Public libraries play a unique role in preserving democracy by providing an open, non-judgmental space where individuals can pursue their interests and gain exposure to diverse opinions. These principles stem from the First Amendment of the Constitution, which affirms a citizen’s right to hold beliefs and express them. Freedom of speech and freedom of the press extend to the right to unrestricted access to the expressions and beliefs of others. Therefore, libraries must continue to play an essential role in safeguarding the intellectual liberty of the public and recognize, understand, and support freedom of access.
Purpose
This document is intended for all staff members involved in the selection of library materials for the Rockport Public Library. Its primary purpose is to serve the following functions:
- Guide the staff’s thinking and decision-making processes.
- Foster a sense of commitment among staff members to achieving the mission and goals of the Rockport Public Library.
- Establish consistent selection standards to ensure the library’s collection remains relevant and up-to-date, even amidst staff turnover.
- Minimize the influence of individual preferences and biases by reducing the role of a single selector.
- Facilitate deselection activities and periodic evaluation of the library’s collection.
- Provide guidance to staff and Trustees in handling complaints and addressing concerns.
- Educate library patrons and non-patrons about the nature, priorities, and scope of the selection and deselection processes for the Rockport Public Library.
Statement of Responsibility
While the Rockport Library Board of Trustees holds overall responsibility for the library’s collection, the Library Director ultimately bears the responsibility for selecting materials. The Director delegates some of this responsibility to selected staff members who possess the following qualifications:
- Professional training
- Experience in library materials selection
- Understanding of the review process for information materials
- Intelligent use of existing selection tools
- Recognition of future trends and the impact of emerging technology on information retrieval
Library staff assigned to select materials for the library collection should exercise professional judgment to avoid personal bias, not only during the selection process but also in implementing the procedures for deselection activities.
In accordance with Sections 33 and 34 of Chapter 78 of the Massachusetts General Laws Annotated, no library staff will be terminated or disciplined for acting in good faith in accordance with this policy.
Selection Process
The Rockport Public Library’s Mission Statement significantly influences the selection of library materials. This selection process aligns with the Library’s objectives and responds to the Goals, Objectives, and Activities outlined in the latest Strategic Plan of Service.
The selection process is based on the staff’s familiarity with existing collections, their awareness of library users’ needs, and their knowledge of current and future trends in information materials suitable for public libraries. Favorable reviews are the primary criterion for selection. Cost, physical quality, and materials from reputable publishers and producers are also considered.
The library staff selects materials in various formats, including books, serials, audio-visual media, reference materials, e-content, and databases. To manage limited stack space, the library controls the growth of its collections. Old, worn-out, and outdated materials are removed to make room for recently acquired items. Most of the selected materials are current imprints, with retrospective buying generally limited to replacing lost or damaged items or filling gaps in the collection. Serials, regardless of format, are evaluated individually and must meet selection criteria. Items recommended for purchase by patrons and staff may be placed on order if they meet selection criteria.
Before adding a new format to the collection, the library staff carefully considers several factors, including budget, community needs, existing information infrastructure, available space, and the potential impact on other library resources. The selection of material in any new format may lead the staff to retire specific material formats from the Library’s collections.
Local authors, illustrators, and items related to contemporary Rockport, local history, and genealogy will be carefully selected for inclusion in circulating collections, reference materials, or the Rockport Room Collection.
While titles by local authors that are self-published are generally not added to the collection unless there’s a compelling reason (such as valuable local content or high local interest), we do give preference to works or other works by the author that have been professionally reviewed. Local authors often generously donate self-published books to the library. However, if a donated book doesn’t otherwise meet the Materials Selection Policy, it won’t be accessioned.
Selection Tools
Library staff involved in materials selection spend considerable time reading and evaluating reviews to decide which materials are appropriate for the Rockport Public Library collections.
The following shall be consulted in selecting materials:
Standard Library Reviewing Journals such as:
- Booklist
- Kirkus Reviews
- Library Journal
- New York Times Book Review
- Publisher’s Weekly
- School Library Journal
Supplementary Tools such as:
- Award winners and core collection lists
- Best seller lists from regional newspapers
- Current reviews for print, audio-visual, and electronic materials from popular trade magazines
- Recommended lists from professional associations and non-profit organizations
- Catalogs, flyers, and announcements from publishers, producers, and vendors are used only to identify titles to watch for reviews
Criteria in Selection
During the materials selection process, the staff considers specific criteria to obtain the best of what is available in a cost-effective manner. The following criteria will be used as they apply:
Fiction
These materials are selected to support the recreational needs of the community. They provide entertainment, aesthetic and cultural experiences, or stimulate imagination. The criteria for selection are:
- Popular demand
- Suitability of the subject, writing style, and reading level of the intended audience
- Format
- Award winner or best seller
- Classic work
- Local authors
- Good review of the first release materials by unknown authors and foreign writers
Nonfiction
These materials are selected from a broad range of subject areas with varying points of view to provide factual, informational, and educational materials for the community. The criteria for selection are:
- Current interest
- Popular demand
- Format
- Expertise of the authors
- Accuracy and treatment of subject matter
- Scope and depth of coverage
- Style of presentation
- Relevance as a record of historical events
Young Adult Collection
This collection is primarily for young adults between the ages of 12 and 18. The selection of materials for this collection is the responsibility of the Children’s Librarian. The collection is chosen with an emphasis on materials which help develop the intellect, as well as those which entertain and enable young people to deal with the world around them. The Young Adult collection is considered a bridge to the adult collection, and it is expected that most young adults will choose their own materials with limited parental input. Young adults are encouraged to use the entire collection at the Rockport Public Library to the extent that their interests and capabilities allow.
The Young Adult collection is carefully chosen using the following criteria:
- Inclusion on the ALA lists of best books for Young Adults
- Award winner
- Current interest
- Popular demand
- Author with recognized success in writing for young adults
- Inclusion on summer reading lists
- Support for school projects
- Fiction and nonfiction in varied formats
- Graphic novels, manga, and poetry
- Mental health, identity, and social justice themes
- College prep and career exploration resources
Children’s Collection
The Children’s Collection is an integral component of the Rockport Public Library’s collections and is designed to meet the informational, educational, cultural, and recreational needs of all age groups, from toddlers to middle schoolers. The selection of materials for the children’s collection is entrusted to the Children’s Librarian, who may solicit suggestions from other Children’s Room staff members. Recommendations from parents or legal guardians are also welcome.
The collection housed in the Children’s Room encompasses a diverse range of print and non-print materials in various formats, including picture and accessible books, chapter books, magazines, audio-visual media, games, puzzles, e-content, and databases. Materials in this collection are selected using the same criteria as those employed in the adult collections. A primary emphasis is placed on books that children will find enjoyable as well as informative. Selection is predominantly based on favorable reviews from professional selection tools.
Children’s materials are selected with meticulous consideration of the following factors:
- Accuracy
- Reputation of the authors, editors, illustrators, and producers
- Suitability and appropriateness of vocabulary
- Quality of illustrations
- Award-winning status
- Format
- Ease of use
- Value of the material relative to the existing collection
- Titles featured on summer reading lists
- Multilingual and inclusive materials.
- Appeal to potential users
The responsibility for the use of library materials rests with the parents or legal guardians of the young patrons in their care. These guardians are encouraged to actively participate in the reading, listening, and viewing choices made by their children.
Rockport Room Collection
The mission of the Rockport Room is to collect, preserve, and make available to researchers materials with historic significance concerning the inhabitants, government, institutions, built and natural environments of the Town of Rockport, including Gloucester, from which Rockport was later incorporated as a separate community. This collection includes books, manuscripts, maps, memorabilia, microfilm, newspaper articles, pamphlets, photographs, postcards, serials, town government documents, and audiovisual materials. These materials are arranged for use by researchers and can be located through various indexes and the online catalog.
Acquisition Condition
- Title to the items must be free and clear, without restrictions as to use or future disposition. Donors of materials to the Library’s Collections will be asked to execute a Deed of Gift by which they affirm they had clear title to the donated property, that they transfer all rights to that property, including copyrights, to the Rockport Public Library, and that they understand that the Library may keep, exchange or sell the donated property at some future date without notice to the donor.
- The Library can provide for the storage, protection, and preservation of the items in a manner that assures their availability for Library purposes and keeps them according to professionally accepted standards.
- Materials will be retained in the collection for as long as they remain useful for the mission and purpose of the Rockport Room.
Collection Guidelines
Materials will be added to the collection through gift or purchase consistent with the Mission Statement of the Rockport Public Library and the mission of the Rockport Room. The Rockport Public Library will not accept any donation with special conditions regarding retention or treatment.
The decision to add materials to the Rockport Room collection will be made by the Library Director. The library will not appraise materials for donors. Donors should further specify whether they would like to have returned to them materials that the library does not wish to add to the Rockport Room collections.
Recommendations
Patrons and members of the staff are welcome to offer recommendations for materials for additions to the library collection. Forms are provided to facilitate this process. Works recommended by patrons for library purchase are given special consideration. All recommendations are subject to review and are added to the collection if they meet the criteria used for selecting library materials.
Deselection Activities
Deselection activities are carried out based on the criteria used for new materials and on the considerations listed below.
Weeding
Systematic withdrawals are made to provide a collection that is current, reliable, in good condition, well-used, and that relates to the needs and interests of Rockport residents. Materials are discarded when they are judged to be dated, in poor condition, seldom used, or otherwise no longer appropriate.
Discards
Discarded material may be given to the Friends of the Rockport Public Library for their book sales or may be given to other libraries and non-profit organizations. Withdrawn young adult or children’s materials may be offered to the local school and preschool libraries, if appropriate. Dated and worn-out materials are discarded if they have no remaining value.
Replacements
When material has been lost or is in poor physical condition, attempts are made to replace it when necessary. Replacements are also made for some materials borrowed but never returned. The replacement is selected according to the prescribed process and criteria in materials selection.
Evaluation
The staff of the Rockport Public Library periodically reviews the collection relative to its current programs and services. Evaluation of the materials is based upon information from any or all of the following sources.
- Objectives required in the latest Strategic Plan of Service
- Compiled statistics on holdings
- Patron surveys
- Physical examination of the collection
- Shelf space
- Emerging/obsolete technologies
Resource Sharing
As members of the Merrimack Valley Library Consortium (MVLC) and the Massachusetts Library System (MLS), the Library’s materials selection includes resource sharing, such as interlibrary loan. The interlibrary loan service will be used to supplement the specific educational needs and recreational desires of library patrons. Interlibrary loan requests are processed in accordance with the guidelines set forth by the Consortium.
Gifts
The Rockport Public Library reserves the right to accept or decline items offered for donation based on the same criteria used for new purchases. Items not added to the collection will be given to the Friends of the Rockport Public Library for their book sales, unless the donor asks to have the items returned to them. The Library does not appraise gifts for tax purposes. A Deed of Gift form must be completed by any person or institution donating archival materials or collections to the Rockport Room.
Reconsideration of Library Material
The Trustees of the Rockport Public Library endorse the principles of intellectual freedom, which are inherent in the First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States and are expressed in the Library Bill of Rights, Freedom to Read Statements, and Freedom to View Statements adopted by the Council of the American Library Association. All four documents are incorporated as part of this Materials Selection Policy.
In the materials selection process, the Rockport Public Library staff adheres to all the principles cited above and recognizes its obligation to provide as wide a spectrum of information resources as possible for the Town of Rockport. Selection cannot be restricted by the possibility that certain materials might be considered objectionable by some persons in the community based on moral, religious, social, or political grounds.
Library patrons who object to a book or other material in the collection may request reconsideration of such. When a request for reconsideration is made, these procedures are followed.
- The patron will be directed to a professional librarian or the Library Director, who will explain the materials selection policy. A copy of the policy may be given to the patron upon request. If the explanation is satisfactory, no further step is needed.
- If the patron wishes to pursue the complaint, they should fill out and submit the request for reconsideration form. A physical copy of this form may be requested by email to the director or by visiting the library. The Library Director sends a written response to the patron within 14 days from the date the form was submitted.
- If the patron finds the staff decision unacceptable, he or she may appeal in writing to the Library Director, who then convenes a Reconsideration Committee. This Committee will consist of one Library Trustee, two members of the library staff, plus the Director, and three members of the community jointly appointed by the Trustees and the Library Director.
- The library material in question shall not be removed from the collection during the review process. As the material is being reviewed, the Reconsideration Committee conducts a thorough evaluation based on the selection guidelines outlined in this document while taking into consideration the written comments from the patron. The Committee will recommend a course of action to the Library Director within 30 days. The Library Director will inform the patron of the Committee’s final decision in writing.
- A copy of the Committee’s final decision will be retained on file at the Director’s Office.
Rockport Public Library Request for Reconsideration Form
The Library Board of Trustees has delegated the responsibility for the selection and evaluation of Library resources to the Library Director and has established reconsideration procedures to address concerns about those resources. Completion of this form is the first step in those procedures. If you wish to request reconsideration of a library resource, please complete and submit this form. A physical form may be requested by emailing the director at cgrove@rockportlibrary.org or by visiting the library.
Rockport Public Library Request for Reconsideration Form
The Library Board of Trustees has delegated the responsibility for the selection and evaluation of Library resources to the Library Director and has established reconsideration procedures to address concerns about those resources. Completion of this form is the first step in those procedures. If you wish to request reconsideration of a library resource, please complete and submit this form. A physical form may be requested by emailing the director at cgrove@rockportlibrary.org or by visiting the library.
The Library Board of Trustees has delegated the responsibility for the selection and evaluation of Library resources to the Library Director and has established reconsideration procedures to address concerns about those resources. Completion of this form is the first step in those procedures. If you wish to request reconsideration of a Library resource, please return the completed form to Cindy Grove, Library Director, Rockport Public Library, 17 School St., Rockport, MA 01966.
Appendices
Mission, Vision, and Diversity and Inclusion Statements Library
First Amendment to the United States Constitution
The Board of Trustees reserves the right to amend this policy and to rule on situations not specifically covered herein. The Board of Trustees and the Library Director shall review this policy as needed.
Library Director
Cindy Grove
Board of Library Trustees
Lana Razdan
Cindy Sharfstein
Rob Audano
Policy voted and adopted on: June 22, 2017
Updated: 12/29/2022