Collection Development Policy
Collection development will be consistent with and supportive of the mission statement and overall objectives of Alamosa Public Library in an effort to meet the recreational, informational, and cultural needs of patrons in the city and county of Alamosa.
In accordance with Colorado Law (SB24-216):
- The Alamosa Public Library serves as a center for voluntary inquiry and the dissemination of information and ideas.
- The public has the right to access a range of social, political, aesthetic, moral and other ideas and experiences through the Alamosa Public Library.
- Each library resource is provided for the interest, information, and enlightenment of the community and should provide diverse points of view in the collection as a whole.
- The Alamosa Public Library shall not exclude a library resource because of the ethnic origin, ethnic background, or gender identity of those contributing to the creation of the library resource or because of the topic addressed by the library resource or the opinions expressed in the library resource.
- The Alamosa Public Library shall not proscribe or prohibit the procurement of a library resource because of partisan or doctrinal disapproval of the library resource.
- It is the responsibility of the Alamosa Public Library to challenge censorship in the fulfillment of its responsibility to provide information and enlightenment.
- The Alamosa Public Library shall consider the perspectives of marginalized groups including but not limited to – American Indians, Latinos, African Americans, and Asian Americans; lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender individuals; and religious minorities.
- The Alamosa Public Library shall prohibit discrimination based on age, background, political or religious views, origin, disability, race, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, marital status, national origin or ancestry in the selection, retention, display, use or reconsideration of library resources.
Responsibility for Selection
The Board of the Alamosa Public Library determines the Collection Development Policy. The responsibility for administering this policy rests with the Library Manager. All staff members and the general public are encouraged to recommend materials for consideration. Generally, the Library Manager selects most of the Adult Collection and the Children’s Librarian selects materials for the Easy, Juvenile, and Young Adult collections. Selections are made based on book reviews from such publications as Ingram’s Advance, Publisher’s Weekly, Booklist, Library Journal, and The New York Times Book Review – as well as trends, demonstrated popularity of the author or topic, and patron interest.
Acquisitions Guidelines
Each resource must be considered for its value, its format, and the audience for which it is intended. No single criterion is applicable to all purchase and access decisions. Some resources may be judged primarily for their artistic merit, scholarship, or value to humanity while others are chosen to satisfy the informational, recreational, or educational interests of the communities.
Librarians apply their judgment and experience in selecting materials according to the criteria listed below. All criteria do not apply to each item. Works of imagination are judged by different standards than are works of information and opinion. Works that present an aspect of life honestly are not necessarily excluded because of frankness of expression. Materials are judged as a whole rather than on isolated passages. In considering individual titles in the selection process, librarians consult reviews, bibliographies, and other evaluative sources. However, the library generally purchases most current best sellers, giving higher priority to demand rather than to reviews or other relevant criteria. All materials, whether purchased or donated, are considered in terms of the criteria listed below:
- suitability of physical form for library use;
- suitability of subject and style for intended audience;
- present and potential relevance to local interests and needs;
- appropriateness and effectiveness of medium to content;
- number and nature of requests from the library users;
- historical significance;
- importance as a document of the times;
- relation to existing collection, alternative formats, and other material on the subject;
- reputation and/or significance of the author/artist and publisher/producer;
- authority, competence, and purpose of the author/artist;
- attention of critics, reviewers, and the public;
- comprehensiveness and depth of treatment;
- objectivity;
- clarity, accuracy, logic of presentation, and/or ease of use;
- representation of a minority point of view;
- relevance to the experiences and contributions of diverse populations;
- artistic presentation and experimentation;
- quality of illustrations;
- originality;
- vitality, readability, or ability to sustain interest;
- effective characterization;
- authenticity of historical or social setting;
- value of resource in relation to its cost;
- cost and availability;
- relationship to existing materials in collection;
- relationship to materials in other area libraries.
Collection Management
Library staff evaluate materials in the collection regularly based on several criteria:
- Timeliness of informational materials, especially in rapidly-changing fields such as computer science and medicine.
- Continued popularity of fictional materials.
- Physical condition.
Materials are removed from the collection or “weeded” if they do not meet the criteria to be kept.
Materials which are weeded from the collection are disposed of in one of the following ways at the discretion of the Library Manager:
- Donated to other libraries.
- Sold by the Friends of the Library to benefit Library projects.
- Distributed via Little Free Libraries and community partner organizations.
- Recycled or discarded.
Replacement of withdrawn materials is not automatic. The decision to replace is influenced by:
- Availability of copies in the system
- Popular interest
- Adequacy of coverage in the subject area
- Significance in subject area
- Cost and availability
Suggestions for Purchase
The library strongly encourages input from the Alamosa community concerning the collection. All suggestions for purchase are subject to the same selection criteria as other materials and are not automatically added to the collection. It is the Library’s intent that suggestions for purchase be used to help in developing collections which serve the interests and needs of the community.
Approved by the Library Board
June 19, 2024