Collection Development Policy

Collection Development Policy. A. Intellectual Freedom. The library is historically understood to be an unbiased repository for the recorded expression of human thought. It must, therefore, accept responsibility for providing access by the public to all points-of-view contained therein. The addition of an item to the collection does not represent an endorsement by the Library Commission of any theory, idea, or policy contained in the item. The Library Commission collection strives to represent differing sides of controversial issues to the extent that budget constraints, space limitations, and availability of materials allow. The race, religion, gender, nationality, or political views of an author, individual, or group in the community shall not result in items being automatically included in or excluded from the collection. The Library Commission Mississippi Library Commission 2 Revised 052411 subscribes to the principles of the American Library Association’s “Library Bill of Rights” and “The Freedom to Read” and “Freedom to View” statements. B. Acquisition of Materials. 1. Primary Resource Collection - The Library Commission acquires library materials through purchases and gifts. The Board is authorized by §39-3-111 to accept in the name of the State gifts of books, periodicals, or other property for the purpose of promoting the work of the Library Commission. Selections of library materials are made by professional staff designated by the Executive Director. Selection of library materials is based on scope, need, format, purchase price, storage cost, efficiency and effectiveness in imparting information, and suitability for use by staff and eligible users. Selectors take into consideration critical evaluations in review media, journals, and standard bibliographies, as well as the selector’s knowledge of the collection of the Library Commission and other libraries, communities served, and existing library and information resources. State documents shall be deposited with the Library Commission in accordance with §25- 51-1 to 25-51-7, which designates the Library Commission as the State depository for the publications issued by any State government agency for public distribution and requires all agencies of State government to furnish copies of public documents to the Library Commission. Acquisition of Patent and Trademark Depository items shall follow the requirements established by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Materials donated to the Library Commission shall be added to the collection only in accordance with the general collection policy. 2. Blind and Physically Handicapped Collection - The Library Commission acquires materials, at no charge, through the Library of Congress, National Library Service (NLS) for the Blind and Physically Handicapped program. Other formats not provided by NLS or acquired through purchases and gifts follow the Library Commission acquisition guidelines established for the Primary Resource Collection in Section II.A.2.b.1. C. Disposal of Materials. Disposal of library materials shall be undertaken by the Library Commission only as a means of strengthening and benefiting the mission of the Library Commission. The materials to be disposed of and the method for disposition of the deaccessioned materials, including donation, recycling, destruction, or transfer to another State agency, shall be determined by a staff member designated by the Executive Director. Library materials which are no longer needed to meet Library Commission program objectives shall be removed from the collection. When such materials are appropriate to the needs of other publicly-funded libraries in the State such materials shall be transferred to such libraries. Materials on deposit with the Library Commission shall be disposed of in accordance with the rules of the depositing authority. Mississippi Library Commission 3 Revised 052411 The Library Commission assumes unconditional ownership of donated materials and may, at its own discretion, dispose of both donated materials and materials purchased with donated funds. D. Requests for Reconsideration of a Selection. Individuals desiring reconsideration pertaining to a specific selection may submit a Library Commission “Request for Review of Library Materials Form” by mail to the Library Commission. The Executive Director shall review the reconsideration request and notify the requesting party of the decision within thirty (30) working days of the receipt of the request. If the decision rendered by the Executive Director is not satisfactory to the requesting party, an appeal may be submitted to the Executive Director for consideration by the Board for a final administrative determination.