Request for Reconsideration of Library Materials
The Board of Trustees recognizes the right of individuals and customers to question materials in the Library collection. Any individual or customer may question the appropriateness of a particular item in the collection.
The process of reconsideration requires an individual or customer to submit a completed “Request for Reconsideration of Library Materials” form. The Library’s “Materials Selection Policy” contains the guidelines used by the staff in selecting materials for the collection. When making a “Request for Reconsideration” please review the Materials Selection Policy below. A “Request” will be reviewed in the context of the staff’s adherence to this policy and our response will reference this policy.
The completed form must be given to the Branch Manager and/or the Director in person, by e-mail, or via online form. The Director, the Branch Manager, and other staff as designated by the Director will review the Request and determine the appropriate response. If the individual or customer is not satisfied with the Director’s response, the complainant may request to be placed on the agenda of the Board’s next regular meeting to express his/her position.
REQUEST FOR RECONSIDERATION OF LIBRARY MATERIALS FORM PRINT VERSION ONLINE VERSION
MATERIALS SELECTION POLICY (Approved by the Board July 2021)
The Library selects, acquires, and provides free and open access to appropriate materials regardless of format. As technology advances and our community changes and develops, the Library will be both a physical resource and a “virtual” presence in the lives of each and every resident. The Library strives to meet the current requirements of the community and to anticipate future needs.
Guiding Principles of the Materials Selection Process
1. Underlying the Library’s materials selection process are principles found in the American Library Association’s Library Bill of Rights, the Freedom to Read Statement, and the Freedom to View Statement.
2. The Library Board and staff will not, either directly or indirectly, ban or censor any material.
3. The presence or availability of an item or information in the Library or through its information technology network is not an endorsement of its content by the Library Board or staff.
4. The Library Board and staff recognizes that while individuals are free to reject for themselves materials of which they do not approve, they cannot restrict the freedom of others to read, listen, and view materials selected by the staff within any guideline set forth by the Library.
5. The Library has a responsibility in its selection of materials to be inclusive, equitable, and to represent the widest possible diversity of views.
6. Each type of material will be considered in terms of its own kind of excellence and for whom it is intended. There is no single standard that can be applied in all cases. Some materials may be judged primarily in terms of artistic merit, scholarship, or their value as human documents. Other materials are selected to satisfy the recreational and entertainment needs of the community.
Collection Responsibility
1. The overall responsibility for the collection rests with the Library’s Board.
2. The Director is delegated the final responsibility by the Board for the selection and retention of all materials at all locations.
3. The Director has the authority to delegate the duties of selecting and retaining all materials to designated staff based on what will best serve the needs of the community, a specific branch, and the system.
Objectives of the Library’s Collections
1. To promote literacy and offer support for lifelong learning for all ages.
2. To help customers know more about themselves, their world, and to function effectively as members of society.
3. To provide access to a variety of opinions on matters of current interest and encourage freedom of expression.
4. To support educational, civic, and cultural activities within the community and to provide links to community resources and government agencies.
5. To encourage continuous learning and to supplement formal study.
6. To support career advancement, job-related skills, and employment resources.
7. To provide a collection of resources in a variety of formats that meet the desires and needs of the community.
8. To maintain a virtual collection of resources that is accessible twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week.
9. To provide materials that entertain and enhance the customer’s enjoyment of life.
Materials Selection Is Based on One or More of These Criteria
1. Customer recommendation.
2. Relevance to interests and needs of the community.
3. Anticipated demand.
4. Attention of critics, reviewers, media, and the public.
5. A positive review in at least one professional review journal.
6. Suitability of physical form for use by the Library’s customers.
7. Intended use of the item, such as a workbook, test preparation, coloring, punch out models, etc.
8. The item’s physical construction, such as materials used, binding, moving parts (pop-ups, pull tabs, flaps, etc.), inserts, and supplemental materials (CD, 3-D glasses, toy, etc.).
9. The material format and the technical quality of the production, especially in relation to audio-visual, digital, electronic, and other non-print formats.
10. Local significance of the author, storyline, or subject.
11. Relevance to the existing collection’s strengths and weaknesses.
12. Current or historical significance of the author, storyline, or subject.
13. Reputation and/or significance of the author/artist and publisher/producer.
14. Relevance to the experiences and contributions of diverse populations.
15. Price and availability in relation to the Library materials budget.
16. Organization and ease of use; clarity, accuracy, and logic of presentation.
17. Representation of an important movement, genre, or national, state, or local trend.
18. Artistic presentation or experimentation.
19. The entirety of the work, not on isolated illustrations, passages, or sections.