#1 Collection Development Plan
DRAFT 2012 COLLECTION DEVELOPMENT PLAN revision 4/10/2012
INTRODUCTION
This collection statement is a reflection of Hedberg Public Library’s ongoing commitment to provide a great
collection on diverse topics in various formats. A document stating the goals, objectives, and background of
the library collection, along with policies for selection and maintenance of the collection, is needed to
provide the structure for meeting our commitment to provide an excellent collection.
PURPOSE
The purpose of the plan is to guide present and future selectors in developing the collection to meet the
needs of the Janesville community, as well as to explain collection building principles and processes to staff
and to the public. The plan also outlines responsibilities of persons involved in selection and provides
guidelines for special contingencies. It describes each area of the library collection and advocates specific
future development for each.
MISSON AND CORE VALUES
READ – LEARN
EXPLORE – GROW
We are your library:
Providing a welcoming and accommodating environment
Building and maintaining diverse and useful collections
Maximizing access to information and materials
Creating partnerships throughout the community
Meeting and exceeding expectations of those we serve
Hedberg Public Library’s core values are to:
Value and respect our public
Value and respect our employees, volunteers and Friends of the Library
Maximize access and use
Maintain the highest possible standards
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Maintain an open and creative learning organization
COLLECTION DEVELOPMENT
PRINCIPLES
The library’s mission statement guides materials selectors in the development of the collection and the
allocation of funds. The library supports endorses the American Library Association’s “Bill of Rights,” “The
Freedom to Read,” “The Freedom to View” and “Free Access to Libraries for Minors,” statements
included in this plan as Appendix A. The library supports the individual’s right to access ideas and
information representing all points of view. Materials selected are intended to meet the diverse
informational and recreational needs of HPL users, both those expressed and those identified by staff
based on community demographics and use of the current collection. The collection reflects the
community’s various cultures and contemporary standards.
The selection of any title does not constitute endorsement of its contents. The library recognizes that many
materials are controversial and that any given item may offend a customer. Decisions are not made on the
basis of any anticipated approval or disapproval, but solely on the title in relation to building the collection
and serving customers’ interests.
In keeping with the Library Bill of Rights, Hedberg Public Library does not restrict access to library materials
based on the age of the user. The library believes that parents (or legal guardians) have the sole right and
responsibility to restrict access of their own children to library resources. There may be a rare occasion
when an exception is made to this policy, but only with the library director’s approval and only due to
unusual circumstances. For instance, if an item is purchased that meets few if any selection criteria and is
clearly on the edge of contemporary community standards, but has through the media or other public
debate, become of wide spread interest to many adults in the community, this item may be restricted to
those 18=years or older. Such a restriction would be established only after input from appropriate staff and
after careful review of the item in question. Each case must be considered on its own merits, but in all
cases the library does its best to adhere to the Library Bill of Rights. Likewise, the library’s policy of free
access to minors does not influence the purchase of controversial materials.
COMMUNITY DESCRIPTION
The county seat for Rock County, Janesville, is a city in southern Wisconsin within two hours travel
time of Madison, Milwaukee and Chicago. Statistics provided by the Wisconsin Department of
Public Instruction for 2010 rank Hedberg Public Library 12 among libraries statewide for
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population served (81,689 including both city residents and surrounding townships.)
The City of Janesville, 10 largest in Wisconsin with a population of 63,575 has experienced slow
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growth in the 21 century. The average age of Janesville’s population increased from 35.3 years in
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2000 to 37.1 years in 2010. According to city projections, the average age of Janesville’s population
will continue to increase as the baby boom generation reaches age 65 and medical practices
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advance. According to the 2010 census, Hispanics represent 5.4% of the total population. In
Janesville, 89.7% of the residents have a high school education or higher with 29.2% having one or
more college degrees.
Mercy Health Systems is the largest employer in Janesville, followed by the School District of
Janesville, Rock County and GHC Specialty Brands/Lab Safety Supply. The closing of the General
Motors plant in December 2008 marked a shift from Janesville representing a manufacturing based
economy to one that is service based.
According to the 2010 U.S. census, the percentage of Janesville population with a high school
degree was 88.1%, those having a bachelor’s degree or higher, 22%. The School District of
Janesville is the tenth largest of the 462 school districts in Wisconsin. Its current staff of 1,394 (947
full-time and 447 part-time) serves 10,400 students. The School District, with a 2009-2010 high
school graduation rate of 92.7%, has an excellent academic reputation.
Janesville is home to a number of charter schools, including
Rock River Charter School serves approximately 140 students and offers online courses,
GED preparation and a School Age Parent Program
Janesville Virtual Academy has a certified teaching and mentoring staff providing
individualized instruction and bringing students, parents and community together in
support of a standards-based learning environment.
TAGOS Leadership Academy whose aim is to educate the “whole child” in a project-based,
supportive and safe environment
Janesville Academy for International Studies – Craig and Parker High School students
experience world culture and investigate global issues during a daily three-hour program.
With the closing of the GM factory, attendance at the two colleges in the Janesville area–University
of Wisconsin Rock County and Blackhawk Technical College–surged as a greater number of high
school graduates pursued post-high school education and those who had previously been in the
workforce returned to school for retraining. The area has also seen an increase in the number of
students taking online or commuter distance education courses.
Both the GM plant closing and 2008 recession had a significant impact on the local economy.
Unemployment rates hover between 8.5% and 9.5%. The percentage of people at or below the
poverty level from 2005-2009 was 11%.
Janesville has a wealth of social service and other regional agencies to respond to those affected
by the economic downturn. A number of the agencies partner with the Rock County Job Center
which has provided some coordination of services. Janesville area residents have less disposable
income and look to the library for informational as well as recreational materials in a variety of
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formats. Among the organizations the library works with are CORD (Collaborative Organizations
Responding to Dislocation) and the Rock County Historical Society. HPL borrower registration is
high compared to the national average for libraries serving similar sized populations, with 69,277
registered as of January 2012, including 51,377 city residents. Averaging HPL’s 2011 total
circulation of 1,153,991 by the number of registered borrowers, the number of items circulated per
borrower was 16.7. This reflects a loss of 2.5 circs per borrower over the past decade.
COLLECTION DEVELOPMENT POLICIES
OBJECTIVES
HPL’s primary objectives are to acquire, organize and make available print, non-print and digital materials
which inform, educate, entertain and enrich library patrons, including works of contemporary significance
and works of enduring value. The Library also recognizes an immediate duty to offer materials for
enlightenment and recreation, even though such materials may not have enduring interest or value. The
collection is not archival. It is reviewed and revised on an on-going basis to meet contemporary needs.
SCOPE
The collection is intended to provide individuals of all ages and abilities with resources in a variety of
formats, treatment and levels of difficulty so that most individual library needs can be met. Providing access
to electronic information for adults and young people is an important component of the library’s collection
development process. The collection is intended to offer supplemental materials for persons pursuing
educational programs, including job training, literacy instruction and other lifelong learning
endeavors. The library also serves as a starting point for those who seek more advanced works housed
in other institutions. The library avoids needless duplication of materials available from other Rock County
libraries with holdings in the RockCat Catalog or other institutions in the state.
COLLECTION LEVELS
Most areas of the collection are developed to “minimal level”. Other areas are developed to “basic
information level”. No collection rises to the “research” or “comprehensive” level. As adapted from the
American Library Association’s Guide for Written Collection Policy Statements, 1996, the levels are defined
as:
Minimal Level: A subject area in which few selections are made beyond very basic works. A collection at
this level is frequently and systematically reviewed for currency of information. Superceded editions and
titles containing outdated information are withdrawn.
Basic Information Level: A selective collection of materials that serves to introduce and define a subject and
to indicate the varieties of information available elsewhere. It may include dictionaries, encyclopedias,
access to appropriate bibliographic databases, selected editions of important works, historical surveys,
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bibliographies, handbooks, and a few major periodicals. The collection is frequently and systematically
reviewed for currency of information.
Study or Instructional Support Level: A collection that is adequate to impart and maintain knowledge about
a subject in a systematic way but at a level of less than research intensity. The collection includes a wide
range of basic works in appropriate formats, a significant number of classic retrospective materials,
complete collections of the works of more important writers, selections from the works of secondary writers,
a selection of representative journals, access to appropriate machine-readable data files, and the reference
tools and fundamental bibliographical apparatus pertaining to the subject. At the study or instructional
support level, a collection is adequate to support independent study and most learning needs of the
clientele of public and special libraries, as well as undergraduate and some graduate instruction. The
collection is systematically reviewed for currency of information and to assure that essential and significant
information is retained.
Comprehensive Level: A collection in which a library endeavors, so far as it is reasonably possible, to
include all significant works of recorded knowledge (publications, manuscripts, and other forms), in all
applicable languages, for a necessarily defined and limited field. This level of collection intensity is one that
is essentially a "special collection"; the aim, if not the achievement, is exhaustiveness. Older material is
retained for historical research with active preservation efforts.
CRITERIA
The criteria for the evaluation of materials includes popular demand for a title or subject matter,
authoritativeness of author and publisher, timeliness, accuracy, price, indexing and other organization of
materials, reviews, literary or artistic merit, enduring value, social significance, scarcity of material on the
subject, and availability of materials elsewhere. Any or all of these factors are used when selecting
materials to build a well-rounded collection with many viewpoints to meet community needs, but the primary
consideration is public demand. Specific considerations for each area of the collection are noted under the
Collection Development Guidelines section of this policy.
COLLECTION DEVELOPMENT PROCESS
SELECTOR RESPONSIBILITY
Final selection responsibility lies with the director who delegates to staff the authority to interpret and guide
the application of policy in day-to-day decisions. Unusual problems are referred to the director for
resolution. The collection manager coordinates the selection process. Members of the HPL collection team
participate in the selection of library materials. Appointments to the collection team change as the needs of
the library change and as areas of staff expertise change. As of the writing of this plan, the collection team
is comprised of the collection manager, selected reference librarians, young adult librarian, bilingual
coordinator, head of youth services and stacks maintenance technician. The collection manager
provides appropriate selection tools and tracks the materials budget to ensure a flow of new resources
throughout the year. Acquisition tasks are performed by the technical services staff and include choosing
vendors, placing orders on the online catalog and monitoring the status of orders.
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TOOLS
Selection of materials is done from reviews in professional journals, popular magazines, newspapers, the
non-print media, subject bibliographies and recommended lists, publishers’ catalogs, customer requests,
Internet sites and sales people. Standard tools used may include Library Journal, Booklist, Publisher’s
Weekly, Bakers and Taylor’s Forecast, The New York Times Book Review, People, Entertainment Weekly,
Fiction Catalog, Multicultural Review, School Library Journal, Horn Book, amazon.com, BookPage,
BookLetters and publishers’ web pages.
STANDING ORDERS
Materials that are updated annually or every few years and which are necessary to the collection are put on
standing order. A majority of them are reference books, but circulating types also on standing order
circulating titles including travel, how-to, collectible, college guide, and test review series. A small
number of reference titles remain on standing order.
MULTIPLE COPIES
The library buys multiple copies of print materials that have high patron demand, e.g. current best sellers.
For titles expected to generate numerous reserves the library tries to anticipate demand by having at least
one print copy for every five reserves. In popular subject areas, e.g. resumes, names and witchcraft,
selectors try to have a variety of titles with duplicates of the most requested titles. The library may purchase
Jackpot copies of popular adult books or audiocassettes audiobooks and DVDs. Jackpots cannot be
reserved, allowing for availability of some high-demand titles, but checkout is for one week only and higher
fines are generated when overdue. For some periodicals, customer demand (in-house use and high
circulation rates) warrants multiple subscriptions, e.g. two copies of the Janesville Gazette, Wisconsin State
Journal, and Consumer Reports. With access to national newspapers readily available online, the library
currently subscribes to only a few print titles, e.g., The New York Times.
FORMATS
The format should be appropriate for library use, e.g. a size that can be accommodated on shelves or racks
digitally accessible. Books are generally purchased in hardcover editions because of their durability.
However, paperback editions are purchased because of the popularity of their format for recreational
reading, for multiple copies of titles expected to be in demand only currently, for titles used infrequently, for
lower cost, or when that is the only format in print. Binding should be durable, the print clear and the paper
good. Workbooks to be filled out by the user or other “consumable” works, (book with perforated pages,
loose form sheets and spiral bindings) are not desirable but are purchased if the specific item under
consideration is needed to meet demand. Because of their durability, “library” editions are purchased for
titles in the youth services collection whenever offered.
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NEW FORMATS
New formats shall be considered for the collection when national surveys and local requests indicate a
significant portion of the HPL community expresses an interest in and/or has the necessary technology to
make use of the format. Availability of items in the format, cost per item, and the library’s ability to handle
the items will also be factors in determining when a new format will be collected. Similar considerations will
influence deletion of a format from the collection.
CUSTOMER REQUEST
The library encourages and at all times welcomes customer suggestions, comment and ideas about the
collection and its development. Selectors give high priority to purchase requests from customers. Customer
requests for titles are usually honored, unless selectors believe an item is too special or expensive or has
misinformation. All customer requests are subject to the same selection criteria as materials
purchased by library staff. Reasons for not purchasing items include datedness, lack of availability,
narrow subject area, price, and misinformation. The library determines where the item will be
located in the collection.
The “Purchase Request” form is shown in Appendix C.
VULNERABLES
Because of their content or features, particular items tend to be stolen since the library’s security
system is not foolproof. Most of these types (martial arts, witchcraft, tattooing) are in regular demand.
It is recognized that these repeated thefts are a burden on customers who must wait for titles to be
replaced, and also a burden on the taxpayers to pay for frequent replacement of stolen items.
In order to limit theft and damage, a special collection of such vulnerable materials is housed at the
Checkout Desk. Selectors may designate titles as vulnerables after a minimum of two known thefts.
When an item is placed in the vulnerables collection, a service charge of $50 will be added to the item
record to cover the cost of replacement. Titles will only be replaced twice following addition to the
vulnerable collection.
GIFTS
Gifts to the collection can be in the form of money or can be actual materials. All gift materials are subject
to the same selection criteria as materials purchased by library staff. A gift may be rejected if it does not
meet the guidelines in this collection plan or if it requires special shelving or circulation procedures. If a gift
is selected, it will become part of the general collection. A periodical subscription represents an ongoing
commitment for a library, making it unique in that doesn’t easily one that does not lend itself to being
acquired on a gift basis. For this reason, periodical subscriptions are not accepted as gifts, but will be
considered for purchase by the library.
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Many donations consist of boxes or bags of materials that are accepted on behalf of the Friends of
Hedberg Public Library and their shop. These materials are inspected by staff who selects items desirable
for the collection. Donors may be given a form for such materials, which the donor may use for tax
purposes, but the library does not give appraisals of value. Donated materials are not returned to the
donor.
Individual titles are frequently donated by authors, publishers, legislators and businesses. These gifts are
subject to the same selection criteria as materials purchased by staff and are not returned if rejected for the
collection.
The most welcome gift is one of money where the donor recognizes the need for more materials and is not
concerned with specific titles or subjects. However, broad subject designations are acceptable if they meet
purchase guidelines. Gift monies are channeled through the Hedberg Public Library Foundation.
Donations of money are acknowledged with letters of thanks; gift plates are affixed to donated items, when
format permits.
TEXTBOOKS
Because textbooks are expensive and date quickly, the library does not attempt to acquire textbooks or
other local curriculum-related materials except when such materials would also serve the general public.
For example, the collection is sometimes best developed by adding elementary, secondary or college
textbooks in such subject areas as math, physics, chemistry and psychology, since there may be few
materials in any other format and they may add substantially to the collection.
MULTIPLE COPIES
The library buys multiple copies of print and audiovisual materials that have high patron demand, e.g.
current best sellers. For titles expected to generate numerous reserves, the Library tries to anticipate
demand by having at least one print copy for every five reserves. In popular subject areas, e.g. resumes,
names and witchcraft, selectors try to have a variety of titles with duplicates of the most requested titles.
The Library may purchase Jackpot copies of popular adult books, audiocassettes and DVDs. Jackpots
cannot be reserved, allowing for availability of some high-demand titles, but checkout is for one week only
and higher fines are generated when overdue. For some periodicals, customer demand (in-house use and
high circulation rates) warrants multiple subscriptions, e.g. two copies of the Janesville Gazette, Wisconsin
State Journal, People, Consumer Reports, Time, and USA Today. National newspapers other than The
New York Times and Christian Science Monitor are available online and are no longer purchased.
COLLECTION MAINTENANCE
WORN ITEMS
Selectors examine on a weekly basis items identified as worn and/or in need of mending. After examination
and consideration of collection needs and circulation rates, a selector designates each item for mending,
rebinding, withdrawal, or withdrawal and replacement. These designations are also necessary in the
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weeding process. Generally actions are necessary for items that have missing parts or pages, loose
bindings, obvious soiling, odors, torn cassette types, scratched CD or DVD disks, torn covers and
packaging, or split cover edges.
WEEDING
Titles are withdrawn from the library’s collection through systematic weeding by selectors every three
years. Some subject areas where currency is very important, e.g. medicine, law and travel, are weeded
every two years. Systematic evaluation and weeding of the collection are required of selectors in order to
keep the collection responsive to customers’ needs, to ensure its vitality and usefulness to the community,
and to make room for newer materials. Weeding identifies damaged items, ephemeral materials no longer
useful, out-of-date materials, extra copies not being used, materials no longer appropriate for the collection,
and subjects, titles or authors no longer of interest to the community.
Weeding also helps selectors evaluate the collection by identifying areas or titles where additional materials
are needed or where updated editions are desirable. Holdings of other area libraries are considered in
making de-selection decisions, as are listings in standard bibliographic tools. Withdrawn materials in good
condition are sent to the Friends’ shop. Selected periodicals withdrawn at the end of each year will go to
the Friends’ shop for sale. Some withdrawn local history materials are given to the Rock County Historical
Society or the Area Research Center for Rock County at UW-Whitewater. No materials are held for or given
to individuals.
Selectors evaluating materials for withdrawal are influenced by circulation rates, especially those of the
past year. Lists are generated for items that have not circulated for specified time periods, to alert selectors
to these prime candidates for weeding.
SELECTOR REVIEW
Some items are at risk of being taken or, if checked out, not returned. On a monthly basis, selectors
receive an electronic copy of a “Selector Review” list for their selection area. The selectors identify
titles for replacement. Highly vulnerable titles will only be replaced twice.
RECONSIDERATIONS
The library will reconsider materials in its collection upon written request. Receipt of formal, written requests
is acknowledged by the collection manager. Appropriate selectors review each request along with the
materials challenged. The selectors submit a written recommendation to the Director who then
communicates a decision and the reason for it, in writing, to the person who initiated the request for
reconsideration. In the event that the person is not satisfied with the decision of the director, s/he may
appeal it to the Board of Trustees. A “Citizens’ Request for Reconsideration of Library Materials’ form is
Appendix B.
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COLLECTION PLAN REVISION
Revisions are considered and proposed regularly by HPL selectors to the collection manager as areas of
the collection change. Revisions to the Collection Plan are prepared every five years by the collection
manager for the director to submit to the HPL Board for approval.
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