COLLECTION DEVELOPMENT POLICY

Adopted by Spokane Public Library Board of Trustees on October 16, 2018

Spokane Public Library is a free, urban public library providing up to date and useful materials that represent different points of view for educational, informational and recreational use by the citizens of the city. It is the primary objective of the Library to provide and organize materials for citizens from infancy through maturity, making available curated materials that will meet the needs and interests of the city residents of Spokane. The Library is sensitive to all interests and provides a range of viewpoints. As a community of learning, we believe in equitable access to information, continuous learning, exploring new ideas, fostering creativity, and balanced, relevant and responsive collections.

Purpose

Spokane Public Library provides unrestricted access to information along with programs and resources to satisfy a community of learning. This curated collection will enrich our community’s quality of life and enjoyment. The purpose of this document is to establish the rules by which the Library develops its collections.

Objectives

• To inspire a community of learners by providing free resources and materials which inform, educate, entertain and enrich the community 
• To include works of enduring value as well as those timely materials on current issues
• To select materials based on community needs and interests
• To supplement the physical collection with digital access and interlibrary loan
• To provide opportunities for personal enrichment by helping people learn new skills and improve literacy
• To increase social awareness and community involvement
• To preserve and encourage the free expression of ideas essential to an informed citizenry 
• Provide community groups and businesses with cutting edge resources to meet their goals

Selection Guidelines

In selecting materials, library staff will use professional resources, metrics, judgement, knowledge and experience to select materials.

The following guidelines inform selection decisions:

• Public appeal and/or demand
• Accuracy, timeliness, format durability and ease of use
• Cultural significance including literary merit, artistic quality, originality and creativity
• Diversity of viewpoint
• Relevance to the present and potential needs of the community 
• Current interest in subject matter
• Local interest in subject or author
• Circulation statistics 
• Limits of budget and space
• Price and availability
• Professional and special materials, such as legal, medical and religious works, are purchased if they are of general interest.
• The Library does not purchase textbooks unless they provide the best or only source of information on a subject or to complement an existing area with another perspective.
• Periodicals are added to the collection on the basis of relevance and community interest.
• Audiovisual material with consideration to customer demand, budget constraints and reviews
• All works by an individual author may not be considered for purchase 
• All criteria need not be met for consideration
• Held by peer libraries

Scope of the Collection

The Library provides materials and services that reflect the diverse educational, informational and recreational needs of its users. In so doing, the Library provides access to content through print, multimedia and technology. The Library recognizes that content and medium should be suitably matched and that library customers have different learning styles and preferences for how they receive information. Therefore, Spokane Public Library provides materials in a variety of formats, including, when appropriate:

• Print – such as hardcovers, paperbacks, magazines, and newspapers 
• Non-print – such as audio and visual formats
• Digital resources – such as online databases, online learning, digital books, recordings, streaming content historical archives and images 
• Equipment – such as computing devices, outdoor equipment, hobby hardware, musical instruments

Children’s Collection and Young Adult Collection

The Children’s collection provides developmentally appropriate materials that meet the informational and recreational needs of children ages birth through twelve.

The Children’s Collection maintains a collection that is balanced, relevant, and of appropriate size, quality, and diversity to suit the needs of the citizens. To ensure that all parts of the collection are appropriate and well-chosen, professional staff review purchases. Some materials in the Children’s Collection might not be considered appropriate by all adults for all children. While some books are too mature for one child, other children may be ready for them. Only each child and their parent or caregiver can decide what material is suitable for that child to read.

The Young Adult collection provides developmentally appropriate materials that meet the informational and recreational needs of children ages twelve through eighteen. The Young Adult Collection maintains a collection that is balanced, relevant, and of appropriate size, quality, and diversity to suit the needs of the citizens. To ensure that all parts of the collection are appropriate and well-chosen, professional staff review purchases. Some materials in the Young Adult Collection might not be considered appropriate by all adults for all teens. While some books are too mature for one teen, other teens may be ready for them. Only each teen and their parent or caregiver can decide what material is suitable for that teen to read.

Local authors

Titles by local authors that are published by mainstream publishers or self-published and fit the selection guidelines may be considered for purchase.

Responsibility

Final responsibility and authority for selection rests with the Executive Director, who operates within the framework established by the Library Board of Trustees. Oversight of the collection via an organized structure for planning, budgeting, selecting and managing materials rest with the Support Services Director.

Collection maintenance

In order to provide the best service to our community the collection is regularly evaluated. To keep the collection fresh and relevant the Library uses the following criteria for withdrawal from the collection. 

• Items are worn, stained or damaged beyond repair
• Items are out of date, contain inaccurate data or are not historically significant
• New, more current or more comprehensive resources are available 
• Duplication
• Low circulation
• Space considerations

Currently useful items withdrawn by reason of condition, loss or damage will be considered for replacement.

Customer suggestions

Suggestions are welcome and we will consider all requests from Spokane residents using the same selection criteria that we use for the collection. If an item is not purchased we will attempt to obtain the item via Interlibrary Loan for Spokane residents. As we do not interlibrary loan DVDs or music CDs, we would seek access through online sources such as Freegal, hoopla or Kanopy.

Controversial materials and Intellectual Freedom

Spokane Public Library does not promote particular beliefs or views. The Library provides materials for the various opinions, which can apply to important, complex and controversial questions, including unpopular and unorthodox viewpoints. Language, situations, or subjects that may be offensive to some community members does not disqualify material whose value is to be judged in its entirety. The Library recognizes parents and legal guardians as the parties responsible for the reading and viewing habits of their children. The selection of materials for the adult collection is not restricted by the possibility that children may obtain materials their parents or guardians consider inappropriate. Concerns about materials in the Library’s collections may be directed to any staff member.

Library of Things

The Library will maintain a Library of Things that includes non-traditional materials that provides opportunity for learning and/or recreation beyond the books and audiovisual materials in the physical collection.

Genealogy

The Genealogy collection provides a wide range of resources that aid genealogy researchers with local or other searches. This collection does not circulate and its primary purpose is to record, inform and educate making it quite different from the rest of the Library’s collection.

Northwest Room

The Ned Barnes Northwest Room collection provides a wealth of historical resources that focus on Spokane, Spokane County, Washington and neighboring states. The Library is committed to its important role in preserving the history of the city of Spokane and making those materials accessible to citizens. This collection does not circulate and its primary purpose is to record, inform and educate making it quite different from the rest of the Library’s collection.

Gifts

Gifts and donations supplement the purchased collection. There is a cost to adding gifts and donations, so the Library reserves the right to determine the disposition of all gift materials.

Values

The library adheres the to the American Library Association’s Library Bill of Rights, the Freedom to Read and Freedom to View statements, and the Free Access to Libraries for Minors-An Interpretation of the Library Bill of Rights. The also endorses the Washington Library Association’s Intellectual Freedom Statement.