NLLS Policies

STATEMENT OF POLICY AND PROCEDURE

Section: Service Points | Chapter: General | Page(s): 3

Subject: COLLECTION DEVELOPMENT | Sec 4, 1A

Reviewed: 2019/01/10 | Revised: 2019/03/02 | Effective: 2017/05/13

1. A service point is any facility where the library provides service to the public. This could be a library building, a bookmobile, a station that is set up weekly in a community center, or any number of other points. (This is specifically a branch of NLLS)
2. The mission of NLLS Community Library is to provide materials and services to help community residents obtain information meeting their personal, educational, and professional needs. The library services as a learning and educational center for residents of Indigenous communities within the NLLS catchment area.

Authority and Responsibility

1. The authority and responsibility for the selection of library materials are delegated to the branch manager (this would be the NLLS Public Services Consultant) and, under their direction, to the library staff who are qualified for this activity. Suggestions from readers are also welcome and are given consideration within the framework of policies determined by the NLLS Board.

Criteria for Selection

1. Materials are selected for the NLLS Collections with the purpose of carrying out the goals of the organization and of the community library. The following criteria are used to judge the quality and quantity of items chosen:

• Authority of the writer, editor and/or publisher
• Accuracy or artistic quality of the content
• Currency of information
• Popularity
• Artistic, literary, creative, or local merit
• Audience
• Timeliness
• Content, subject matter, and level of indexing (where applicable)
• Layout and design
• Price
• Format
• Relevance to community needs and interests, as based on community awareness and the library’s Plan of Service.
• Relationship to other items in the collection
• Availability in NLLS member library collections and TRAC partner collections

2. An item need not meet all of the above criteria to be acceptable. Multiple copies may be purchased to meet the need for high-demand titles.

Materials will be weeded based on the following:

• a physical condition and appearance (e.g. markings in the book, broken spine, yellow pages, outdated cover art)
• currency and accuracy of subject matter
• usage (i.e. not checked out in 3 years)
• relevance to the needs and interests of the community
• availability elsewhere (e.g. other libraries, online licensed databases)

1. When necessary NLLS Public Service Consultants may be consulted to determine the continued relevance and reliability of materials.
2. Materials of local interest (i.e. local histories, local authors, and other materials specifically relating to the Board of Record library) will generally be kept in the collection as long as possible, so long as the materials are still in good physical condition and the information in them is still accurate.
3. Replacement copies will be considered when a title is withdrawn from the collection due to loss, damage, or wear, but is still considered relevant to the needs of the community.
4. Weeded materials will be disposed of at the discretion of the Library Manager, generally by donation to another library or organization (e.g. schools, seniors’ centers), sale to the public, or recycling.
5. Dangerously outdated materials (i.e. medical or legal materials more than five (5) years old) will not be sold to the public or donated and will instead be recycled or destroyed. Following outdated medical or legal information in a used book could cause physical harm or legal problems for members of the public.

Materials Not Purchased

1. The Northern Lights Library System does not purchase or acquire the following:

• materials adjudged obscene or pornographic by Canadian courts;
• discontinued formats (slides, VHS, cassettes, etc.);

Intellectual Freedom

1. In both selection and de-selection, Northern Lights Library System professional employee(s) will uphold those principles established in the Canadian Library Association's Statement on Intellectual Freedom. While recognizing that some materials are controversial and may offend some patrons, the Library supports the freedom of individuals to develop and interpret their own codes of conduct. Parents or legal guardians are responsible for their children’s library borrowing and interlibrary loan requests, therefore, no items will be excluded from the collection only because they maybe seen or borrowed by children.
2. The presence of any library item does not indicate an endorsement of its contents by the library. Materials are selected on the basis of the contents as a whole, and for their strengths rather than rejected for their weaknesses. Selection also depends on an evaluation of literary merit, honesty of presentation, overall value to the community, and other criteria as described in these guidelines.

Request for Reconsideration of NLLS Library Materials

1. The Northern Lights Library System Board upholds the principles established in the Canadian Library Association’s Statement on Intellectual Freedom.
2. Patrons or library staff of Northern Lights Library System member libraries may formally request that a particular item be placed in a different collection or withdrawn from the circulating collection.
3. The requestor must complete a NLLS Request for Reconsideration of Library Materials form. The item in question should be returned with the completed form to the library service point to be forwarded to Northern Lights Library System. If the requestor is asking that the item be withdrawn from the collection, a reconsideration committee, consisting of the NLLS Executive Director and one (1) Manager, will be struck to examine the item to determine whether the item conforms to the NLLS Collection Development Guidelines.
4. The decision of the reconsideration committee is final.
5. If the requestor is asking that the item be placed in a different collection, or any other action other than withdrawal, NLLS management will examine the item to determine whether the material conforms to the NLLS Collection Development Guidelines.
6. The decision regarding the disposition of the item in question will be communicated in writing to the requestor after the decision is made.
7. School-housed libraries (NLLS service point) to follow school policy for emergency and OH&S procedures as required by the service user agreement.

Edmonton Garrison is a service point within NLLS with a separate agreement.