MISSION STATEMENT
Easttown Library & Information Center is a community center that advances literacy and a love of reading and learning, and provides information through a variety of formats and technologies.
PURPOSE
The purpose of the materials selection policy is to state clearly the principles for
selecting materials for Easttown Library.
RESPONSIBILITY FOR SELECTION
Responsibility for materials selection rests with the Library Director and reflects the policies adopted by the Board of Trustees and of the Chester County Library System. Ultimate responsibility for the direction provided through this policy rests with the Easttown Library Board of Trustees.
SERVICE RESPONSES
Easttown Library has identified six primary service responses.
*Create young readers (early literacy)
*Understand how to find, evaluate and use information (information fluency)
*Make informed decisions (health, wealth and other life choices)
*Stimulate imagination (reading, viewing and listening for pleasure)
*Connect to the online world (public Internet access)
*Satisfy curiosity (lifelong learning)
FORMATS
Easttown Library will collect balanced materials in a variety of formats: print, non-print and online.
CRITERIA FOR SELECTION
Easttown Library will acquire and makes available materials that inform, educate and entertain. The Library provides, within its financial limitations, a collection for the general public of timely materials on current issues, of materials that embrace broad areas of knowledge, works of enduring value, and online resources.
The materials are selected:
*To satisfy the needs and interests of the community
*To support the service responses of Easttown Library
*To present balanced points of view within the collection
Consideration is given to:
*Access to electronic databases
*Accuracy
*Authoritativeness
*Availability of funds
*Enduring value
*Existing Library collections and holdings
*Interlibrary loan availability
*Literary merit
*Other community resources
*Public interest
*Social significance
*Timeliness
Selection tools include professional and trade journals, general media, best seller lists, subject bibliographies, publishers' materials, and staff knowledge and expertise.Purchase suggestions and donations from the public are given consideration in the context of the selection policy.
The selection of materials for the collections does not constitute an endorsement of contents. Easttown Library recognizes that some materials may be controversial and that any given item may offend some customers. Selection decisions are made on the merits of a particular item in relation to building the collection and fulfilling the service responses of Easttown Library.
GIFTS AND MEMORIALS
Gifts of books and other materials are gratefully accepted with the understanding that they may be added to the collections, in accordance with Easttown Library selection policies and need, or disposed of. Donations added by Easttown Library become part of the general collection and are not accorded special shelving or circulation procedures. Donations not added to the collection are given to the Friends of the Library who may generate funds to aid Easttown Library by selling them. Disposal of the remaining materials is at the discretion of the Friends of the Library.
Easttown Library does not accept worn, outdated and musty items, materials previously discarded from Easttown Library, textbooks, encyclopedias, Reader's Digest Condensed Books, and National Geographic or other magazines.
Memorial and monetary gifts are always welcome. The conditions under which gifts are accepted by Easttown Library are at the discretion of the Director.
The donor's request for a specific subject area or format will be considered. Special gifts of books or other library materials in memory or honor of individuals may be accepted. A bookplate or other notation may be placed in them, at the discretion of the Director. Materials donated to Easttown Library, including those as memorials, are subject to the retention and weeding criteria established for the collection as a whole. Bookplates are not transferred to other books if the original book is lost, damaged, or worn out.
Donors will be given an acknowledgment of their gift, but Easttown Library cannot provide evaluations or appraisals of donations.
WEEDING
Weeding, the quality control of a collection's usefulness, is done according to Easttown Library's Weeding Policy.
STATEMENT OF CONCERN FORM
The Statement of Concern Form should be used when a customer has a concern about material found or not found in Easttown Library and wishes to register this concern in writing. The procedure is as follows:
Customers with concerns about materials in Easttown Library's collections should initially be directed to talk with appropriate staff (e.g., Library Director, Head of Reference, Head of Youth Services, or the Person In Charge) to discuss the material in question. Customers wishing to express their concerns in a more formal manner should be given a Statement of Concern Form to complete. The completed form will be referred to the Library Director, who will send to the customer a letter acknowledging its receipt.
Within a month of receipt of the Statement of Concern Form, a review of the item will be completed by Easttown Library staff, which will make a recommendation to the Library Director. The Library Director will then respond in writing within 10 working days to the concerned individual. If the individual is not satisfied with the decision made or action taken, the decision or action may be appealed to the Board of Trustees.
APPENDICES
The documents contained in the appendices (the First Amendment to the U.S.
Constitution, the Library Bill of Rights, the American Library Association's Freedom to Read and Freedom to View statements) have been endorsed by the Board of Trustees.
