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Materials Selection
| Policy No. 98-13 (Click Policy Number for full text) |
Effective Date: |
October 13, 1998 |
The Board of County Commissioners adheres to the principles adopted by the American Library Association (ALA) with respect to access to library materials, services, and resources. The ALA’s Library Bill of Rights prescribes at a minimum that:
- Library materials should be provided for the interest, information and enlightenment
of all people of the community the library serves. Materials should not be excluded
because of the origin, background or view of those contributing to their creation.
- Libraries should provide materials and information presenting all points of view on
current and historical issues. Materials should not be proscribed or removed because of
partisan or doctrinal disapproval.
- Libraries should challenge censorship attempts made to restrict them in the
fulfillment of their responsibility to provide information and enlightenment.
- Libraries should cooperate with all persons and groups concerned with resisting
abridgment of free expression and free access to ideas.
- A person's right to use a library should not be denied or abridged because of
origin, age, background or views.
The Library Director shall be responsible for developing materials selection guidelines based on the above principles. In addition, the following factors are to be considered in the evaluation of materials or acquisitions:
- Authenticity of the media: accuracy, currency
- Authoritativeness
- Clarity of presentation and readability
- Social significance: for individuals and groups
- Importance of the subject matter to the collection
- Availability or scarcity of materials on the subject
- Timeliness or permanence of the work: its historical value
- Appearance of the title in special bibliographies and indexes
- Availability of the materials elsewhere in the area
- Literary value
- Public demand or popular appeal
- Professional reputation of the publisher and/or author
- Format
- If in an ephemeral format, value in meeting the library's objectives
- Price
- Additional factors for non-print media:
- potential utilization: interest level, user appeal
- availability of equipment
- technical quality
- Reviews of materials contained in library professional publications.
The Library Director shall also be responsible for implementation of a formal procedure for the general public to request review and evaluation of library materials.
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