Beaufort County Library's Collection Development Policy

These guidelines and policies are designed to systematically develop a broad, balanced and useful collection which, within the limits of space and budget, fairly and effectively serves the diverse needs of the community. The Library may select materials that some individuals find controversial. The Library Board of Trustees affirms, endorses and adopts the Library Bill of Rights, the Freedom to Read Statement, the Freedom to View Statement and the American Library Association Code of Ethics. Selection of materials does not constitute an endorsement by the Library.

The library collection is divided into sections such as Juvenile, Reference, Fiction, Nonfiction, etc. for the convenience of the public. As such, customers of any age may use all parts of the Library. It is the responsibility of the parents or guardians, not the Library staff, to monitor library use by children.

I. Library Mission Statement

Beaufort County Library is the answer place. We supply the materials and expertise to answer the needs of the people for sound information, personal growth, and leisurely pursuits.

II. Purpose

The Public Library provides resources that address informational, recreational and educational needs by developing a collection that is up to date and/or of permanent value. The Beaufort County Library supports its mission by acquiring a variety of formats such as, but not limited to: books, periodicals, audiovisuals, maps, pamphlets, microforms, electronic resources, and links to recommended Internet sites.

III. Community Profile

Beaufort County covers 923 square miles of South Carolina Lowcountry, including 335 square miles of water. Made up of over 68 habitable islands, miles of beaches, vast waterways, and crowned by Hunting Island State Park, Beaufort County is home to historic plantations and homes, retirement communities, multi-generational family farms, and new growth developments. Military installations, tourism and retirement are seen as the economic engines of Beaufort County. The county includes the well-known resort community of Hilton Head, the rapidly growing Bluffton area, the historic towns of Beaufort and Port Royal, and rural areas. According to the 2000 Census, Beaufort County has a population of 120,937, an increase of 30% since the last census. The Beaufort County Planning Department estimates a 2005 population of 145,000. The Hispanic population, drawn to the area by tourism and construction employment opportunities, has experienced the largest percentage of growth in the county. Despite the appearance of overall wealth, there are diverse problems in the County such as low literacy levels, poverty, underemployment, and a lack of public transportation and affordable housing that present challenges.

IV. Selection Process

The ultimate responsibility for materials selection and the development of the Library collection rests with the Library Director, who operates within the policies determined by the Library Board of Trustees. The final decision to purchase rests with the Collection Development Coordinators subject to appeal of the Library Director.

It is not possible for the Library staff to personally read and review the large number of books and other resources acquired each year. Selection therefore is a discerning and interpretive process, involving a general knowledge of a subject and its important literature, a familiarity with the materials in the collection, and recognition of the needs of the community. The information and impression gathered from selection aids, including reviews, standard bibliographies and indexes generally serve as the basis for applying the following criteria and for judging the merit of a work.

COLLECTION DEVELOPMENT GOALS  

  • Provide materials in a timely manner to meet customers’ interests and needs.
  • Provide materials for children and teens to encourage literacy, learning and love of reading.  
  • Provide a diverse collection that supports the roles of the Library as a popular materials center, an information center and an independent learning center.
  • Provide a range of viewpoints in the collection.

Criteria Influencing Selection

All acquisitions, whether purchased, subscribed to, leased or donated, are considered in terms of the standards listed below. However, an item need not meet all of the criteria in order to be accepted. Materials are evaluated based on the significance of the entire work rather than individual parts. The following criteria are applied to the selection of print and non-print materials:

  1. Critical factors considered for selecting materials for the collection include but are not limited to: currency, accuracy and authenticity of information, quality of presentation, authority and competence of the author, uniqueness, and balance of viewpoints.
  2. Reviews and input from professional library publications that specifically address library concerns will be used for selection. These include sources such as Library Journal, Booklist, Publishers’ Weekly, Kirkus Reviews, DISCUS, and Horn Book. Materials may also be acquired on the basis of popular demand, bibliographies and lists, and at the suggestion of customers provided that the materials meet selection standards.
  3. Selection priority is given to materials of proven and potential interest to the people served by the Library as determined by circulation statistics, requests for titles and authors and other indicators.  
  4. No attempt is made to collect the complete works of any particular author/performer/creator.
  5. Generally, only one permanent copy of an item per location will be acquired except for Book Club titles, best selling authors and local authors. Additional copies may be acquired based on the level of demand.
  6. The Beaufort County Library will not duplicate the collections held by the libraries of the Technical College of the Lowcountry and USC Beaufort, nor will the Library attempt to meet the curricular needs of their academic customers.
  7. Typically, textbooks will not be purchased for the collection. With approval of the Library Director, an exception may be made in cases where there is sufficient space to house the current year’s textbooks to aid elementary, middle school and high school students in their education. Textbooks will not be purchased for the adult collection.
  8. The majority of materials in the collection are written or spoken in the English language. Due to the growing Hispanic community, the Library acquires Spanish and bilingual materials to answer the needs of these customers. The library will purchase other languages as the need arises, relying on other methods such as Interlibrary Loan to fill occasional customer requests.
  9. The Library will make every effort to solicit and acquire all materials in any format that concern the Beaufort District, its history, culture, families and architecture.
  10. Books are purchased that are listed on local school summer reading lists, when these lists are available and as funding and space allow. A maximum of 5 copies of each title will be purchased.
  11. The library does not seek to establish scholarly research collections in any area of study or comprehensive collections in a given subject area and recognizes the need to use interlibrary loan for requests that are beyond the scope of the collection. The one exception at this point in time is the Beaufort District Collection, which maintains a comprehensive level of acquisition and uses selection criteria relevant to the unique nature of this collection. The Beaufort District Collection is a growing research collection with its own guidelines for development and maintenance.
  12. The Library Administration will make decisions about special collections based on community input. Collections may differ from branch to branch based on the unique needs of the community served.

The Beaufort county Library is a customer driven organization. In light of this fact, the Library will exercise due diligence in attempting to obtain any and all information requested by our customers. Our professional staff will evaluate each request to determine the best means necessary for retrieval of the information utilizing our various resources to satisfy the customer’s needs including:

  • Database searches
    1. DISCUS
    2. GALE
    3. EBSCO
  •  Internet Searches
  • Borrowing materials from other institutions( Inter-Library Loan)
    1. Books
    2. Newspaper and magazine articles
    3. AV
  • Borrowing materials from other institutions in our library system (Holds and Requests)
  • Leasing materials
    1. Popular bestselling books
    2. Books on audiocassette
    3. Books on CD
    4. DVD titles
  • Purchasing materials
  • Referring the customer to another organization (Clemson Extension, Technical College of the Lowcountry, University of South Carolina (New River campus)
  •  

Placement of Materials

Various material formats other than print materials are purchased by BCLS. To offer ease of use to our patrons, these formats are usually shelved in separate areas from print materials. These collections may include audio books, videocassettes/DVDs, maps, vertical files, and magazines and newspapers.

The addition of new formats requires adequate resources such as funding, technical support, and display and storage space. However, new formats will be considered for the collection when evidence from local requests indicates demand and a significant portion of the community population has the necessary technology to make use of the format.

The library collection is divided into Juvenile (birth to about age 12), Young Adult (about age 13 and up) and Adult sections solely for ease of access. Titles may be duplicated in different sections of the collection. When a title appeals to multiple audiences, the placement will be decided by the professional selector.

Because collection development is based on community needs as a whole, individuals and groups cannot dictate the development and organization of the collection. See also Gift Policy.

The reference and homework needs of young adults are to be met by the Adult Reference collection and the Adult Non-fiction collection.

Library Website

The Library maintains a website which provides links to other Internet resources of interest and value to its customers. These links are chosen by using the previous selection criteria for general content, along with additional criteria specific to the medium. Additional criteria include but are not limited to accessibility, stability, design, usability, commercial aspects, and responsibility/ownership. The Library favors websites that offer substantial content without charge. Linked Internet resources are re-evaluated on a regular basis. Websites may change rapidly and unpredictably, and the Library cannot be held responsible for their content.

Collection Maintenance

Collection maintenance is a necessary function of public libraries. When information becomes outdated, when a book becomes tattered and torn, when duplicate copies are no longer needed to meet customer demand, or when the information a book contains is no longer needed, the book is removed from the library’s collection. The same care, thought and judgment is used in this process as in the original selection. Criteria for withdrawal will include:

-poor physical condition, not suitable for repair or rebinding
-duplicate copies of titles no longer in demand
-obsolete content
-recent poor circulation figures

Rarely will a single criterion for withdrawal be used to determine whether a resource will be removed from the collection. These decisions will be made on a combination of criteria and librarians experience in accordance with Beaufort County Purchasing Code of Ordinances Article VII, Division 4:

DIVISION 4.PURCHASING-Section 2-513 Exemption from procedures: Exemptions provided for in this section: (1) Works of art for museum and public display. (2) Published books, library books, maps, periodicals, technical pamphlets. (3) Copyrighted educational films, filmstrips, slides and transparencies….

Materials withdrawn from the collection will be:

  1. Transferred to another branch of the Library unless purchased with funds designated for the original branch;
  2. Made available for Library and/or Friends of the Library book sales;
  3. Donated to other county agencies or other non-profit organizations; or
  4. Discarded
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