4.10 - Materials Selection

1. Introduction: The Royal Oak Public Library, as stewards of taxpayer funds, selects and purchases collections to meet the educational and leisure needs of the community. The resources of Royal Oak Public Library include but are not limited to money, space and personnel. These resources are finite.
   
   A decision to select a particular title or type of material may exclude some other title or material. The policy set forth below is designed to provide direction to professional librarians who have earned a Master of Library and Information Science degree from an American Library Association (ALA) accredited university and who are charged with material selection duties. The Trustees of the Royal Oak Public Library understand that the guidance and information adopted herein are in many instances general in nature and therefore not designed to replace, but rather supplement, good judgment.
   
   
2. Definitions: The term “library materials” means books, magazines, DVDs, CDs, vinyl, programs, items in the Library of Things, or other synonyms as they may occur in the Policy having the widest possible meaning. This statement of policy applies to all library materials in the collection, including adult, teen and juvenile. However, this policy and the term “library materials” does not apply to internet sites available through the Library's computers or internet collection. The Library has no control over the content of the internet.  Please see Policy 5.40 Internet Use for any issues related to computer or internet use.
   
   The term “selection” refers to the decision to add, retain or withdraw material in the collection. It does not refer to reader guidance or to how the Library materials are displayed within the Library.
   
   
3. Goal and Objectives of Selection: The materials selection goal of the Royal Oak Public Library is to select, organize, preserve, and make freely and easily available resources which will aid in the pursuit of education, enlightenment, information, and recreation. Objectives of selection include:
   1. To meet informational needs through maintenance of a well-balanced and broad collection of materials for knowledge, reference, and research;
   2. To encourage life-long intellectual and cultural growth;
   3. To support the democratic process by providing materials for the education and enlightenment of the community;
   4. To provide a diverse and inclusive collection which contains content by and about a wide array of people and cultures to authentically reflect a variety of ideas, information, stories, and experiences;
   5. To maintain a local history collection, with materials of significance to the City of Royal Oak and Oakland County, Michigan.
4. Responsibility for Selection: Library materials selection is vested in the Director of the Library, with the assistance of members of the professional staff of librarians who select resources in accordance with this Materials Selection Policy. Both the public and staff members may recommend materials for consideration, but suggested materials cannot be more than two years old. The ultimate responsibility for selection, however, rests with the Library Director who operates within the framework of policies determined by the Library Board of Trustees. The Director shall be responsible for ensuring that the funds budgeted for collection development are allocated appropriately, depending upon the needs of the Library and the fulfillment of the above Goal and Objectives of Material Selection. The Director is also ultimately responsible for decisions regarding in what collection or location library materials will be located.
   
   
5. General Principles: 
   1. The library is a forum for ideas and information. The primary goal of selection shall be to collect materials of contemporary significance and/or of enduring value which will enrich the collections and maintain an overall balance, representing varied points of view with respect to a given subject. In addition, the library, recognizing that demand is a valid and important factor in selection, shall make available some materials which may be in widespread and persistent demand, such as books on various bestseller lists. 
   2. The policy of this library shall be to select materials in accordance with the above stated Goal and Objectives for all people of the community. Materials shall not be excluded because of the origin, background, or the personal views of the author. Basic to this policy is the Library Bill of Rights of the American Library Association, to which this library subscribes.
   3. Selection is not made based on anticipated approval or disapproval by patrons or library users, but solely on the merits of a work, without regard to the race, nationality, political or religious views, or sexual orientation or gender identity of the writer.
   4. Responsibility for the reading material of children rests with their parents or legal guardians. Selection shall not be inhibited solely by the possibility that books may inadvertently come into the possession of children. The library respects each individual parent’s or guardian’s right to supervise their children’s choice of reading materials. However, the library does not have the right to act in loco parentis (in place of the parent). Therefore, a parent or guardian who chooses to restrict the materials their children select must accompany those children when they use the collection to impose those restrictions.
   5. Further, library materials will not be marked or identified to show approval or disapproval of contents, and no catalogued book or other item will be sequestered, except for the express purpose of protecting it from injury or theft. The use of rare and scholarly items of great value may be controlled to the extent required to preserve them from harm, but no further.
   6. It is the responsibility of the library to provide circulating, reference, and research materials for the public based on the services it is expected to perform.
6. Principles for Selection: The following principles, individually or collectively, will prevail in the selection of all library materials. The total collection will attempt to represent opposing points of view. Certain exceptions to these guidelines are likely to occur. Some titles, which might otherwise be objectionable, are primary sources or documents in the study of historical or contemporary political movements and organizations and may be made available.
   1. Contemporary significance or permanent value.
   2. Accuracy.
   3. Lack of bias, factual.
   4. Diversity of viewpoint.
   5. Portrays issues sensitively.
   6. Authority of author.
   7. Relation of work to existing collection.
   8. Price, format, and ease of use.
   9. Scarcity of information in subject area.
   10. Available shelf or storage space.
   11. Availability of material through inter-library loan.
   12. Popular demand:  The Library will make an effort to have materials available which are in high demand by the public; however, selections by popular demand will still be guided by consideration of merit, use and the specific principles for selection.
   13. Duplication of materials already in the collection; i.e., purchase of additional copies of materials, shall be governed by intrinsic or historical value, or immediate need.
   14. Collection objectives.
   15. Community relevance.
   16. Audience for material.
7. Gifts: The library welcomes gifts of books and other materials but reserves the right to evaluate, accept and/or reject, and dispose of them in accordance with the selection criteria applied to purchased materials. No conditions may be imposed by the donor relating to gifts, books and related materials made to the library. In accepting any gift, due consideration must be given to the resources necessary to receive, maintain and make such gifts available to the public.
   
   When the library receives a cash gift for the purchase of library materials, the selection will be made by librarians in consultation with the donor and consistent with this Policy.
   
   Gifts other than books and related materials shall be governed by Royal Oak Public Library Policy 2.10 Monetary and Other Non-Book Gifts.
   
   
8. Maintenance of Collection: The same criteria will be used when removing materials from the collection as are used in their acquisition. In order to maintain an updated, contemporary collection, materials which are no longer useful or which are not in a condition suitable for circulation will be removed from the collection. Such materials may be given to other libraries, sold for the benefit of the library, or discarded. Materials disposed of by sale must be pursuant to a public sale. The library is prohibited from selling to individuals by private sale.
   
   
9. Challenges to Materials: No material shall be removed from the library’s collection until all steps in the following process have been completed:
   1. Patrons (“Requester”) who object to library materials will be sent to the Director.
   2. The Director will discuss the library materials in question with the Requester, attempting to resolve the concern to both the Requester’s and library’s satisfaction.
   3. If the Requester wishes to carry the request further, the Director will provide the Requester with a copy of the Materials Selection Policy, including the Request for Reconsideration of Library Materials form.
   4. Once a completed, signed copy of the Request for Reconsideration form is received, the Library Director shall decide the Request for Reconsideration, taking into consideration the Library’s Materials Selection Policy and any other relevant information to reach a decision.  The Director may consult with any other staff or consultants when making this decision.
   5. The Library Director shall send the decision in writing to the complainant within seventy-five (75) days of the receipt of the completed Request for Reconsideration form.  If the decision is that the questioned material should be removed from the collection, the Requester will be notified in writing by the Library Director and all copies of the item will be withdrawn. If the decision is that the questioned material is to be retained, the Requester will be notified in writing by the Library Director that the material will be retained. 
   6. A written appeal of the Library Director’s decision may be made by the Requester to the President of the Library Board within ten (10) business days after the written decision is made by the Library Director. The Library Board will review any documentation it deems necessary to decide within sixty (60) days of receipt of the appeal.
   7. The Library Board serves as the final authority in cases involving retention or withdrawal of Library materials.
10. Revision of this Policy: This Policy shall be reviewed and revised to be consistent with the objectives of the Library.

American Library Association Library Bill of Rights
The American Library Association affirms that all libraries are forums for information and ideas, and that the following basic policies should guide their services.

1. Books and other library resources should be provided for the interest, information, and enlightenment of all people of the community the library serves. Materials should not be excluded because of the origin, background, or views of those contributing to their creation.
2. Libraries should provide materials and information presenting all points of view on current and historical issues. Materials should not be proscribed or removed because of partisan or doctrinal disapproval.
3. Libraries should challenge censorship in the fulfillment of their responsibility to provide information and enlightenment.
4. Libraries should cooperate with all persons and groups concerned with resisting abridgment of free expression and free access to ideas.
5. A person’s right to use a library should not be denied or abridged because of origin, age, background, or views.
6. Libraries which make exhibit spaces and meeting rooms available to the public they serve should make such facilities available on an equitable basis, regardless of the beliefs or affiliations of individuals or groups requesting their use.
7. All people, regardless of origin, age, background, or views, possess a right to privacy and confidentiality in their library use. Libraries should advocate for, educate about, and protect people’s privacy, safeguarding all library use data, including personally identifiable information.
   ^{Adopted June 19, 1939, by the ALA Council; amended October 14, 1944; June 18, 1948; February 2, 1961; June 27, 1967; January 23, 1980; January 29, 2019. Inclusion of “age” reaffirmed January 23, 1996.}

Adopted: 01/27/98; rev. 02/27/01; rev. 07/27/04; reviewed 06/25/06; revised 09/26/06; revised 07/24/07; rev. 09/23/08; reviewed 07/27/10; reaffirmed 7/26/11; reaffirmed 06/24/14, revised 07/26/16; revised 01/26/21; revised 06/28/22; revised 05/28/24.