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3.
MATERIALS
SECTION
1: OBJECTIVES
It
is the responsibility and aim of the
Poplar Bluff Public Library to provide circulating
materials and reference service to meet or supplement
the needs of community residents of all ages.
For this purpose, representative materials are
selected and maintained for general information,
education, occupational uses and the enjoyment
and enrichment of library users.
In support of this statement, the Library Board
of Trustees adopts the American Library Association's
"Library Bill of Rights."
LIBRARY
BILL OF RIGHTS
The
American Library Association affirms that all
libraries are forums for information and ideas,
and that the following basic policies should
guide their services.
I. Books and other library resources should
be provided for the interest, information, and
enlightenment of all people of the community
the library serves. Materials should not be
excluded because of the origin, background,
or views of those contributing to their creation.
II. Libraries should provide materials and information
presenting all points of view on current and
historical issues. Materials should not be proscribed
or removed because of partisan or doctrinal
disapproval.
III. Libraries should challenge censorship in
the fulfillment of their responsibilities to
provide information and enlightenment.
IV.
Libraries should cooperate with all persons
and groups concerned with resisting abridgment
of free expression and free access to ideas.
V.
A person's right to use the library should not
be denied or abridged because of origin, age,
background, or views.
VI.
Libraries that make exhibit space and meeting
rooms available to the public they serve should
make such facilities available on an equitable
basis, regardless of the beliefs or affiliations
of individuals or groups requesting their use.
Adopted
June 18, 1948.
Amended February 2, 1961, andJanuary 23, 1980,
inclusion of "age" reaffirmed
January 23, 1996, by ALA Council.
Adopted
December 4, 2000
SECTION
2: RESPONSIBILITY
Final
responsibility for the selection of materials
rests with the Library Director, who operates
within a framework of policies adopted by the
Library Board of Trustees.
Adopted
December 4, 2000
SECTION
3: FACTORS INFLUENCING SELECTION OF MATERIALS
As
a public agency, the Library attempts to meet
and anticipate reasonable community needs within
the limitations of budget, space, and availability
of materials.
Adopted
December 4, 2000
SECTION
4: CRITERIA
Judgments
of experts, of professionally trained staff
members and of qualified book reviewers in national,
international, and local newspapers and magazines
provide a balance of opinion as the basis for
selection. Though a variety of criteria are
used for each subject, final decisions are based
on the value of the material to the library
and its public, regardless of the personal tastes
of the selectors.
All
library materials will be chosen for values
of interest, information, and enlightenment
of all the people of the community. In no case
shall any material be excluded because of the
race or nationality or religious views of the
writer. Materials presenting different points
of view concerning the problems and issues of
the time will be included in the library collection.
Adopted
December 4, 2000
SECTION
5: RE-EVALUATION OF LIBRARY MATERIAL
When
a member of the community has a question or
objection concerning the presence of a book
or other item in the collection, library staff
will listen to the question or objection and
inform the Director. If the staff interview
does not satisfy the patron, and the patron
requests that the material be removed or circulation
changed or limited in the library, then the
patron's objection shall be submitted to the
library director in writing using the REQUEST
TO REVIEW LIBRARY MATERIALS FORMS provided by
the library. The Library Board of Trustees will
be notified when the forms are completed and
returned to the director. Initial evaluation
of patron's objections will be made by the director
and forwarded to the Board. Library Board of
Trustees will meet in regular session to vote
on the evaluation and recommendation of the
director regarding the complaint. The patron
has a right to attend any regular meeting of
the Board of Trustees.
Adopted
December 4, 2000
SECTION
6: REFERENCE BOOK COLLECTION
Reference
materials, by their nature, are intended for
use in the library by all our patrons and must
be available at all times the Library is open.
Consequently, reference materials and current
issues of magazines cannot be checked out of
the Library.
SECTION
7: GIFT POLICY
1.
Due to the size, nature, and staffing of the
Poplar Bluff Public Library, the library should
not, and cannot, act as a museum or research
facility. The library does accept gifts of books,
pamphlets, periodicals and other materials with
the understanding that they will be added to
the library collection when and if needed.
2.
The Poplar Bluff Library Board of Trustees shall
have the right to accept or refuse all donations
to the library. The library director will accept
books, periodicals, etc. The library board will
evaluate more special and unusual items (furnishings,
paintings and personal collections).
3.
All books and materials are accepted with the
understanding that the library reserves the
right to make such disposition as is fitting
of duplicates and titles not needed by the library.
4.
It is the policy of the library not to accept
special collections on the condition that they
be kept together as a separate physical entity.
Material will be accepted only with the understanding
that it may be integrated into the general collection.
5.
When the library receives a cash gift for the
purchase of materials, selection will be based
primarily on the needs of the library.
6.
Donors wishing a receipt for donated items are
to prepare their own lists. No estimate of value
or record of items will be furnished by the
library. A donor of a rare item or one of unusual
value should employ an appraiser for tax purposes.
7.
The library reserves the right to decide the
conditions of display, housing, and access to
the materials.
8.
When gift materials are deemed no longer useful,
the library will dispose of them on the same
basis it disposes of other materials.
9.
The library has placed in its procedures Form
01.12.1999, which outlines these guidelines.
This form should be given as receipt for all
donations. The library also makes available
a Form 01.12.1998 upon request of the patron,
which acknowledges the number of items given.
This library does not maintain a log or receipt
of donated books.
10.
Gift books or donations given in memory or in
honor of an individual or group are added to
the collection and are cataloged into the automated
system. These books will be identified in the
system by placing the appropriate names in a
general note field in the catalog record.
Adopted
December 4, 2000
SECTION
8: SECURITY DEPOSITS
When the Library Director determines that certain
items in the Library's collection are particularly
prone to theft or not returned, he/she may place
those items in a closed stack area of the Library
and may require a deposit of ten dollars before
the items can be checked out.
SECTION
9: SECURITY GATES
Policies
Due
to the loss of library materials, it has become
necessary to install security gates in the Library.
Any person exiting/entering the library and
triggering the alarm gates will return to the
circulation desk to have all items desensitized/checked
by the library staff. This may require the removal
of all books, pamphlets, cassettes, binders,
videos and other similar type library materials
from backpacks, purses, briefcases, tote bags,
canvas bags, and other similar luggage.
Any
person refusing this request will have all library
privileges withdrawn including access to the
library. This person may also face legal charges
for the "theft" of library materials. (City
Ordinance 6540, October 21, 2002, and Missouri
Revised State Statute 570.210).
A
sign that indicates magnetic security is in
place in the library is posted at the entrances.
Adopted
February 4, 2003
SECTION
10: RARE BOOKS
Policies
The
Library is not a museum or collector of rare
things. The expertise of the staff and the facility's
accommodations do not provide adequate resources
to archive "rare materials."
However,
a group of "old books" have evolved through
the history of the library and this collection
has become known as a RARE BOOKS COLLECTION.
(The Library makes no claim about the "rarity"
of these books.) These materials, because of
their age, are often in poor condition and can
no longer survive the constant movement of being
located on the open book shelves. Many of these
books are of interest to patrons researching
local history and ancestry. These books are
generally given the collection code of "RARE."
Books
assigned to the "RARE" collection are removed
from the open shelves to a more protective environment.
These books are rarely requested, but are inquired
about from time to time. They are cataloged
along with all other materials and appear in
the public access catalog.
In an effort to preserve and extend the life
of these books the following access guidelines
are set:
-
Request to see the materials must be made
to the Library Director. A time is then set
for the viewing of the items. If the Director
is not available, a written request is made.
- Books
will be viewed in the Library Board Room.
If the room is in use, the viewing of the
materials must wait until it becomes available.
- Books
do not leave the Library Board Room.
- Although
gloves are not required, clean hands are required.
Each person will wash his/her hands before
viewing the book(s). (Oil from the tips and
palms of hands will collect on fragile pages.)
- The
person requesting to use the materials must
know "book care." (How to open and close the
book, turn pages, not to place pencils or
pens in the gulley of the book, etc.)
- Only
senior staff are allowed to copy from books
in the "RARE BOOKS COLLECTION." The cost shall
be twenty-five cents per page, if copying
the pages is not in violation of copyright
laws AND it is perceived by staff that copying
will not damage the book.
- Anyone
viewing the materials must agree to pay for
any damages to the book during their use.
Adopted
by the board --March 3, 2003
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