Collection Management Policy

Amended, Board of Trustees July 15, 2025
Collection Management Policy (PDF)

The library exists to provide education, information, materials, reference sources and reading, listening, and viewing pleasure to all the people within its chartered area.  Because of space and budget limitations, it is necessary to establish a Collection Management Policy.

Organizational Values and Commitment to Diversity

The East Greenbush Community Library (Library) is dedicated to fostering an inclusive and welcoming environment that supports lifelong learning, intellectual freedom, and equitable access to information. We value:

• Intellectual Freedom: Upholding the right of every individual to access diverse ideas and perspectives.
• Equity and Inclusion: Ensuring our collection reflects the diversity of our community and the broader world.
• Lifelong Learning: Providing resources that inspire curiosity, personal growth, and informed decision-making.
• Responsibility and Stewardship: Managing public resources efficiently and thoughtfully to serve our community effectively.

As part of this commitment, the library actively curates a collection that represents a broad spectrum of voices, cultures, and viewpoints. Selection decisions are made to ensure materials are reflective of various experiences, perspectives, and historically underrepresented groups. Our collection development approach aligns with the American Library Association’s principles, including the Library Bill of Rights, the Freedom to Read Statement, and the Freedom to View Statement.

Principles of Free Access

• The East Greenbush Community Library Board (Board) endorses and declares that it will adhere
  to the ALA Documents.

Collection Development Responsibility

• Selection of library material is the responsibility of the Director, and under their direction, qualified members of the professional staff. The Board is responsible for appeals of a Request for Reconsideration decision issued by the Library Director with respect to the Library’s collections.

Selection of Library Items and Resources

• Selection of Library holdings is based on interest, information, and the enlightenment of all library patrons. No library material shall be excluded because of the author’s membership in any category protected under applicable law, or any political or social views of the author.
• The Board upholds the principles of intellectual freedom, affirming the right to read, listen to, and view a broad range of materials. The Library does not endorse censorship and follows a formal Request for Reconsideration Policy to address concerns. No book or other library material shall be removed from the Library’s holdings except by order of a court of competent jurisdiction.
• Standard professional journals, authoritative online tools, and popular and local media sources are among the most frequently used tools in the selection process. Acquisition of any item or resource does not constitute endorsement of the contents of the item or resource. While a single standard cannot be applied, items and resources that are considered for acquisition are judged by these and other appropriate criteria:
  • Relevance to community needs, interests, and demand
  • Balance with current collection
  • Suitability of subject, style, format, interest and reading level to the intended audience
  • Reputation of the author, composer, filmmaker, publisher, or producer
  • Quality of writing, design, illustration, or production

Statement on Minor Access

• The Board acknowledges that the responsibility for monitoring a minor’s access to all library items and resources rests with the minor’s parent or legal guardian.

Withdrawal of Library Items and Resources from the System and the Library Collection

• Items and resources are regularly withdrawn from the library collection to maintain the collection’s usefulness, currency, relevance, and condition. Withdrawn items and resources may be disposed of in a variety of ways including, but not limited to, public book sales, responsible and sustainable recycling, and/or disposal.

Shared Collections

• In addition to the Library’s own collections, the Library also participates in system-wide shared collections through the Upper Hudson Library System (UHLS). Responsibility for selection and collection management decisions is shared among UHLS and member libraries. All requests for reconsideration of material in any of the UHLS shared collections should be directed to the Upper Hudson Library System Executive Director.

Responsibilities:

• It is the responsibility of the Library’s Director, staff, and Board to adhere to the principles and concepts stated in this Policy.

Definitions:

• The words HOLDINGS and MATERIALS are synonymous and refer to the Library’s collection of physical and digital books, magazines, video, audio, pamphlets, toys, games, technology, and any other pertinent materials.

American Library Association Bill of Rights (excerpt)

• 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.
• 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. Libraries should challenge censorship in the fulfillment of their responsibility to provide information and enlightenment.
• Libraries should cooperate with all persons and groups concerned with resisting abridgment of free expression and free access to ideas.

American Library Association Freedom to Read Statement (excerpt)

• It is in the public interest for publishers and librarians to make available the widest diversity of views and expressions, including those that are unorthodox, unpopular, or considered dangerous by the majority.
• Publishers, librarians, and booksellers do not need to endorse every idea or presentation they make available. It would conflict with the public interest for them to establish their own political, moral, or aesthetic views as a standard for determining what should be published or circulated.
• It is contrary to the public interest for publishers or librarians to bar access to writings on the basis of the personal history or political affiliations of the author.
• There is no place in our society for efforts to coerce the taste of others, to confine adults to the reading matter deemed suitable for adolescents, or to inhibit the efforts of writers to achieve artistic expression.
• It is not in the public interest to force a reader to accept the prejudgment of a label characterizing any expression or its author as subversive or dangerous.
• It is the responsibility of publishers and librarians, as guardians of the people’s freedom to read, to contest encroachments upon that freedom by individuals or groups seeking to impose their own standards or tastes upon the community at large; and by the government whenever it seeks to reduce or deny public access to public information. It is the responsibility of publishers and librarians to give full meaning to the freedom to read by providing books that enrich the quality and diversity of thought and expression. By the exercise of this affirmative responsibility, they can demonstrate that the answer to a “bad” book is a
  good one, the answer to a “bad” idea is a good one.

American Library Association Freedom to View Statement (excerpt)

• To provide the broadest access to film, video, and other audiovisual materials because they are a means for the communication of ideas. Liberty of circulation is essential to ensure the constitutional guarantee of freedom of expression.
• To protect the confidentiality of all individuals and institutions using film, video, and other audiovisual materials.
• To provide film, video, and other audiovisual materials which represent a diversity of views and expression. Selection of a work does not constitute or imply agreement with or approval of the content.
• To provide a diversity of viewpoints without the constraint of labeling or prejudging film, video, or other audiovisual materials on the basis of the moral, religious, or political beliefs of the producer or filmmaker or on the basis of controversial content.
• To contest vigorously, by all lawful means, every encroachment upon the public’s freedom to view.

Policy History

Adopted, Board of Trustees, September 19, 1995
Amended, Board of Trustees, December 18, 2007
Amended, Board of Trustees, August 9, 2022 (replaces former Materials Selection Policy)
Amended, Board of Trustees, July 15, 2025