Collection Managment Plan
The Troy Public Library endorses intellectual freedom.
The purpose of the Collection Development and Management Plan is to guide librarians in their selection of materials, and to inform the residents of Troy as to the principles used in the selection process. This Plan will be reviewed by the Library Advisory Board on a regular basis.
The Vision of the Troy Public Library is that Troy residents will view the Library as a model for the delivery of "quality-of-life" services. To accomplish this, in part, the Library provides access to a wide array of materials and information.
The Mission of the Troy Public Library is to create meaningful opportunities for lifelong learning and personal enrichment that anticipate and excel in meeting the expectations of the Troy community. To accomplish this, in part, the Library provides collections in a variety of formats to meet the educational, recreational, and informational needs of the community.
The scope of the collections is intended to offer a choice of format, viewpoint, expression and level of difficulty in comprehension. The collections are not intended to be comprehensive or archival.
Responsibility for a minor's use of library materials rests with their parents or legal guardians.
Materials are not marked, shelved, or identified to show judgments of approval or disapproval.
The selection and weeding of library materials rests with the Director who may delegate these duties to appropriate Library staff members who are qualified for this activity by reason of education, training or experience.
SELECTION CRITERIA
The materials selection process is aimed at building collections with balance, diversity and objectivity in the subject areas of interest to the Troy community. Each item shall be considered in terms of its own merit, the audience for whom it is intended and its relationship to other materials in the various collections.
Criteria used in the selection process include:
• Importance of the subject matter to the collection
• Permanent or timely value
• Accuracy of information or authoritativeness
• Social significance
• Local, State, or Regional significance
• Clear presentation and readability
• Reputation, skill and purpose of the author
• Scope
• Cost
• Availability
• Appropriateness and effectiveness of format to content
• Literary merit
• Critical reviews
• Suitability of physical format for library use
• Suitability of subject and style for intended audience
• Availability of shelf space
Additional Criteria for specialized formats:
Audio-Visual Resources:
• Quality of sound, picture and performance
• Physical and packaging integrity
Electronic Resources:
• Graphic quality
• User friendliness
• Language of text
• Quality of documentation accompanying product
• Availability of product support
• Quality of Web Links incorporated in the resource
• Remote patron access
WEEDING
The Troy Public Library systematically weeds materials from its collection to ensure that those collections are kept current, accurate, reliable, useful, and quality-based for the residents of Troy. Weeding is an ongoing process and is selection in reverse, therefore, many of the selection criteria apply. Additional criteria used include:
• Irreparable damage
• Misleading, inaccurate, or outdated information
• Redundancy
• Availability in a more appropriate format
• Altered collection emphasis
• Space availability
• Insufficient use or interest
• Out of balance collection
• Updated edition
MEMORIALS, HONORARIUMS, GIFTS
The Troy Public Library accepts Memorials, Honorariums and Gift materials with the understanding that they will be added to the collection only if they meet the same criteria used for the selection of materials purchased by the Library. The donor must understand that the library reserves the right to assign the gift to the appropriate collection and that the material is subject to the weeding criteria in the Collection Development and Management Plan.
Monetary gifts for the purchase of materials are accepted and resources will be purchased within the broad subject area and in the format identified by the donor when available.