Collection Development Policy
Collection Development Policy
The purpose of the Collection Development Policy is a tool to guide in the selection, acquisition, maintenance, deaccession, receipt of gift, resource allocation and distribution of materials relevant to the needs of the community and in accordance with the James A. Tuttle mission statement.
Formats:
Print: Books, documents, magazines, newspapers, pamphlets, and maps.
Audiovisual Media: Videos on DVD and Blu-ray, books on CD and digital audio player, music on compact disc, and video games.
Electronic Media: Databases, software, electronic books, downloadable audio books.
The Library also provides access to the Internet. Selected Internet sites are linked to the Library’s website.
Criteria for Selection:
- Public demand, interest or need
- Contemporary significance, popular interest or permanent value
- Attention of critics and reviewers
- Prominence, authority and/or competence of author, creator or publisher
- Timeliness of material
- Relation to existing collections
- Statement of challenging, original, or alternative point of view
- Authenticity of historical, regional or social setting
- Accessibility for multiple users of electronic formats
Website:
The James A. Tuttle Library provides the community with a link on the website to the Library’s on-line catalog of materials and to other electronic resources. It also offers links to subject-focused websites recommended by the Library Director. In linking other websites to its home pages the Library follows the selection criteria cited above. Beyond this, the Library does not participate in the development of these other sites and does not exert any editorial or other control over these sites. Any link from the Library’s website to another website is not an endorsement from the Library. The Library does not warrant that its website, the server that makes it available, or any links from its site to other websites are free of viruses or other harmful components.
Responsibility for Selection:
Responsibility for the initial selection of Library resources rests with the Library’s professional staff, based on the criteria cited above. The responsibility for selection ultimately rests with the Library Director operating within the framework of policies determined by the Board of the Trustees.
Suggestions for Additions to the Collection:
To assure the acquisition of resources desired by Library users, customer suggestions are always considered for their addition to the collection. Customers can request that specific items be purchased by filling out a Recommendation for Purchase form at the Library.
Collection Maintenance, Replacement and Weeding:
The Library Director regularly reviews items in the collection to ensure that they continue to meet patrons’ needs. Materials that are worn, obsolete, unused, old editions or unnecessarily duplicated are removed. It is the responsibility of professional staff to assess the need for replacing materials that are damaged, destroyed or lost. Items are not automatically replaced. Decisions are based on need, demand and budget.
Adopted by the James A. Tuttle Board of Trustees on March 9, 2021