Collection
Development Policy
Mission
Statement
The Waldwick
Public Library is a cultural and intellectual center for the
community. It maintains a program of
service that organizes and stores knowledge, locates and acquires
information,
guides reading, stimulates thinking and discussion through public
programming,
and provides a conduit to the greater
regional, state, and national library resources.
I. Policy
Statement
The
Board of Trustees
of the Waldwick Public Library,
recognizing the
pluralistic nature of this community and the
varied backgrounds and needs of all citizens, regardless of race,
creed, age,
or political persuasion, declares as a matter of book and materials
selection
policy that it subscribes to the
principles in
the First Amendment to the
Constitution of the United States; the
Library Bill of Rights adopted by the
American
Library Association, the "Freedom to
Read" statement of the ALA and the
Association of American Publishers, and the
ALA "Policy on the Confidentiality of
Library Records."
II. Objectives of Selection
The
Waldwick
Public Library Board of Trustees,
working with
the staff of the
library, affirm the following
objectives: to
develop a well-rounded collection of a general nature to meet the
informational, educational, cultural, and recreational needs of the
community; to provide a qualified staff to provide guidance in the
use of materials; to inform the
public of
library resources and services, and to support the
principles of intellectual freedom.
III. Responsibility
for Selection
The
Library Board
of Trustees shall delegate to the
Library Director the authority and
responsibility for the selection of
all print
and nonprint materials. Responsibilities
for actual selection will rest with the
appropriate
professionally trained personnel who shall discharge this obligation
consistent
with the Board's adopted selection
criteria
and procedures. Any library material so
selected shall be held to be selected by the
Board of Trustees.
IV. Selection Criteria
The
selection of
materials is based upon authoritative printed reviews in professional
journals
such as Booklist, Library Journal,
Kirkus Reviews, School Library Journal, Publisher's
Weekly, and in other
media such as the New
York Times Book Review. Patron requests shall be given due
consideration for purchase; however, the
selection of materials shall be made with the
goal of developing a well-rounded collection of a general nature to
meet the
needs and interests of the community. No attempt shall be made to provide
textbooks, but those which can be used for general information purposes
may be
acquired, providing they meet the
standards of this selection policy.
V. Policy on
Content
of Materials
The
Board of Trustees
of the Waldwick Public Library
believes that
censorship is a purely individual matter and declares that while anyone
is free
to reject for him/herself materials which he/she does not approve of,
he/she
cannot exercise this right of censorship to restrict the
freedom to read of others. Furthermore,
the Board maintains that
parents--and only
parents--have the right and
responsibility to
restrict the access of their
children--and only their children--to
library
resources. Parents or legal guardians
who do not want their children to
have access
to certain library materials, services, or facilities, should so advise
their
children. Librarians and governing
bodies cannot assume the role of
parents or the
functions of parental authority in the
private
relationship between parent and child.
The Board recognizes the
professional
obligation of librarians to provide equal access to all library
resources for
all library users.
A complaint
concerning the content of library
materials
may be given formal recognition once the
complainant
fills out and signs a Request for Reconsideration of Library Materials
form
provided for this purpose. A committee composed of the
Library Director, at least one staff member, and at least one member of
the
Board of Trustees shall then
be asked to read, listen to,or view the
material in question and discuss it from the
standpoint of the criticism made. When the
material has been so reviewed, a report shall be made by the
committee to the Board of Trustees
for final determination.
VI. Gifts
The
Library accepts gifts from individuals
and groups and its collection has been greatly enriched by many
donations of
books and other materials. The Library welcomes gifts, but such items
shall be added to the permanent
collection on the
same basis as those materials purchased.
A professional librarian, under the
supervision of the Library Director,
shall
determine their suitability for
addition to the
collection. The decision will be based
on criteria such as the physical
condition of the
item, and whether the
Library needs the title or additional
copies
of the title in its collection. Gifts not accepted for the
collection may be placed in the
ongoing
library book sale or disposed of as the
Library Director deems necessary.
The
Library
Director may accept memorial donations and non-designated gifts of
money to be
placed in the general fund. Gifts of money over $1,000 that are
designated for a specific purpose (i.e., specific acquisitions,
furniture,
paintings, etc.) must be approved by the
Board
of Trustees.
VII. Collection
Management
As
materials
become worn, dated, damaged, or lost, replacement will be determined by
the
appropriate staff members who will decide whether
A. The item is still
available and can be
replaced.
B. Another
item
or format might better serve the same
purpose.
C. There remains sufficient
need to replace the
item.
D. Updated, newer, or revised
materials better
replace a particular item.
E. The item has historical
value.
F. Another
networking agency could better provide that or a comparable item.
Weeding
is
performed as a regular, ongoing process in the
interest of keeping the collection
current and
vital. Materials removed shall be
disposed of in the most practical
manner at the
discretion of the Library Director.
Approved by the
Library
Board of Trustees on October 18, 2002
