6.3 Selection Criteria

Multiple factors determine what materials are included in the Library’s collections: funding, space, staffing, and ongoing maintenance needs. Staff weigh the following criteria when making collection decisions:

  • Alignment with the library’s mission and strategic plan

  • Community interests, demand, and suggestions

  • Representation by and of diverse individuals and groups (including race, ethnicity, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability status, religion, and political beliefs)

  • Significance and relationship to the local community and State of Vermont

  • Authority and qualifications of the creator(s), publisher(s), and/or producer(s)

  • High-interest materials outside of mainstream publishing and reviewing journals

  • Price and availability

  • Accessibility of format and content

  • Anticipated viability and/or longevity of the format

The library strives to build a collection representing multiple points of view that reflect the community’s diverse people and history. Each work will be appraised as a creative whole, with consideration given to the overall purpose of the entire work and a diversity of authors, creators, and media. No materials will be excluded on the basis of race, ethnicity, color, religion, gender identity or expression, sex, sexual orientation, age, disability status, or national origin, or because of the political, social or personal views of the author or producer.

The selection of materials will not be restricted by the possibility that young people might obtain materials that adults may consider inappropriate.  It is the responsibility of parents or legal guardians to determine what Library materials their children, and only their own children, may read or otherwise use.  Patron requests for specific titles and/or subject areas will be given thorough consideration and will be met either through purchase, lease, or Inter-Library Loan as best meets the collection development needs of the Library.

Initial Adoption Date: May 3, 1976
Modified Date (s):
November 13, 2024: Streamlined language and made corrections to match current practice
February 12, 2025: Revised and added language based on language from VT Department of Libraries model policy.