Purpose

• The Wood Dale Public Library District (the Library) endeavors to build a collection of materials representing varying points of view.
• Collections are part of the broader content of a library: its experiences, spaces, materials, and collaborations. We seek to respond to our community’s needs and aspirations through this content.
• Through our collection—in all available formats—we work to facilitate equitable experiences for all patrons. Some materials may be judged primarily in terms of artistic merit, scholarship, or value to humanity; others are selected to satisfy the informational, recreational, social, or educational interests of the community.

Principles

• The Library advocates for broad and meaningful participation, including the sustained use of materials in a variety of formats including but not limited to, print, audio-visual, and electronic media. The selection of a given item for the collection should not be interpreted as an endorsement of a particular viewpoint.
• The Library upholds the American Library Association’s Freedom to View, Freedom to Read, and Library Bill of Rights.
• The Library protects the right of the individual to access information, even when the content may be controversial or unacceptable to others. Privacy and confidentiality are key tenets.
• The Library recognizes and respects intellectual property rights and follows existing copyright laws.
• The Library supports open access as defined by the American Library Association. “Open access” refers to materials made publicly and freely available via digital repositories and archives, or research made available via peer-reviewed, open-access journals.
• The Library is committed to resource sharing at local, state, and national levels as demonstrated by membership and participation in Reaching Across Illinois Library System (RAILS) and System Wide Automated Network (SWAN), ILLINET (Illinois Library and Information Network), and WorldShare Interlibrary Loan. Membership in consortia demonstrates the Library’s belief that engagement, supportive learning, and responsible stewardship are collaborative endeavors.
• The Library is committed to being good stewards of the community’s tax dollars and community assets.

Selection

Selection is curation at its core. The authority and responsibility for the selection of materials are delegated to the Executive Director and, as assigned, to additional staff members who are qualified for this activity. Each acquisition is considered in terms of its own excellence and the audience for whom it is intended. Community recommendations are welcomed and are subject to the same criteria as any other material. The Library does not collect textbooks, academic, or technical materials unless they are considered useful generally or supportive to the Library’s mission and vision. 

Library displays are planned, curated, and implemented by assigned staff. While any item in the collection can be utilized for purposes of a display, staff rely on, but are not limited to, new acquisitions, current events, popular trends, cross-promotional, and holiday or seasonal themes to determine which materials to display. The Library strives to include a wide variety of relevant topics and viewpoints as well as offer displays that appeal to a range of ages, interests, cultural, and information needs.  

The Library adopts “digital curation” as an umbrella term for actions and strategies to provide stewardship of our digital assets. Digital assets include electronic resources, software and hardware, and devices. Digital curation considers the lifespan of the item, the product, and the product version to maintain currency, relevance, and sustainability. In addition to standard criteria used in selecting other formats, special criteria for electronic formats include ease of use, technology requirements, and availability of remote access. Certain digital collections feature content that is leased or purchased as a whole, therefore not all content is directly selected by staff.

As stewards of content, those assigned with collection management duties carefully consider materials relative to cost, space, maintenance, and patron interest. Staff ask such questions as: 

• Does the item have proven or potential interest to our community?
• Does it meet known or potential demand?
• Has it earned the attention of critics, reviewers, and the public to an extent that has created that demand?
• Are there similar materials already in the collection?
• To what extent are the materials available elsewhere in the community, in a different format, and library consortium?
• Based on ongoing conversations and engagement, what items and experiences delight and inspire our community members?

Selection means identifying—and measuring—the impact of collections in the community.

Deselection

To maintain relevant collections and content in all formats, the Library must continuously evaluate and deselect materials. Criteria for withdrawing items include, but are not limited to declining interest, poor condition, unnecessary duplication, or inaccurate or outdated information. Deselected materials may be made available for Wood Dale residents, donated to non-profit organizations, educational institutions, or discarded. These decisions are made to align with the Library’s priorities of engagement, community, and lifelong learning, and final decisions are the responsibility of the Executive Director.

Gifts and Donations

Please refer to the Gift and Donation Policy for all details regarding gifts, donations from community members, and unsolicited author donations. 

Statement on Patron Concern

The Library offers a wide range of materials to meet the diverse needs of patrons throughout the community. Responsibility for the access of materials by children and adolescents rests with their parents or legal guardians. While an individual may reject materials for themselves or their children, an individual cannot exercise censorship to restrict access to the materials by others. Wood Dale resident library cardholders may send requests for reconsideration in writing and given to the Executive Director for a written response. Appeals are directed to the Board for the final decision.