Chilton Clanton Public Library

 Collection Development Policy

Updated 8/15/24

Purpose

The Chilton/Clanton Public Library shall strive to provide people of all ages, backgrounds, and persuasions with a well-balanced collection of print and non-print materials to meet the community's informational, educational, and recreational needs.

The Chilton/Clanton Public Library works to serve the people of both the city of Clanton and of Chilton County. Our goal is to provide library materials and programs to meet our community's informational, educational, cultural, and social needs, regardless of race, religious creed, ancestry, age, sex, nation of origin, or mental or physical challenges. We are dedicated to the expansion of services to both the city and the county. The library board affirms 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. The library upholds the right of individuals to access information and acknowledges that the library is one of the few places people may do so freely.

Materials Selection

Responsibility for Selection

Although the Chilton Clanton Public Library Board Members are legally responsible for the operation of the library, the responsibility for the selection of library materials is delegated to the Library Director who authorizes collection development staff members who are library professionals and are knowledgeable in their areas of selection to purchase for the Chilton Clanton Public Library and our branch libraries. These professionals strive to maintain a well-balanced, current, appealing, and practical collection of materials that meet the entire community's needs. The library staff adds to the collection development for patrons and the community by:

·         Engaging in open and continuous two-way communication with library patrons is crucial, recognizing that individuals express their needs differently based on factors such as age, language, economic status, culture, or other characteristics.

·         Handling all requests equitably

·         Collaborate in partnership to comprehensively understand and address the needs of the community

·         Understanding and responding to rapidly changing demographics, as well as societal and technological changes

·         Acknowledging the diverse needs of library users, it's crucial to provide materials of varying complexities and formats

·         Seeking continuous improvement by regularly reviewing the collection to identify and strengthen areas of community interest

Selection Process

The majority of the materials selection process is done online through vendor sites. These vendors provide thorough product descriptions which can include cover art, reviews, excerpts, release dates, sales, print run, or box office figures, all of which facilitate the selection process. Additional materials are selected from review journals, print and online catalogs, awards lists, best-seller lists, and promotional mailers. The Chilton Clanton Public Library also accepts and considers patron requests. Materials are evaluated based on one or more of the following criteria, but an item does not have to meet all the criteria to be acceptable:

1. Evaluate the existing collection and assess needs

2. Consult reputable, professionally prepared selection aids and vendor sites

3. Keep abreast of high-interest titles reviewed in popular media as well as best seller and awards lists

4. Solicit and consider recommendations for acquisitions from patrons

5. Judge gift materials by the criteria listed in the "Policy on Gifts to the Chilton Clanton Public Library" accepting or rejecting them based on those criteria

6. Remove obsolete materials from the collection [see "Weeding Policy"].

Examples of Sources Used during the Selection Process

The staff members in charge of collection development use a variety of resources to assist them in selection. These include:

• Popular media (e.g. People Magazine, Oprah’s Book Club, Book Riot website)

• Best seller lists (e.g. New York Times, USA Today, Amazon)

• Vendor catalogs/selection lists (e.g. Baker & Taylor & Overdrive)

• Award lists (e.g. National Book Awards & Pulitzers)

• Social reviewing sites (e.g. Goodreads, Common Sense Media, YouTube)

Objectives of Selection

In order to ensure that the library is a place where information, ideas, and resources are available to all patrons the following selection objectives are adopted:

• To provide materials that will enrich and support the personal needs of the users, taking into consideration their varied interests, abilities, and learning styles

 • To provide materials that will stimulate growth in knowledge, literary appreciation, aesthetic values, and ethical standards in a pluralistic society

• To provide a background of information which will enable patrons to make intelligent judgments in their daily lives

• To provide materials on opposing sides of controversial issues so that no one viewpoint is unduly represented.

• To place principle above personal opinion and reason above prejudice in the selection of materials of the highest quality to ensure a comprehensive media collection appropriate for the users.

Criteria for Selection

The public library aims to provide diverse viewpoints on various topics, including politics, society, and religion, regardless of how controversial they may be. Materials are chosen based on their value in providing information and interest to the community. No materials are excluded because of the author's race, nationality, religion, sexuality, or political or social views. The library's collection reflects a range of materials and viewpoints, considering selection criteria, budget, and available space. Library staff use selection rather than censorship when building collections. Furthermore, the selection of a given item for a library’s collections should not be interpreted as an endorsement of a particular viewpoint.  Additionally, the library board upholds the principle that censorship is an individual matter and doesn't restrict others' freedom to read. The responsibility for choosing library materials for minors lies with their parents or legal guardians.

Guidelines for Evaluation and Selection of Library Resources

·         Reputation and qualifications of the creator(s), publisher(s), or producer(s)

·         Present and potential relevance to community needs, interests, and demand

·         Relevant to today’s world, reflecting problems, aspirations, attitudes, and ideals of society

·         Representative of differing viewpoints on controversial subjects

·         Clear and accurate with the scope of text or audiovisual presentation appropriate to the needs of the users

·         Current events, currency of information, timeliness, historical relevance

·         Media attention, bestseller lists

·         Reviews and/or awards

·         Potential user appeal and relevance to our community

·         Quality format and value, commensurate with cost and/or need

·         Authenticity of voice

·         Representative of diverse points of view

·         Judgement of the work as a whole

·         Relationship to existing material in the collection (including relation to availability within the County library system); filling in gaps in the collection

·         Cost and format (the library does not purchase textbooks or books with moving parts, etc.)

·         Reputation or significance of author, publisher, etc.

·         Artistic presentation and/or experimentation

·         Representation of diverse points of view

·         Sustained interest

·         Authenticity of history or social setting

·         The library does not purchase self-published materials unless reviewed well in established publications or for some other reason that deems it beneficial for the community

Special Considerations

·         Reading list/school assignment materials: While we strive to support the local school curriculum, we are not able to purchase enough books for an entire class, nor are we able to acquire every book on the reading list. The library serves to supplement, not replace elementary, jr. high, high school, or college libraries.

·         Parents/guardians are responsible for the selection of appropriate materials for their children. Children may use adult collections. Responsibility for the reading of minors’ rests with their parents/guardians. (See section on parental/guardian consent for use of library card by a minor)

Special Considerations for Electronic Information Sources:

·         Ease and use of the product

·         Availability of the information to multiple simultaneous users

·         Equipment needed to provide access to the information

·         Technical support and training

·         Availability of the physical space needed to house and store the information or equipment

·         Available in full text

Website Collection Development

·         Links to Internet sites from the library’s web pages are selected to broaden, enrich, and complement the library’s physical materials and digital resources.

·         Most sites linked to the library are sites that access library digital resources. Other sources are added at the discretion of the library director to meet the needs and interests of library patrons. Linked sites are evaluated according to their credibility, quality, and usefulness.

·         Other sites linked on the library’s website are separate and independent from the library. The library exercises no control over the content of the information provided by the producers of those sites.

·         The library does not accept unsolicited suggestions of websites to add to our web pages.

Selection of Materials on Controversial Topics

A well-rounded collection aims to present all viewpoints on contentious issues within the available materials, space, and budget limits. The selection process is guided by the criteria outlined in this policy. The author or creator's race, religion, nationality, or political beliefs, as well as offensive language, depictions of violence, sexually explicit content, or controversial material, and the endorsement or disapproval by a person or group in the community, do not automatically determine the inclusion or exclusion of an item in the library's collection. It's common for public libraries to house materials that some patrons may find objectionable, while others may feel that the library has overlooked materials that should be included. In either scenario, the library has established procedures for patrons to request a review of materials. For details, refer to the section on the Reconsideration Policy of Materials.