One Margaret Mitchell Square
Atlanta, GA 30303
This Policy supersedes any and all previous Library policies governing Collection Development.
Approved by the Board of Trustees
Revised May 8, 2018 2
TABLE OF CONTENTS
I. MISSION OF THE LIBRARY AND PURPOSE OF THE COLLECTION DEVELOPMENT POLICY
II. COMMITMENTS OF THE LIBRARY
III. RESPONSIBILITY FOR SELECTION OF MATERIALS
IV. SELECTION CRITERIA
V. GENERAL COLLECTIONS
A. CHILDREN
B. TEENS
C. ADULTS
D. REFERENCE
VI. FORMATS
A. Hardback Books
B. Paperback Books
C. Audiobooks
D. Digital Collections
E. Music Recordings
F. Serials
G. Film & Video
H. New and Emerging Formats
VII. INTERLIBRARY LOAN
VIII. REQUEST FOR RECONSIDERATION OF LIBRARY RESOURCES
APPENDICES (***PLEASE SEE PDF BELOW FOR APPENDICES***)
Appendix A – Intellectual Underpinnings
Appendix B – Special Collections and Auburn Avenue Research Library Collection Development Policy and Acquisitions Guide
Appendix C – Request for Reconsideration of Library Materials Form
I. MISSION OF THE LIBRARY AND PURPOSE OF THE COLLECTION DEVELOPMENT POLICY
The mission of the Fulton County Library System is to provide public access to the knowledge network to improve, enhance, and empower lives in our community, region, and world.
In support of this mission, all materials are selected to enable the library to:
Create Young Readers – Cultivate Emergent Literacy
Get Fast Facts – Provide Access to Ready Reference Materials
Satisfy Curiosity – Promote Lifelong Learning
Satisfy Scholarly Endeavor – Serve as a Public Research Center
Stimulate Imagination – Entertain by Providing Reading, Viewing, and Listening Materials
Encourage Scholastic Success – Educate and Provide Homework Help
The Fulton County Library System also provides quality research services focusing on African-American culture and history through the Auburn Avenue Research Library.
This Collection Development Policy serves as a guide for library staff involved in collection development and as a tool to inform the public about the principles of selection at the Fulton County Library System.
II. COMMITMENTS OF THE LIBRARY
The Fulton County Library System is committed to providing library and information services to the local, national, and international community. We believe that access to information, research, and scholarship is fundamental to the state of human flourishing. The library will therefore seek to acquire, organize, disseminate, and preserve information resources that are both relevant to the advancement of human knowledge in general and specific to the particular needs of our diverse, metropolitan community. The Fulton County Library System is committed to ensure that constitutionally protected freedoms of speech and press are enjoyed by all. All materials not designated as reference may be borrowed by all holders of library cards.
III. RESPONSIBILITY FOR SELECTION OF MATERIALS
The responsibility for all library collection activities rests with the Library Director who operates within the framework of policies developed by the Board of Trustees. The Library Director carries out this responsibility with the help of the Collection Management Department, professional library staff, and materials specialists. The Collection Advisory Committee consists of a representative group of librarians and is chaired by the Collection Management Department. This committee makes recommendations regarding collection policies and procedures. The Committee also has responsibility associated with request of reconsideration of library resources. Forms for requesting reconsideration of library resources are available at all library locations.
Collection management and selection software tracks the circulation and relative popularity of subjects and authors, recommending the best distribution of titles throughout the library system based on demand. Branch and department managers and their designated subject-area or format specialists are responsible for the continuous review and evaluation of their collections, and for appropriately disposing of damaged, outdated, or redundant items.
IV. SELECTION CRITERIA
To meet the needs of its users, the library provides a large collection of materials covering broad fields of knowledge, with regard for differences in its users' beliefs, educational levels, interests, reading abilities, and tastes. The library's ultimate goal is to maintain a collection that is capable of meeting the demands of the rapidly growing and culturally diverse metropolitan area.
Selection involves identifying and purchasing current and previously published titles.
A basic collection contains standard titles, both fiction and nonfiction, for children, young adults, and adults. Selections are based on reviews from professional and trade journals, publisher’s catalogs and promotional materials, lists of recommended titles, publisher and vendor websites, and patron and staff requests.
Special Requests: The library always welcomes requests for purchase. Library users and staff are encouraged to recommend items for purchase by email to collection.development@fultoncountyga.gov.
Textbooks: Recognizing the responsibility of schools to provide access to required textbooks for their students, the library does not purchase required school-curriculum text books.
Self-published Materials & Local Authors: The library acquires self-published books when they meet standard selection criteria and are readily available via designated vendors.
In the interest of supporting authors who are members of the library’s community, the Library has developed a Local Authors Collection at the Central Library, which will accept donated self-published books under the following conditions:
The author is a resident of the City of Atlanta and/or Fulton County
A single copy of the book is donated in a format suitable for circulation.
The Local Authors Collection will be reviewed annually.
Donated self-published materials will be available for checkout, but they will not be cataloged. Due to staffing and time constraints, we are NOT able to meet with individual authors. Donated items are considered gifts and will not be returned.
Please provide the appropriate form for submission along with the donated copy of the work.
V. GENERAL COLLECTIONS
All materials should conform to the general criteria for selection in Section IV and the format guidelines in Section VI.
A. CHILDREN
The library provides quality materials in a variety of formats to meet the informational, educational, cultural, emotional, and recreational needs of the children of the City of Atlanta and Fulton County from infancy through 7th grade.
Selection is made from professional reviews coupled with the children’s librarian’s knowledge of authors, genres, trends, and needs of the children in the service area. Adult materials in the area of children's literature (e.g. criticism and readers advisory) are also included in the juvenile collections.
The materials found in the children’s collections include:
Beginning Readers (“easy-to-read” books, or “easy readers)
Picture Books
Juvenile Fiction (“chapter books”)
Juvenile Nonfiction
B. YOUNG ADULT
Young Adult collections, which include both fiction and nonfiction, have been established for users who are typically aged 13-18.
C. ADULTS
The library recognizes the need for a wide range of materials suitable for adults with different beliefs, levels of education, experience, tastes, interests, and reading ability. Works of contemporary fiction and classic works of enduring interest are included in these collections.
REFERENCE
The library system’s non-circulating reference collections provide authoritative information about a variety of current and historical topics. These collections are published in a variety of formats: almanacs, encyclopedias, dictionaries, yearbooks, handbooks, indexes, directories, bibliographies, plot summaries/critiques, price guides, statistical compilations, geographical sources, legal and medical guides, and electronic resources.
VI. FORMATS
The Fulton County Library System collects materials in the following formats.
A. Hardback Books
B. Paperback Books
C. Audiobooks
D. Digital Collections
E. Music Recordings
F. Serials
G. Film & Video
H. New and Emerging Formats
VII. INTERLIBRARY LOAN
Interlibrary Loan is an international cooperative resource sharing program that allows the library to borrow books and materials that are not owned from other library systems. Because interlibrary loan is a cooperative agreement, The Fulton County Library System agrees to certain conditions for interlibrary loan and must follow copyright laws in borrowing and lending such materials. Books, audiovisual materials, and photocopies of journal articles are borrowed at the request of patrons. All loans are subject to the discretion of the lending library, which will set the lending period according to its policies. Costs associated with borrowing materials from other libraries may be incurred and are passed on to the patron. Interlibrary loan materials can be picked up at any library, except the Auburn Avenue Research Library.
VIII. REQUEST FOR RECONSIDERATION OF LIBRARY RESOURCES
The Fulton County Library System welcomes expressions of opinions about its collections by users. The additions and withdrawal of items in its collections will be governed by this Policy and principles outlined in the American Library Association documents attached to this policy. Users seeking the reconsideration of library materials will be asked to put their request in writing by completing and signing a form entitled “Request for Reconsideration of Library Materials” (Appendix C).
