The purpose of the guidelines is to establish and maintain a documented and systematic approach to collection management.

GENERAL OVERVIEW

Desert Foothills Community : The Desert Foothills Library serves the Foothills community and surrounding areas. While its primary clients are citizens of Cave Creek and Carefree, the Library also serves North Phoenix, North Scottsdale and North into New River and Anthem.

Cave Creek and Carefree have predominantly older citizens. The median age is 44 and 55 respectively. It is important to meet the needs of these retired citizens and provide access to materials that meet their interests.

Children under the age of 14 make up 16% of the population in Cave Creek and 10% in Carefree. The Library strives to provide an environment that will promote a love of reading and books among our youth. As a result, special attention is given to children and youth collection.

LIBRARY POLICIES

Mission Statement for the Collection

The goal of the Desert Foothills Library is to provide materials and services that meet the independent learning, informational and recreational needs of all members of the Desert Foothills community. To meet this goal, the library offers a wide range of materials for users of all ages, socio-economic status and education levels. Whenever possible, the collection will portray representative points of view in all fields of interest to the general public, regardless of the controversial nature of the ideas or opinions expressed. The Library shall not favor or disfavor specific causes, movements, or viewpoints.

Responsibility for Collections

The ultimate responsibility for materials selection lies with the Library Director who works within the goals and objectives as approved by the Board of Directors. The Library Director, however, works with an acquisitions team to identify new materials that should be added to the collection. The Library Director may also delegate authority to professional staff and/or trained volunteers to apply the policy in making some day-to-day selection decisions. The Desert Foothills Library selects materials based upon recommendations by the community, book reviews, and the knowledge of Library staff and volunteers.

The Library subscribes to the principles outlined in the American Library Association’s Bill of Rights and will not support specific causes or points of view. Materials shall not be excluded because of the race, nationality, religion and political or social views of the performer, author, publisher, or producer.

COLLECTIONS OVERVIEW

Mission Statement for the Collection

The Community will have timely access to materials presenting philosophically balanced thoughts and perspectives.

Goals of the Collection

The Library will be structured to meet the general needs of the residents in the community. Inter-library loans are provided to cover as many gaps in the collection as possible. As needs for specific areas are identified, the collection will be developed to meet those needs to the extent that space and budget allow. The Library will collect informational titles on very broad subject coverage. Titles will tend to introduce and define a subject.

General Criteria for Selection:

All acquisitions, whether purchased or donated, are considered in terms of the criteria listed below:

• Status of collection composition
• Collection development goals
• Positive reviews from standard reviewing sources
• Audience
• Diversity
• Effective expression
• Accuracy
• Reputation and/or authority of author, editor, illustrator, publisher, producer or performer
• Price and availability
• Present coverage of subject area
• Inclusion in bibliographies of award winning, highly recommended titles

Reviewing Sources Consulted for Collection Development

The Material Acquisitions team will often consult reputable reviewing sources to aid in material selection. Reviewing sources consulted include the following:

• Booklist
• Choice
• Kirkus Review
• Library Journal
• Media and Methods
• New York Time Book Review
• Publisher’s Weekly
• School Library Journal
• Sheehy’s Guide to Reference Materials
• Periodical and publishers’ catalogs
• Reviewing sources available on the internet and reputable television programs

Effectiveness of Collection

The Library will monitor changes in the community to ensure that the Library collection continues to meet the needs of its users. This will be accomplished through analysis of census information, circulation statistics, patron suggestions, patron questionnaires, and consultations with professional and classified staff, volunteers, and board members.

Organization of Collection Management

Collection management is conducted by the Library Director, who must be a professional librarian. The Director is assisted by selected staff, trained volunteers, and board members. The Library Director will assign selectors with specific responsibilities for selection. Budgetary decisions as to how much will be spent in each area will be made by the Library Director. Responsibilities of the Library Director, and any persons chosen and trained by the Library Director, include selection, assessment, maintenance, weeding and budget accountability. Final accountability in all these areas will be the responsibility of the Library Director.

THE COLLECTION

Nonfiction - Reference

The reference collection consists of noncirculating materials designed to provide prompt access to factual information in subject areas collected by the Library. Information may appear in print or nonprint format. The works chosen for the collection should supply as many facts as possible with minimal duplication. Expensive titles and local history will not be housed in the reference collection based on cost or content alone; they must meet the added criteria of “reference” material.

Examples of reference materials include almanacs, atlases, bibliographies, comprehensive biographies focusing on many individuals, concordances, dictionary, directories, encyclopedias, handbooks, indexes and abstract, legal materials, standards, statistics, style manuals, telephone books, and yearbooks.

Additional materials, which may be housed in the reference area, include electronic and mechanical resources, microforms, government documents, maps, newspapers, periodicals and the vertical file.

Primary criteria for selection of reference materials include:

• Format of information provided
• Index of alphabetical arrangement
• Currency
• Comprehensiveness
• Publishing frequency, purchasing commitment over an extended period of time
• Cost

CD-ROM or web based materials are selected based on:

• Coverage in comparison to printed materials
• Ease of use for staff and patrons
• Frequency of updates
• Ability and cost of networking

Circulating Nonfiction

In selecting titles, the Library attempts to acquire the best available nonfiction titles to meet the information, recreation, and independent learning needs of its users. The focus of the nonfiction circulation collections will be on practical titles, which meet the needs for living in the everyday world. The level or depth of coverage in nonfiction subject areas will vary according to demand and financial constraints.

In the subjects that the Library collects, deliberate attempts are made to identify titles that will balance the collection and represent opposing points of view. Therefore, patrons may find materials that are in opposition to their own beliefs. Multiple copies of nonfiction titles will not be purchased except in Large Print or Talking Books (audiocassette/CD) format. If the demand is high and an additional copy is donated, it may be included in the collection until the demand diminishes.

The collection will attempt to reflect the unique interests and needs of the residents of the Desert Foothills community. This will be accomplished through regular surveys of patron requests, questionnaires, and studying the demographics of the community.

Fiction

In selecting titles, the Library attempts to acquire the best available fiction titles to meet the recreation, literary and independent learning needs of its users. The fiction collection will consist of classical titles, award-winning titles, and best sellers that reflect the current Material Selection Policy, along with additional titles consistent with the tastes and interest of the community. Variety is essential to achieve a superior collection. Multiple copies of fiction titles of normal print will only be purchased if demand warrants it. If the demand is high and an additional copy is donated, it may be included in the collection until the demand diminishes. Large Print and Talking Books (audiocassettes) will be considered duplicate copies that are needed and warranted.

In the titles that the Library collects, deliberate attempts are made to identify titles which will balance the fiction collection so that patrons may find a variety of titles in the collection.

Special Collections

In selecting which areas to designate as “Special Collections,” the Materials Selection Committee will consider the unique qualities and interest of the community as well as the availability of materials and finances to support these interests.

The Library’s current special collections consists of the following:

• Southwest fiction and nonfiction, including Native American history and mythology, and Spanish history in the Southwest.

Magazines and Periodicals

In selecting titles, the Library attempts to acquire the best available titles to meet the recreation, literary and independent learning needs of its users. The focus of the magazine and periodical collection will be on the practical titles which will meets the needs of everyday living. The level or depth of coverage in magazines and periodicals will vary according to demand and financial constraints.

Audiovisual collections (videotapes, DVDs, audiocassettes, and CDs)

In selecting titles, the Library attempts to acquire the best available titles to meet the recreation, literary and independent learning of its users.

Children’s Collections

In selecting materials for children, the Library’s objective is to meet the recreational, informational and cultural needs of children age birth to 12. While many books are selected to meet the popular demand of the majority of the children, much of the collection includes titles that have special qualities making them valuable to children with special needs, talents, problems and interests. Replacement and duplication of older titles is extensive as many books span across generations. The Children’s collection is divided into three sections, Easy, Beginning Readers and Juvenile, which are outlined below.

Easy Books

This collection consists of materials that can be read to children by a caregiver. The books have excellent illustrations. Easy books are geared toward children from birth to pre-school. These books tend to be fiction, but may include some nonfiction.

Beginning Reading

This collection consists of materials for children who are just learning to read. The books often have large print, many pictures to supplement the text and have relatively few pages. Beginning Reading books are geared toward children in grades kindergarten to grade 3. This collection includes both fiction and nonfiction.

Juvenile literature

This collection consists of books with the appropriate vocabulary and themes for children in grades 3-8. These books have few illustrations and relatively few pages. This collection includes both fiction and nonfiction.

Audiovisual Materials

The library collects videos/DVD and Talking Books in the aforementioned categories. They include fiction and nonfiction materials.

Young Adult Collection

In selecting materials for young adults, the Library objective is to identify books, magazines and audiovisual materials that are outside the scope of the adult and children’s collection that will appeal to ages 13-18, or grades 9 to 12. Materials selected attempt to broaden the horizons of this group and help them deal with the problems of adolescence as well as to promote the love of reading by providing entertaining and popular materials.

DONATIONS, DESELECTION, AND REPLACEMENTS

Donations

The Library welcomes and encourages book, magazine, audiobook, DVD and video donations. Materials that are donated and considered for the collection will be evaluated with the same criteria and guidelines as all purchased library materials. Those materials that do not meet the criteria will not be added to the collection, but will be given to the Friends of the Desert Foothills Library for their book sale.

The library will have receipts available which can indicate the type and number of items donated. The donor is responsible for deciding the value of donated items.

Deselection of Library Materials

It is prudent for the Library to evaluate its existing collection on a continuous basis, as it is a critical component of the collection development process. Deselection is a formal process that is conducted by a knowledgeable staff person to maintain the vitality, size and scope of the collection. Materials are deselected from the collection based on either a systematic process or through physical damage.

The systematic process of evaluating the collection includes assessing materials for their physical condition, currency, accuracy, relevancy to library users, and their performance within the library’s collection. Categories of materials specifically focused upon include duplicate copies of seldom used titles, superseded editions of titles, materials that are outdated or contain inaccurate information and materials that are no longer in demand or fit the interests of our community.

If an item is physically damaged, it may be removed from the collection. A decision will be made as to whether a new copy of the material should be purchased to replace it.

Replacements

A damaged or lost item may or may not be replaced. The acquisitions team will assess whether the item ought to be replaced based on availability of title, historical significance of the title, then number of titles on the topic that already exist in the collection, the popularity of the title, and whether a newer title on the topic would be a better addition to the collection. If the item is not replaced, the fee collected for the item will be placed in an account and used to purchase additional titles.