Policies

SELECTION OF MATERIALS

I E 1

COLLECTION MANAGEMENT

POLICY:

A collection management policy is intended to support the mission and roles of the Park Ridge Public Library. The purpose of the Park Ridge Public Library is to advance human knowledge and understanding by providing access to information, literature, technology and the arts relevant to the community it serves.
RULES:

  1. The responsibility for Library material selection rests with the Library Director who operates under and within the authority of the policies and procedures adopted by the Library Board of Trustees. The Library Director is responsible for making recommendations to the Library Board of Trustees concerning updating the Selection Policy, through the Library Resources Committee of the Board.
  2. The professional staff shall implement the selection process established by the Library Director.
  3. The Library recognizes its obligation to protect the expression of ideas which represent minority opinion or unpopular or unorthodox views and also its responsibility to provide a balanced presentation of controversial issues in its collection. The acquisition of an item does not indicate the Library's endorsement of the ideas or institutional approval of language or actions contained therein.
  4. The Library will comply with current laws regarding obscenity. The Library Board of Trustees believes that parents are responsible for the growth and development of their children's reading habits. The Library shall not coerce the taste of others or censor the reading materials of its adult or young patrons.
  5. The Library collection shall include a variety of print and non-print materials and equipment in addition to books.
  6. The Library shall collect materials in formats suited to their intended use. Children's books are purchased with reinforced library bindings whenever possible. Paperbacks are purchased to supplement hardcover collections when the paperback edition is the only edition available, or to reduce the cost of items that are frequently revised (e.g. almanacs, travel, etc.) Comic books, novelty or popup books, collectors editions, manuscripts or archival materials are among the items not collected by the Library. Exceptions may be made to the above guidelines where warranted (e.g. for Park Ridge historical materials).
  7. The Library is guided by a sense of responsibility to the past, present and the future of the Community and therefore adds materials which will enhance the collection while attempting to preserve an intellectual balance. The Library also accepts as its responsibility the selection of materials that will add intellectual enlightenment and recreational pleasure even though such materials may not have enduring interest, value or be in an acceptable format.
  8. The Library shall cooperate with other libraries and institutions in order to best serve the needs of its users within the limits of its materials budgets.
  9. An attractive and uptodate collection shall be maintained through a continual discarding of obsolete and/or worn out materials that can no longer meet the needs of the Community. Items are also discarded as necessary to make space available for new items. Each department is responsible for conducting on-going reevaluation of its collections according to departmental guidelines developed for that purpose. It is the goal of the Library to complete a general reevaluation of every collection in 3 - 5 year cycles.
  10. Because of developments in technology, formats will be evaluated based on the following criteria: use, availability, replaceability, currency and availability of supporting equipment, space requirements.