The selection, collection, and deselection of materials are central to implementing Fondulac District Library’s mission. The library strives, within the limitations of budget and space, to provide a wide range of materials which meet the diverse educational, informational, cultural, and recreational needs of the community.
Selection
Reasonable efforts will be made to build balanced collections without favor given to particular causes or viewpoints. The library supports intellectual freedom and adopts as part of this policy the American Library Association's Library Bill of Rights, and its Freedom to Read and Freedom to View statements, which recognize the right of persons to free and convenient access to information and ideas.
Acquisition of materials indicates an endorsement of usefulness only, not of the ideas they contain. Patrons choice to use library materials is an individual matter. Parents, guardians and/or caregivers, not the Library, are responsible for what materials children access, read, or use and for supervising the use of materials by children. While the library has age restrictions on certain equipment or formats due to relevant replacement costs and/or expertise to operate, the Library does not deny access to written or audiovisual materials on the basis of age due to content.
The Board of Trustees delegates the authority and responsibility for the selection and deselection of library materials to the Library Director. As such, the Library Director is responsible for all materials in the library collections. The Director can share and delegate selection and deselection duties to additional staff who, qualified and using professional judgment, choose and discard items for the library collections within the scope of assigned areas. The Director has the final approval or disapproval of other staff members' selection and deselection choices.
The Library seeks to maintain a current collection with an emphasis on popular materials and with enough depth and breadth to meet the needs of the community. In accordance with the recommendations of Serving Our Public 4.0: Standards for Illinois Public Libraries, the Library strives to allocate not less than 12% of its operating budget on materials for patrons every year. These materials will be selected in a variety of formats including, but not limited to, print, video, sound recording, and electronic media, and database access. Each type of material must be considered in terms of its own merit and the audience for whom it is intended. No single standard can be applied in all cases.
Selection of materials is accomplished in a variety of ways. Extensive use is made of reviews in professional journals and periodicals. Standard bibliographies, book lists by recognized authoritative sources, including best-seller and award lists, and the expertise and advice of knowledgeable people in specific subject areas may be used. Recommendations by staff and residents of the community are seriously considered.
A variety of factors influence the selection of library materials. These include factors (in no particular order of importance) such as: accuracy of information; interest; authority and reliability of author/illustrator/publisher/producer; demand; value to the existing collection; timeliness; significance of the subject; format; price; professional reviews; literary and technical quality; patron requests; local considerations such as history or authorship; intended audience; subject area development; current interest and popularity; physical features (margins, binding, etc.); availability in the community, nearby, or through interlibrary loan; physical limitations of building; and potential attraction for non-users.
From time to time, the Library Director, in consultation with staff, will determine that a new format is needed. These new formats will be added based on patron need, availability, affordability, ease of upkeep, and general community interest.
Deselection
As materials are regularly added to the collection, ongoing maintenance is necessary to ensure the collection remains useful and in good condition with relevant and up to date information. Part of maintaining the collection is performing regular reevaluation and deselection processes. Materials are deselected due to a variety of factors, including duplicate copies, condition, frequency of circulation, old editions, outdated information, outdated or trivial topics, and space limitations. Staff will perform deselection on a continual on-going basis. Materials removed from the collection may be discarded, recycled, or donated, depending on the specific item.
Gifts
The library accepts donations of books, movies, CDs, magazines (including gift subscriptions), and other materials with the understanding that they may or may not be added to the collection. The same principles of selection used for purchases will be applied to gifts. When gifts cannot be used, the library may at any time discard them in any way it sees fit.
Cash gifts for the purchase of memorial books are accepted with the understanding that selection will be made by the Director or designated staff in consultation with the donor.
Citizen's Opinion Concerning Specific Library Material
A Citizen's Opinion Concerning Specific Library Material form is available at the library service desks as part of this policy (and through the Download Policy button below) and may be submitted only by current residents and/or cardholders of Fondulac Public Library District for consideration.
Once completed in full, the form should be mailed to the library, hand delivered to a staff member at the library, or emailed to the Library Director. After the form is received by the Director, the Director will review the material. The Director may discuss with staff members their original selection decision. The Director will then present a recommendation to the Board of Trustees for their final decision. The Board’s decision related to a specific title shall remain in effect for a minimum of three years, and the library will not review or take any action relative to the same title for a period of three years from the Board’s decision. For patrons that need accommodations, staff is available to assist in preparation of the required form. To ensure staff availability, an appointment for assistance may be required.
Reviewed: 1/26/97, 2/23/98, 2/22/99, 1/31/00, 2/25/02, 2/24/03, 10/27/08
Revised: 11/29/21, 5/23/22, 11/27/23