Newport Public Library Collection Development Policy
The Newport Public Library seeks to purchase and retain the best and most useful material to fulfill its mission, which is as follows:
· to provide a current and growing collection of popular materials, and to enrich, enlighten, and entertain all patrons, regardless of age;
· to provide a welcome atmosphere for young children for the development and presentation of programming designed to encourage their appreciation of the library as a preschooler's door to learning;
· to promote the use of its public facilities as a warm and inviting community center for individuals, groups, and organizations;
· to encourage greater use of the library to foster formal learning by students of all ages in support of their educational goals;
· the fulfillment of this mission advocates the literacy of all people, recognizing that reading is a privilege and joy for all.
In order to ensure that our collection supports our stated goals, we will evaluate it on an annual basis, analyzing each category of material for quality, quantity, and patron use. This information will then be used in future selection and retention of material, bearing in mind the guidelines of the Materials Selection Policy.
Newport Public Library Materials Selection Policy
The privilege and responsibility for selection of books and other materials belong to every member of the staff. This is based on the assumption that no one person, nor few persons, can know enough about all subjects, nor the reading needs and desires of all people, to be qualified to assume all responsibility for materials selection. Ultimate responsibility for materials selection, as for all library activity, rests with the Library Director, who operates within the framework of policies by the Board of Trustees.
The book selection policy is intended to implement the general objectives of the public library. The purpose of the selection process is to obtain expertly selected books and other materials to further the library program of giving information, reference assistance, and help to those engaged in educational pursuits, as well as to provide general home reading.
In general, the library's policy is to purchase the best
books which satisfy the clientele of the library within budget
limitations. The established criteria for all fields include:
A. Permanent or timely value
B. Accurate information
C. Authoritativeness
D. Clear presentation and readability
E. Social significance
F. Author's reputation and significance as a writer
G. Importance of subject matter to the collection
H. Appearance of title in special bibliographies or indexes
I. Reputation and standing of the publisher
J. Availability of the material elsewhere in the area
Other factors to be considered in the development of the
library collection will be as follows:
· Eliminate the unimportant, the cheap and trivial, the
deliberately distorted, sensational or offensive, particularly in the
fields of religion, sexual hygiene, racial prejudice, political
ideologies, and fiction.
· Present both sides of controversial issues: labor management,
planned parenthood, Communism, etc.
· Balance special group interests with general demand, i.e.,
books in foreign languages.
· Include books of doubtful value occasionally for their
timeliness, such as campaign biographies, flying saucers, or a book of
fiction which has generated overwhelming popular demand.
· Textbooks are not bought as textbooks.
· Collectors items as such are not purchased
· Representative books, such as Mein Kampf and The Communist
Manifesto are included where they have historical significance and bring
into the open the ideologies which democracy seeks to combat. The primary
obligation of the library is to uphold the doctrine of freedom of speech
and of the press. We subscribe to the American Library Association's Bill
of Rights that censorship of books "that would establish a coercive
concept of Americanism must be challenged...in maintenance of the
library's responsibility to provide public information and enlightenment
through the printed word." In administrating this policy the library
tries to keep a true balance between its duty to make available honest
presentation of both sides of every public question, and its determination
not to allow itself to be used as a propaganda agency by the enemies of
our form of government.
· Format may be a deciding factor. Possibility of rebinding is
considered, as well as type and legibility.
· Price may also be a deciding factor.
The library does not purchase books written to trade on a taste for sensationalism or which are purely pornographic. On the other hand, serious works which present an honest aspect of some problems of life are not necessarily excluded because of course language or frankness.
The library will not indicate, through the use of labels or other devices, particular philosophies outlined in a book. To do so is to establish in the reader's mind a judgment before the reader has a chance to examine the book personally.
Finally, the library subscribes to both the Library Bill of Rights of the American Library Association and the Freedom to Read Statement prepared by American Library Association and American Book Publisher's Council.