Collection Development Policy

This Collection Development Policy expresses the will of the Live Oak Public Library’s Board of Trustees regarding the purposes of the library’s collections. This policy also acknowledges that collection development encompasses more than simply acquiring materials. It provides the framework within which collections are planned, resources are allocated, individual selections are made, and collections are maintained over time.

Authority and Responsibility

The Live Oak Public Library’s Board of Trustees and the Library Director hold ultimate responsibility for the selection of materials (Ga. Code Ann. 20-5-43(4) and 20-5-45(5)). The Executive Library Director may delegate this responsibility to the Deputy Director, Director of Technical Services Collection Management, and other librarians.

Mission Statement

The fundamental mission of all libraries is to collect information and literature of interest to users and to make the collection accessible to users. Historically, public libraries have been founded to foster an informed and educated citizenry capable of full participation in the cultural, economic and political life of democratic nations. Currently, libraries serve a wider role – providing recreational materials for reading, listening and viewing, and access to the internet’s resources, among other services.

The Live Oak Public Library serves all residents of Chatham and Liberty Counties. As a public library, serves all citizens, regardless of age, education, economic status, social status, occupation, or disability. The two-county area is a major center of commercial, industrial, transportation and military activity. In addition to the urban port city of Savannah and its suburbs, the area contains many smaller towns and a substantial rural population. The citizens of the two-county area are extremely diverse in backgrounds, needs and expectations. The Live Oak Public Library Board of Trustees recognizes that the library cannot provide all things informational and recreational to such a diverse population. The Board has determined that the library must limit its roles to those which are most desirable and can be most effectively fulfilled.

The new values and mission of the Live Oak Public Library were adopted by the Board of Trustees in 2024 after a year-long strategic planning process involving library staff and the public. Our mission,

Inspiring the community to Grow, Create, Discover, and Explore

is a statement of purpose defining the impact we seek to have on the community.

The new values:

• Literacy is an essential skill that improves the quality of life
• Access for everyone
• Freedom of thought and exploration is essential to a democratic society
• Responsive to the needs of our community and our colleagues

emphasize how Live Oak Public Library expects to execute the mission and directs collection development and all other aspects of the library’s service. The Collection Development Policy is a tool to assist library staff in realizing the intent articulated in Live Oak Public Library’s vision and mission statements.

The scope of the library’s collection is limited by practical necessity, and many citizens will have occasional needs which do not fall within the stated mission. For this reason, the library will maintain contact and cooperative relationships with libraries and other agencies so that users may be referred to an appropriate source with minimal inconvenience. The library will also participate in state and national consortia and interlibrary loan networks so that materials outside the scope of the library’s collection may be obtained expeditiously. As the major metropolitan public library in the southern part of Georgia and a major source of materials on the history of Coastal Georgia, Live Oak Public Library will make its collections available to the users of other libraries in accordance with national and state interlibrary loan guidelines and procedures.

Funds for the acquisition of materials will be allocated among the library’s various branches in accordance with funding regulations, consistent with collection development needs and priorities defined in the Strategic Plan, and reflecting the demands, interests, and actual use of the branches. The collections of individual branches are considered parts of a whole, which is the Live Oak Public Library collection.

First Amendment Freedoms

It is the library’s responsibility to collect materials which serve a wide variety of ages, ethnic groups and educational levels with content representing various points of view on all issues without endorsement, restriction or prejudice. The library subscribes to the

• Library Bill of Rights (American Library Association, revised January 29, 2019)
• Freedom to Read Statement (American Library Association, revised June 30, 2004)
• Freedom to View Statement (American Library Association, June 1979)
• Declaration of Democracy (Urban Libraries Council, March 2023)
• Book Sanctuary Library Proclamation (LOPL Board of Trustees, February 2025)

For the text of these documents, see Appendix 2.

The Library recognizes that some materials in the collection will not be appropriate for all ages and educational levels. Only the person using the material or his or her guardian can determine what is suitable for that person. Therefore, the Library will not deny access to material because of age or educational level.

Live Oak Public Library recognizes that many materials are controversial. Selection is not made based on anticipated approval or disapproval but solely on the basis of principles stated in this library’s Collection Development Policy. When a customer objects to an item in the collection, staff will follow the procedures established in Appendix 1, Reconsideration of Library Materials.

General Principles for Selection of Materials

In accordance with the Live Oak Public Library Strategic Plan, the Collection Development Policy will assist library staff in developing a collection that

• ensures that the Library has current, attractive, and useful materials for every age group, is tailored to the profile of each branch, and reflects each local community’s needs and interests
• provides customers with popular, high-demand items in a timely manner
• reflects actual demand for and use of library materials, expanding areas of the collection that receive the greatest use, and adding new formats as they become available and are requested
• includes collections of local interest or of special interest to local clientele, materials in genealogy and local history, large print, titles on school reading lists, and local authors’ works
• reflects expeditious removal of items that are worn, outdated, or no longer needed, and replacement as needed with new and useful items
• provides the optimal balance between print and digital resources to meet customer needs
• is customer-friendly and arranged to assist users in finding the materials they need through merchandising techniques, showcasing collections

Consistent with these goals and objectives, materials will be collected in formats appropriate to demand and need, including audio, visual, digital, and print. While all materials will not be collected by nor all subject areas represented at every branch, all circulating materials will be made available at any branch through delivery. In general, the same selection principles will apply to all materials regardless of format.

While the Library is sympathetic to the needs of post-secondary students and professionals, it recognizes that libraries already exist to serve these users. As Live Oak Public Libraries does not have the resources to duplicate services and collections of existing academic and professional libraries, the library generally will not collect textbooks or materials prepared for the postsecondary academic or professional level except as necessary to meet the needs of the broader general public.

Materials may be excluded from the collection for one or more of the following reasons:

1. The materials are of an extremely technical, scholarly, or specialized nature, and therefore would be useful to a very small number of library users. Academic libraries, school library media centers, special subject libraries, and other area information centers exist to support school curricula or to serve the needs of specific audiences. Many of these libraries are open to the general public.
2. The expense of an item is out of proportion to its anticipated value or use
3. The materials are proscribed by federal or state statutes.

The Library will resist efforts to force inclusion of proselytizing works representing vested political, economic, moral or religious positions. An effort will be made to acquire authoritative materials representing all points of view and all sides of controversial issues. The Library neither promotes nor discourages particular views or opinions; it presents materials representing opposing views for the consideration of the community. Having a given item in the collection does not indicate support or endorsement of its views or contents.

Materials not currently owned by Live Oak Public Libraries may be requested, and will be purchased or borrowed through interlibrary loan as policy and availability dictates. The library will make every effort to supply items requested by customers.

Selection of Materials

The selection process refers to the decision to add material to the collection as well as the decision to retain material already in the collection.

The Library uses such widely accepted sources as Library Journal, Booklist, and Publisher’s Weekly as aids to selection. Catalogs and advertisements may be used. Reputable bibliographies and the expertise of local subject specialists may also be used as sources for needed titles. Local bestseller lists or school reading lists may be used to determine the need for a title, and the number of copies purchased. Suggestions from library customers are an important source for both titles and subjects being considered for purchase.

The following are some criteria considered when making a selection:

1. Relation to the existing collection and relevance to community need, as determined by branch profile, statistical data, or customer suggestions.
2. Customer demand, as indicated by requests, or media attention, which will generate demand.
3. Reviews indicating whether the work meets standard criteria for good writing: factual accuracy, effectiveness of expression, authority, balance in point of view.
4. Current significance and potential for permanent value.
5. Suitability for the intended audience.
6. Ease of use and suitability of format for library use.
7. Cost of the item in relation to its expected value to the collection.
8. Widespread demand for a format and availability of technology for its use.

The following criteria may also be considered in selecting fiction:

1. Representation of an important movement, genre, trend or national culture.
2. Originality
3. Local interest or demand
4. General appeal to the intended audience

Some materials reviewed may not meet the criteria of this policy but may be selected because of heavy demand or local interest. Also, as the community changes, materials which were not recommended for purchase at one time may become of interest at a later date and purchased to meet user demands.

Gifts and Donations

Accepting gifts and donations is an important way for the public library to benefit from the generosity of the community it serves. Gifts and donations of materials are reviewed using the same criteria as purchases. The library reserves the right to dispose of any gifts that are given to the library. The library will determine how to best incorporate such materials into the existing collections. Materials not added to library collections may be used for LOPL programs or given to other organizations.

Funds may be given to the library for the purpose of acquiring materials recommended by library staff as prescribed in this policy. When the library receives a cash gift for the purchase of materials, the library staff will select materials for purchase using the general selection principles set forth in this policy.

The Library accepts gifts with the understanding that the library may use or dispose of them as it determines is appropriate. The library does not provide evaluations or appraisals of gifts for tax deductions or other purposes. Acceptance of gift that has been appraised elsewhere does not constitute the library’s endorsement of that appraisal.

Collection Maintenance

Evaluation of the collection is a continuing process, aimed at maintaining an active and useful collection. Maintenance may require duplication of heavily used items, withdrawal of items no longer useful, replacement of some withdrawn or missing items, and addition of items to fill gaps in the collection.

Possible criteria for withdrawal of items include: irreparable damage, obsolescence, insufficient use, and lack of available space. Replacement of withdrawn items is dependent upon demand, duplicates available, and availability of other current materials which meet the same need.

Planning

Each branch of Live Oak Public Library has specific and local community needs, interests, priorities, and demands Library staff regularly to analyze these factors and incorporate them into collection development priorities for each branch. Factors such as library hours, special clientele needs, proximity to schools, circulation and in-library use statistics, and other local data are incorporated to ensure that collection development at each branch is customized to meet the needs of the people using it.

Appendix 1. Reconsideration of Library Materials

When a customer objects to an item in the collection, the staff member receiving the complaint should listen respectfully to the complaint, making no judgmental comments about the item in question or the complaint. If the customer wishes to file a formal complaint, the discussion should be turned over to the senior staff member on duty, who should:

1. Provide a copy of the Collection Development Policy.
2. Provide a Request for Reconsideration of Library Materials form (appended), if, after reading the policy, the customer still wishes to register a formal complaint.
3. Assure the customer that the material will be reviewed by the appropriate library staff, by the Library Director, and by members of the Collection Development Committee.
4. Notify the customer that he or she will receive a letter from the Library Director describing the results of this review.

The following criteria are necessary for a “Request for Reconsideration” to be considered:

• Customer must be a resident in library service area
• Request for Reconsideration Form must be completed in its entirety. Incomplete forms will not be considered.
• One request form per item
• An item will not be reviewed more than once in a five year period
• Customer must agree to read the Collection Development Policy
• If the material in question was not read by the customer, the reconsideration request will not be considered
• Completed form can be returned to the customer’s local branch or mailed to the Director of Technical Services

The Director of Technical Services, upon receiving the form and material, will gather available reviews on the material in question, write an opinion of the material, and forward the package to the Library Director and Collection Development Committee members as quickly as possible. During the review period, the material in question will remain available to the public. The director and designated staff will complete the review process. The Library Director will send a letter informing the customer of the results of the review. A copy of the customer’s Request for Reconsideration of Library Materials Form will accompany the letter. Copies of this letter will be sent to all branches and departments, and to the Chair of the Regional Library Board of Trustees.

If the customer is not satisfied with the review results, he or she may elect to request in writing that the material be reviewed by the Live Oak Public Library Board of Trustees.

Upon receipt of this request, the Library Director will place the issue on the agenda of the next Regional Board meeting. The decision of the Regional Library Board will be final.

During the review process, the Library Director will be the sole spokesman for the Live Oak Public Library. No other staff or Board member should comment on the material or the complaint until the conclusion of the review process. All materials selected under the Collection Development Policy are considered constitutionally protected until such time as they are determined unprotected by judicial action in courts of jurisdiction and after all appeals have been exhausted. In the event that a customer charges that a particular item is not protected under the First Amendment of the Constitution, the burden of proof rests with the complainant.

Material under question, which meets the criteria for selection set forth in the Collection Development Policy, will remain in the active collection until such judicial determination is made.

Request for Reconsideration of Library Materials

The request form asks for:

• Title, and whether it is a Book, Magazine, or Other
• Author
• Publisher or Distributor
• Request initiated by: Name; Representing (Self, or Organization or Group); Address; Library Card Number
• To what do you object in the work noted above? Please be specific. Cite pages, specific scenes, etc.
• Did you read or view the entire work?
• What do you feel might be the result of reading or viewing this work?
• For what age group would you recommend this work?
• What do you believe is the theme of this work?
• Is there anything good about this work considered as a whole?
• What would you like the Library to do about this work? (Review and reevaluate selection, or Other (explain))
• Comments
• Signature and Date

Mail to:

Director of Technical Services
Live Oak Public Library, 2002 Bull Street, Savannah, GA 31401