Collection Development Policy

The Salinas Public Library is a public resource that seeks to support people who visit, work, learn, and live in the City of Salinas. With a collection of items and materials crafted to promote education and exploration, the Library serves as a center for voluntary inquiry and dissemination of information and ideas, so that library users may become better contributors to their community and enjoy the privilege of unfettered access to knowledge and ideas. The Salinas Public Library upholds the principles of the Library Bill of Rights, the Freedom to Read Statement, the Freedom to View Statement, and Access to Digital Resources and Services, as endorsed by the American Library Association, and stands by the right of the public to receive access to a range of social, political, aesthetic, moral, and other ideas and experiences.

This policy is intended to serve as a guide for library staff in the management of the Collection and to inform the public of the basis of the library’s collection development practices, providing guidelines for the evaluation, selection, development, and deselection of the Salinas Public Library’s collection of print and non-print materials and items.

This policy will be periodically evaluated and revised to reflect new and evolving Salinas Public Library services.

Definitions

1. In this policy, any word or expression mentioned hereinafter has its statutory meaning unless otherwise specified, and:

a. “Library” refers to the Salinas Public Library, inclusive of its service points, and staff members.

b. “Collection” refers to the items and materials held by the Salinas Public Library both as a whole and as sub-collections.

Responsibility

2. Responsibility for the development and maintenance of the Collection rests with the Library and Community Services Director.

3. The Library and Community Services Director may delegate, to library staff, the authority to interpret and apply the Collection Development Policy in the selection, deselection, and maintenance of the Library’s Collection and materials held as part.

Selection Criteria

4. The Library will develop a Collection that:

a. meets the broad and diverse interests of the community;

b. respects both the library’s autonomy and the specific needs of the community;

c. provides interest, information, and enlightenment for all people;

d. provides diverse points of view in the Collection as a whole, and is representative of the diversity of the Salinas community, without discrimination; and

e. represent all sides of a given issue or topic, without bias.

5. Selection of material for the Collection, including materials that are self-published, is evaluated according to one or more of the following criteria:

a. importance of the subject matter;

b. timeliness, authority, and accuracy of information;

c. literary merit, award, or critical acclaim;

d. significance of the author or publisher;

e. cost and value of the material to the Collection;

f. popular interest or demand;

g. availability of the material in other format and/or at other libraries within the service area;

h. quality of content and suitability of physical treatment/durability for use in a public library; and

i. suitability of literary style for intended audience and/or subject.

6. Materials selected for the Collection are an expression of the Library’s support of intellectual freedom, not an endorsement of a particular point of view.

7. The Library may use third-party tools and employ outside organizations or groups to assist in the selection of materials for the Collection.

8. Suggestions and requests for additions to the Collection are welcomed from residents of the City of Salinas, if the item - in the opinion of library staff - meets the selection criteria.

9. If in cases that the Library is limited by physical space and/or funding, library staff will prioritize the selection and deselection of materials based upon the selection criteria.

Distribution of Collection

10. Each service point of the Library serves a specific geographic area in the city, which at times may serve a portion of our community that has needs or wants of the Collection not found in other areas. To address this, the Library may:

a. develop a Collection unique to a single service point, and

b. move materials between service points.

Maintenance of Collection

11. The Collection is a changing entity. Maintenance of the Collection is a necessary and ongoing part of ensuring a balanced and relevant Collection that serves the community in balance with other services provided by the Library such as publicly accessible computers, meeting spaces, and more.

12. Maintenance of the Collection includes:

a. the mending of items that are damaged;

b. the replacement of items that are damaged beyond the ability to mend; and

c. de-selection of materials.

13. The deselection of materials is done solely based on usage, condition, the release and selection of an updated version or edition, and/or inaccuracy.

14. Deselected materials may be sold to the Library’s benefit, donated, or disposed of.

Non-Traditional Library Materials

15. The Library may expand the Collection beyond what is traditionally considered library materials, such as books and magazines, to bring new offerings to library users. These non-traditional items include, but are not limited to, digital library materials such as eBooks, technology devices and sporting equipment.

16. The eligibility of library users to use and check-out non-traditional library materials may be limited by third party providers, or by the Library in acknowledgement of the higher value of the item(s), lower availability, and/or risk of physical injury.

Gifts and Donations

17. The Library will accept monetary gifts and gifts of materials and items if in provision of direct benefit to the Library; for example, growing the Library’s Collection and improving the Library’s physical spaces.

18. All self-published materials provided to the Library are considered a donated gift.

19. The Library will provide a donation receipt for reasons of tax purposes, if requested by the donor. If the donor requests a donation receipt in relation to a non-monetary gift, the appraisal of the gift is the responsibility of the donor.

20. If the donor has a specific request in relation to the gift; for example, how it is used, the donor must provide this request in writing to the Library. The Library and Community Services Director, or designate, will review the request and approve or reject the gift, based on the Library’s ability to accommodate the request associated with the gift.

21. All items donated to the Library become the property of the Library upon donation and will not be returned to the donor.

22. It is by the sole determination of the Library if a donated material is added to the Collection, donated elsewhere, sold for financial benefit of the Library, or disposed of.

Controversial Materials

23. The addition and presence of materials dealing with controversial views or subjects in the Collection are considered based on the entirety of work, not on isolated passages or sections.

24. Materials will not be labelled, except in indication of genre or area of the Collection.

25. Age restrictions will not be placed on print materials, audiovisual materials, and electronic copies of print materials.

26. Materials will not be sequestered from open public access, except to protect against damage or theft, or for means of processing a material for addition or return to a publicly accessible location within the Library.

27. Library users may come across materials in the collection that detail topics or points of view that they do not agree with, and/or find offensive. Each library user is expected to determine the appropriateness of the materials they select for themselves, and the mere presence of the materials in the Library is not grounds for deselection from the Collection, or sequestration.

28. Parents, and/or legal guardians, have the responsibility for determining their minor children’s choice of materials, appropriateness of materials for their minor children, and access to the Library. The Library and its staff do not stand “in loco parentis.”

Material Reconsideration Process

29. If an individual objects to an item in the Collection, a Request for Material Reconsideration Form must be filled out by the individual and submitted to the Library and Community Services Director.

a. A separate Request for Material Reconsideration Form must be filled out for each item.

b. Request for Material Reconsideration Forms will only be accepted by Salinas Public Library cardholders with active library accounts at the time the request is submitted.

c. The Library will only address a request to reconsider a title once every three years.

30. The Library and Community Services Director will respond to all requests for reconsideration within 60- Days of submission. Responses will be based upon the Collection Development Policy and are final.

31. No materials will be removed from the Collection until the review process is complete.