| MATERIAL SELECTION POLICY |
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| GOALS AND OBJECTIVES |
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It is the goal of the Great Bend Public Library to obtain the maximum use of its collection by the greatest number of persons. |
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The objectives of the Great Bend Public Library are to select, organize, preserve, and make freely available to the people of the library service area both printed and other materials which will assist them to: |
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Educate themselves continually |
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Keep pace with progress in all fields of knowledge |
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Become better members of home and community |
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Develop their creative and spiritual capacities |
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Appreciate works of art and literature |
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Make such use of leisure time as will promote personal and social well being |
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People for whom materials are being purchased |
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The services of Great Bend Public Library are for people of all age groups, educational levels, abilities and interests. Therefore, it is the policy of the Great Bend Public Library to select materials for its collection for all types and levels of patrons. |
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| RESPONSIBILITY AND AUTHORITY |
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The final responsibility for the selection of materials at Great Bend Public Library rests with the library director, assisted by staff members, operating within the framework of policies adopted by the library board of directors. Suggestions from library patrons are always welcome and will be given serious consideration. Whenever possible, those people in the community who have special education or talents in a specific area may be utilized as subject consultants in the choice of library materials. |
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It is impossible for a librarian with trained judgement, knowledge of the library's resources and the requirements of local library patrons, to review personally all materials before they are added to the collection. Therefore the staff makes skilled use of selection aids such as basic general lists, current general lists, special bibliographies for reference books and particular subject materials, and professional reviewing journals. While reviews are a major source of information about new books, they are not followed blindly. No one publication is relied upon exclusively; furthermore, the critical opinions of reviewers are checked against each other. |
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| INTERLIBRARY COOPERATION AND INTERDEPENDENCY |
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Through membership in the Central Kansas Library System, the Great Bend Public Library has access to many books through interlibrary loan. Interlibrary loan, while not designed to substitute for providing books in constant demand, is used by the Great Bend Public Library to provide those books which cannot be held by the library for reasons of space and budget. |
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It is the policy of the Great Bend Public Library to cooperate with, but not perform the function of, the school library community. The library's collection always seeks to complement and supplement, but never to duplicate, the necessary materials of the school libraries. |
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The Great Bend Public Library cooperates with the Barton County Community College Library to ensure the fullest measure of complementary collection development. |
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| BASIC SELECTION CRITERIA |
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The chief points considered in the selection of materials for the library are: |
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1. Permanence of timely value |
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2. Accuracy of information |
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3. Authoritative and effective presentation |
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4. Literary quality |
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5. Social significance |
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6. Objectivity |
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7. Balance of subject areas |
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8. Present and future needs of the community |
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9. Price and availability |
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10. Physical format |
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Contemporary and popular authors of book materials are considered, as well as those authors who have demonstrated enduring worth. However, titles are selected on the basis of the content as a whole and without regard to the personal history of the author. |
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The library asserts its right and duty to keep on its shelves a representative selection of materials on all subjects of interest to its patrons which are not prohibited specifically by law, including materials on all sides of controversial issues. The library will not emphasize one subject at the expense of another, or one side of a subject without regard to the other side. It will attempt to provide the important materials on all sides and subjects within the limitations of space and budget. |
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The library will not indicate, through use of labels or other devices, particular philosophies or moral situations expressed in library materials. To do so is to establish a judgement in the library patron's mind before the patron has had the opportunity to examine the material personally. |
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| FACTUAL MATERIALS |
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It is common knowledge that it is impossible to classify all fields of knowledge represented in library materials, to define them, and to establish a standard by which each material may be indisputably accepted or rejected. |
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To preserve valuable human expression and/or documents, it is necessary to judge factual materials on more than their literary merits and scholarship. Penetrating, impartial, and critical judgement must include: |
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1. Degree of accomplishment of purpose |
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2. Authority and competence of the author |
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3. Comprehensiveness in breadth and scope |
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4. Sincerity and fundamental objectivity |
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5. Readability/Usability |
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6. Potential usefulness |
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7. Relation to existing collection |
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8. Importance as a record of the times |
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9. Relative importance in comparison with other materials on the subject |
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10. New and worthwhile information to the library |
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11. Availability of contents, indexes, bibliographic material |
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New editions are always considered, but sometimes very little new material is offered. Caution is exercised when considering these editions to ensure adequate new material to make the purchase worthwhile. |
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Reprints of older or out-of-date works are purchased subject to the basic criteria of good material selection. |
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Memorial and/or commemorative editions are purchased only when they will add notably to the stature of the library collection or when they are of local interest. |
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Information on CD-ROM (Compact Disk Read-Only Memory) is an acceptable format, especially when no other formats are available, or the cost of the other formats make the material too expensive to purchase. Information databases and encyclopedias lend themselves well to CD-ROMS. Materials in a CD-ROM format will be purchased when they meet general criteria of this policy. |
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Subscriptions to online databases will be considered for purchase by the library. The library director and the reference staff should evaluate the use of any online database subscription each year. |
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| MATERIALS FOR LEISURE |
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Leisure materials may be either fact or fiction. These are the criteria for the selection of leisure materials: |
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1. Artistic expression |
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2. Originality and imagination |
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3. Honesty of presentation |
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4. Physical construction |
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5. Interesting presentation/style |
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6. Good characterization |
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7. Timeliness |
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Best sellers are considered on individual merits. |
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Popular authors are considered on the merits of the individual work. |
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Popular video materials are considered on the merits of the individual work. |
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| SPECIAL COLLECTIONS |
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Books of state history are acquired, but no attempt is made to have an historically comprehensive Kansas collection. |
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The library has an absolute responsibility to collect and preserve materials of significance to local and regional history. The library will purchase, using the criteria of this material selection policy, any books on local history with the seventeen counties of the Central Kansas Library System (Barton, Cloud, Ellis, Ellsworth, Jewell, Lincoln, Mitchell, Osborne, Ottawa, Pawnee, Phillips, Republic, Rooks, Rush, Russell, Saline and Smith counties). The library will cooperate with other libraries that maintain local history collections in Kansas. |
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The library will collect and preserve materials of genealogical significance for a general audience. The library will accept as gifts, but will not purchase, materials that pertain to a single family. |
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| CHILDREN'S BOOKS |
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Book selection for children presents a few special problems. The basic policy of book selection for children is to choose the best new books and replace and duplicate only those older titles which are considered important. The selection includes books for recreational reading, inspirational books of lasting value, and books of information covering a wide range of knowledge that will satisfy the child's natural curiosity and widen his interests. Each book is judged on its own merits. It is considered also in relation to the collection as a whole and in relation to the children for whom it is intended. Special attention must be paid to the illustrations and the physical qualities (binding, paper, etc.). Sizes of print and vocabulary development are especially important to consider in children's books for the very young. |
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| GIFTS |
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The Library has been favored by public-spirited citizens as a beneficiary of gifts. Since such additions to our revenues assist in carrying out our purposes, they are always encouraged and welcomed. |
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| Gifts of money |
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Tax revenues are the normal source of income for all public libraries. Gifts and endowments are encouraged to enrich and expend library programs. Such gifts are tax deductible. |
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Gifts of books and other materials |
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Gift materials donated to the library's collection are screened and must meet the same standards and high selection criteria as all purchased material. Therefore, the Library's acceptance of a gift is not a guarantee that such gift will be processed into the regular collection and made available to the public. Such gifts as are found acceptable are cataloged and placed in their regular places on the shelves where they are most useful, rather than in a special gift collection. Special bookplates are inserted to identify gifts and memorials when requested. |
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By accepting and using such gifts, the Library assumes no special obligations to the donors. Gifts that do not meet the Library's selection criteria are disposed of in whatever ways the Library sees fit. |
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Donated periodicals (except for periodicals published by agencies of the Kansas State government) shall be shelved separately from periodicals for which the library paid a subscription fee. Donated periodicals will not be saved or stored. They will be discarded after one month or when the next issue is placed on the shelf. If it is determined that a donated periodical should not be shelved, the Director will report to the board the title of the periodical that was not shelved and why it was not shelved. |
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The Library does not accept for permanent deposit materials that are not given as outright gifts. |
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| WITHDRAWALS |
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In order to maintain a vital, interesting, and usable collection, the Great Bend Public Library continually removes from its collection those items which, through usage or the passage of time, are no longer suitable for use or are no longer necessary. The following criteria will be used when considering material for withdrawal: |
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Materials of no use to the library |
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Three to five years without circulating, the librarian's knowledge that it has not been used in the library for reference purposes, and that it is not a standard title would probably warrant discarding. Even classics, if unused because of unattractive appearance, should be replaced with better editions. |
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Materials of poor content |
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| Such material as outdated information (applies especially in the sciences, geography, technology, and travel), mediocrity of writing—bad structure, poor vocabulary, etc., false information, unused volumes of sets, repetitious series (particularly in the children's field), and superseded editions. Unneeded duplicate titles of fiction and non-fiction, as well as superfluous materials in subject fields in which the community has little interest, will also be removed. |
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Books of very poor quality |
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Badly bound and printed editions, small print, cramped margins, poor illustrations, soft pulpy paper through which the print shows; worn-out books having yellow, brittle paper, mutilated pages, missing pages, grayed bindings, broken backs, dingy or dirty covers; and sets whose antiquated appearance discourages use will also be removed. |
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AUTHORITY TO WITHDRAW MATERIALS |
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| It shall be the responsibility of the library director and those who have been delegated materials selection responsibilities, to use their own knowledge of library materials to make the decision to remove materials from the shelves and dispose of them in a suitable manner. |
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