Collection
Development Policy
(Adopted
10/8/03)
(Last
revision 3/21/2013)
I. Introduction:
A.
The Collection Development Policy and the Library Mission.
The
Odon Winkelpleck Public Library seeks to expand the horizons of the
North Daviess Community by providing literary, cultural, and
informational resources to all. This policy supports
that mission by outlining plans and procedures for developing and
maintaining the library collection.
B.
Brief overview of the collection
The
Odon Public Library first opened in 1906 with less than 100 books.
Since that time, the collection has steadily grown to its present
size of almost 20,000 holdings. The collection includes, in round
numbers:
Adult fiction books – 6,000
Adult
non-fiction books – 4,500
Juvenile
and young adult (teen) books 6,000
Magazines
(36 subscriptions) – 600
Videos – 2,000
Audio books – 120
Rare
books (includes family histories) – 75
Music CDs – 100
As
a small, rural library with limited funding, patron donations shape
the collection to a greater degree than at larger libraries. In an
average year, over 50% of new books and videos added to the
collection are donations. Decisions for collection development must
take these donations into account.
The
demographics of the library district show that only 34% of the adult
population has attended college and 11% have earned a 4-year college
degree. 99.8% of residents over five years of age are proficient in
English, although that may change in the future. (Source: Census
2000 data)
In
2008, the library joined the Evergreen Indiana community, giving
local patrons access to the collections of what has become over 100
EI libraries and opening up the local collection to patrons of those
libraries. This partnership heightens the need for a
well-maintained collection of value to both local residents and the
broader community.
II. General Collection Development Policies
The
library collects materials in the following formats: books,
periodicals, pamphlets, audio books, videos, music CDs, newspaper,
and microfilm.
In May 2012 the library joined the eIndiana Digital Consortium to
provide access to ebooks and online audiobooks.
Family histories are accepted and made available upon request.
Specifically:
The
library attempts to procure all books containing history of the
Daviess County area. Donations of historical accounts for
adjoining counties are added to the collection if they are in good
condition.
The
collection is in English with the exception of material intended to
aid those studying another language. These exceptions include
bilingual picture books and language study aids.
Non-fiction
book purchases focus on works of a general nature, rarely exceeding
a high school reading level. Books covering multiple subjects will
be given priority over narrower subject matter. More esoteric
works from donors will be evaluated for likely interest to the
community. Patron input is considered in choosing subjects to
cover and update in the non-fiction section, however, professional
reviews are consulted in choosing specific titles for purchase.
Textbooks are generally not added to the collection.
Fictional
acquisitions of all formats are based on public requests and likely
popularity with library patrons. Any request from a patron for a
particular work is evaluated as to advisability of adding that work
to the collection. Donated fiction is evaluated primarily on the
basis of condition, currency, being unique to the collection, and
of general interest. Condensed books and general romance series
(e.g. Harlequin books) will not be added to the collection.
Popularity within the EI system (based on number of holdings
circulating at the time of the evaluation) is taken into
consideration for titles available in multiple EI collections.
Preference will be given to hardcover books in purchasing
decisions. Paperback books will be accepted from donors and
shelved separately. Only one copy of any title will be purchased
with library funds, however, donations of the most popular titles
may be added to the collection.
Fiction
genres that attract special-interest readers may be separated from
the general fiction for the benefit of those readers. Special
fiction collections include inspirational fiction (including
donated Christian romance), science fiction/fantasy, and westerns.
Paperback and hardcover books are combined for these collections.
The
library subscribes to the Odon Journal, a weekly newspaper, and
preserves it in microfilm format. No newspapers from outside the
North Daviess community are included in the collection.
Because
of the low volume of new material acquired each year and limited
staff resources, the library does not accept material from
booksellers to preview and return. Standing orders are rare and
carefully reviewed on an annual basis.
The
library does not subscribe to electronic databases but is a
supporter of INSPIRE, the Indiana virtual library of periodicals
and publications made available to all Indiana residents via the
internet. Other offsite material may be accessed using
interlibrary loan or free internet resources. Government or
individual data available in electronic format will be accessible
via a public computer station.
Periodicals
are made available for one year from date of publication before
being discarded. Only material of particularly enduring value and
interest to the community will be kept beyond two years.
Video
purchases are divided between new releases that meet community
standards, generally PG-13 or more mild, family-oriented
entertainment, and classic movies and musicals. Purchases of new
releases will be made at the convenience of the staff, generally
allowing local video rental businesses several weeks lead time
before the video will be made available at the library. DVD format
will be the first choice for new videos.
Children’s
non-fiction acquisitions will be selected in a similar fashion to
adult books, accepting public input into subjects covered while
using professional reviews to select specific books.
Children’s
fiction acquisitions will reflect both patron requests and the
recommendations of reviewers, balancing popular series with
literature that might be overlooked by young readers. Children’s
fiction is divided into three age levels – early/easy,
intermediate, and young adult (teen) – based on reading level,
interest level, and content.
Free
material sent to the library by various government and special
interest groups will not be added to the collection unless it is in
one of the formats generally collected by the library. Brochures
and publications will be made available in a designated area.
Donated
materials which do not fit the selection criteria presented above
but are appropriate for a library book sale will be given to the
Friends of the Library.
III. Challenged Material.
The
library fully supports the quest for knowledge among members of the
Odon community. Intellectual freedom is acknowledged and protected.
All complaints and challenges will be taken seriously and dealt with
according to the procedures that have been set in place. In the
event that items are challenged, the following events will take
place:
The
complainant will be given a form to complete and return to the
librarian. No comment will be made about the material to the
complainant, community, or press at this time. The library director
will be notified immediately of the situation. No further action
will be taken until the form is returned.
If
the form is returned a meeting will be set up. The library director,
a member of the library board, the staff member receiving the
complaint, and the complainant will be present. The library
personnel will present their criteria for selection and arguments for
including the “offending” material in the collection. The
complainant will be asked to defend their position. If an agreement
cannot be reached, the parties involved will take their arguments to
the library board where a decision will be reached. The library
board president or an appointed professional will be asked to field
questions from the press if a need should arise.
The
decision will be documented and upheld by all parties involved.
IV. Maintaining the collection.
In
the interest of maintaining an attractive, current, and manageable
collection, as new materials are added to the collection, old items
must be weeded out on a regular basis.
Specifically:
Since
fiction acquisitions are based on popularity with the public,
de-selection is based on the same criteria. A hardcover, adult,
general-fiction book that has not circulated in 10 years will be
considered a candidate for removal from the collection. However,
any one of the following criteria is grounds for reconsideration: 1)
the book is still in print, 2) the author is from Indiana, 3) the
title is included in the public library fiction catalog of standard
works. Paperback and special collection titles, audio books,
videos, and children’s fiction will be subject to similar
standards with more or less latitude in circulation data. For
example, mass market paperback fiction will generally be weeded if
not circulated in two years.
Nonfiction
material presents a greater challenge for weeding. A book with
misleading and inaccurate information is a candidate for
de-selection regardless of its age or popularity with the public.
Currency and accuracy must be added to the criteria used for
de-selection in this area. However, the circulation requirement may
be relaxed for material that is still current or considered valuable
for reference questions or historic information, even though it
seldom circulates. Individual judgments for de-selection will be
made by the library staff.
