Materials Selection & Access to Electronic Information, Services, Networks & Internet Acceptable Use Policy

The Board of Trustees of the King County Library System recognizes that within King County there are groups and individuals with diverse interests, backgrounds and needs, and that the library was created to serve all of the people within the King County Library System's service area.  Therefore the Board adopts this policy for library materials selection and access to electronic media.

Library materials selection will develop a broad collection that meets the needs and interests of a diverse community for information, education and enlightenment.  The Library System will be responsive to public suggestions of items and subjects to be included in the library collection.  No library materials which meet KCLS selection criteria shall be excluded because of the origin, background or views of those contributing to its creation.  Library materials will not be sequestered except for the express purpose of protecting them from damage or theft.

The King County Library System is part of the national information infrastructure providing people with access to global electronic resources and the opportunity to participate in the electronic arena.  Materials selection and access to electronic resources are integral to fulfilling the mission and objectives of the Library System, but access is not the same as selection.  Connection with electronic information, services and networks provides access and information transfer rather than selecting and acquiring materials in the traditional sense.  The Library System can and will, however, use criteria to select the electronic services and databases licensed for system-wide access, and to select the Web sites linked to the KCLS Web pages.

From the library's perspective, only parents or legal guardians have the authority and responsibility to decide the reading, viewing or listening use of library materials for their own minor children.  While the library does not presume to take the place of the parent or legal guardian, the library is committed to taking steps to create positive and clearly identified opportunities for minor children to make appropriate use of library resources, to support parents and legal guardians in their efforts to guide their own children's choices for reading, viewing and listening, and to assist parents and guardians to understand the library materials selection and electronic access process and policy with respect to children.  For example, the library provides:

• Designated sections for Children and for Young Adults in community libraries with age-appropriate collections.
• Trained Children's and Young Adult Librarians in every library.
• Search engines that provide filtered access to the Internet at the election of the user on all workstations within the library.
• Computers with only filtered access to the Internet provided in the Children's section of each library.
• Notification to the parent or legal guardian of every minor child who registers for a library card regarding the KCLS policy of free and open access, and information about resources to assist parents in guiding their own children's use of library materials and services.
• Lists of recommended reading, viewing and listening, and reviews.
• Links on the KCLS Web pages to recommended sites for children and youth.
• Free programs for children, youth and their parents that promote reading and appropriate use of library resources.

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The Internet is the most common means of access to global electronic resources. In compliance with the Supreme Court ruling regarding the Children's Internet Protection Act (C.I.P.A.) the King County Library System's Board of Trustees approved implementation of mandatory filtered computer access on August 27, 2003. The C.I.P.A. Filtering Policy, implemented system-wide on Monday, November 17, is outlined as follows:

• All patrons begin with the default filtering level (moderate), allowing all patrons access to chat and email services while filtering objectionable images in accordance with C.I.P.A. criteria.
• Computers in all the children's areas have a more restrictive filtering level and patrons may request that level of filtering for themselves and their children on all computers.
• If an adult patron (17 years of age or older) wished to opt out of filtering, he/she may request this of a KCLS Staff member. With proof of age, the KCLS Staff member may permanently change the adult patron's card status to allow unfiltered access for "legitimate research or other lawful purposes."

The Board defends the principles of the freedom to access print, non-print and electronic information and considers that all materials selected or accessed under this policy are protected under the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution until such time as they are determined unprotected by jurisdictional action and after appeals, if any, have been heard.  Only then will the Board take action which may result in removal of materials from the collection or system-wide restrictions to electronic information resources.

The selection of library materials is vested in the Director of the King County Library System and, under the Director's direction, such members of the professional staff who are qualified by reason of education and training.  Any library material so selected shall be held to be selected by the Board.

The Board of Trustees of the King County Library System adopts and declares that it will adhere to and support The Library Bill of Rights, The Freedom to Read statement adopted by the American Library Association, and the Washington Library Association Statement of Policy on Intellectual Freedom in Libraries, all three of which are made a part hereof.

(Adopted by the King County Library System Board of Trustees January 30, 1997 - Revised January 28, 2004)

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The goal of all KCLS materials selection is to support the KCLS mission of providing free access to, and promoting communication of, ideas and information.

To achieve this goal, we strive to develop a broad collection that meets the expressed and perceived needs and interests of the diverse communities that we serve.  Our goal is to meet the current demands of our patrons while also building collections that will be of enduring value.

KCLS provides materials in print, audio-visual and electronic formats.  The choice of format is governed by type of information, how patrons will best be able to access it, timeliness, necessity and availability of equipment and cost.

All KCLS materials are part of one collection, which is physically distributed among community libraries, a Traveling Library Center, and contracting institutional libraries.  Through the selection process we strive to provide each of our community libraries with items particularly suited to its size, community, and expressed interests, while at the same time strengthening the system collection as a whole.

We base much of our selection on a wide variety of review sources because we believe that reviews provide the best way to evaluate the quality of an item.  However, we broaden the collection by seeking out additional titles in areas that are not well covered by review media (such as computer, travel, and technical titles), and by responding to requests from patrons and staff.

We are particularly interested in collecting materials of all sorts that pertain to the Pacific Northwest, or were created in the Pacific Northwest.

We are committed to providing an adequate number of copies for each title purchased so that patrons do not need to wait an unreasonable length of time to get any item. 

We believe that a high quality library collection must be kept up-to-date by judicious weeding, which removes outdated and worn-out items, while preserving, and when necessary and possible, replacing, classics and items of lasting value.

(Adopted by the King County Library System Board of Trustees on April 29, 2008)

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King County Library System patrons will find a high-quality collection consisting of current, reliable information, a broad range of titles of lasting value, and appealing choices in recreational reading, listening, and viewing for all ages at all KCLS locations.

We are one system with one collection distributed throughout our service area, easily accessible to all patrons.

The KCLS Collection:

• Reflects a wide range of viewpoints, needs, interests, and the overall demographics of the Library System’s service area. 
• Provides an adequate number of copies for each title purchased so that patrons do not need to wait an unreasonable length of time to get any item. 
• Uses display and marketing techniques to attract the patron’s attention.
• Responds to local community needs and interests.
• Supports school curricula.

Materials distribution goals.  Libraries will receive materials in keeping with their ability to promote, circulate, and house them. This is accomplished through use of formulas based on each library’s square footage, especially collection space, and circulation.  Materials with broad general appeal are selected for libraries of all sizes. More specialized materials are housed in larger libraries.

Collection evaluation is the process of identifying which items to remove from the collection and which to retain and/or replace. 

Through weeding we regularly discard items that are outdated, no longer in demand, physically worn out, or whose purpose is better served by online resources.  Weeding is a continual ongoing process at all KCLS libraries.  In addition, group weeds – which utilize staff from the home cluster, other clusters, and CMS – provide opportunities for intensive weeding of specific libraries. 

Depending on their condition, weeded items are discarded or sold by the KCLS Foundation.  Items that are no longer circulating at a given library, but are still of value to the system, may be sent to Central Storage.

Collection refreshment is the purchasing of new materials in the areas weeded, and together, weeding and collection refreshment ensure that:

• Patrons and staff can find materials that they want easily on the shelf and in the catalog since they will not need to search through outdated or no longer useful items;
• Browsing will be enhanced, since library materials will be easier to locate, the books will not be crammed in the shelves, and there will be space to display materials;
• Turnover rate of materials will move toward the targeted goal for specific formats and subjects;
• Professional staff can spend time with the collection, adding to their collection awareness and reader’s advisory skills;
• Materials can be shelved more quickly, making books available sooner to the browsers;
• KCLS will maintain a quality system collection.

The combination of weeding and replacement supports fundamental KCLS values as defined in the KCLS Mission Statement’s pledge of “free, open and equal access to ideas and information to all members of the community;” and the KCLS Vision Statement components of “An intellectual adventure for everyone” and “We make it easy.”

(Adopted by the King County Library System Board of Trustees on April 29, 2008)

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The materials budget is determined by the Administrative Planning Team, based on recommendations from Collection Management Services.  There are four main components to the budget:

• Book
• Nonprint
• Electronic Services
• Periodicals

The allocation of funds among specific areas of the collection is based on previous budget experience and anticipated changing needs.  The goal is to meet patron needs in all areas of the collection, providing materials in as timely a manner as possible.

Materials are distributed to the community libraries based on the nature of the item and the size of the library.  In general, smaller library collections emphasize popular materials.  The resource and regional libraries also house more in-depth collections and have room for items that do not circulate as often.  Distribution formulae, based on library size and circulation, are used by the selection librarians to distribute items equitably among libraries.

Central Storage, housed at the Service Center, provides room for items that are of value to the system, but circulate infrequently and have low browsing value.

(Adopted by the King County Library System Board of Trustees on April 29, 2008)

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The eight-point Materials Selection Criteria form a framework to use as we pursue the charge of the Materials Selection Policy and the mission of free and open access.  The criteria guide us in our good-faith efforts to judge what may fall inside or outside of the scope of the King County Library System’s collection.  They are intended to be inclusive rather than exclusive and are deliberately flexible.  They prompt us to evaluate the entire set of factors and to be able to show that we had reasonable grounds to believe that something fits or does not fit the criteria.  In addition to decisions to purchase, we also have to be able to defend decisions not to purchase.

The eight basic Selection Criteria are:

• Current and anticipated needs and interests of the public
• Evaluations in review media
• Accuracy and timeliness of content
• Author’s, artist’s, or publisher’s qualifications and/or reputation
• Contribution to diversity or breadth of collections
• Presentation of unique or controversial points of view
• Receipt of or nominations for major awards or prizes; or inclusion of title in standard bibliographies or indexes
• Quality of production

Below are some specifics of how we interpret and apply the basic criteria in deciding what to buy and what not to buy. Library employees’ personal reactions to a subject or presentation have no bearing on any factor.  The library system does not question and is not concerned with a patron’s personal use of the information and resources found in the library collection.

1. Current and anticipated needs and interests of the public.
This is the most general of the ten criteria.  We try to be inclusive rather than exclusive, and draw upon current awareness and professional judgment.  Current awareness tools include popular press, library review media, branch input, vendor databases, patron requests, and staff educational and avocational interests.  Materials judged to be too specialized for our collections can be recommended for Interlibrary Loan.

2. Evaluations in review media.
Reviews in a library review journals and the popular press frequently guide purchase decisions.  Library review media often assess how well a publication serves a particular audience (for example, “essential for public libraries,” “marginal for academic collections,” “for completists only”); this helps with decisions not to purchase as well.

3. Accuracy and timeliness of content.
These criteria apply primarily to factual information rather than to subjective works.  We rely on reviews and vendors to assess accuracy and currency.  These factors are often considered together and drive our frequent purchases of materials in rapidly changing subjects (medicine/health, computing, and travel, for example) as well as the removal of outdated editions from our collections.

4. Author’s, artist’s, or publisher’s qualifications and/or reputation.
With few exceptions, works by best-selling and well-known authors, directors or musicians are selected.  Self-published works or those from small presses will warrant a closer look.

5. Contribution to diversity or breadth of collections.
This guides us to have broad cultural and subject coverage and to collect materials in languages commonly spoken in our service area.  It helps to balance collections by steering us away from titles where much is available on a subject.

6. Presentation of unique or controversial points of view.
This criterion supports the KCLS Mission statement goal of providing an environment which encourages users to encounter the rich diversity of concepts on which a democratic society depends.

7. Receipt of or nominations for major awards or prizes; or inclusion of title in standard bibliographies or indexes.
We consider regional and national awards in all formats.  Some examples of standard bibliographies are the Fiction Catalog, Public Library Catalog, and Children’s Catalog.

8. Quality of production.
This refers to the physical or technical caliber of illustrations, covers, bindings, descriptive covers, recording or printing.

(Adopted by the King County Library System Board of Trustees on April 29, 2008)

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Last Updated: May 9, 2008