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Section D - Collections ManagementPolicy Number D032Collection Management Policy
Statement of Purpose:Effective democratic societies require that individuals have free and open access to information and ideas on all subjects. The St. Charles City-County Library District recognizes that, for many residents of St. Charles County, the public library serves as the primary resource for information access. The library actively integrates information and referral services, various interlibrary loan functions and collection management to provide the most efficient and timely delivery of information services. Philosophy of Collection Management:Central the St. Charles City-County Library District’s Collection Management Policy are the Library Bill of Rights and the Intellectual Freedom to Read Statement as adopted by the Council of the American Library Association. Materials, for the purposes of this policy, shall be defined as all print and nonprint materials selected by the library for public use. The St. Charles City-County Library District, governed by this policy and specified collection management procedures, shall select recreational and informational materials within the constraints of extant budget and physical limitations. The library will not attempt to collect either the most ephemeral of popular materials or the most esoteric of research documents. Selectively concentrated subject collections have been established at both of the library’s regional branches. The Bizelli-Fleming Local History Collection, specializing in historical and genealogical information resources and services is maintained at the Kathryn Linnemann Branch. The Spencer Road Branch maintains a Business Services Collection which emphasizes information resources and services targeted toward the needs of small business. The St. Charles City-County Library District may develop and support other selectively concentrated subject collections in the future. Exhaustive collections designed to service the patron engaged in serious and extensive research are considered to be the province of the academic and special libraries in the area. Nonessential duplication of materials held by other libraries in the St. Louis Regional Library Network will be avoided. Professionally adequate information management also requires the timely removal of materials from the St. Charles-City County Library District’s collection which have become dated or are for other reasons no longer considered suitable for retention. The removal of items from the collection shall be governed by this policy through the application of established collection management procedures. The disposition of library materials which have been removed on the basis of accepted professional practices shall be at the discretion of the Director. Responsibility for Collection Management:The responsibility for assisting in the selection of library materials belongs to every member of the staff. The ultimate responsibility for materials selection rests with the Director who operates within the framework of policies determined by the Board of Trustees. The general public also has certain rights and responsibilities concerning the collections of the St. Charles City-County Library District. Residents of the county may recommend specific titles for purchase by completing a written request for purchase from (D032.1). Similarly, residents may request the reconsideration of a title by completing a written complaint form (D032.4). Copies of both forms are appended to this policy and are available to the public upon request. Citizen requests for either purchase or removal shall be given careful consideration. The library will uniformly apply the standards and selection criteria developed in this policy and implemented through established procedures during any such review. The St. Charles City-County Library District is cognizant of parental concern over the questions of suitability of reading matter for children and young adults. The library has established criteria and procedures for the general selection of materials for children and young adults; however, parents are the most capable judges concerning the contents of material and the reading and comprehension levels of their children. As a result, the library considers that the responsibility for those materials which individual children select must rest with the child’s parents or legal guardians. Donations are accepted by the St. Charles City-County Library District and are governed by the Collection Management Gift Policy number D064 as outlined in the policy manual. (Revised 11/10/86) |
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