Purpose of Collection Development Policy

The collection development policy is intended to provide guidance, within budgetary and space limitations, for the selection and evaluation of materials which anticipate and meet the needs and interests of the Richland community.  It directly relates the collection to the Library’s mission statement and defines the scope and standards of the various collections.

As the community changes, the Richland Public Library (RPL) reassesses and adapts its collections to reflect new and differing areas of interest and concern.  The collection development policy is periodically evaluated and revised as necessary to provide guidance for implementing changes in the collection.

Be the hope-inspiring presence in our community where every person belongs and is supported in enjoyment, learning, and understanding.

All Richland residents experience the library as a durable, trusted institution for the public good that is finely interwoven into the entire fabric of our community.

Teamwork: We will work together, demonstrating collaboration through mutual reliability, openness, and flexibility to accomplish our goals.

Integrity: We will demonstrate an uncompromising allegiance to the core values of honesty, respect for others, loyalty, consistency, accountability, and sincerity.

Excellence: We will deliver a superior level of commitment, responsiveness, performance, and provision of services to all, with the attitude that everything is worth our best effort.

In support of its mission, RPL fully endorses the principles documented in the Library Bill of Rights, the Freedom to View, and the Freedom to Read Statements of the American Library Association.  The Library upholds the right of the individual to secure information, even though the content may be controversial, unorthodox, or unacceptable to others.

 Materials available in the Library present a diversity of viewpoints, enabling citizens to make the informed choices necessary in a democracy.

Collection Development is conducted through examination and consideration of review media, announcements of new publications by publishers, customer and staff recommendations, bibliographies on specific subjects, and examination of the present collection.  Materials will be evaluated as a whole and not on the basis of a particular section or sections.  Materials are acquired in a manner that is both timely and useful to our customers.

The evaluation of materials will be characterized by flexibility, open-mindedness, and responsiveness to the changing needs of our customers.  These changing needs require that materials be evaluated on a continuing basis.  As a result, materials not recommended for purchase originally may be selected for purchase at a later date, or materials already in the collection may be considered unnecessary or unsuitable.

Since RPL functions as a center for life-long learning, it has materials to support learning through all the ages and phases of life, from the youngest child’s needs to those of senior citizens.  While we do select materials to support the educational process as much as possible, the Library’s collection cannot and does not substitute for the specialized collections provided by school or college libraries, nor do we collect homeschool curricula.  The Library makes no attempt to duplicate materials (such as textbooks) in those collections.  In addition, the obligation to provide duplicate copies for students is primarily that of the college or school library.  RPL cannot undertake meeting the demands of large class assignments.

A significant part of RPL’s collection is popular materials for recreational use.  Popular materials may be in a variety of formats and either fiction or non-fiction.  RPL considers the popular materials collection seriously and selects for a wide range of interests using evidence-based software and statistics.

Materials are purchased in the most appropriate and available format for library and customer use.  New formats will be considered for the collection when industry reports, national survey results, and local requests indicate that a significant portion of the community has the necessary technology to make use of the new format. 

Collection Development also entails maintaining the existing collection so that it remains vital and useful to the community.  This includes the regular and consistent evaluation of the collection for withdrawal and replacement of worn out and dated materials using available tools and software.

Responsibility for development of the collection rests with the RPL Manager under the authority of the Library Board of Trustees.  Direct selection of all library materials is delegated to staff members qualified for this duty by their education, training, interest, and job classification.  Suggestions from library users are always welcome and given serious consideration.

All materials, whether purchased or donated, are considered in terms of the criteria listed below.  An item need not meet all of these standards in order to be added to the collection.

• Contribution to the diversity and scope of the collection
• Contemporary significance
• Physical format
• Popular appeal
• Quality of production
• Receipt or nomination for awards
• Available space
• Published evaluation or reviews
• Suitability of subject and style for intended age level
• Relevance to local interests and needs
• Current or historical significance
• Importance as a document of the times
• Relationship to existing collection, alternative formats, and other material on the subject
• Reputation and/or significance of one of the creators of the work
• Skill, competence, and purpose of the author/artist
• Comprehensiveness and depth of treatment
• Clarity, accuracy, logic of presentation, and/or ease of use
• Relevance to the experiences and contributions of diverse populations
• Cost

The following criteria, in addition to the appropriate criteria listed above, will be used when acquiring and/or maintaining online databases or other virtual services:

• System priorities.  A higher priority will be given to databases or services that will provide access to the widest group of customers
• Usage
• Cost per use
• Viable alternatives to the database or service being considered
• Breadth vs. depth of information provided by the database or service
• Resources that are already offered in another format or service provided by the Library
• Use as a standard reference source

Multiple copies of materials are purchased in response to user demand. This is decided by the number of holds, anticipated popularity, repeated requests, and monitoring of the collection.  For popular fiction and non-fiction titles, RPL maintains a holds ratio (i.e., for every 4 holds on a title, another copy is purchased) as allowed by budget constraints.

RPL considers reading, listening, and viewing to be an individual and private matter.  The Board believes that full, confidential, and unrestricted access to information is essential for patrons to exercise their constitutional rights.  While anyone is free to select or reject materials for themselves or their own minor child(ren), the freedom of others to read or inquire will not be restricted by the Library.  Only parents and guardians have the right and responsibility to guide and direct the reading, listening, and viewing choices of their own minor child(ren).  The Library does not stand in the place of parents (in loco parentis).

The library collection will be organized, marked, and maintained to help people find materials.  Any labeling, sequestering, alteration, or discarding of materials because of controversy surrounding the author or subject matter will not be allowed.  Library materials may be sequestered for the purpose of protecting them from damage or theft.  The Library Board considers all materials selected under this policy to be constitutionally protected under the First Amendment of the United States Constitution and the Washington State Constitution.

RPL strongly encourages input from the Richland community concerning the collection.  Richland citizens can use the Library Material Request form to request the purchase of a particular item or subject.  However, 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 are used to help RPL in developing a collection which serves the interests and needs of the community. 

RPL provides a wide variety of materials to meet the needs and interests of as many of our residents as possible.  Materials are selected for the library using the Collection Development policies.  If a patron or staff member feels that an item was purchased in error or is inappropriate, they may request reconsideration of that item by submitting a Reconsideration of Materials Request form. 

RPL is not a judicial body. Laws governing obscenity, subversive materials, and other questionable matters are subject to interpretation by the courts. Therefore, no challenged material will be considered for removal based solely on the complaint of obscenity or any other category covered by law until a local court of competent jurisdiction has ruled against the material.

RPL is often asked to include items in our library that are written and/or published independently.  This can include materials that are self-published/produced or items published through a vanity press company.  RPL looks for material with regional connections and collection relevance that will appeal to a wide audience.  The best way to bring an item to RPL’s attention is through reviews.  Review sources that specialize in independently published material include the following:

• Foreword
• Small Press Review
• Independent Publisher

A positive review in one or more of the library review journals, such as Library Journal, School Library Journal, Kirkus Reviews, Booklist, and Publisher’s Weekly, or in the local daily paper will give an independently published book an improved chance for inclusion by RPL.

Information regarding the material should be sent to the RPL’s Collection Development supervisor.  The following information should be included:

• A brief summary of the material
• Any professional reviews
• Intended audience
• Author background and contact information
• Publisher information
• Item description (price, ISBN, date of publication)
• Distributor(s)
• OCLC World Cat Record

Preview copies will be treated as a donation and their disposition will be covered under the Gifts and Donations Policy.

Used materials are generally not purchased due to the following:

• High shipping and handling costs
• Inconsistent grading of materials available from on-line vendors
• Need to obtain materials in mint condition
• Need to have materials processed to library standards

RPL welcomes the donation of materials to the library. Donations may be made in the form of resources or money.  All donations have costs associated with them, including the time for evaluation, cataloging, and processing.  As a result, the acceptance of donations should be made judiciously.  RPL will not accept a donation that includes a stipulation that is not consistent with this policy or the collection goals of the library.  Donations of resources must meet the same selection criteria used in the normal acquisitions process and are accepted with the understanding that they may not be added to the collection.  Donations should meet the goals of RPL rather than the donor.  

Due to the labor involved in processing donations, individual materials will not be returned after evaluation.  Items not added to the collection may be sold by the Friends of the Richland Public Library, given to other resources, or discarded.  All proceeds from sales support library activities and needs.

The lists below offer additional guidelines to assist in determining if a donation is appropriate for the library, or if it should be donated to the Friends of the Library.

RPL will not add material if the item:

• Is marked, damaged, or shows excessive wear
• Is a withdrawal from another organization
• Is abridged or condensed fiction in an audio-visual format
• Requires special equipment for use
• Is a personal, non-commercial copy/recording
• Is in a format no longer supported by the library
• Is a textbook, magazine, or newspaper

RPL will, if requested, provide a written acknowledgment of the receipt of donations.  In accordance with IRS regulations, RPL leaves the determination of donation/gift values to the donor.

Collection Maintenance

In addition to acquiring new materials, it is important to remove from the existing collection those items no longer deemed useful or relevant.  This policy provides authority for the systematic and regular evaluation of the existing collection and subsequent withdrawal of worn, obsolete, or infrequently used materials and supports the public’s right of access to an appealing and relevant collection.

RPL management staff systematically review the collection with the goal of maintaining the quality and vitality of library resources.  This process of collection analysis incorporates the use of output measures, circulation reports, and other statistical information for continuous collection evaluation.

Weeding in the context is defined as the process of evaluating a book to determine if it will be retained, relocated, or replaced.  Selection of material for discarding is based on the CREW method:

• Continuous
• Review
• Evaluation
• Weeding

This system uses the acronym MUSTIE to help evaluate an item for withdrawal:

• Misleading and/or factually inaccurate
• Ugly (worn out beyond mending or looks unappealing)
• Superseded by a new edition or a better source
• Trivial (of no discernible literary or scientific merit)
• Irrelevant to the needs and interest of your community
• Elsewhere (the material may be easily borrowed from another source)

While RPL attempts to have copies of standard and important works, it does not automatically replace all materials.  The same criteria that apply to original selection also apply to replacements.  The need for replacement is based on:

• The number of duplicate copies
• Existence of adequate coverage of the subject in the collection
• Demand for the specific title or subject area
• Availability of material

Materials that no longer meet the stated objectives of the Library will be withdrawn from the system.  RPL reserves the right to determine how materials are removed.

• Adopted by the Richland Public Library Board on March 3, 1988.
• Amended February 8, 2022.