Table of Contents
Policy Objective 4
Background 4
Policy and Principles 4
Procedural Guidelines 5
Budget Considerations 5
Scope 5
Acquisition 6
Selection Criteria 6
Non Inclusion 7
Censorship 7
Donations 8
Customer Service 8
High Demand Material 8
Inter-Library Loans 8
Collection Feedback 8
Collection Management 8
Evaluation 9
Assessment 9
Weeding 9
Withdrawn Items 10
Stocktake 10
Policy Review 10
Selection criteria 11
Appendix A - Collection Overview 13
Fiction – Adult 13
Fiction - Junior/Young adult 13
Non-fiction - Adult and Junior/Young adult 14
Audio visual 15
English as a second Language/Adult Literacy 16
Languages other than English (LOTE) 16
Large Print 16
Online and Digital 16
Periodicals and Newspapers 16
Reference 17
Stack Collections 17
Special collections 17
Big and Beautiful Reference Collection 17
EnviroCentre 17
Equipment 18
Family History 18
Homegrown Hobsons Bay 18
Indigenous 18
Local History 18
Maritime 18
Zines 19
Appendix B - Collection development guidelines 20
Appendix C - Community Profile 21
The City 21
Population 21
Age Structure 21
Indigenous Population 21
Cultural Diversity 21
Appendix D - Service Profile 22
Appendix E - Branch profiles 25
Altona Branch 25
Altona Meadows Library and Learning Centre 28
Altona North Community Library 31
Newport Library – (NLATS) 33
Williamstown Library 35
Appendix F - Collection profiles 38
Digital Development Profile 38
EnviroCentre 47
Heritage Collection 49
LOTE Collection 57
Appendix G – Collection Weeding Parameters 63
Definitions 69
Policy Objective
Collection development is the process by which informational, recreational and cultural resources are selected, acquired and maintained in order to meet the needs of customers and the organization’s objectives.
This collection development policy communicates the principles which determine the development of the collections to service the present and future needs of the community of Hobsons Bay.
Background
The Collection Development Policy has been aligned with the strategic directions of Hobsons Bay City Council Plan 2013-2017 and developed in line with UNESCO and ALIA policies relating to literacy and equitable access to information.
Goals relating to library collections in the Council Plan 2013-2017 include:
Goal 1: An Inclusive, Resilient and Healthy Community
1.1 Provide a range of accessible, high quality services and social supports
1.2 Foster community wellbeing, capacity and sense of belonging
1.5 Foster cultural expression and lifelong learning
Goal 4: An Innovative, Proactive and Leading Organisation
4.1 Undertake responsible and sustainable decision making and management
4.2 Understand community needs, advocate and partner with others for the benefit of the municipality, especially in relation to children and young people
4.3 Communicate and engage effectively with the community and provide excellent customer service
Policy and Principles
Council is committed to providing free, uncensored (within the law) and equitable access to library services and resources to support the informational, educational, recreational and cultural development needs of the community. To this end, Hobsons Bay Libraries aim to develop a collection that:
· encourages literacy and lifelong learning
· is flexible to meet the changing needs of the Hobsons Bay community
· preserves the social, cultural and local history of the community
· is inclusive and accessible by providing material in a range of formats and languages
· provides a basis for the most effective use of available funds
· provides a framework for the introduction of newly emerging technologies to the community
· provides a balanced range of resources including both popular, bestselling material and enduring works
This policy will be used as a framework to support collection management and planning processes ensuring a current, relevant and attractive collection.
Procedural Guidelines
Budget Considerations
Hobsons Bay City Council determines the budget allocation for library collections on an annual basis. The allocations of funds to various parts of the collection occurs before the commencement of the new financial year based on considerations such as demand, breadth and depth, and the availability of format.
Additional funds may be obtained through external funding sources such as the Local Priorities Fund and the Premiers Reading Challenge Book Fund, provided by the State Government.
A three year Collection Resource Plan will be developed to sit along side this policy articulating the link to developing collections in a changing dynamic environment.
Scope
Materials are acquired in a variety of formats, which may include, but are not limited to print, audio-visual and digital formats. While the relevance of the content of the material is of primary consideration, format is also a key consideration for suitability.
Most library collections except for Reference and Local History are available for loan.
Libraries acquire material in a range of community languages to support those in the community with English as a second language. The library will maintain up to 10 non-English collections and will assess the ongoing inclusion of these languages taking into account usage statistics, census data and community profiling for the Hobsons Bay area.
Not all collections will be supported with the same range of material. Each collection is assessed to ensure that the material acquired is reflective of the needs of that community or the availability of material in that language.
Acquisition
In accordance with the Local Government Act, Hobsons Bay Libraries purchases materials under a contract. Wherever possible it is purchased ‘shelf ready’.
Material is purchased in the following formats:
· Books
· eBooks
· eAudiobooks
· CDs
· DVDs
· Talking books
· Large Print
· Periodicals
· Electronic
And in the following languages:
· Arabic
· Chinese
· Croatian
· English
· Greek
· Italian
· Maltese
· Polish
· Vietnamese
Material is purchased from contracted suppliers via standing orders and subject profiles. These are reviewed annually to ensure relevance to community interest and customer demand.
Selection Criteria
The following criteria are used to determine whether items are purchased. Their importance and application may vary from one collection to another.
· Material must be relevant, accurate and suitable for public lending purposes with consideration to appropriate distribution and licensing agreements, packaging, and presentation.
· Hobsons Bay Libraries will only purchase electronic resources with public lending rights for the lending collection.
· Library customers may request items not in the collection. All customer requests will be considered for purchase.
Detailed criteria for making selection decisions are outlined in Appendix A
Customer Request criteria is detailed in Appendix B.
Non Inclusion
While the library aims to provide a well rounded collection, in a variety of formats it aims not to duplicate material accessible elsewhere. As such the following material is generally not purchased for the library collection:
· Textbooks prescribed for study or items of a highly technical or specialised nature may be included in the collection where they are of general interest or value to the community and they are the most appropriate materials available. Textbooks for formal courses of study will not generally be included in the lending collection.
· Materials prohibited by law will not be considered for inclusion in the collection. Council is obliged to comply with decisions made under lawful federal or state prohibition, for example by the Classification Board.
· Requested material that is out of date, too expensive, published in an unsuitable format or where there are suitable alternative titles in stock on the subject.
· Items that are fragile or ephemeral that are not robust enough for loan
Censorship
The library aims to provide a collection of materials on topics of interest to the community.
Council is not a censoring body. Material will not be rejected or removed from the library collection solely on the basis of doctrinal disapproval, or because of concern that children may access some materials intended for adult use. Parents or guardians are responsible for the suitability of materials perused or borrowed by their child.
Hobsons Bay Libraries follows the guidelines stated by the National Classification Scheme, Classification (Publications, Films and Computer Games) Act 1995, amended 2011.
The only exception to this is material banned from publication or circulation by Federal or State Government, which will not be purchased. R Rated Materials are restricted by law and will not be shelved on open access.
Donations
Donated material is accepted on the understanding that the library service may dispose of any items which fail to meet the criteria for addition to the collection, and once in the collection may be discarded at a later date in accordance with ongoing collection management processes.
As a general rule the following items are not accepted as donations:
· Periodicals
· Textbooks
· Encyclopaedias
· DVDs for regions outside Australia
· Outdated formats, such as Cassettes and Videos
Customer Service
High Demand Material
Customers should wait no more than six weeks for a reserved or requested item. Additional copies will be ordered when reservations for books exceed two per item and audio-visual six per item. When a literary phenomena occurs such as the advent of the “Harry Potter” series, these ratios may be adjusted accordingly as demand could far exceed budget constraints.
Inter-Library Loans
Where purchase is not possible, alternatives such as inter-library loan, web-based information or referral will be provided. All requests for inter library loans are made via LibrarylinksVictoria.
Collection Feedback
A customer may contact the Manager Learning Communities if there is concern about an item in the collection or a request that was declined.
All requests are considered using ALIA’s policy statement on Free Access to Information, Film & Classification Review Board and the library’s collection development policy. Customers will be notified of the outcome of the review.
Collection Management
The library collection needs continuous evaluation in order to keep on target with the library’s goal to provide materials to meet customer interest and need.
Statistical tools such as circulation reports, collection turnover rates, and customer requests are used to determine how the collection is being used and indicate the trends that respond to customer and community needs.
An annual schedule for collection management is maintained, and under the supervision of Coordinators all staff participate in the process.
Evaluation
Standing orders and profiles are reviewed annually to ensure that branch profiles, subject profiles and author lists for selections are still relevant to the community and collection.
Evaluation is ongoing throughout the year to identify and fill collection gaps and ensure a balanced collection.
Assessment
All materials are assessed on their physical condition, currency and usage.
Items with high usage and poor physical condition may be replaced, while items with low usage will be weeded from the collection.
Weeding of all collections is undertaken in line with the individual collection maintenance profiles and weeding guidelines.
The ongoing viability of collections and formats are also regularly assessed against their availability, suitability and relevance.
Weeding
Weeding is the term used for the process to withdraw an item from the collection.
The following criteria are utilised when weeding. It is not expected that items will meet all criteria.
· The information, and therefore the item, is out of date
· The item is damaged beyond repair or the cost of the repair is beyond the value of the item
· More recent editions are available
· The item is not in an acceptable condition (i.e. yellowing pages, cut outs, scribble and generally unattractive in appearance)
· Duplicates of the item are on the shelf and not circulating sufficiently
· The item has not been recently or regularly borrowed
· The item is part of a series that has been irregularly used
· The item is well used and in a condition that warrants replacement
Detailed weeding parameters are outlined in Appendix F.
Withdrawn Items
Withdrawn items are passed on to the Friends of the Libraries for sale or donation to community groups.
Items that are not suitable for re-sale, due to physical damage or outdated content are recycled wherever possible and otherwise discarded.
Stocktake
A stocktake involves checking a library’s catalogue records against stock on loan and on shelf, to identify missing items and update records. This process ensures the accuracy of the library database and operational statistics.
A stocktake will occur every three years.
Policy Review
The Collection Development Policy including a public comment process will be reviewed every three years to ensure the collections are managed in accordance with contemporary practice, draw on current industry initiatives and in line with community expectations.
Add Elsewhere
In some cases an ethnic group may rate highly on statistics but investigation may uncover the residents are better supported with International English Language Testing System (IELTS) and English as a Second Language (ESL) study material rather than a community language collection, in another case it may be that the users have more interest in high turnover audio-visual and periodicals, than written material.
The standing orders and profiles are produced by the staff member responsible for each collection, in consultation with the Coordinator Collections, and with approval from the Library Leadership Team.
Material with distribution restrictions will generally not be purchased for the general collection, however items such as electronic resources, may be purchased for the collection and made available for use as not for loan “reference” items in the library if the item legally fits within this category and is deemed to be of high importance to the community when considered against the profile.
Selection criteria
Content
· The subject matter should be of interest and a popular subject for Library customers or a “classic” of its genre.
· The subject, style and reading level of a title suits the clientele
· The information is accurate
· The information is current
· The subject matter is an identified gap by staff and/or the community
Construction quality of hard copy
· The item is attractive, well made and durable
· The item has good print/image quality
· The paper of appropriate quality
Potential use
· Estimated demand for item, will meet community needs