Resources Selection Policy

The Resources Selection Policy defines the criteria library staff uses to select both physical and digital resources.  The Davidson County Public Library System (DCPL) seeks to provide resources to reflect a broad range of human experience, both locally and globally.  The collection should represent a variety of material formats including print, audio-visual, and digital.  

  • The selection of resources should take into account the wide-ranging interests, needs, and ages of patrons from infants to elderly, as well as a diversity of ethnicities, religious beliefs, races, as well as social and economic levels.  
  • The collection should offer a broad range of opinion on current issues, with selection criteria and trusted resources guiding staff, rather than a spirit of censorship or exclusion.  The collection will contain popular works, classic works that have withstood the test of time, and other materials of general interest to meet the informational, educational, recreational, and cultural needs of the community.  
  • The selection of any given item for DCPL’s collection does not equate to the library’s or any individual staff member’s endorsement of a particular viewpoint.  
  • Responsibility for the guidance and monitoring of children’s reading, listening, and viewing selections belongs to each child’s parent or guardian.  

General Criteria for Selection

Members of DCPL’s staff evaluate resources according to one or more of the following standards:

Purpose

  • Alignment with DCPL’s mission to promote literacy and offer support for lifelong learning

Subject of Work

  • Present and potential relevance to community needs
  • Suitability of subject and style for intended audience
  • Importance as a document of the times
  • Relation to the existing collection and to other materials on the subject, striving for balance, diversity and completeness
  • Representation of important movements, genres or trends
  • Vitality and originality
  • Relevance and use of the information
  • Currency
  • Artistic presentation and/or experimentation

Quality of Work

  • Authority
  • Comprehensiveness and depth of treatment
  • Skill, competence, and purpose of the author
  • Reputation and significance of author
  • Objectivity
  • Clarity
  • Technical quality
  • Representation of diverse points of view
  • Authenticity of history or social setting
  • Effective characterization

Community Interest/Public Demand

  • Attention by critics and reviewers
  • Sustained interest
  • Potential user appeal
  • Requests made by library patrons

Suitability for Public library use

  • Consideration of the work as a whole
  • Suitability of physical form for library use
  • Cost and availability


Special Considerations for Electronic Information Sources

  • Ease of use of the product
  • Availability of the information to multiple simultaneous users
  • Equipment needed to provide access to the information 
  • Technical support and training 
  • In keeping with current and emerging trends 
  • Availability of the physical space needed to house and store the information or equipment 
  • Available in full text 

Examples of Trusted Selection Sources

  • Library Journal 
  • School Library Journal 
  • Booklist 
  • Goodreads 
  • New York Times Book Review 
  • Publishers Weekly 
  • Shelf Awareness 

Related Guiding Documents 


Requests for Reconsideration of Materials

Parents and legal guardians are responsible for the selection and use of library materials and resources by their children.  The library supports the right of individuals to reject for themselves or their children resources and materials they find unsuitable or objectionable; however, the freedom of others to read or inquire will not be restricted.  The library recognizes that a diverse collection may result in some requests for reconsideration.  

Reconsideration of Material Guidelines

  • Only Davidson County residents with a library card in good standing (i.e., less than $10 in overdue fines, no charges over 90 days old, and no fees for lost or damaged material) are permitted to request the removal or change in shelving location of a DCPL library item.
  • If a resource is challenged and DCPL retains the material in the collection, the material cannot be considered for another challenge for five (5) years unless new information about the material comes to light.
  • Each resident is limited to submitting one (1) "Request for Reconsideration of Material Form" per calendar year.

Reconsideration of Materials Process

In order to ensure that requests for removal or change in shelving location of items are handled in a consistent manner, the following procedures should be observed:

  1. Davidson County residents with a library card in good standing that wish to register a formal reconsideration request will receive a copy of the “Resources Selection Policy” and a "Request for Reconsideration of Material Form" from the branch Library Manager or manager on duty at that location.  
  2. The patron must fill out the “Request for Reconsideration of Materials Form” in its entirety and return it to the Library Director at the following address: 612 South Main Street, Lexington, NC 27292.
  3. An internal committee comprised of the Library Director, Assistant Director, ILS Division Manager, and Library Manager of the owning library of the material in question, and if possible, the staff member responsible for the collection containing the challenged material, shall consider the Request for Reconsideration of Material.  During this time, the material is to remain in the collection and circulate as normal.   When the committee reaches a decision, the requestor(s) will be notified in writing within 14 days.

Appeals Process

Should the requestor(s) wish to appeal the decision, he or she must do so within 30 days of the prior committee’s decision by notifying in writing the Library Director at least one (1) month prior to the next regularly scheduled Library Board of Trustees meeting (meeting details can be found at https://www.co.davidson.nc.us/calendar.aspx), during which the appeal will be considered.   The notice should include:

  • the name(s) and address(es) of the person or people who wish to address the board
  • name of any organization involved
  • approximate amount of time required to discuss the request
  • approximate number of people expected to attend

Taking into consideration safety and the time required to conduct other Board business during the meeting, the Board of Trustees chairperson may reasonably limit the amount of time allowed for each person to address the Board and/or the number of people allowed in the meeting.  Other involved or affected persons shall be notified and also given an opportunity to address the Board of Trustees.  The Library Board of Trustees decision is final.  

Criteria used by the internal committee and Board of Trustees to determine if a material should be removed will include:

  • Requestor’s concerns.
  • Whether an item was added to the collection according to the General Criteria for Selection section as stated in the “Resource Selection Policy.”
  • The Board of Trustees will also determine if the internal committee followed proper guidelines when considering the Request for Reconsideration of Materials.

Collection Maintenance

The library engages in an ongoing evaluation to keep its collections current, in good condition, responsive, diverse, and useful to the needs of the community.  Based on this evaluation, materials may be retained, replaced by new copies, preserved to ensure long-term retention, or permanently withdrawn from the collection and discarded according to accepted professional practices or sold with proceeds benefitting library services and programming.   The same judgement exercised in the selection of the collection shall be used in the weeding process.  

Materials will be evaluated according to professionally recommended criteria such as:

  • Frequency of circulation
  • Format or physical condition
  • Currency of information
  • Role in the overall collection
  • Role in the overall collection 

Gifts

Only unconditional gifts of materials or objects will be accepted.  Decisions whether or not items are incorporated into the collection will follow the general criteria for selection.  Library staff reserves the right to discard or sell donated items (proceeds benefitting library programs and services).  The library accepts and appreciates gifts of money for the purchase of books and other materials, including monetary gifts designated in memory or honor of others.  Please see the Gifts and Donations Policy for more information.