4-40 Collection Development
A public library attempts to provide an accessible setting for a variety of materials. Since no individual can buy and store all of the material one may need or want, the community pools its resources to create a public collection for the community's benefit.
A primary goal of the Chatham Area Public Library is to develop a collection of excellence. The library strives, within the limitations of budget and space, to provide a wide range of materials which meet the diverse educational, informational, cultural and recreational needs of the community.
Reasonable efforts will be made to build balanced collections without favor given to particular causes or viewpoints. The library supports the American Library Association's Bill of Rights (APPENDIX A), and its Freedom to Read (APPENDIX B) and Freedom to View (APPENDIX C) statements, which recognize the right of persons to free and convenient access to information and ideas.
The parents or guardians, not the library, are responsible for supervising the use of books and materials by their children. Librarians are available to provide suggestions for patrons of all ages.
Selection & Maintenance of Materials
The Library Director is responsible for all materials in the library collections. Designated Library staff members use professional judgment to choose and discard items in the library collections within the scope of assigned areas.
A variety of factors influence the selection of library materials, both print and electronic. These include accuracy of information, interest, authority, demand, value to the existing collection, timeliness, significance of the subject, format and price. In selection, consideration will be given to the work as a whole. No work shall be excluded because of specific passages or pieces taken out of context. It is not possible to read, view, listen, and analyze every item before it is added to the library's collection. Selection of materials is accomplished in a variety of ways. Extensive use is made of reviews in professional and other journals. Recommendations by staff and residents of the community are seriously considered.
Library Collection Gifts
The Library welcomes gifts to the collection, but accepts them with the understanding that it has the right to handle or dispose of them in the best interest of the Library. Such material may be added to the collection provided that it meets the Library’s standard of selection or cataloging.
When donated material is added to the Library's collection, the classification and display of the material is solely at the discretion of the Library Staff. The donor may not restrict access to, nor use of donated materials.
Materials purchased with memorial funds and materials presented as memorials must meet the same criteria as purchased materials. Memorials may be acknowledged and marked with an appropriate bookplate. Material not added to the collection or withdrawn will not be returned to the donor.
Receipts for donated materials are available upon request, but the Library will not appraise the value of the donation, suggest a value, provide an appraisal service, nor recommend professional appraisers.
Withdrawal of Materials
As materials are regularly added to the collection, ongoing maintenance is necessary to ensure the collections are maintained in good condition with relevant and up to date information. Part of maintaining the collections is performing regular weeding. Weeding is a vital process for an active collection because it ensures the collection stays current, relevant, and in good condition. Staff will perform weeding on a continual on-going basis.
Suitable withdrawn and donated materials will be donated to another library, to school districts or to the Friends of the Chatham Area Public Library District to sell.
Interlibrary Loan
Interlibrary loan (ILL) is the process by which a library requests materials from, or supplies materials to, another library. Through interlibrary loan, patrons may request materials from other libraries in Illinois and from other libraries that participate in the SHARE automated consortium through the Illinois Heartland Library System. The requested materials are sent to the Chatham Area Public Library, where the patron may check the items out (or use them in the library, if so stipulated by the owning library).
For those items that are outside of the SHARE automated consortium of libraries, the Chatham Area Public Library will request materials that are located within Illinois and beyond through OCLC. This OCLC Inter-Library Loan service is reserved for Chatham Area Public Library cardholders.
The Library affirms that interlibrary loan is an adjunct to, not a substitute for, the library's collection. The Library exhausts local resources first, including its own collection and those from libraries in SHARE, before requesting items from libraries out of the system.
The Chatham Area Public Library endorses the Illinet Interlibrary Loan Code, the American Library Association Interlibrary Loan Code for the United States, and complies with Copyright Law (17 U.S.C.) and its accompanying guidelines. It also follows the policy guidance from the Illinois Heartland Library System, the SHARE automated consortium and OCLC.
Request for Reconsideration
The Chatham Area Public Library endeavors to build a collection representing varying points of view. The choice of library materials by users is an individual matter. Responsibility for the reading materials of children rests with their parents or legal guardians. While a person may reject materials for themselves and for their children, they cannot exercise censorship to restrict the use of materials by others.
A request to remove library materials creates complex legal and ethical questions for both the library and the community. Consequently, this issue is taken very seriously by the Library. To initiate a request, a Request for Reconsideration form, (APPENDIX D) which is located at each Library service desk, should be filled out completely and given to the Library Director. Upon receipt of a completed "Request for Reconsideration of Library Material" form, a committee consisting of the Library Director, a Library Staff member and a Library Trustee will be formed to evaluate the patron's concern. The committee will make a recommendation concerning the complaint to the Board of Trustees. The Board will make the final decision as to the retention, elimination, or relocation of the material and promptly notify the individual making the formal complaint of the board's decision.
Policy Revision
This policy will be reviewed by the Library Board of Trustees every two years pursuant to 75 ILCS 16/30-60, Selection and Use of Library Materials.
LEGAL REF.: 75 ILCS 16/30-60
CROSS REF.: 2-70, 4-20, 5-40, 5-70
ADOPTED: MARCH 20, 2000
AMENDED: JUNE 15, 2009
AMENDED: MARCH 15, 2021
AMENDED: APRIL 15, 2024
Attached is the Appendix A, B, C & D