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About The Library: Library Collection Development Policy
About The Library: Library Collection Development Policy601. Collection Development Policy
See also related policy on Internet Use (815).
601.1 | Introduction | |
601.11 | This policy exists to guide librarians selecting materials and to inform the public about the principles guiding collection development decisions. | |
601.12 | Responsibility for collection development lies with librarians who apply professional knowledge, experience, and this policy in making decisions. Librarians maintain collection plans for developing individual components of the collection. Ultimate responsibility for collection development lies with the Director. | |
601.2 | Guidelines | |
601.21 | Materials selected for the collection will meet both the current and long-term needs of Iowa City residents of all ages and abilities for information, education, culture, and recreation. The library strives to offer the widest possible range of subjects and views in a variety of formats, treatments, and levels of difficulty, within the limits of cost and space and considering current holdings and demand. | |
601.22 | Collection development will support priorities of the Library's strategic plan. | |
601.23 | The library subscribes to the principles embodied in the LIBRARY BILL OF RIGHTS and its interpretations, FREEDOM TO READ, and FREEDOM TO VIEW statements adopted by the American Library Association. | |
601.24 | Including materials in the collection does not constitute endorsement of their contents. The library recognizes that any given item may offend some patrons, but, because the library follows accepted principles of intellectual freedom, it will not remove specific titles solely because individuals or groups may find them objectionable. | |
601.25 | The library welcomes suggestions and comments from the public and will consider requested materials of reasonable cost and value to the collection for acquisition. | |
601.26 | Specialized resources available in other local libraries will not be needlessly duplicated. The library adds curricular materials only when these also serve the general public. | |
601.27 | The library participates in programs designed to provide patrons access to materials not owned, such as interlibrary loan, reciprocal borrowing agreements, and access to Internet resources. | |
601.28 | Small outreach collections are donated to agencies and institutions serving populations with limited library access. | |
601.3 | Collection Maintenance | |
601.31 | To ensure that the library's collection is up-to-date and relevant to the community's needs, the usefulness of materials previously added to the collection is reevaluated on a regular basis. | |
601.32 | Materials will be withdrawn if they are out-of-date, badly worn, damaged, or no longer being used. Space, the cost of replacement, and the appearance of the collection are also factors. Locally significant materials are not held to these standards and are generally retained. Withdrawn materials may be donated to outreach collections, other libraries, or the Friends Foundation, sold at a public sale, recycled, or discarded. | |
601.4 | Gifts | |
601.41 | The Library accepts gifts of library materials with the understanding that the same guidelines of selection are applied to gifts as to materials acquired by purchase. | |
601.42 | Gift items not used for the collection will be donated to outreach collections or the Friends Foundation, recycled, or discarded. | |
601.43 | Gift items that become part of the collection will be evaluated for retention on the same basis as other items. | |
Adopted - 05/24/76
Revised - 03/27/80
Revised - 04/25/85
Revised - 02/25/88
Revised - 10/26/89
Revised - 11/21/91
Revised - 04/27/95
Revised - 12/17/98
Revised - 03/28/02
Revised - 02/11/05
Revised - 02/28/08