Approved May 18, 2000, Revised 1/20/05; 9/17/2010; 11/19/2015
Revised completely and approved effective March 16, 2023
Vision Statement:
The vision of the Cumberland County Public Library is: Explore, Connect and Review – Together.
Mission Statement:
Cumberland County Public Library embraces innovative, traditional and transformational approaches that Support, Encourage and Engage our diverse community. The library provides free and equitable access to resources and experiences to all. The library SEEs you!
Goals:
- Support our Community by reducing language barriers, improving digital equity and access to reduce the digital divide, and creating an informed, knowledgeable customer and staff base.
- Engage our Residents by continually updating and improving datasets, identifying populations that are underserved by the library, promoting community engagement and expanding capacity to serve the community through enhanced programs, services and facilities.
- Encourage diversity, equity, inclusion, accessibility and belonging through reviewing all policies and procedures annually, maintaining libraries and vital community hubs that welcome, accept and include all residents and visitors and fostering a diverse, visionary, accountable and collaborative staff environment.
Collection Development Policy
Definitions:
“Materials” is used for all forms of media and has the widest possible inclusion.
“Selection” refers to the decision to add a given item to the collection. It does not refer to guidance or assisting a library user.
“Collection development” refers to the ongoing evaluative process of assessing the materials available for purchase and in making the decisions, first, on their inclusion and, second, on their retention if they are added.
Responsibility for Materials Selection:
Final responsibility for selection lies with the Board of Library Trustees. However, the Board delegates to the Director authority to interpret and guide the application of the policy in making day-to-day selections. The Director will authorize other staff to apply this policy in building collections.
Criteria of Selection:
No item in a library collection can be indisputably accepted or rejected by any established given guide or standard. However, certain basic principles can be applied as guidelines. Every item must meet one or more of the following criteria as are applicable to its inclusion in the collection:
- Timeliness and permanence of the materials.
- Quality of writing, design, illustrations or production.
- Established authority and reputation of an author, creator or publisher.
- Relevance to community needs.
- Potential and/or known demand for the material.
- Price, condition, availability and suitability of format and ease of use.
- Extent to which an item supplements, expands on or supports the existing collection, rather than duplicates it.
- Suitability of subject, style and level for the intended audience.
- Favorable reviews in professionally recognized sources.
- Local significance of the topic, author or creator of the work.
Selection Tools:
Selection of materials is done from book reviews in professional library and popular journals and magazines, subject bibliographies, annual lists of recommended titles, publishers' catalogs, customer requests and salespeople for specific materials. The standard selection tools used by librarians include the following: Library Journal, Booklist, Publishers Weekly, School Library Journal, Horn Book, VOYA, Video Librarian and select online review sources.
Use of Library Materials:
The library recognizes that many materials are controversial and that any given item may offend some library users.
As ours is a free society, the Library will provide access to information in all fields and from all points of view. The Library, in collecting and acquiring publications and related materials representing the widest diversity of views, will include items which reflect controversial, unorthodox or even unpopular ideas. The Library, the Library Board and Library personnel will not, either directly or indirectly, ban or censor any material. The presence of an item in the Library does not indicate any endorsement of its content by the Library.
The Library subscribes to and has adopted the American Library Association’s Bill of Rights, Freedom to Read Statement and Freedom to View Statement. These are included in this Policy.
The Library acknowledges that the responsibility for the reading, listening and viewing of library materials by children rests with their parents or legal guardians. Selection will not be inhibited by the possibility that materials may inadvertently come into the possession of children.
Guidelines for Selection:
- The library shall not needlessly duplicate functions and materials found in other libraries in Cumberland County.
- Text books and curriculum-related materials for educational institutions in the area are provided where the materials also serve the general public or where they provide information not otherwise available. The library is particularly aware of the needs of pre-school children who are unserved in a formal way for their collection interests except by the public library. Meeting their needs constitutes an educational preparation before their years in school.
- The library acknowledges a particular interest in local and state history; therefore, it will take a broad view of works by and about North Carolina. However, the library is not under any obligation to add to its collections everything about North Carolina or produced by authors, printers or publishers with North Carolina connections.
Maintaining the Collections:
Selection is only one aspect of collection development. Rigorous attention must be given to assessing needs for adding, replacing and discarding materials in every collection. These responsibilities are a regular part of all librarians’ duties.
Copies of titles must be added based on heavy use determined by demand and data on use of the copies available.
Withdrawals are required for items that are worn, outdated or no longer in demand. Replacement or substitution of these materials, as well as damaged items, reintroduces the selection process.
Gifts:
The library accepts gifts of materials but reserves the right to evaluate and dispose of them in accordance with the criteria applied to purchased materials. Gifts that do not accord with the library’s objectives and policies will be given to the Friends of the Cumberland County Public Library, Inc.
The library accepts cash donations for the purchase of materials in memory or in honor of someone.
Local & State History Room Gifts:
The Local & State History Room of the Cumberland County Public Library accepts gifts that are relevant to and that enhance the quality of the collection. Primary sources of information or indices to these materials are of special interest.
The library reserves the right to evaluate and dispose of gifts in accordance with the criteria applied to materials purchased for the collection. Gifts that are not added to the collection will be offered to area museums specializing in local history. Materials added to the collection become the property of the library and are subject to all policies and procedures for library materials, including circulation and discard policies and procedures.
Materials and Resources:
Fiction
Classic and contemporary literature, popular best sellers and genre fiction make up the fiction collection. Its purpose is both to entertain and enrich human understanding by presenting stories in an imaginative way rather than in a factual manner. Current best sellers are bought in multiple copies.
Nonfiction
The nonfiction collection emphasizes timely, accurate and useful informational materials to support individual, business, government and community interests. It also emphasizes materials that are current and in high demand. Materials are available for all ages and reading levels.
Materials are selected to represent a continuum of opinions and viewpoints when available. Titles with continued value and those of current, accepted authority are part of the library collection. As a new field emerges, the library attempts to respond with timely additions.
While most non-fiction materials are selected for their utility, others are acquired for their capacity to enrich and entertain. Requests from library users are given high priority.
Local & State History Collection
The Local & State History Room collection houses materials in a variety of formats including, but not limited to, books, pamphlets, maps, photographs, periodicals, brochures, newspapers, video recordings, oral histories, city directories, genealogies/family histories, microforms, school yearbooks and some government documents. Special materials and archival collections are maintained only if they can be made available to the general public. The library does not collect artifacts. Only non-book materials that have a direct relationship to the Cumberland County area are included in the collection.
Graphic Novels
Graphic novels are included in all collections based on the content and the intended audience. The collections include original stories, classic adaptations, nonfiction and manga. Items are selected based on professional reviews and popular demand.
Periodicals
Periodicals are selected to provide materials on current issues and for general reading. The library also selects newspapers of local, state and national interest, depending on the place of publication, the breadth of coverage and the degree of fulfillment of reference or recreational needs.
Children's and Teen Materials
Materials are purchased for children from infancy to age 18. The emphasis of selection is on children's recreational and general information needs.
Easy Books – Easy books may be either educational or recreational in intent; they are distinguished by their illustrations, which serve to either supplement, extend or, in the case of wordless books, supplant the text. Concept books, i.e. books that develop a child's understanding of colors, numbers, etc., fall into the easy book category. Board books for babies and toddlers, stressing colorful simple objects, and Beginning Readers are also included in this collection.
Juvenile Fiction – The juvenile fiction collection is designed to meet the needs of the reader now ready to make the transition to shorter chapter books or books with a longer text. An effort is made to include all books that have won literary awards.
Juvenile Nonfiction – The nonfiction collection consists of materials to meet informational, educational and recreational reading needs for preschool through grade six. Because reading levels vary, a few materials at a higher or lower reading level are included.
Teen Fiction – The teen fiction collection contains novels written specifically for youth ages 12-18. Emphasis is on books that widen the boundaries of the adolescent’s thinking, enrich his/her life and help fulfill recreational or emotional needs. Plot, characterization, theme writing style and appropriateness for the teen reader are taken into account. An effort is made to include all books that have won literary awards.
Teen Nonfiction – Teen nonfiction materials are selected to meet the needs of all youth ages 12-18. An effort is made to include all books that have won literary awards. These materials are part of the adult nonfiction collection.
Microforms
The library purchases microforms when materials are too fragile or bulky to retain in the original form and when they are not readily available in digital formats.
Visual Materials
The library acquires and makes available visual materials to serve the general informational, educational and recreational needs of the community. The visual materials collection contains a mix of feature films, including current high interest and classics, nonfiction films including self-help, educational, how-to, travel, etc. and children's films.
Sound Recordings
The collection contains audio books and instructional recordings with an emphasis on popular and high interest subjects and titles.
Digital Resources
Materials in digital formats are selected using the same criteria as their non-digital counterparts. The library recognizes that the technologies of sound, image and information databases continue to evolve. It will monitor and evaluate new formats and measure their practical use by individuals and community organizations.
Reconsideration of Library Materials:
Members of the community who question the placement of a book or other material in the collection may submit a “Citizens Comment on Library Materials” form to the Library Director. This form is available from the Deputy Director. Members who submit comments will receive written responses to their concerns.
Appendices
The Library Board of Trustees for Cumberland County Public Library includes as a part of its statement on materials selection the:
- Library Bill of Rights
- Freedom to Read
- Freedom to View
On February 17, 2011, the Board reconfirmed the inclusion of the most recent versions of the above three statements, which follow.