Bear Lake County Library Collection Development Policy
This policy provides the framework for development and maintenance of our physical collection in support our libraries mission of providing our best service to our community. This policy covers a variety of smaller collections of differing formats which may include, books, audiobooks, periodicals, and visual resources. We choose resources to reflect a broad spectrum of needs, viewpoints, and reader interests, with the understanding that individual Bear Lakers make their own choices as to what they access based on individual interests and needs. The Bear Lake County Library supports the rights and responsibilities of parents or guardians to choose appropriate items for their own minor children. The Bear Lake County Library adheres to the American Library Association Library Bill of Rights, the Freedom to Read Statement, and the Freedom to View Statement and considers all materials in the collection protected by the First Amendment of the United States Constitution. The Bear Lake County Library neither approves nor disapproves of the views expressed in materials included in the collection.
Selection and Criteria:
The Bear Lake County Library seeks to meet the learning and reading needs of a diverse community population representing a variety of backgrounds and points of view. The collection is intended for varying ages and is provided to meet residents’ educational, business, and recreational reading needs. Ultimate responsibility for materials in the collection rests with the Board of Trustees: day-to-day work of selection, evaluation, and maintenance is the responsibility of the Director or designated purchaser. The Director will continually assess the collections using the approved policies.
The general criteria for selection listed below applies to the selection of all materials. Not all titles or
collections will meet all the criteria listed below, but will fall into at least one of these categories:
- Accuracy and timeliness of content
- Availability of individual and series titles
- Cost and available funding
- Favorable professional reviews
- Local or regional interest
- Public demand, interest, or need
- Relation to existing collections
- Reputation/qualification of author or publisher
Suggestions for purchases are encouraged to ensure the collection meets the needs of the community. Such recommendations will be given serious consideration in accordance with the criteria used in making selection decisions.
Access:
Efforts will be made to ensure easiest access for all residents, through our library’s individual collections and/or statewide access when possible.
Collection Maintenance:
Numerous factors determine the nature of collection maintenance. Items that are obsolete, unused, outdated, or are unnecessary duplicates may be removed. The decision to replace items will depend on several factors, including:
- Current number of holds
- Format or content obsolescence
- Placement in a series
- Replacement cost
- Total number of circulations
- Total number of holds
Donations:
Monetary donations, without imposed conditions, will be accepted and purchased resources will follow the selection and maintenance criteria in the document. Donations of physical materials will also follow the selection and maintenance criteria in the document. All donations become property of the library and may be disposed of as the library sees fit. The library does not appraise donated materials.
The library reserves the right to designate any materials for restricted use of special handling, specifying that an item be for reference only, for placement on closed stacks, rather than open shelving, or as seven-day material. This does not mean that material is unavailable to the public, but it may be non-circulating.