Philosophy
The Elyria Public Library System is committed to providing free and equal access to a diverse collection of print, non-print and electronic information resources.
The Elyria Public Library System has the responsibility to select, organize, preserve and make freely available to the people of the community as much of these information resources as is reasonably possible within the limitations of space and financial resources it has available.
Library Roles
The Elyria Public Library System is committed to stimulating and supporting the educational, intellectual, economic, social, and cultural life of each person in the community it serves. The Library, with community input, has identified roles to guide the Library in making decisions on the print and non-print materials selected, the services provided and programs offered.
The Library serves as:
A reference Library to meet daily information needs of all residents.
A popular materials Library providing informative and stimulating materials, objects, and programming for persons of all ages.
A provider of useful materials, activities, and programming to promote childhood learning, and family literacy.
An educational support center to provide supplemental materials and information resources to students of all ages in their pursuit of learning.
Purpose
The Elyria Public Library System has developed this collection development policy to guide it in its selection of print and non-print materials. These guidelines assist the Library in providing a collection of information resources that is current, balanced, and representative of all fields of knowledge. The policy provides the Library with the means to effectively incorporate the roles it has identified as important to meeting the information needs of the community into the collection development process.
A policy cannot replace the educated judgment of Library staff, but stating goals and criteria will assist them in choosing from a vast array of available materials.
The Library’s major goals in materials selection are:
The advancement of knowledge
The education and enlightenment of the people of the community
The provision of recreational reading, viewing, and listening
Basic to the policy is the Library Bill of Rights as adopted by the American Library Association which states, in part:
“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. 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.”
The Collection Development Committee is responsible for the development of this policy and for periodic review and revision. The ultimate responsibility for materials selection decisions lies with the Director. The day-to-day activity of making selections lies with the professional staff of the Library operating from within the service areas for children, young adults, and adults. Staff members and the public may recommend materials for consideration.
Providing a Balanced Collection
The Library has a responsibility to provide materials that are well-balanced, authoritative, and up-to-date. Materials for all ages and in any format that contain frank treatments of certain situations, language, or illustrations which may be objectionable to some individuals are included if they meet the general selection criteria. A balanced collection reflects a diversity of materials, not necessarily an equality of numbers. Materials are chosen on the basis of content as a whole regardless of the origin, background, or views of those contributing to their creation. Each work must be judged on its own merit, considering the audience for whom it is intended.
General Selection Criteria
In order to afford citizens an understanding of the world in which they live, the Library will provide materials that present widely diverse points of view, including those which may be controversial or unorthodox.
The Library will provide materials of excellence and lasting value. ephemeral, topical materials will also be added.
An attractive, useful collection will be maintained through a continual discarding (i.e., weeding) and replacement process.
The Library will include in its collection appropriate titles listed in bibliographies of notable books, library materials, and electronic resources.
Non-book materials, including electronic resources, will be added and incorporated into the collection as needed.
Selection of materials is influenced by the following factors:
Relevance to community interests and needs
Current and historical significance
Attention by critics, reviewers, and the general public
Number and nature of requests from the public
The need of additional or duplicate materials in the existing collection
Physical limitations of the building
Budgetary considerations
General commercial availability of library materials
Suitability of formats of the material for library purposes (the Library will not acquire textbooks or other curriculum-related materials except as such materials also serve the general public).
General Statements
Responsibility for selection is determined by the Director, Deputy Director and Collection Resources Manager who delegate the authority and responsibility for materials selection and management to the appropriate department managers.
The Library recognizes that many library materials are controversial and that any given item may offend some patrons. Selections will not be made on the basis of any anticipated approval or disapproval, but solely on the merits of the work in relation to the building of the collection and to serving the interests of readers/viewers/listeners.
Library materials will not be marked or identified to show approval or disapproval of the contents, and no book or other item will be sequestered, except for the express purpose of protecting it from injury or theft. Selection of any material should not be construed as an endorsement by the Library of the views contained therein.
The Library staff does not serve in loco parentis. Decisions concerning children’s use of specific library materials and/or electronic resources are the responsibility of their own parents or guardians. Selection will not be inhibited by the possibility that materials may inadvertently come into possession of minor children.
While anyone is personally free to reject library materials or electronic resources of which they do not approve, they cannot extend censorship to restrict the freedom of others to read, view, or listen. We defend the principles of intellectual freedom, and declare that whenever censorship is involved, no book, library material, or electronic resource shall be removed from the Library save under the orders of a court of competent jurisdiction.
Collection Management
Replacements
Titles withdrawn because of loss, damage, or poor condition are considered for replacement. Classics are replaced whenever possible. The same considerations applied in original selection also apply to replacements, and, in addition, these other factors must be considered: availability of newer and better materials in the field; the value of the individual title, whether for literary quality, subject appeal or authority and importance of the author; popularity of the title or subject; the extent of the present library collection on the subject; the historical value of the material; and many titles cannot be replaced through regular channels. Efforts are made to replace important out of print materials through second-hand or out of print dealers. Each Branch or Department is responsible for replacement decisions for its collection.
Memorial Books
The Library welcomes monetary gifts for the purchase of books. Specific particular subject fields enjoyed by the person honored or memorialized will be considered.
Gift Books
The Elyria Public Library System accepts gifts of books and other library materials for the collection. All gifts are evaluated for appropriateness, and acceptable items are added to the collection. Items not appropriate for the collection are given to the Friends of the Library and sold at their book sale.
Acceptable gift items include:
Current popular fiction and nonfiction
Classics in good condition
Children’s books in good condition
Paperbacks
Audio books
Videos and DVD’s
Unacceptable items include:
Encyclopedias
Textbooks
Computer books (older than three (3) years)
Reader’s Digest condensed books
Magazines
Computer software
Books older than ten (10) years
Any materials that are damaged, missing parts, yellowed, or musty
Gifts are accepted to subject to the following limitations:
The Library retains unconditional ownership of the gift.
The Library makes the final decision on its own use or other disposition of the gift.
The Library reserves the right to decide on conditions of display, housing, and access to the materials.
The Library does not commit itself to accepting all donations of materials.
Yearbooks
Local area high school yearbooks covering the last 10-15 years are kept in a locked case in the Local History and Genealogy Room at the Central Library. These can be viewed two (2) at a time with the submission of a valid driver’s license or Ohio I.D. to the Reference Librarian. The license will be returned when the yearbooks are returned to the librarian.
Deselection
In order to maintain a library collection that is up-to-date, it is necessary to continually re-evaluate the usefulness of materials previously added to the collection. The following criteria are taken into consideration when weeding materials:
Unacceptable physical condition
Items that are worn out
Books whose pages are torn, soiled, or missing
Books with broken spines, torn covers, or frayed bindings
Items that are mildewed, stained, or smelly
No longer useful or appropriate to the collection
Items with outdated, obsolete, or inaccurate information
Lack of demand
Unnecessary duplication
Items that have lost their current popularity may be placed in storage or withdrawn
Topics or works no longer within collection priorities
Subjects and works that are no longer relevant
Challenged Materials
A patron critical of materials in the Library’s collection can record their complaint on a Request for Reconsideration of Library Materials form. This form must be signed by the individual challenging the item. The item will be reviewed by the Director in consultation with the committee, as per the selection criteria; an appropriate reply will be sent to the individual. If the person is not satisfied, he/she may request that the item be reviewed by the Board of Library Trustees, whose decision is final.
(Approved by the Board of Trustees on December 9, 2002, amended by the Board of Trustees on October 8, 2007, amended by the Board of Trustees on February 13, 2012, amended by the Board of Trustees on November 14, 2022)