Collection Development Policy
POLICY # 4-1 Collection Development
New Providence Memorial Library Mission Statement
It is our mission to inspire discovery, promote literacy, and nurture community connections.
New Providence Memorial LIbrary Goals and Objectives
Purpose
The purpose of this policy is to
- Aid the library staff in selecting a well-rounded and appropriate collection of materials for the community it serves.
- Assist the staff in responding to questions and challenges regarding the collection from the public.
- Outline the selection criteria upon which materials are selected.
Community/Library Background
The borough of New Providence is a middle-class suburban community with a population of 13,600. Located in the northwest corner of Union County in New Jersey it is approximately 30 miles west of New York City. Convenient transportation exists to New York and to Newark Liberty International Airport.
At one time corporate transfers represented part of the residential turnover. Now more significantly is the replacement of older residents who move to retirement communities by younger families who desire to live in a community with excellent schools, and community services and recreation. Included in this trend toward younger families is a growing Asian, and to a lesser degree, Hispanic population, that contributes to the community’s diversity.
The New Providence school system enjoys a long-standing reputation for the quality of its educational performance. Over 90% of the high school graduates go on to higher education. Academic achievement is high for most students.
The community boasts of a number of clubs and organizations that are recreational, political, fraternal, historical, and religious. These community groups emphasize New Providence’s commitment to education, and civic involvement for the improvement of the whole community.
New Providence Memorial Library is a medium to small sized public library located within walking distance of the town center. The library contains a collection of about 80,000 items in print and non-print formats. It circulates about 100,000 items each year. To better serve the community, the library belongs to a number of consortia that includes libraries from neighboring communities as well as county and statewide.
Selection Policy
Materials selected conform to the interests, needs and abilities of the community that the library serves, but are not restricted by them. The library must also strive to anticipate future needs. Books will always continue to be of primary importance for the library, but it should be recognized that other media are also sources for recreation, education and information.
Responsibility for Selection
Ultimate responsibility for the materials selection policy lies with the Board of Trustees as established by N.J.S.A. 40: 54-12. The Board delegates to the director the selection of library materials and the development of the collection. The director may designate responsibility for various areas of the collection to department heads and other staff.
Scope of the Collection
The size and nature of the community served by New Providence Memorial Library presently requires a well-rounded collection of a general nature. Highly specialized collections in limited subject areas will not be established. The library will purchase materials in all formats that express a variety of ideas, interests, opinions and mores. It will inevitably purchase materials on controversial subjects or by controversial authors. While this may displease some members of the community, the library seeks to serve a diverse population, and thus will result in a collection reflecting that diversity.
A limited number of large print books will be chosen for the visually impaired.
Separate collections for children and young adults will also be maintained. Fiction and non-fiction topics will be represented in multiple formats.
It is not the library’s mission to support the school’s curriculum, so textbooks will not be selected, except as in a very general way in the case of subjects like mathematics and the general sciences, or if they are the most appropriate format for the subject. School curriculum demands will be considered and the library will make an effort to be a secondary supplement for those needs.
Access to the Collection
It is the right and responsibility of the individual to select the materials that he or she wishes to use. The responsibility for what children read, view and listen to rests with their parents or legal guardians. New Providence Memorial Library cannot assume that responsibility in loco parentis. As adults have full access to children’s materials, children have full access to adult materials. The selection of materials for the YA and adult collections is not restricted by the possibility that children may obtain materials that their parents consider inappropriate.
In the interest of protecting the individual’s right to have access to materials, the library supports the following documents:
- The First Amendment to the United States Constitution.
- The Library Bill of Rights – Adopted June 18, 1948, amended February 2, 1967, and June 23, 1980 by the American Library Association Council.
- The Freedom to Read Statement – Adopted June 15, 1953, revised January 28, 1972, January 16, 1991, by the ALA Council and the AAP Freedom to Read Committee.
Selection Criteria
No single criterion is applicable to all acquisitions decisions. Some materials may be purchased for their creative merit, scholarship or value to society. Some materials may be purchased to satisfy recreational, informational or educational reasons.
Items that are in high demand, for example The New York Times bestsellers, may or may not meet other criteria, but will be purchased due to the demand.
The library does not act for or against any particular issues. Therefore the disapproval of material by some will not be the reason for denying those materials to others. Materials that display frankness of expression or illustration will not necessarily be excluded. Evaluation includes the entire work, not just its parts.
The general criteria for selection follow:
- Usefulness in relation to interests and need of community and purposes of the library.
- Relationship to present collection and to availability of similar material.
- Quality of writing and level of readability.
- Accuracy of information.
- Authority of author, artists and/or publisher.
- Appearance in standard lists.
- Timeliness and permanent value to collection.
- Format and ease of use.
- Price and availability.
- Demand.
- Current usefulness or interest.
- Popularity of author.
- Inclusion on The New York Times bestseller lists.
- Local author or subject matter.
- Space considerations.
- Suitability of physical form for library use.
- Importance as a document of the times.
Methods of Selection
Selection of current materials shall be based on standard, authoritative media. Replacement of material shall be done as needed, and its usefulness to the collection will be evaluated at the time that replacement is considered. Some examples of review media are:
- The New York Times, Library Journal, Booklist, School Library Journal,
- Local, regional, and national newspapers, magazines, and other media.
- Suggestions from patrons. Patrons may be asked to provide reviews or an authoritative source for their recommendation.
Gifts/Memorials
The New Providence Memorial Library will accept donations of money and materials to support the services offered by the library. Materials will be evaluated by the same guidelines stated in the “Selection Criteria” that apply to new, purchased items.
Money donated as a memorial will be used to purchase needed items for the collection. If the donor specifies a particular subject area, the library will make every effort to fill that request. If a specific title is requested, the “Selection Criteria” will be used to evaluate it.
Depending on the suitability of donated materials, they may be added to the collection, sold in the daily or annual book sale, donated to another institution, or discarded.
The library will not appraise materials for tax purposes. Upon the request of the donor, a written receipt of the number and type of materials will be given. (Form attached)
Gifts that come as “memorials” will also be subject to the same “Selection Criteria.” Accepted material will be given a bookplate with an appropriate inscription. Unaccepted material will be returned to the donor with an explanation as to why the material is unacceptable.
Collection Maintenance/Weeding
Materials are withdrawn on a regular basis from the library’s collection. This is done in order to maintain a collection that is reliable, current, in good condition and appropriate for the community. Criteria for weeding may be as follows:
- Age of item. This will vary with subject area.
- Inaccuracy/currency of information. This can be a factor of age, but not necessarily.
- Physical condition.
- Circulation/use.
- The number of copies owned by the library and/or other libraries.
- Space limitations.
- Subject coverage in the collection
Withdrawn items may be sold in the annual or daily sales, offered to another institution, or discarded.
The “Selection Criteria” are used in deciding if the withdrawn material should be replaced.
Revised April 20, 2004; revised November 21, 2023