Mission Statement
The Barberton Public Library (BPL) will promote the development of independent, self-confident, and literate members of the community through the provision of efficient and effective services; the access to diverse cultural, educational and informational resources; and the offering of an environment within which people can meet, interact and participate in public discourse about community issues.
Community Served
The library was founded in 1903 to serve the city of Barberton, and in 1925 became a school district library. Its primary responsibility is to the residents of the Barberton City School District and secondarily to the residents of the state of Ohio.
BPL’s service commitment is to the people within its service area including people of all ages, education, religious belief, economic level, ethnic origin and sexual orientation.
BPL has adopted the American Library Association guidelines for public access to information: (full text of these guidelines follow this policy)
- Library Bill of Rights
- Freedom to Read
- Freedom to View
The collection contains information on a multitude of subjects and views. Customers have free access to the information within the limitations of space and budget. BPL will do its best to provide customers with this information either through traditional ordering or through the mutual cooperation of interlibrary loan services.
Responsibility for Selection
Selection of the materials is made by qualified staff responsible for Collection Development. These staff members have Master’s Degrees in Library Science. Suggestions are taken from staff members, Board of Trustee members, customers 1 and other members of the public. The Library Director has the final responsibility for all selections.
The Reference Department and the Children’s Librarian are primarily responsible for the selection of the library’s materials. Each department is responsible for selection in its respective collection area.
This Collection Development Policy, approved by the Board of Trustees, offers guidance for all who are responsible for selection and is the official policy of the library. It is subject to revision and change of emphasis.
General Selection Criteria
When determining the inclusion or deletion of a resource, selectors will consider a wide range of determining factors including:
- Relevant to community needs and interests
- Attention of critics, reviewers and the public
- Reputation/qualifications of the author, artist, publisher or producer without regard to political, religious, or other affiliations
- Artistic merit, literary value, or recognized award recipient
- Permanence or timeliness
- Quality of presentation in relation to content and audience
- Stability of physical format for library shelving and circulation including binding, paper quality, readability of type, packaging, specialized equipment needs and technical quality for electronic media
- Cost in relation to value to collection
- Availability of information within region or electronically
- Legal or licensing issues
Budget limitations and materials available in nearby libraries must be considered when selecting materials.
Diversity of Viewpoints
BPL purchases a variety of materials covering many areas of concern including controversial topics. The scope of the collection is not limited, nor are materials labeled or placed in restricted areas because an individual may object to the material’s point of view.
Overall intent of a work is a primary consideration in selection. Materials solely appealing to prurient interest or promoting illegal activities are avoided. Unorthodox language or frank discussion of situations do not rule out selection if the librarians determine that the basic statement of the material is accurate and portrays realistic situations or characters.
Librarians will offer guidance in the selection of materials, but parents or guardians are entirely responsible for monitoring their children’s use of library materials.
Gifts
BPL accepts gifts of books and other materials with the understanding that they will be evaluated in accordance with the criteria applied to materials selected for the collection. BPL reserves the right to dispose of any material not deemed appropriate for the collection. Once a gift is accepted at BPL, it becomes the property of BPL unconditionally. Gift materials not added to the collection may be sold by the Friends of the Library at their book sales or donated to other charitable book sellers.
Gifts of money are used to purchase materials for the department requested by the donor. Materials are selected with consideration given to the interests of the honoree as well as the occasion. Bookplates will be provided to recognize both the donor and the honoree.
Because of wear, theft and mutilation, the permanence of gifts cannot be guaranteed.
Major contributions of materials are acknowledged, but no statement of monetary value can be provided to the donor for tax or other uses.
Duplication
Occasionally, the library will order extra or additional copies of materials. Duplication of materials is determined by:
- The importance of the author, illustrator, or subject.
- Continuing need for the material.
- Budget limitations.
- Community demand.
- The availability of and the demand for the same item in different formats.
Temporary demand for library materials may be addressed by borrowing from other cooperative libraries or through leasing and rental programs.
Collection Maintenance
Selecting librarians are responsible for maintaining the collection. The number of copies of a title that are purchased varies with the expected popularity of that title. Demand for individual titles is monitored and additional copies are purchased to meet that demand if budgets allow.
The collection receives ongoing review in order to maintain its relevancy and physical condition. Staff uses the following criteria in choosing materials for retention or withdrawal:
- Relevance to community needs
- Information: accurate, timely, up-to-date
- Number of copies in the collection
- Circulation statistics
- Condition: worn, missing or stained pages, water damaged, mildewed or defaced.
Items that are removed due to condition will be considered for update or replacement/duplication.
Due to rapid changes in the fields of health and medicine, those materials should be reevaluated after no more than five years to determine continued accuracy. If budget and publishing trends allow, materials more than three years old should be discarded and replaced with newer items on the topic. Any health, medical and legal materials containing outdated information should be discarded.
Materials withdrawn from the collection are given to the Friends of the Library or vendor for sale. Materials that are damaged or otherwise unsuitable for sale will be recycled or discarded.
BPL does not remove materials from its collection for the purpose of selling them.
Intellectual Freedom and Requests for Reconsideration
BPL believes in freedom of information for all and does not practice censorship. This principle applies to all formats in BPL’s collection. Many materials are controversial and may offend some patrons. Selections are not made on the basis of disapproval but on the merits of the material and collection needs. Exclusion of materials may occur because of cost, accessibility, and limited demand or lack of documentation, but not solely on the basis of language content, viewpoint or other matters.
Parents or legal guardians are responsible for monitoring materials used by their children.
A formal process has been developed to assure that complaints and requests for reconsideration are handled in an attentive and consistent manner. BPL will reevaluate when a Request for Reconsideration form is submitted.
The Library’s Collection: an Overview
In keeping with the library’s role as a center of life-long learning in the community, the library’s primary format for information is books, of both general and specific interest to the community.
Children’s and Tween’s Collection
The Children’s Department serves children from birth through eighth grade as well as adults working with children. The collections include both print and non-print materials, including games. Children’s and tween’s recreational and educational needs are considered in purchasing materials. The same standards that apply to the purchase of adult materials apply to children’s and tween’s materials with the additional provision of age appropriateness.
While the staff of the Children’s Department welcomes the opportunity to help children in choosing materials, supervision of the use of materials by a particular child is the responsibility of that child’s parents and/or guardians.
Community Health Library Branch
The Consumer Health Collection is comprised of material geared toward the layperson rather than medical professionals. Topics covered include health, wellness, fitness, nutrition, hygiene, diseases, mental health, substance abuse and recovery, and alternative medicine. The collection at CHL will not overlap the main library’s consumer health collection, with the exception of highly popular or iconic titles. Medical information is not interpreted by the librarians.
Electronic Resources
The Barberton Public Library offers access to a variety of electronic resources, both stand-alone and networked, to serve the informational needs of the library’s customers. These resources include CD-ROM products, locally created databases and software, and networked databases and software. The library’s goal is to make these resources convenient, customer-friendly, and readily available to all users of the library.
Fiction
The library’s fiction collection is made up of popular and literary fiction based on community interest and positive book reviews. The collection contains many genres, including but not limited to: fantasy, inspirational fiction, mystery, romance, science fiction, and westerns. Books are selected in regular and large print.
Foreign Language Materials
Materials in foreign languages are added to the collection. The library makes attempts to add materials in languages other than English and concentrates on those communities living in the Barberton area and using the library. The library’s collection is supplemented with access to the foreign language collection available through participation in the Clevnet Library Consortium. When budget, demand, and publishing trends allow, the library will acquire fiction and nonfiction materials.
Graphic Novels
Graphic novels are books written in a comic book format. These include comic books collected into a single volume and self-contained stories. Graphic novels are purchased for all ages and can be fiction or non-fiction. They are purchased for the appropriate sections by the selecting librarians for that section.
Local History Collection
The Local History collection includes nonfiction, reference, periodicals, CD-ROMs, and microfilm. The primary focus of the Local History collection is the City of Barberton. The collection also encompasses genealogical resources, materials on surrounding communities and counties, as well as information of a historical nature pertaining to the State of Ohio. Materials are acquired by purchase or donation. Materials are selected based on their pertinence to the collection, in response to patron interest and to maintain a collection that reflects the focus of the Local History Room. Donations are reviewed and accepted or denied by the Local History Librarian. Acceptance is determined by the appropriateness of materials to the scope of the collection and space available.
The artifacts, photographs, postcards, personal histories and other special collection items are collected based on their established relationship to the history of Barberton. Special collections items may be acquired through purchase or donation. Donations are reviewed and accepted or denied by the Local History Librarian. Acceptance is determined by the appropriateness of items to the scope of the collection. Donations of artifacts, photographs, postcards and other special collection items are accepted with a completed Deed of Gift form. The librarian will not assess value or provide a statement for tax purposes for donated items.
Temporary loans of materials are permitted with the intention of displaying items in a secure location for a specifically agreed upon timeframe, as recorded on a Temporary Loan Waiver. Temporary loans must be approved by the Local History Librarian or Library Director prior to receipt of items to be loaned. Temporary loan items are not permitted to leave the building without the permission of the owner. Permanent loans are not permitted with the exception of collections placed on permanent loan prior to the adoption date of this policy.
All Local History materials are carefully preserved and protected. Irreplaceable items or items that are particularly expensive do not circulate. Special collections and books deemed worthy of additional preservation are stored in appropriate archival storage containers when possible. Items may be discarded based on their failure to fit within the scope of the collection or damage that limits their usefulness to the collection. Occasionally, lack of storage space may be a determining factor in the deaccession of items. Separate detailed procedure and policy instructions have been written for the Local History Room in the Library Policy Manual.
Nonfiction
The library has a balanced, up-to-date circulating collection of authoritative, well recognized books in multiple fields for the general reader. Special focus is given to Ohio and region- specific topics, based on community interest. The limitation of funds prevents any attempt to provide a complete collection in any one field. Websites, databases, and other electronic resources are complements to our inhouse collections. Books are selected in regular and large print.
Non-print Materials
The library acknowledges the popularity of many different formats of audio-visual and other non-print materials for both learning and entertainment. The AV Librarian selects materials in these areas using the same criteria as in other selecting areas. The collection contains many formats including but not limited to DVDs, CDs, books on CD, books on cassette, CD-ROMs, video games, downloadable media and video cassettes. As the formats and technology change, the library will make adjustments based on community needs, funding, and reviews.
Reference Materials
Books and other media which are intended for use only in the building are termed reference materials. They are used to provide quick answers or as a primary source of information for frequently asked questions. Examples are dictionaries, atlases, encyclopedias, financial and investment resources and biographical sketches. Particularly costly or rare books may be also be cataloged as reference to safeguard the materials so they remain available for public and staff use. Reference books may be duplicated in the circulating collections as determined necessary by the collecting librarian for the benefit of users. Collecting librarians follow the section criteria for other nonfiction works in the collection of reference materials.
Reference materials that become outdated or worn may be discarded from the collection at the discretion of the collecting librarians. New editions are purchased when deemed necessary based on available funds and the breadth of updated or augmented information. Older editions that have been replaced by new editions or are no longer deemed important to the reference collection may be placed in the circulating collection if the collecting librarian determines the resource to be an appropriate addition to the collection.
Teen Central
Teen Central primarily serves customers in grades 9-12 with varying reading levels. The collection contains fiction and non-fiction books, graphic novels, audio-books, and periodicals. The items in Teen Central fill recreational and informational needs. Efforts are made to collect materials in high student demand resulting from homework and home study assignments. Parents or legal guardians are responsible for monitoring the materials used by their children.
Websites
The Barberton Public Library maintains a website on the World Wide Web in order to meet the information needs of customers even when the library is closed. The library website is designed primarily to provide access to additional Internet resources and remote access to select databases. A secondary function of the website is to market the library to a wide range of current and potential customers. When possible, the library website will point to existing reliable sources which will provide topical information. The library will not recreate resources which already exist on the Internet. Professional librarians, using the general selection criteria outlined in this Collection Development Policy, will select appropriate sites for customer use. The library uses its Computer Usage Policy as a guide for monitoring computer usage and its contents.
All Library policies have been designed to maximize available resources and ensure accessibility. They are always subject to review and revision by the Board of Trustees as necessary.
Adopted by the Board of Trustees, March 25, 2010.
American Library Association Library Bill of Rights
The American Library Association affirms that all libraries are forums for information and ideas, and that the following basic policies should guide their services.
I. Books and other library resources should be provided for the interest, information, and enlightenment of all people of the community the library serves. Materials should not be excluded because of the origin, background, or views of those contributing to their creation.
II. Libraries should provide materials and information presenting all points of view on current and historical issues. Materials should not be proscribed or removed because of partisan or doctrinal disapproval.
III. Libraries should challenge censorship in the fulfillment of their responsibility to provide information and enlightenment.
IV. Libraries should cooperate with all persons and groups concerned with resisting abridgment of free expression and free access to ideas.
V. A person’s right to use a library should not be denied or abridged because of origin, age, background, or views.
VI. Libraries that make exhibit spaces and meeting rooms available to the public they serve should make such facilities available on an equitable basis, regardless of the beliefs or affiliations of individuals or groups requesting their use.
Adopted June 19, 1939, by the ALA Council; amended October 14, 1944; June 18, 1948; February 2, 1961; June 27, 1967; January 23, 1980; inclusion of “age” reaffirmed January 23, 1996.