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Garden
City Library

Selection
Policy

Objectives

The Garden City Public Library places
major emphasis on informational, recreational and educational functions.
It recognizes the importance of basic material of permanent value and
timely materials on current issues. Materials will be purchased
in the format that bests suits patron needs.

Guidelines

The Trustees of the Garden City Public
Library support the Library Bill of Rights promulgated by the American
Library Association, and it serves as the basis for this policy and
other lending policies of the library. Choice of materials will
result from a variety of professional activities on the part of the
Library Director. Reviews of new books from both professional
journals and popular reviewing media form an important tool in the selection
process. Recommendations from the staff and the public are also
welcome and evaluated within the framework of the acquisition process.

Responsibility

The Library Director has the final responsibility
for the selection of all material to be incorporated into the library's
collection, regardless of the mode of acquisition. It is the Director's
responsibility to provide materials that are of both current interest
and permanent value, that are up-to-date, that are responsive to the
interests and needs of every segment of the community and that do not
discriminate against any political, religious, economic, or social view
or group through deliberate exclusion of their view. The Director
shall try to provide for diversity of materials without exercising either
direct or implied censorship. The Director shall be responsible
for expending available funds in an equitable manner so that all divisions
of the collection receive appropriate proportion of said funds.

Selection Criteria

A. General Criteria

All acquisitions, whether purchased or
donated, are considered in terms of the standards listed below.
However, an item need not meet all of the criteria in order to be acceptable.
Materials are evaluated on the significance of the entire work rather
than individual parts. When judging the quality of materials several
standards and combinations of standards may be used. The following
criteria will guide selection:

• Attention of critics, reviewers,
  media and public
• Availability of material in
  other area libraries
• Community interest
• Contemporary significance
  or permanent value
• Format and ease of use
• Price, availability, and demand
• Relation to existing collection
  and to other materials on the subject
• Reputation and/or authority
  of the author, editor or illustrator
• Scarcity of information in
  the subject area

B. Material Specific

• Periodicals are purchased
  to supplement the book collection, provide recreational and professional
  reading, and/or provide material not yet available in book form.
  Selection of periodicals will be based upon their consideration as authoritative,
  objective, of local interest and demand.
• Gifts of books and other items
  will be accepted on the condition that the Director has the authority
  to make whatever disposition he or she deems advisable. Gifts
  will be judged upon the same basis as purchased materials.

Collection Maintenance

To maintain the effectiveness of the
library's total collection, the library will attempt to systematically
remove materials no longer useful. The library does not automatically
replace all materials withdrawn because of loss, damage or wear.
Need for replacement is weighed with regard to several factors: number
of duplicated copies, existence of adequate coverage of a field, similar
material in the collection, later or more authoritative materials as
well as current demand for the particular subject or title.

Reconsideration

Patrons requesting that material in the
collection be reconsidered may complete a"Material/Program Selection
Inquiry Form." The inquiry will be placed on the agenda of
the next regular meeting of the Garden City Public Library Board of
Trustees. Their decision will be based upon this selection policy
after due consideration of the report of the Library Director and the
patron's inquiry. The library recognizes that some materials may
be controversial and that any given item may offend some patron.
Selection or retention of materials will not be made on the basis of
anticipated approval or disapproval of any group of patrons, but solely
on the basis of the principles stated in this policy. Library
material will not be marked or identified to show approval or disapproval
of their contents, and no library material will sequestered, except
to protect it from theft. Responsibility
for the reading of children rests with their parents or legal guardians.

Approved by the Garden
City Library Board of Trustees 3/12/08