McPherson, Matty
Introduction:
During Textbook Reading, I was inclined to check with the Carlsbad City Library’s Policies regarding collection development, privacy, internet usage, lending, and other interactions with patrons.
APA Citation:
Carlsbad Library Board of Trustees (Ed.). (2023, June 28). Collection Development Policy. Carlsbad City Library. https://library.carlsbadca.gov/home/showpublisheddocument/14322/638248581321830000
Summary + Evaluation
Collection Development is the most meaty policy, connecting to census info and generally providing insights into the Carlsbad community, as well as what resources are entailed for each of the three main branches
An Appendix Includes the Library Bill of Rights + Library Freedom to Read statement. These are crucial components to rounding out the list.
The purpose of the collection is to provide library materials in various formats to meet the informational, cultural and recreational needs of Carlsbad community members. The library strives to meet these needs within the limitations of space, staffing and budget.
Who are the major community member groups/stakeholders? What are the budget/space/staffing limitations?
Carlsbad City Library consists of three library locations serving a population of 115,302 (2021) in an area of approximately 39 square miles. All materials are discoverable in a single online catalog, materials can be readily transferred among locations, and cardholders have the option of using interlibrary loan services to request materials not owned by Carlsbad City Library [this now includes Link+]. In 2021, 13 percent of Carlsbad residents were aged 14 and younger and 16 percent were aged 65 and older. Of residents aged 25 and older, 97 percent completed high school. Housing was 61 percent owner occupied.
These statistics hint at 2 major user bases within the community: children or tweens and retirees. These two populations have massively different information needs with collection needs that are set to emphasize or further their learning missions
Materials of “Contemporary significance + Long Term Value”
Special Collections like genealogy are housed at the Cole Branch, literacy materials at the Learning Center, and the greatest Media holdings are at the Main Dove Branch. Each one is specialized.
Who runs collection development policy?
It is delegated by the director to the lead librarian responsible for collection development, who provides oversight and guidance to collection coordinators and their team members.
Team Members = part time staff who are qualified for this duty by education, training, job classification and knowledge of the community. These staff members have the authority to interpret and apply this policy in daily operation.
Where does funding come from?
The L&CA director establishes budgets and objectives for the purchase of physical materials and other resources and secures funds during the citywide annual budget process.
In fiscal year 2022-23, the city’s budget allocation for materials was approximately six percent of the overall library budget.
This totalled just shy of $1.1 million for 2024.
When available, donated funds may be used to increase or enhance the collection. Donated funds are not designated to replace regular operating budget funds allocated for the purchase of materials.
Donated funds often come through either generous patrons OR friends of the library bookstore revenue. Friends Bookstore is the most crucial donation link
Criteria for Selection
actual or anticipated community demand or need (purchase requests and automation systems help with this)
favorable reviews in professional media
critical acclaim or regional/national awards
literary, artistic, historical, scientific, or intellectual merit
permanent or timely value (book clubs)
accurate information
social significance
importance of the subject matter to the collection (especially for core collections or key insights)
reputation and qualifications of the author, illustrator, publisher, or producer
suitability of physical format
professional quality of manufacture or production, such as editing, sound/video, art/typography, printing/binding
price
availability in the marketplace from a reputable United States publisher or distributor (Several resources that cannot be located or are international often rarely show up in such a collection)
For Electronic resources (which are preferred to be device and platform neutral, use open and/or public file formats and support the traditional legal principles of first sale and fair use):
Accessibility
Security of Patron Information
Collection Maintenance:
Assessment of What is Used
Deselection work
CREW (Continuous Review, evaluation, and weeding)
Deselection decisions are made based on incorrect, misleading or obsolete content; poor physical condition; excess number of copies in the collection; and the combination of low use and questionable current value. (Personally, I’ve always been curious about this statistic in the role of physical CDs/DVDs + how interlibrary loan can help satisfy and meet these needs)
Discarded materials are not given or sold directly to the public or staff. Items still in reasonable condition are transferred to the Friends of the Library for resale or redistribution.
Collection Development Policy also includes a statement on Controversial Items as well as a Request for Reconsideration of Library Material (i.e. Challenge Form)
“The library promotes and protects free access to information, knowledge, opinion and creative works. By representing multiple points of view within the collection, the library will inevitably contain materials that are offensive to some members of the community. Selection of materials by the library staff does not indicate endorsement of the contents or the views expressed in those materials. The library will not acquire materials that have been declared obscene by the courts.”
Simple statement that acknowledges not all resources are for all patrons and that curation does not indicate endorsement of contents or views expressed in the materials.
Library will review 3 materials at one time. An item that has been reviewed via procedure will not be eligible for 36 months
Donations
A donation policy in Collection Development policy helps identify what a patron can expect when they provide materials for donation:
Upon request, the library will provide acknowledgment to donors to serve as a tax receipt. The library does not place a value on material donations.
Material donations are selectively culled to be made available to card holders and non-cardholders for all audience levels at all library locations.
This equates to Mass Market paperbacks + puzzles/games. Moving these resources away from being locked behind a card and towards an honor system helps spread resources to patrons of all levels. Especially because these kinds of paperbacks are far from top tier library use and will wear out over usage quickly compared to hard back books or trade paperbacks
The library is likely to accept and add only SELECT items directly to the catalog. These include titles that have more than 20 holds on them and are needed to keep up with Patron demand.
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