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Collection Development Policy

Chapter: Collection Development
Policy Number: 4.01
Original Effective Date: 5/17/18
Revision History: 9/15/21, 5/21/25

Objectives

Menomonee Falls Public Library aims to select, organize, and preserve materials within the limitations of space and budget and to make them freely and easily available to the community. The Library strives to stimulate and expand the interests of our patrons by offering a vast selection of materials representing multiple points of view and on a wide variety of subjects.

The Library endeavors to identify the interests and informational needs of the community and curate its materials, services, and programs to meet these needs and interests.

Authority and Responsibility for Selection

Final authority for the determination of policy in the selection and acquisition of all Menomonee Falls Public Library material resources is vested in the Library Board of Trustees.

Ultimate responsibility for the selection of books and materials rests with the Library Director who operates within the framework of Library policies adopted by the Board of Trustees. The Library Director may, at their discretion, assign a designee to these responsibilities.

Designated Library staff members who are qualified by reason of education, training, or expertise, as assigned by the Library Director, apply their judgment and experience in selecting Library materials in accordance to this Policy.

Guidelines for Selection

The Library strives to maintain a balanced collection in which diverse points of view regarding contemporary and historical issues are represented. The presence of any material or resource does not constitute an endorsement.

  • Selection decisions are guided by the merits of the work, collection needs, and interests of a diverse community.
  • The Library does not restrict access to any material by age, and leaves the responsibility for minors’ use of, viewing, or consumption of Library materials to each minor’s parent or legal guardian. Selection decisions are not influenced by the possibility that material may be accessible to children.
  • The Library acknowledges a particular interest in local history, and will add to its collection works produced by authors or publishers with local connections that meet the purpose and objectives of this policy.
  • The Library selects materials of varying complexity and format because it serves a public embracing a wide range of ages, educational backgrounds, interests, sensory preferences, and reading skills.
  • The Library recognizes that materials and resources may be deemed or considered controversial. Library materials will not be marked or identified to show approval or disapproval of their contents, and no Library material will be sequestered, except to protect it from potential damage or theft.

Criteria for Selection

Selectors must consider each type of material in terms of its own merits and the audience for whom it is intended. No single standard can apply to all acquisition decisions. Some material may be selected primarily for artistic merit, scholarship, or value to humanity, while others may be chosen to satisfy the recreational and entertainment needs of the community.

General criteria:

  • Contribution the material makes to the scope of the collection and existing collection needs
  • Relevance to community needs and interests
  • Circulation statistics
  • Current or anticipated demand — Library staff typically purchase one copy per five holds by Menomonee Falls Public Library patrons, barring extenuating circumstances
  • Support business, cultural, recreational, and civic interests of the library patrons
  • Significant or relevant author or publisher
  • Attention of critics and reviewers
  • Inclusion on recent awards lists
  • Important human or social insight
  • Representation of current ideas and events
  • Availability of item

Criteria for non-fiction works and periodicals:

  • Accurate, clear, and logical presentation
  • Comprehensive and complete treatment
  • Address contemporary issues
  • Facilitate continuing education
  • Author’s qualifications
  • Of lasting value or current need
  • Original point of view
  • Balance of perspectives in collection

Criteria for fiction works:

  • Vitality and originality
  • Artistic presentation or experimentation
  • Well-developed plot and characterization
  • Representation of important genre or trend
  • Continuation of a currently held series

Criteria for non-print works (in addition to the criteria for fiction or non-fiction)

  • Quality technical production
  • Popularity and anticipated demand of specific format
  • Circulation statistics or trends of print versions of same title
  • Provides a presentation that is effectively delivered by the specific format
  • Licensing/copyright compatibility with Library use
  • For Library of Things items, the following will be considered: Needs and interests of patrons, storage and safety considerations, cost, longevity, ease of processing and circulation, maintenance needs, and consumer reviews.

Selection may also be limited by the following factors:

  • Price
  • Format
  • Availability of low-demand materials in other Library’s collections
  • Sustainability for Library and staff to maintain

As new formats emerge, the Library carefully monitors public response. Library collections evolve as technology and usage trends require. A new format may, therefore, be an addition to existing Library collections or a replacement for an obsolete one.

While the Library does not attempt to provide all curriculum materials needed by educators, it recognizes that many patrons’ information requests result from their status as students. The Library strives to acquire materials that meet their information needs, as well as materials that meet the information needs of the general public.

Tools used in selection include professional journals, trade journals, subject bibliographies, publishers’ promotional materials, online resources, and reviews from reputable sources.

Menomonee Falls Public Library is a member of the Bridges Library System, and, as such, provides access to materials from other system libraries to its patrons. The Library also participates in an interlibrary loan network throughout Wisconsin. Menomonee Falls Public Library does not have any control over materials loaned from other libraries.

Digital Materials

Some digital materials and databases are provided to the Library through the state- or system-wide buying pool. These materials include audio, video, and electronic books, and are selected by the Wisconsin Public Library Consortium or the Bridges Library System’s appropriate committees. Other resources such as Hoopla have collections maintained by parent companies with no local control. Menomonee Falls Public Library has no direct control over this selection, other than to recommend titles. Relevant selection committee and collection development policies are set through the appropriate organizations.

Recommendations

Recommendations from Library users are welcomed and encouraged. Those that meet the established selection criteria are acquired. Requesters may suggest a purchase through an online form or by notifying reference staff.

Standing Orders & Automatic Purchases

Selective lists of Library materials are ordered on a continuing basis rather than by individual title. These lists include, but are not limited to:

  • Updated editions of reference and nonfiction works already owned by the Library
  • Nonfiction subject category series
  • Books by notable and well-known authors whose new works generate high demand

Standing orders and automatic purchases plans are regularly reviewed and revised to maintain collection currency and relevance.

Evaluation and Withdrawal of Materials

An attractive and up-to-date collection is maintained through a continual discarding and replacing process. The Library has a limited amount of space for materials to be shelved; additionally, materials may be withdrawn from the collection after careful consideration of these factors:

  • Physical condition
  • Currency of information
  • Lack of use
  • Superseded by a new edition or better work on the same subject

Although every effort will be made to replace needed materials which are withdrawn, the Library takes the position that it is better to have no information on a subject than to have materials that are inaccurate or in poor physical condition

Materials withdrawn from the collection may be given to the Library Book Sale or disposed of by other means. Individual items that are being withdrawn will not be saved for specific individuals.

Request for Reconsideration of Library Materials

The Library understands that community members have diverse points of view. The choice of use of Library materials by its patrons is an individual matter. While an individual may reject materials for themselves, they should not attempt to exercise censorship to restrict access to the materials by others.

Residents of the Village of Menomonee Falls may request reconsideration of a selection decision. Formal review requires the submission of a completed Request for Reconsideration form (PDF) to the Library Director. Verbal or written complaints are not a substitute for a Request for Reconsideration form.

Within 30 days of filing the request, the Library Director and the material selector will review the request and send a written response to the requester explaining their decision regarding the request. The response will also inform the requester that, if the requester desires, the request will be forwarded to the Library Board.

Within 30 days following the written response, if it is the desire of the requester, the request for reconsideration along with the Library Director recommendation will be forwarded to the Library Board.

Within 90 days of the filing of the Request for Reconsideration form the Library Board will review the request and take final action on it.

All decisions will consider professional reviews and employ all the criteria of selection listed in this policy, The Board of Trustees has final authority in determining the retention or removal of challenged Library materials. The requester will be notified in writing of the Library Board’s decision in the matter.

Requests for reconsideration about a particular item will not be considered by the Library more than once within a 12-month period.

During the process of reconsideration, challenged materials remain in the active collection until an official decision is made.