Persons Responsible: Technical Services Manager
Last Reviewed: 09/2023

The following Collection Development Policy is referred to by the Collection Development Librarian and all other staff assigned to collection development related tasks:

MISSION STATEMENT
- The Mission of the Aurora Public Library is to empower the members of our community to Live, Learn, and Achieve.
SELECTION PROCESS
- The Aurora Public Library acquires and makes available quality materials that inform, educate, entertain, and enrich. Branch collections are developed and maintained to serve the residents of the geographic area in which the branch is located.
- We endorse and adhere to the Library Bill of Rights and Intellectual Freedom Statement from the American Library Association. Materials and the lifestyles or points of view of their creators are not endorsed by the Library. The Aurora Public Library is a public institution founded to serve all the citizens in the community, therefore, we cannot restrict the use of library materials based on age, race, religion, national origins or social or political views.
- Responsibility for Collection Materials Selection
  - The Collection Development Coordinator is given the responsibility of coordinating current purchasing and selection. Ultimate responsibility for selection rests with the Library Director.
  - General Criteria for Selection
    - Selection is an interpretive process, involving a general knowledge of the subject and recognition of the needs of the community. Material is judged based on the content and style of the work, not by selected portions or passages. The Library strives to collect and make available differing points of view. A work will not be excluded from the Library’s collection solely because it represents a particular aspect of life, because of frankness of expression, or because it is controversial.
    - The following general criteria will be used when evaluating material. An item need not meet all the criteria to be acceptable, nor will any single criterion be decisive. (The order of the general criteria does not indicate relative importance.)
      - Present and potential relevance to community needs.
      - Suitability of subject, style, and reading/viewing/listening level for the intended audience.
      - Importance as a document of the times.
      - Appropriateness and effectiveness of medium to content.
      - Reputation and/or significance of author, publisher, or producer.
      - Positive reviews by critics, staff members and/or professional journals.
      - Relationships to existing materials in the collection, including online databases and the Internet.
      - Within limits of budgets.
      - Not available, or with limited accessibility, from other lending sources.
      - Insufficient materials available on the same subject.
      - Author, illustrator, producer, or performer is local.
      - Format is appropriate to Library use and is not easily damaged.
      - Enhances a specific collection within the Library.
      - Author, illustrator, producer, or performer is already represented in the collection.
      - Literary and artistic merit.
      - Accuracy of content.
      - Coverage in local or popular media.
      - Popularity with library patrons.
      - Impartiality of opinion or clearly stated bias.
      - Cost.
  - Selection Tools
    - Tools used in selection include professional journals, trade journals, subject bibliographies, publishers’ promotional material, and reviews from reputable sources. Purchase suggestions from staff and patrons are welcome and provide librarians with useful information about interests or needs that may not be adequately met by the collection. Outside professionals may also be consulted on an as-needed basis. Their expertise may be used to help the Library staff select material in the professional’s defined subject area. All suggestions will be governed by this Collection Development Policy in making additions or deleting items from the collection.

See Collection Development Policy

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