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Most libraries already have a collection development policy in place. However, it’s important that this policy be updated regularly to ensure it reflects current practices, changes in law, and emerging technology.

Explore each of the following elements of a collection development policy.

Purpose/Mission. Start with purpose of the center. What’s the mission of the library? How does it fit into larger groups such as the school or community?

Patrons. Describe the demographics of the center users. What are their needs? For school libraries consider the children as well as the teachers. Provide a statement about the size of the population, age range, ethnic and racial makeup, socioeconomic makeup, and languages spoken. How are special needs accommodated? Consider a statement about varied formats to meet individual differences.

Materials. What materials (i.e., books, audio, video, computer software, equipment) are housed and supported in the collection? What’s the purpose of each resource? What areas will be included: fiction/nonfiction, adult/children, popular, informational, specific interests, special collections, special needs?

Structure. Discuss the organizational structure of the library and who is responsible of different aspects of selection and collection management.

Budget. Provide an overview of the budget structure. Describe the percentage of the materials budget spent on various materials including audio and video. Many libraries base the budget on circulation. In other words, if the videos are 20 percent of the library’s total circulation, then 20 percent of the materials budget should go to video purchases.

Selection Methods. Describe factors in selection such as funding, cost/benefit, relevance, effectiveness, artistic merit, aesthetic appeal, technical quality, and content quality. State the specific selection criteria for different material types such as print, audio, and video. Describe the selection procedure.

Selection Tools. State the tools used in selecting titles such as journal reviews, online reviews, prizes and awards, word-of-mouth, catalogs, personal evaluations, and consultation. What materials will be used in the selection process?

Collection Composition. Describe the makeup of the collection terms of fiction/nonfiction, adult/child, entertainment/educational/ informational, special populations, and special collections. State how materials will be selected in particular subject areas. Will priority be given to favorably reviewed or highly recommended items? What about materials that address a specific need to balance the collection or address a specific curriculum standard? How will requests be handled?

Languages. Discuss the language of the collection. Is the primary language of the collection English? Will materials be purchased to meet the needs of patron groups? For example, Spanish language materials may be acquired in some areas. Or, foreign language titles may be purchased with subtitles.

Formats. Identify the formats that will be supported by the library. Will the formats be dependent on the needs of patrons? What about the availability of equipment? Will you include VHS videotape, audiocassettes, DVDs, CD-ROM, CD-audio, and multimedia kits? Some older formats may still be available, but will new materials be purchased (i.e., slide sets, films)?

Reformatting. Describe the center’s position on reformatting materials. For example, will old slides be digitized? Exceptional materials may be reformatted (if unavailable commercially in a supported format) when age or damage prevent circulation of the original.

Replacement. Describe what will happen to lost or damaged items. Will they automatically be replaced? Replacement decisions are often based on demand, copies held, existing coverage of area, and availability of item.

Publication Date. Discuss currency issues. In most cases, emphasis is placed on acquiring new titles (within the past five years) rather than retrospective materials. However materials may be replaced as needed.

Acquisition. Discuss how materials are acquired. What distributors (vendors) will be used? How will items be ordered and tracked? How will items be processed?

Gifts and Donations. Describe the process for dealing with gifts and donations. Be sure to state that only legally acquired materials will be accepted as gifts.

Cataloging and Classifying. State how materials will be cataloged and classified. In most cases, all items including audio and video should be fully cataloged, classified and filed in the electronic cataloging system.

Physical Space. State how materials will be organized. Where will the collection be placed? Some libraries choose to separate special collections such as audio and video, while others intershelve them. If they are separate, how will patrons find out about the availability of a media resource? How will the items be stored, displayed, and arranged? How are security issues addressed?

Circulation. State how materials will be circulated including length of loan period, how many can be borrowed concurrently, fees, and interlibrary loan policy. For example, some libraries use a one or two-tiered approach to circulation of videos such as two to three days for fiction and a week for nonfiction. What is the time limit? How many books, audios, or videos may a patron check out at a time? What’s the age limitation for use of the collection or any part of the collection? Can hardware be checked out? Are directions provided for its use? What are the overdue fines? How are these collected? What is the replacement or damage policy? Is it a sliding scale based on use or replacement cost? Are items available on interlibrary loan?

Collection Mapping and Circulation Statistics. Describe how the collection will be tracked. How often will inventories be done? Discuss how circulation statistics will be kept. What other data will be collected?

Copyright Policy. State how the library will address the copyright law. For example, the library will not knowingly acquire materials that have been copied without the authorization of the copyright holder. Be sure to include a statement that materials will be circulated based on the requirements of the producer’s licensing agreements. For example, faculty may place personal copies on reserve as long as they meet the Copyright Law.

Access. State how materials will be accessed. Many people include the ALA Library Bill of Rights in this section. Be sure to consider special sections for audio and video access. Visit Access for Children and Young People to Videotapes and other Non-print Formats for ideas. Also, adopt the ALA Freedom to View statement. Include a statement about access of minors to resources.

Reconsideration Policy. State the reconsideration policy. What if a parent objects to the book The Outsiders? What if another parent challenges the DVD version?

Be sure that the policy can be adapted for use with audio and video materials. Visit ALA's Challenged Material section for ideas. Also, check out our Censorship, Challenges, and Reconsideration page.

Weeding. Discuss how items will be withdrawn from the collection. To maintain an active collection, materials should be periodically re-examined based on the selection criteria. In addition, issues such as lack of use, physical damage, accuracy, and datedness should be considered.

Evaluation. State how materials will be systematically reviewed. Collection development is an ongoing process. The collection will be constantly evaluated in terms of performance, currency, content inclusion, scope and depth of coverage, and popularity.

Explore the following online resources for more information on developing collection development policies:

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