Skip to Main Content

Copley Library: Collection Management & Materials Selection Policy

Collection Managemenet & Materials Selection Policy

COLLECTION MANAGEMENT & MATERIALS SELECTION POLICY

Copley Library, Eaglebrook School

Deerfield, Massachusetts

  1. OBJECTIVES

The main objective of the Collection Development & Materials Selection Policy as instituted by The Copley Library is to guide the library director in selecting and maintaining an outstanding, well-balanced collection of the best and most useful materials available to meet the needs of the school community within the limits imposed by funding and space.  The library’s resources include, but are not limited to,

  1. Books
  2. Periodicals
  3. Newspaper
  4. Compact discs
  5. Electronic resources
  6. Desktop computers
  7. Printers and a photocopier.

Additional forms of information sources will be considered as they develop. A balanced range of interest, tastes, viewpoints, values and levels of ability as represented by the school community and its residents should be included in the collection.

The mission and goals and objectives of the Copley Library and the “Library Bill of Rights” as adopted by the American Library Association are basic to the Collection Development Policy and are considered to be part of it.

MISSION:

The mission of the Copley Library is to provide the Eaglebrook community with an inviting and flexible space where access to a wide range of resources that support learning and teaching are made available; to provide support in the development of a culture that promotes wider reading, motivated readers and learners for life; and to provide a place for collaborative learning, creativity, and for developing independent research and information literacy skills to help prepare our students to become productive, informed citizens in today’s information driven society.

GOALS & OBJECTIVES OF THE  SCHOOL LIBRARY:

  1. Provide and maintain a current collection that is diverse in format and content and that supports and enhances the curriculum as well as the pursuit of individual interests.
  2. Collaborate with teachers, administrators, and others to ensure that a variety of resources is available for patrons to support learning.
  3. Provide materials that encourage an appreciation for diversity and various worldly perspectives.
  4. Provide materials in various formats and difficulty level.

INTELLECTUAL FREEDOM AND THE LIBRARY BILL OF RIGHTS:

The Copley Library follows the American Library Association Library Bill of Rights and its interpretations, which encourages an atmosphere of free inquiry and exchange of ideas, an essential component of the educational process. The American Library Association affirms that all libraries are forums for information and ideas, and that the following basic policies should guide their services:

  1. Books and other library resources 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 views of those contributing to their creation.
  2. 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.
  3. Libraries should challenge censorship in the fulfillment of their responsibility to provide information and enlightenment.
  4. Libraries should cooperate with all persons and groups concerned with resisting abridgment of free expression and free access to ideas.
  5. A person's right to use a library should not be denied or abridged because of origin, age, background, or views.
  6. Libraries which make exhibit spaces and meeting rooms available to the public they serve should make such facilities available on an equitable basis, regardless of the beliefs or affiliations of individuals or groups requesting their use.

Adopted June 19, 1939. Amended October 14, 1944; June 18, 1948; February 2, 1961; June 27, 1967; and January 23, 1980; inclusion of “age” reaffirmed January 23, 1996, by the ALA Council.

Definitions:

Selection refers to the decision to add, retain, or withdraw materials in the library’s collections.

Library Materials include all items in the library’s collections, regardless of format.

Access is the availability of materials in a variety of formats for users of all ages and abilities.

II. RESPONSIBILITY FOR SELECTION

The primary responsibility for selection of all materials is that of the library director and is guided by the school’s curriculum and selection policy that outlines the types of material the library will collect.  Faculty, staff and students are encouraged to offer recommendations of materials to be considered for inclusion into the collection. The library budget is set by the business office with input from the library director and is reviewed annually.

III. SELECTION CRITERIA

To build a collection of merit, materials are evaluated according to one or more of the following standards. An item need not meet all of these criteria in order to be acceptable:

General Criteria:

  • Support and enrich the curriculum and/or students’ personal interests and learning
  • Meet high standards in
  1. Literary
  2. Artistic
  3. Aesthetic quality
  4. Technical aspects
  5. Physical format
  • Be appropriate for the subject area and for the age, emotional development, ability level, learning styles, and social, emotional, and intellectual development of the students for whom the materials are selected
  • Incorporate accurate and authentic factual content from authoritative sources
  • Earn favorable reviews in standard reviewing sources and/or favorable recommendations based on preview and examination of materials by professional personnel
  • Exhibit a high degree of potential user appeal and interest
  • Represent differing viewpoints on controversial issues
  • Provide a global perspective and promote diversity by including materials by authors and illustrators of all cultures
  • Include a variety of resources in physical and virtual formats including print and non-print such as electronic and multimedia (including subscription databases and other online products, e-books, educational games, and other forms of emerging technologies)
  • Demonstrate physical format, appearance, and durability suitable to their intended use
  • Balance cost with need

Special Considerations for Electronic Information Sources:

  • Ease of use of the product
  • Availability of the information to multiple simultaneous users
  • Equipment needed to provide access to the information
  • Technical support and training
  • Availability of the physical space needed to house and store the information or equipment
  • Available in full text

Professional Resources:

The following professional resources may be referenced when selecting new materials for the library collection:

  • School Library Journal
  • Booklist Online
  • Publisher’s Weekly
  • New York Times Review of Books
  • Professional Organizations such as the American Library Association (ALA) or the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE)

IV. PROCEDURE FOR SELECTION AND USE OF MATERIALS

Budgetary and space limitations require selective judgment in order to provide the best of available materials. Using the selection criteria, the library director will acquire and/or make available materials necessary to support the school community. Items from larger and/or more specialized collections will be made available through interlibrary loan.

In most instances, materials will be available to any member of the school community. No item will be sequestered except for the purpose of protection from damage or theft. The library director will not mark or identify material in any manner that might indicate approval or disapproval of the contents. Material selected primarily for professional use shall be marked as such, but can be made available to other patrons upon request.

In order to permit free and convenient access to library materials, the library endorses an open shelf policy. No materials shall be either removed from open shelves or kept in a restricted area because of their controversial nature or because they are more suitable for one age group than another or because the subject matter, viewpoint or treatment might be opposed by certain individuals or groups.

V. GIFTS & DONATIONS

Gifts and donations shall meet the same selection criteria as purchased materials. Gifts and donations are accepted subject to the following limitations:

  1. The library retains unconditional ownership.
  2. The library makes the final decision on acceptance, use, or disposition.

Books may be donated to the library, however those that are deemed outdated or unusable to the collection will be donated to charity, unless other arrangements have been made.

The library does not assess the value of materials and therefore does not provide that information for tax exemption purposes. However, upon a donor’s request, the library will supply a statement listing the number and general type of materials donated.

Gifts of money, real property or stock will be accepted if the conditions attached thereto are acceptable to the Headmaster and/or the Board of Trustees. When the library receives a cash gift for the purchase of materials in a specific subject area, the library director shall make the selection of the specific titles. Special collections and memorial collections shall not be shelved as separate physical collections and shall be accepted as such with the donor’s understanding that such collection shall be integrated into the general collection. A gift plate may be used for gift and/or memorial identification.

VI. MAINTAINING AND WEEDING THE COLLECTION

It is the responsibility of the library director to ensure an ongoing review of of the library collection to determine its strengths and weaknesses. Library materials should be continually evaluated against the school’s curriculum, standard bibliographies and evolving patron requirements, not only for purposes of adding new titles, but also to identify those titles which have outlived their interest, usefulness or if the information is no longer accurate in the light of present knowledge. Weeding, the act of removing materials from the library, is a necessary practice in order to preserve the quality of the collection and free up space for materials that will better serve the patrons. Heavily used materials may be replaced with newer copies when needed. The following are some of the criteria used to aid in weeding the Copley Library collection:

  • An item which is worn out beyond mending
  • An item which is superseded by another source
  • An item which is determined to be of no literary or scientific merit
  • An item which is irrelevant to the needs of the school population
  • An item which could easily be found elsewhere
  • An item which is extremely old, inappropriate or inaccurate
  • An item which is never or seldom circulated
  • An item of which there are multiple copies
  • An item which is irrelevant to the curriculum

Weeded materials are offered to the faculty and staff and/or to charitable organizations.

VII. PROCEDURE FOR HANDLING CHALLENGED MATERIALS OR COMPLAINTS

The Copley Library strives to uphold the principles set forth by the American Library Association Bill of Rights. The library does not exclude titles, other than by budgetary limitations, except for those that do not meet selection criteria. Patrons who feel that inappropriate items have been selected for the collection may ask that they be reconsidered. If a complaint arises about library materials, the patron is requested to fill out a Reconsideration of Library Resources Form. The following procedures will be followed when a challenge is received:

  1. The library director reviews the reconsideration request, evaluates the original reason for the purchase, and considers the objection in terms of the Collection Development Policy.
  2. The library director replies to the reconsideration request in writing and includes reviews of the materials and, if deemed necessary, a copy of the Collection Development Policy, and the Library Bill of Rights adopted by the American Library Association.
  3. If the patron considers the library director’s resolution unsatisfactory, then he/she may request a review by the Headmaster and the Board of Trustees.
  4. Challenged materials may remain in circulation until the process is completed.

This policy statement is based upon the guidelines offered by the American Library Association Office of Intellectual Freedom Selection and Reconsideration Policy Toolkit as well as collection policies from other NEAISL and JSBSA member schools.

Drafted by the Copley Library Director in June 2018

Adopted: July 2018

Revised: