The responsibility for selection lies with the professional staff of the Library operating within the areas of service to children, young adults, and adults. The general public and staff members may recommend materials for consideration.
The ultimate responsibility for selection of library materials rests with the Director who operates within the framework of the policies determined by the Board and the City. Since the Director must be available to answer to the Board and the City and the general public for actual selections made, the Director has the authority to reject or select any item contrary to the recommendations of the staff.
D. General Principle of Selection
1. Selection of library materials is based on the merits of a work in relation to the needs, interests, and demands of the community. Basic to this policy is the Library Bill of Rights, as adopted by the American Library Association and discussed in the preceding section.
2. The Library is responsible for providing circulating, reference, and research materials for the general public and students to the graduate level. Special in-depth collections (local history, genealogy, etc.) shall also be maintained when indicated by community interest.
3. The 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.
4. As a policy, the Library does not purchase materials written simply for sensationalism or which are purely pornographic. On the other hand, serious works which present honest aspects of some problems, or of life, are not necessarily excluded because of coarse language or frankness.
5. Responsibility for children’s reading material rests with the child’s parents or legal guardians. Selection of library materials will not be inhibited by the possibility that materials may come into the possession of children.
6. 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.
E. Criteria for Selection
1. The main points considered in the selection of materials are:
a. Individual merit of each item
b. Contemporary significance or permanent value
c. Popular appeal/demand
d. Accuracy
e. Authority of the author
f. Price, format, ease of use
g. Scarcity of information in subject area
h. Suitability of material for the clientele
I. Existing library holdings
j. Budget
k. Availability of materials through interlibrary loan
2. Reviews are a major source of information about new materials. The lack of a review or an unfavorable review shall not be the sole reason for rejecting a title which is in demand. Consideration is, therefore, given to requests from library patrons and books discussed on public media. Materials are judged on the basis of the work as a whole, not on a part taken out of context.
3. Providing textbook and curriculum materials is generally held to be the responsibility of the schools. Textbooks will only be purchased for the collection when they supply information in areas in which they are the best, or the only, source of information on the subject.
F. Religion
The Library strives to maintain an impartial recognition of all religions, while specializing in none. In the literature of religion, more perhaps than in any other class, library selection must be broad, tolerant, without partisanship or propaganda, yet consistently directed toward the choice of the best materials as regards authority, timeliness, and good literary quality.
