Materials Selection/Collection Development

You may download this complete document here.

Objectives
The Haverford Township Free Library, to the best of its ability, will provide the community with professionally selected materials to aid in the pursuit of education, information, research, pleasure, and the creative use of leisure time.

The Haverford Township Free Library adheres to the principles of the Library Bill of Rights, the Freedom to View, and the Freedom to Read statements adopted by the American Library Association.

In a free society, information on different points of view should be readily available to allow individuals to decide which ideas are meaningful to them. The public library is the democratic institution which provides free access to the freedom of thoughts and ideas. The library, consequently, has the responsibility for selecting materials which reflect a wide variety of ideas and may contain controversial points of view. The library has a responsibility to protect the rights of all users; consequently, it does not limit the use of its collection. Although librarians may offer guidance, parents or legal guardians are responsible for the selection, monitoring the reading, listening, and viewing of their children.

The needs, interests, and points of view of the Haverford Township Free Library’s community range over the spectrum of all subjects inherent to contemporary society. The Haverford Township Free Library has a responsibility to provide a diversity of materials in both print and non-print forms. Materials are selected to reflect changes in educational, cultural and intellectual ideas and the impact of new technology within the limitations of budget and space.

  • Books and other library materials are selected on the basis of literary, educational, information, and recreational value. The responsibility of selection rests with the Library Director, who operates within the framework of policies determined by the Library Board of Trustees.
  • Director appointed selectors will not exclude titles on the basis of moral, racial, religious, political, or personal prejudice. Titles are selected, within the limitations of the budget, on the critical consensus among recognized subject authorities. Suggestions from customers are encouraged and will be given due consideration.
  • Material will not be excluded on the basis of what some may consider indecorous, indecent, or graphic language. One person’s or group’s beliefs, philosophies, politics, or interests will not take precedence over the beliefs, philosophies, politics.
  • The library endorses the American Library Association’s Freedom to Read statement, the Library Bill of Rights and the statements on Labeling Library Materials, Access to Electronic Information, Services, and Networks, and Free Access to Libraries for Minors.

Approved by the Haverford Township Free Library Board of Trustees 3/19/03