Eagle Public Library

(208) 939-6814 | 100 N Stierman Way, Eagle, Idaho 83616
 Hours: Sun 1pm-5pm |Mon-Thur 9am-8pm | Fri 9am-6pm | Sat 9am-5pm

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Collection Development Policy

Adopted by the Eagle Public Library Board of Trustees, November 18, 2020
Reviewed and reaffirmed October 19, 2022

Purpose
The purpose of the Collection Development Policy is to ensure that library materials and access to information meet the information and learning needs of the residents of the City of Eagle.

While the policy does not replace the judgment of staff responsible for the selection of library resources, it does:

  • provide a written framework for planning, building, and selecting and maintaining the library’s information resources in a responsible, cost-effective and user-relevant manner,
  • spell out limits of acceptable action and grants freedom to exercise professional judgment when operating within those limits,
  • describe how materials for the library are selected, maintained and evaluated, and
  • inform the public about the principles of material selection and the use of criteria to select and remove materials.

Definitions
The collection offers materials in choices of format, treatment, language and level of difficulty. “Materials” has the widest possible meaning and includes but is not limited to print, audiovisual, and digital formats. “Collection” is defined as materials that are selected for the Eagle Public Library; those selected materials may be physically owned by the Library or may be accessed digitally. “Selection” refers to the decision that must be made to add a given item to the Library collection and made accessible either in a physical location or through digital means.

Background
Located in the Treasure Valley of southwest Idaho, Eagle is a suburb of Boise, Idaho.  The population in 2013 was 21,646 with approximately 7,600 households.  According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the racial makeup of the city was 94.4% White, 0.3% African American, 0.5% Native American, 1.6% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 1% from other races, and 2% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 4.7% of the population.  Forty-two percent of the households had children under 18 years of age living in them.  The average household size was 2.82 and the average family size was 3.2.  The median age in the city was 40.6 years of age, with 30.8% of the residents under the age of 18, 5.4% between the ages of 18 and 24, 21.3% from ages 25 to 44, 30.3% from ages 45 to 64, and 12.1% over the age of 65. The percentage of the population over the age of 25 with Bachelor’s degrees was 48.6%.

Responsibility
The Eagle Public Library Board of Trustees delegates to the Library Director the authority and responsibility for the selection of all collection materials.  Responsibilities for actual selection are assigned to appropriately trained personnel who select materials within the guidelines of this policy.  Patrons are encouraged to suggest titles for addition to the library’s collection.

Selection and Deselection Criteria
Selection
Materials available in the library present a diversity of viewpoints, allowing people of all ages access to the information needed to make informed choices.  The Eagle Public Library will routinely gather statistics to determine user characteristics, expectations and needs, and to maintain a well-rounded collection.  Anticipating the community’s evolving interests and needs, observing the patron responses to innovations, and acting quickly in response to these needs will serve as the underlying framework for materials selection and practices.

Collection strategies may include:

  • purchasing multiple, or additional, copies of titles in a variety of formats in response to demand,
  • enhancing collections to meet defined service responses, and
  • monitoring trends, format trends and new technologies.

Selection is a subjective process which requires a general knowledge of the subject and an understanding of the needs of the community.  Library materials, which are selected for their value as informational, educational, cultural and recreational resources, are judged on the basis of the content and style of the work as a whole, not by selected portions or passages.  In making any selection decision, selectors employ the standards and criteria of professional librarianship.

The following general criteria are used in selecting materials for addition to the collection. The criteria are not listed by order of importance, and the list is not comprehensive.

  • The demonstrated or perceived interest, need, or demand by Library users or potential users of the item.
  • The item’s contemporary significance.
  • The item’s likely permanent value.
  • The item’s relevance to the experiences and contributions of diverse populations.
  • The item’s quality, including its accuracy, clarity, and usability.
  • The critical reviews, bibliographies, and awards concerning the item.
  • The significance, authority, and competence of the item’s creator.
  • The items’ importance as a document of the times.
  • The item’s timeliness and accuracy of information.
  • the item’s format, durability, and ease of use.
  • The item’s scarcity of availability elsewhere.
  • The item’s value in relation to its cost.
  • Professional reviews (Eagle Public Library’s primary sources of reviews are Library Journal, Booklist, Kirkus, School Library Journal, Ingram Advance, Baker and Taylor’s Forecast, and Midwest Buyer’s Guide).

The primary consideration regarding the selection of an item is whether the information falls within the subject areas of the Library’s collection. Additionally, the selector also considers the following when deciding on format:

  • The item’s frequency of use.
  • The space and storage capacity of the Library.
  • The item’s frequency of publication.
  • The resource sharing capabilities of the Library.
  • The Library’s prior holdings.
  • Currency and use of the item’s technology.

Formats collected include print, music CDs, DVDs, databases, audio books, magazines, and newspapers. An increasing number of materials are purchased in digital format, including books, audiobooks, magazines, movies, and music, and are accessible through the library’s website.

To assure the acquisition of resources desired by Eagle Public Library account holders, suggestions are always considered for addition to the collection.  Purchase decisions are made in accordance with the Library’s budget and this policy. A request may be made by completing a suggestion form or by contacting the Library.

Self-Published Books

The Library normally does not purchase books printed and distributed through self-publishing services (e.g., CreateSpace, Lulu.com, AuthorHouse, Book Bay, Xlibris, Kindle Direct Publishing, etc.) because such titles are not reviewed in established review sources, and because staff are unable to order through pre-approved book wholesalers.

However, the Library may accept gifts of self-published books that support the Library’s mission.  The Eagle Public Library will review donated materials, but the Library does not guarantee their inclusion in the Library’s collection.  Once donated, items become the property of the Library and will not be returned.  Items not included in the Library’s collection will be repurposed in accordance with the Donations Policy.

Local Authors’ Works
Local authors are defined as writers who currently reside or have spent a significant part of their lives in Eagle or the adjacent cities. Pending evaluation, the Library may accept one donated copy of a local author’s work for inclusion in the appropriate Library collection. All such donated works are subject to the same criteria for removal as other materials.  Items requested to be purchased by the Library are subject to the same collection development criteria as any other work.

The Eagle Public Library will review donated materials but does not guarantee their inclusion in the Library’s collection. Once donated, items be come the property of the Library and will not be returned. Items not included in the Library’s collection will be re-purposed in accordance wit the Donations Policy.

Donation Guidelines for local authors

  • Material must be bound and formatted in a way that enables circulation, ease of use, and durability. The Library Will only accept physical formats. Items must be in new condition.
  • The Library will apply the same inclusion and retention guidelines as stated in the general collection development policy. The library reserves the right to include or exclude any title from the collection for any reason, at any time.
  • All donated materials become the property of the Eagle Public Library and cannot be returned to the donor for any reason.
  • The Library cannot acknowledge receipt of an author’s work, nor can the Library notify the author of the final decision. Library staff cannot meet with individuals to discuss the author’s work.
  • The Library will not provide professional reviews, promotion, or marketing or an author’s work, whether the materials are included or excluded.
  • Local authors must complete the Request for Consideration for Inclusion form (which asks for the author’s name, address, telephone number, email, website URL, title of the book, publisher, year of publication, intended audience, the item’s genre, a brief summary, a list of reviews and media coverage the work received, and, if non-fiction, the credentials or description of the authors’ expertise int he area).

Collection Maintenance
In order to provide the best service to our community, the collection is regularly evaluated.  To keep the collection fresh and relevant the Library maintains a schedule of evaluation.

The following is the criteria for withdrawal from the collection:

  • materials that are worn, stained, or damaged beyond repair,
  • materials that are out of date, contain inaccurate data, or are not historically significant,
  • new and more current or more comprehensive resources are available,
  • a more desirable format of the content is available,
  • duplication, or
  • low circulation.

The professional staff of the library, under the authority of the Library Director, will be solely responsible for the weeding of the collection.  Evaluation and management of the collection is guided by professional manuals and guidelines.

Materials discarded from the collection are disposed of at the library’s discretion.  Options include, but are not limited to, making discarded materials available to the Friends of the Eagle Public Library for book sales or offering to other libraries or non-profit organizations.  Books that are donated to the Friends of the Eagle Public Library that are not sold by the Friends will be disposed of at the discretion of the Friends of the Eagle Public Library.

Placement of Material
The library collection is organized and maintained to facilitate ease of public access.  The Eagle Public Library uses the Dewey Decimal Classification (DDC) system and the Library of Congress subject headings (LCSH) to place materials in the proper subject area and to assign them to shelving categories.  Selectors take into account age recommendations in reviews as they assign classification(s) and location(s) of materials.

The Eagle Public Library’s areas are divided into areas such as Children’s Fiction, and DVDs for ease of use, but library guests of any age may utilize materials from all sections of the library.  It is the responsibility of parents or legal guardians, not Eagle Public Library staff, to monitor library use by minors.

Cooperative Agreements
The Eagle Public Library makes every effort to satisfy the needs of its customers through its own collection or other local resources.  To that end, the Library:

  • supports cooperative collection development activities when feasible as a means of providing the best access to the most information for its users,
  • is a member of the LYNX! Consortium and serves customers of the participating libraries as outlined in the Consortium agreement,
  • offers Interlibrary Loan as a means of providing access to specialized, out-of-print, and other materials neither in its collection nor available locally, and
  • encourages patrons to suggest titles for consideration to be added to the library’s collection.

Constitutional Protection
The Eagle Public Library Board of Trustees believes that the freedom to read is essential to our democracy and that free communication is essential to the preservation of a free society.  To ensure free communication and the rights of the residents of Eagle to a broad range of ideas and concepts, the Board of Trustees endorses the American Library Association’s Library Bill of Rights, the Freedom to Read Statement, the Freedom to View Statement, and Free Access to Libraries for Minors.

The Library Board of Trustees considers all materials selected under this policy to be constitutionally protected under the First Amendment of the United States Constitution and the Idaho State Constitution.

If a court having jurisdiction over the Eagle Public Library decides that any material in the collection is not constitutionally protected, such material will be removed.  Material under court consideration will remain available to patrons until a final court ruling is made after all appeals are exhausted.

Censorship and Reconsideration of Library Materials
The Board of Trustees maintains that while anyone is free to reject for themselves materials of which they do not approve, they cannot exercise censorship to restrict the freedom of use and access to others.  The choice of library materials to use is also an individual matter.  The responsibility for the reading and use of library materials by minors rests ultimately and completely with their parents or legal guardians.  It is the duty and responsibility of the library staff to provide advice and reading guidance, but library staff may not deny use of materials to minors, thus upholding the rights of minors and those of their parents or legal guardians.

Items in any format are not necessarily excluded because of language, frankness, sexually explicit passages, images, or because of objections by staff, trustees, or the public.  Individual passages or illustrations, in whatever format or medium, when taken out of context or purpose, are not considered adequate reason for the rejection or removal of an item.

The Eagle Public Library strives to maintain materials representing all sides of an issue in a neutral, unbiased manner.  Selection of materials by the Library does not mean endorsement of the contents or views expressed in those materials.  The existence of a particular viewpoint in the collection is a reflection of the Library’s policy of intellectual freedom, not an endorsement of that particular point of view.

The Eagle Public Library Board of Trustees recognizes the right of an individual or group from within the City of Eagle to make their objections known to the Library.  Whenever an Eagle Public Library patron has questions regarding the presence or absence of any library material, they can discuss their concerns with the library’s director.  Following the discussion, if the patron desires, a Request for Reconsideration of Library Materials form, must be completed in its entirety.  Only requests made by City of Eagle tax payers regarding items in the collection of the Eagle Public Library will be considered.

The Director, with appropriate professional staff will review the title in question and determine if its selection is in accordance with the criteria stated in the Collection Development Policy.  The Director will make a decision and send a letter to the person who requested the reconsideration of a title, stating the reasons for the decision.

The Decision of the Director may be appealed to the Eagle Public Library Board of Trustees by requesting in a letter to the Director that the request for reconsideration by referred to the Board of Trustees.  The Director will forward the request and the title reconsideration form to the President of the Board of Library Trustees who will place the matter on a Library Board meeting agenda as soon as practical.  The decision of the Board will be final and will be sent in writing to the person who requested reconsideration of a title.

Challenged materials will generally not be removed during the review and appeal process.