• MATERIALS AND RESOURCES

• INTERNET ACCESS 
• GENERAL SELECTION CRITERIA
• DISCARD
• DAMAGED MATERIALS
• GIFTS
• LIBRARY BILL OF RIGHTS
• FREEDOM TO READ
• FREEDOM TO VIEW

MATERIALS AND RESOURCES

The Ocean County Library selects and provides materials and develops collections to meet the informational, educational and recreational needs and interests of its service population in accordance with the Library's Mission and Roles.

Collection development is an on-going and continuous process which includes identifying and selecting items to add to the Library's resources as well as identifying and removing items no longer of value and use. As formats change, so will library collections.

Effective materials management requires knowledge of the community to be served, familiarity with materials available and their use, and familiarity with review media, bibliographic tools, publishers, jobbers and vendors.

In accordance with the population it serves, the Library will acquire materials in a variety of formats for a wide range of ages, and accommodating and encompassing varying reading, listening and viewing abilities. Differing viewpoints on societal issues and controversies will be represented.

The Library is committed to the encouragement and protection of the free flow of information and ideas, and to the right of free access to information for all individuals. It subscribes to the principles outlined in the American Library Association's Library Bill of Rights, the Freedom to Read Statement, and the Freedom to View Statement.

Library materials are intended for a heterogeneous population with various tastes and needs. The choice of materials by users is an individual matter. The library includes the Motion Picture Industry of America audience designations when available in the bibliographic information for videos given in the public access catalog. Children under eighteen (18) cannot check out R-rated videos without permission from parent or guardian. Parents and legal guardians bear the responsibility for the reading, viewing, and listening choices of their children and teenagers.

The Library will evaluate its collection and materials management on the basis of circulation, collection turnover, ability to respond to information and reference inquiries, state standards and public input.

GENERAL SELECTION CRITERIA

The following criteria are used in the evaluation process of the Materials and Resources policy. The criteria listed are among those used to judge the quality and quantity of items chosen as they apply to format and content of any item.

Potential or actual public popularity
Favorable published review or inclusion in standard bibliographic tools
Timeliness
Accuracy
Relation to other materials in the collection
Contributions to breadth of representative and varying viewpoints
Qualifications/reputation of author, creator, artist
Qualifications/reputation of publisher or producer
Cost relative to anticipated value or need
Compatibility with popularly owned hardware

DISCARD

Removing materials from the Library's collections is as essential to materials management and collection integrity as adding materials. The Library will regularly and systematically discard materials on a basis of use, condition, currency, and accuracy.

Any material which has not circulated for three years will be identified and considered for discard.

DAMAGED MATERIALS

Cost of replacement will be based on the following factors: use, original product quality and physical packaging, and type of damage.

Audio and video cassettes and CDs will be forwarded to the Audio-Visual Technician at Toms River for evaluation and assessment of damage based on use. Circulating CD-ROMs will be forwarded to the Collection Management Department. Damage based on original product quality and physical packaging and type of damage (e.g. negligence) will be assessed by Collection Management for adult materials, and by Youth Services for juvenile and young adult materials.

Type of Damage - Definitions

A. Damaged beyond repair - Damaged beyond the point where it would be possible or practical to repair and return to the collection. This designation is also applied to a set returned with items missing that cannot be found or replaced.

Print materials and CD-ROMs - full price is charged for print materials and CD-ROMs damaged beyond repair.

Non-print materials - the following formula will be used to determine replacement cost charged to a patron:

0 to 99 uses = 75% of the database price 100 to 199 uses = 50% of the database price 200+ uses = 25% of the database price

B. Repairable/negligible damage - Damage that can be repaired with minimal effect on the appearance and/or usability of the item will be returned to the collection. There will be NO CHARGES for repairable or negligible damage. For print materials, staff will record the type of damage on the book pocket, and include the date and their initials.

The Library assumes no responsibility for any damage to a patron's equipment while used in conjunction with Library audio-visual materials or CD-ROMs. Some CD-ROM products, during installation or use, automatically load software or alter existing software. Library patrons should consider backing up system or other files before using the Library's CD-ROM software, due to the variety of system configurations that exist. Patrons are expected to assume responsibility for keeping their equipment in good working order to prevent damage to materials.

GIFTS

The Library acknowledges the role that gifts play in enhancing the holdings of the collections, and continues to be grateful for the support offered through gifts and materials donations.

The Library accepts donations of materials (books, magazines, videos, compact discs, audio tapes), money, and other items, while reserving the right to decline donations that require special handling, consideration, or restrictions placed upon gift use by the donor. Once received, all donations become the property of the Ocean County Library System. Decisions to add gift materials to the collection are based upon the same criteria established for purchased materials, as stated in the Materials and Resources Policy.

Unsolicited Materials

Most of the materials donations are of the "garden variety" and fall outside the criteria established for inclusion in the collection. These donations are accepted with the understanding that materials not added to the collection will be sold to the public at a nominal charge through book sales, or offered to an alternative source (e.g. another library, association, local charity or social agency). Magazine donations are reviewed for individual issues which can be used to replace missing back issues of titles already subscribed to by the Library. When bequests from estates or large collections are offered to the Library, the decision to accept those materials may be made by library staff based on an evaluation of the materials on location, prior to accepting the donation.

Estimates and Appraisals

For tax purposes, the donor is responsible for obtaining an estimate or appraisal of the donated materials. If a donor requests a receipt or acknowledgement, a Donation Form for Library Materials (EXAMPLE #3) will be provided to them. The Library is unable to assess the value of library materials. Information on IRS rules and regulations relating to charitable deductions can be found in the U.S. Department of the Treasury, IRS publication No. 526, "Income Tax Deduction for Contributions", or be referred to the local Internal Revenue Office. The Library, upon request, will provide a list of appraisers represented in the membership of the Antiquarian Booksellers Association of America, Inc. The Association also welcomes inquiries at their headquarters address: 50 Rockefeller Plaza, New York, NY 10020.

Disposition of Unwanted Materials

The Library pursues several methods for disposing of unwanted donated materials. Usually, the materials are offered for sale to the public through book sales, at a nominal cost. On occasion the Library has donated materials to other libraries, at their request. Social interest groups and local organizations may also be the recipient of these materials. When warranted, the Library may choose to contact book sellers to determine interest prior to final disposition of donated materials.

The American Library Association affirms that all libraries are forums for information and ideas, and that the following basic policies should guide their services.

1. Books and other library resources should be provided for the interest, information, and enlightenment of all people of the community the library serves. Materials should not be excluded because of the origin, background, or views of those contributing to their creation.
2. Libraries should provide materials and information presenting all points of view on current and historical issues. Materials should not be proscribed or removed because of partisan or doctrinal disapproval.
3. Libraries should challenge censorship in the fulfillment of their responsibility to provide information and enlightenment.
4. Libraries should cooperate with all persons and groups concerned with resisting abridgement of free expression and free access to ideas.
5. A person's right to use a library should not be denied or abridged because of origin, age, background, or views.
6. Libraries which make exhibit space and meeting rooms available to the public they serve should make such facilities available on an equitable basis, regardless of the beliefs or affiliations of individuals or groups requesting their use.

The freedom to read is guaranteed by the Constitution. Those with faith in free men will stand firm on these constitutional guarantees of essential rights and will exercise the responsibilities that accompany these rights.

We therefore affirm these propositions:

1. It is in the public interest for publishers and librarians to make available the widest diversity of views and expressions, including those which are unorthodox or unpopular with the majority.
2. Publishers, librarians and booksellers do not need to endorse every idea or presentation contained in the books they make available. It would conflict with the public interest for them to establish their own political, moral or aesthetic views as a standard for determining what books should be published or circulated.
3. It is contrary to the public interest for publishers or librarians to determine the acceptability of a book on the basis of the personal history or political affiliations of the author.
4. There is no place in our society for efforts to coerce the taste of others, to confine adults to the reading matter deemed suitable for adolescents, or to inhibit the efforts of writers to achieve artistic expression.
5. It is not in the public interest to force a reader to accept with any book the prejudgment of a label characterizing the book or author as subversive or dangerous.
6. It is the responsibility of publishers and librarians, as guardians of the people's freedom to read, to contest encroachments upon that freedom by individuals or groups seeking to impose their own standards or tastes upon the community at large.
7. It is the responsibility of publishers and librarians to give full meaning to the freedom to read by providing books that enrich the quality and diversity of thought and expression. By the exercise of this affirmative responsibility, bookmen can demonstrate that the answer to a bad book is a good one, the answer to a bad idea is a good one.

We do not state these propositions in the comfortable belief that what people read is unimportant. We believe rather that what people read is deeply important; that ideas can be dangerous; but that suppression of ideas is fatal to a democratic society. Freedom itself is a dangerous way of life, but it is ours.

The FREEDOM TO VIEW, along with the freedom to speak, to hear, and to read, is protected by the First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States. In a free society, there is no place for censorship of any medium or expression. Therefore, we affirm these principles:

1. It is in the public interest to provide the broadest possible access to films and other audiovisual materials, because they have proven to be among the most effective means for the communication of ideas. Liberty of circulation is essential to insure the constitutional guarantee of freedom of expression.
2. It is in the public interest to provide for our audiences, films and other audiovisual materials which represent a diversity of views and expression. Selection of a work does not constitute or imply agreement with or approval of the content.
3. It is our professional responsibility to resist the constraint of labeling or pre-judging a film on the basis of the moral, religious or political beliefs of the producer or filmmaker or on the basis of controversial content.
4. It is our professional responsibility to contest vigorously, by all lawful means, every encroachment upon the public's freedom to view.