Material Selection Policy
MATERIALS SELECTION POLICY Adopted by Library Board of Trustees: ________
Service Statement: The Bancroft Memorial Library will provide excellent professional, educational and recreational resources in a variety of formats for lifelong learning while fostering a culture of inclusion in a vibrant place that is free and welcoming to all. The Bancroft Memorial Library Trustees and staff are committed to providing a wide range of materials in a variety of formats to meet community needs and with respect to intellectual freedom.
Selection Policy: The Library Board of Trustees, recognizing the pluralistic nature of this community and the varied backgrounds and needs of all citizens, regardless of race, creed, or political persuasion, declares as a matter of materials selection policy that:
1. The selection of books and other library materials is the responsibility of the Library Director who, in turn, may delegate that responsibility to such members of the professional staff who are qualified by reason or education or training.
2. Selection of books and other library materials shall be made on the basis of their value in regard to interest, information and enlightenment of all people of the community. No book or library material shall be excluded because of race, nationality or the political or social views of the author.
3. It is the view of the Library Trustees that responsibility for the reading of children rests with their parents. The selection of materials for the adult collection is not restricted by the possibility that children may obtain materials their parents consider inappropriate.
4. The same criteria used in selecting materials are used in weeding and discarding them.
5. The Board believes that censorship is a purely individual matter and declares that while one is free to reject materials of which one does not approve; one cannot exercise this right of censorship to restrict the freedom to read of others.
6. The Board defends the principles of the Freedom to Read and declares that whenever censorship is at issue, and when a formal request for reconsideration of materials is presented, no book or library material shall be removed from the library collection. The material in question will remain in circulation in the library collection for the duration of the process, and the decision of the Board is final.
7. The Board adopts and declares that it will adhere to and support:
8. The Library Bill of Rights; and
9. The Freedom to Read Statement and
10. The Freedom to View Statement adopted by the American Library Association.
Procedures for Reconsideration or Addition of Materials
Staff members will listen to the request and give the patron a copy of the library selection policy. If the patron wishes to have the library reconsider or add material, the patron shall be directed to the Request for Reconsideration of Library Materials or the Request for Purchase of Library Materials forms, linked here.
Request for Reconsideration – Collection Development Policy Approved by Library Board of Trustees 9.12.2022
Forms should be completed and returned to the Library Director. The procedure for reconsideration of library materials is included with the form.
Withdrawal of Materials from Library Collection
Materials are regularly discarded from library collections using the CREW (continuous review, evaluation, and weeding) processes of inventory and maintenance. When, through evaluation and weeding, the librarian discovers that the material’s useful career is over, it is retired by discarding. In evaluating collections, library staff use special knowledge of library science, library materials and the community they serve to meet the needs and demands of the library’s users and potential users. Publication date, physical condition, expense of replacement, space constraints, and appearance and breadth of the collection are factors in these decisions. Withdrawn materials are boxed and saved for Friends of the Hopedale Library book sales. Materials not sold are donated to area nursing homes or to a company that repurposes books.
Gifts
Gifts are handled by the Friends of the Library. Gifts of books and other materials are accepted with the understanding that they may be used or disposed of as the library sees fit. New titles acquired in this manner are subject to the basic standards of selection. Replacements and duplicate copies are added to the collection if needed. The costs of processing and the availability of shelving are also factors in determining the acceptance of gifts. The library does not provide evaluations of gifts for tax deduction or other purpose, but will provide a receipt if requested.
Controversial Materials
In an effort to provide our patrons with diverse sources of information and the widest possible range of ideas and viewpoints, we may acquire some controversial materials. Some of this material may be offensive to individuals or groups because of perceived profanity, social, economic and political ideas, religious viewpoints, the background of the author, the kinds of information provided, or other reasons. Acquisition or use of any item does not imply approval or endorsement of the contents.
Privacy
Reaffirming the Bancroft Memorial Library’s uninterrupted concern for intellectual freedom and for readers’ rights of privacy, the Library will not disclose to anyone the names of, or other information regarding readers, and will not identify materials called for or examined by them. An exception will be made only following a showing satisfactory to the Library Director, or his/her Deputy designated for the purpose of binding legal process.