Purpose
It is the intent of this policy to provide for public understanding of the purpose and nature of the library’s collection and to give guidance and direction to library staff for collection development and maintenance.
The Collection Development Policy will be periodically reviewed by the County Librarian and then presented to the Tehama County Board of Supervisors for further review and adoption. This review ensures that the library remains responsive to the changing goals, objectives, and nature of the community.
The Tehama County Library provides a library collection which reflects the community’s needs and interests in formats appropriate for all users. The goal of the library collection is to stimulate interest and curiosity in all ages, encourage an appreciation for reading and the arts, and support lifelong learning for all ages. The library provides, within financial limitations, a general collection of materials embracing broad areas of knowledge and entertainment for all ages. The library collection is separated into sections of children, young adult, adult to help patrons select age appropriate materials. Materials added to the library collection with be placed into a shelving category by library staff. The library staff member will use information from the book publisher and also consult other libraries when determining which shelving category an item should be placed into.
Responsibility for Library Collection Maintenance and Selection
Library Collection Maintenance is the responsibility of the Tehama County Librarian, who may wish to assign other employees to assisting with Library Collection Maintenance in certain areas. Circulation statistics, copyright dates, and overall condition of library materials will be taken into consideration when Library Collection Maintenance occurs.
Library Employees use reviews in professionally recognized periodicals, online review sources, and award winner lists as primary sources for materials selection. Book lists by recognized authorities and the advice of competent staff and other people in specific subject areas will also be used. Standard criteria applied by those purchasing materials for the library include: literary merit, enduring value, accuracy, social significance, importance of subject matter to the collection, soundness of the author’s attitude and approach, cost, scarcity of the material on the subject and availability elsewhere. Textbooks and materials of a highly technical or specialized nature are generally excluded from the collection.
No material will be eliminated because of language, violence, sexual episodes, or any one of which may be objectionable to some people.
All cardholders, regardless of age, have the right to access all materials in the Library and to borrow any circulating item. Parents and legal guardians are responsible for monitoring the use of library materials by their children. The Library does not act in loco parentis and is not responsible for inadvertent viewing at the library. Selection of library materials is not limited by the possibility that children may come in contact with them.
The Tehama County Library does not promote particular beliefs or views. The Library provides materials for the various opinions, which can apply to important, complex, and controversial questions, including unpopular and unorthodox viewpoints. Language, situations, or subjects that may be offensive to some community members do not disqualify the material for the entire community.
The process of Library Collection Maintenance (sometimes known as deselection or weeding) is essential to maintain a dynamic and useful library collection. At times this process is dictated by space constraints. Library Collection Maintenance provides quality control for the collection by elimination of outdated, worn-out, and inaccurate materials. Periodic evaluations of subject areas are the responsibility of the County Librarian and ensure that the collection stays up-to-date with the changing and growing needs of the community.
Request for Addition to the Library Collection
If a patron who holds a Tehama County Library card in good standing seeks a specific item that the library can obtain, the Tehama County Library will determine if that item can be obtained for the collection or via Interlibrary Loan or any other resource sharing with other libraries. A library patron can request a purchase in person at the Tehama County Library.
Request for Reconsideration of Materials
If a patron objects to the presence of any library material, the patron will be referred immediately to the County Librarian, who will discuss the matter with the patron. If the patron wishes, s/he will be supplied with this document as well as a Request for Reconsideration of Library Materials form.
The Tehama County Librarian will examine the item in question, research the item, and determine if it conforms to the standards of the materials selection procedure.
The Tehama County Librarian will decide the best course of action and will write to the patron giving the reasons for the decision. The Tehama County Board of Supervisors will also be notified of the patron and the course of action determined by the Tehama County Librarian.
Request for reconsideration (online form)
Title Author
How was this brought to your attention? What objections do you have to the material? What action are you requesting of the library?
Contact details
Name
Library Card #
Email Address
Phone number
Do you represent yourself or an organization?
If you represent an organization, please provide the name of the organization. Your mailing address
Thank you for sharing your concerns with us. The library staff will reevaluate this item in view of your comments and all relevant policies and practices. You will be notified of the decision.
eBooks/eAudiobooks and streaming
The Tehama County Library supplies eBooks and eAudiobooks via our consortium NorthNet and streaming videos via Kanopy. Although we pay for both of these services we do not have authority regarding what titles they make available. If you do have questions about content the County Librarian can direct, you to the appropriate contacts at NorthNet and Kanopy.