HomeMy WebLinkAboutPTPL Collection Development Policy DRAFTCollection Development and Management Policy
City of Port Townsend Public Library
Draft 11-8-17 by mse
Purpose
The Collection Development Policy supports the mission, vision and core values of the City of Port
Townsend Public Library (PTPL). It guides the staff in the development and management of the
collection and informs the public of the principles that we follow. This policy will be reviewed on a
periodic basis.
Principles of PTPL Collection Development
• It is the goal of the Library to provide a diverse collection of materials, in a variety of formats
and languages, for all ages, responsive to the needs and interests of the community within our
budgetary and space limitations.
• In order to support an informed public, the collections represent a variety of viewpoints from
diverse sources. Selection of materials by the Library does not indicate an endorsement of the
contents or views expressed in those materials.
• The Library provides open and equal access to library collections to all resident users.
• In selecting materials and electronic media, library staff uses professional resources, judgment,
knowledge and experience
• Staff anticipates and actively reaches out to the community to ascertain the needs and interests
of the public and also considers customer requests for materials.
• We help preserve and share our community's maritime history.
• We believe that a high-quality library collection must be kept up-to-date by judicious oversight,
removing outdated and worn-out items, while preserving, and when necessary and possible,
replacing, classics and items of lasting value.
• The Library considers reading, viewing and listening to be individual matters. While any patron is
free to select or reject materials for themselves or their own minor children, the freedom of
other Library patrons to read or inquire will not be restricted. The Library would never presume
to usurp the role of the parent. Only parents and guardians have the right and responsibility to
guide the reading, viewing and listening choices of their own minor children. The Library does
not stand in the place of parents (in loco parentis.)
The Port Townsend Public Library upholds the principles documented in the:
• American Library Association's Library Bill of Rights
• Freedom to Read Statement
• Freedom to View Statement
• Access to Library Resources and Services for Minors
• Code of Ethics of the American Library Association
• Core Values of Librarianship Statement
Responsibility
This policy is periodically reviewed and revised by the library staff with the advice and recommendations
of the Library Advisory Board, and approved by the Port Townsend City Council. The Library Director
and his/her designees is responsible for collection development and management.
On a day-to-day basis, the policy is administered by the Library Managers, and implemented by the
professional staff. The professional staff selects and maintains materials in areas assigned to them by
their supervisors.
Selection of Materials
The Library emphasizes breadth over depth, unabridged over abridged, and general treatments over
specialized, scholarly and professional treatments.
Because technologies for sound, image, and electronic delivery of information continue to evolve, the
Library will monitor and evaluate new formats, implementing them when appropriate and discarding
obsolete formats when necessary.
There is no single set of criteria that can be applied in all cases. Some resources may be judged based on
their artistic merit or scholarship while others are judged based on the recreational interests of the
community. The criteria for judging fiction, nonfiction, and electronic media will vary. Materials are
judged as a whole rather than on particular passages.
Library's general collection criteria are as follows:
• Representation of diverse points of view
• Currency, timeliness and accuracy of the material
• Present and potential relevance to the community
• Public demand (historical, current, and anticipated)
• Relation to the existing collection
• Suitability of physical form for library use
• Suitability of subject and style for the intended audience
• Receipt or nomination for major awards or prizes
• Positive professional reviews
• Value of the resource in relation to cost
• Limitations of shelving space and budget to purchase
• Ease of availability in-print, available through regular vendors
Collection Maintenance
The Library's material selectors are responsible for decisions regarding weeding, repair, and
replacement in their area of the collection. Proper maintenance of the collection provides our users with
what they need and expect: useful, current materials in good physical condition.
Criteria used in evaluating whether an item should be removed from the collection include:
• Accuracy
• Physical condition
• Obsolescence in format or content
• Current and potential use
• Completeness (sets)
• Unique reference value
• Availability of similar materials
• Historical value
Northwest Maritime Collection
The Port Townsend Public Library’s Northwest Maritime Collection was established in 1993 through a
grant from the Washington State Library. The collection is designed to serve the diverse maritime
interests of the Port Townsend community by supporting the practical and recreational needs of the
marine trades and the boating public. It is located upstairs in the Carnegie Reading Room at the Port
Townsend Library. Material selection and collection maintenance will follow the general practices of the
library’s collection development policies.
Local Authors
Local authors are defined as writers who currently reside or have spent a significant part of their lives in
Port Townsend or the adjacent towns. Pending evaluation, the Library may accept one donated copy of
a local author’s work and place it in the Local Author section if it is an Adult book or in the appropriate
Youth or Teen collection, if it is a Youth or Teen book. All donated works are subject to the same criteria
for removal as other materials. Items requested by the author to be purchased by the Library are
subject to the same collection development criteria as any other work. If an item is considered relevant
to local history or local maritime, it may be placed with either the Local History or Northwest Maritime
Collection instead of the Local Author Collection.
Request for Library Materials
When you make a request, we will consider borrowing the item from another library (Interlibrary Loan)
or purchasing the item. If the item is available for you, we will contact you via the contact info on your
library account. Some items may not be available. Requests are subject to the same collection
development criteria as any other work.
Interlibrary Loan Guidelines
Through interlibrary loan, the library provides patrons with access to information and materials that are
not available in our library. Some guidelines for the use of ILL:
1. Items published in the last 6 months cannot be interlibrary loaned.
2. Patrons are limited to 3 active interlibrary loan requests at one time.
3. Patrons must have below $25 in fines to borrow an item.
4. Some items will be considered for purchase by our library rather than borrowed, such as fiction, items
available in paperback at a low cost, and non-fiction which might fill a need in our collection.
5. The lending library determines the loan and renewal period for the item. Patrons should contact the
Port Townsend Public Library at least 3 business days before the item is due so the lending library can be
contacted for a loan extension.
6. Some libraries have items in reserve collections that cannot be borrowed.
7. Use of the ILL service is a privilege extended to PTL patrons. It is the patron's responsibility to make
sure that borrowed items are returned to the Port Townsend Public Library on time and in good
condition so that our library can remain in good standing with other network libraries. If the ILL service
is abused, patron's access to this service may be denied.
“Gifts” Donated Items
The Library welcomes donations of books and other materials and accepts monetary contributions
toward the purchase of materials. The Library reserves the right to decide the disposition of all gifts
received. Gifts added to the Library's collection become the property of the PTPL and will be placed
where most appropriate. Material not added to the Library's collection may be sold by the Friends of the
Port Townsend Library. The proceeds from material sales are used by the Friends to support our
mission. Material selection and collection maintenance will follow the general practices of the library’s
collection development policies.
Policy for Request for Withdrawal or Addition of Library Materials
The Library believes in information for all and does not practice censorship. Patrons may submit a
Request for Reconsideration of Library Material form for material that he/she considers objectionable. A
procedure is in place for handling such requests.
A patron who objects to the presence or absence of any book or other item in the Library’s collection
may file a formal complaint or a request for either removal or addition. Forms for this purpose are
available at the Service Desk. The request is processed as follows:
1. A patron fills out the “Request for Withdrawal or Addition of Library Materials” form and gives it to a
Library staff member.
2. The form is routed to the Librarian responsible for that particular area of the collection. The Librarian
checks the reviews on which the purchase decision was made, consults with either the Head of the
Adult/Technical Services department or the Head of the Youth Services department, and drafts a
response to the patron. The Library Director reviews the draft and sends a letter to the patron giving
reasons for the purchase decision and outlining what action will be taken. The Librarian will respond
within reason within thirty days.
3. If the Manager’s response is not acceptable to the patron, the patron may appeal to the Library
Director. The Library Director will hold an informal meeting to review all relevant correspondence, book
reviews, etc., and hear both the complainant’s side and the Manager’s side of the issue.
4. The Library Director will make the final decision as to whether the material is to be withdrawn or
added and communicate said decision within a reasonable timeframe.
REQUEST FOR WITHDRAWAL OR ADDITION OF LIBRARY MATERIALS FORM
ο Withdrawal Request ο Addition Request ο Book ο Other
Title ___________________________________________________________________________
Author __________________Publisher ___________________ Year _____ ISBN# ___________
Request initiated by ___________________________________ Telephone ( ____ ) ____ - _____
Address _____________________________________ City/State/Zip ______________________
Do you represent: ο yourself? ο an organization? (name) ___________________ ο your child? (age of
child) _____ ο other group? (name) _____________________
WITHDRAWAL REQUEST
What is your objection to this material? (Please be specific - cite pages, section or scene)
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
Why do you object to this material?
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
Did you read, see or hear the entire work?
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
What do you believe is the theme of the work? Can you suggest materials that provide other
viewpoints?
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
ADDITION REQUEST
Where did you read or hear about this material? (Please provide complete information about the
material)
________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________
Why do you think it should be made part of the Library’s collection?
________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________
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