property of the Library and may or may not be accepted into the library collection, according to our selection methodology and criteria.
Self-Published Materials
In most cases, the Library will not purchase self-published material without reviews from established review sources. Exceptions may be made for material of local interest that meets our selection methodology and criteria.
Patron Recommendations
Library patrons are encouraged to recommend the purchase of library materials. Requests are considered for purchase according to our selection methodology and criteria.
Statement of Concern
The Library offers a wide range of materials’ to meet the diverse needs of patrons throughout the community. Library patrons with concerns about a particular item are asked to complete the entire Statement of Concern Form available at the library and online at www.mysbpl.org under Library Policies. The item of concern will be review carefully within the guidelines established by our selection methodology and criteria. However, we are committed to maintaining a collection that serves the varying interest, needs, concerns, and perspectives or our wide range of patrons.
Reviewed and approved 5/15/2023