Reviewed and updated March 3, 2021
Mission Statement
The Roberts City Library provides reading material and information services in a variety of formats. The library supports the needs of people enrolled in schools and those pursuing education on their own. The library makes its bulletin board available to the community for information exchange.
Purpose of the Policy:
This policy provides guidelines for day to day acquisition and withdrawal decisions. It informs the community, the library board and the Roberts City Council as to the policies of selection and use of the information services in the library. These guidelines are designed to develop and maintain an outstanding, well balanced collection of the best and most useful materials available to meet the need of the community within the practical restrictions of funds and space.
Description of Community:
Once a thriving center for commerce through the railroad, Roberts in now a small, financially depressed community supported primarily by agriculture and farm related industry. Two major potato processing plants and farms in the area employ large numbers of unskilled workers from Roberts. Most of these workers are Hispanic. The Idaho Engineering Laboratory is another other major employer in the area.
Population:
The Roberts community includes people from diverse educational, cultural, and economic backgrounds displaying a wide variety of interests, needs, values, viewpoints, and occupations. Roberts has a population of 647 in the year 2001. The area surrounding Roberts is not in its legal service area but many of these non-residents use the library. The combined population of the two areas 1620.
Educational opportunities:
Roberts has one elementary school. Older students travel by bus seventeen miles to attend middle school and high school. School libraries are available during school hours, but not for homework. For adults needing resources for continuing education the Roberts City Library is the only library within 17 to 20 miles. There is a need in Roberts for community classes and programs in partnership with other educational institutions.
User Groups Defined:
The library serves the community within the city limits of Roberts. Non-residents must purchase a library card at a cost of $50.00 per family to check out materials from the library. In-library use of materials and computers is permitted to patrons without library cards. Temporary cards may be issued to student groups working at the Market Lake Game Refuge.
Patron Needs and Services:
The library provides primarily, non-fiction materials to support the educational, homework needs of young adults and of adults continuing their education. Computers are available to patrons for internet access, remote learning, and general Microsoft programs. A special effort is made to co-operate with local preschools and district schools.
Children: We collect subjects that interest children from infant to early teens. We collect picture books, board books, and early learning books to support out Summer Reading Program. We encourage Spanish speaking parent to read to their preschool children and we collect bi-lingual children’s books for that purpose. We also provide recreational reading for early and junior reading levels that cover a wide variety of topics and characters to encourage reading literacy and proficiency. We do not attempt to duplicate the extensive school library collections or provide collections for the Accelerated Reading Program.
Youth: We provide extensive educational support for homework help for the youth, early teens through high school seniors. We also provide recreational reading titles for youth including comic books and genre materials. We provide computers and materials in the library for continuing education and recreational reading. We do not attempt to select according to school curriculum, but rather provide a broad range of subject matter with emphasis on the most-asked-for subjects.
Adult Continuing Education: We provide computers and materials, including current ACT, SAT, and GED practice manuals, in the library for continuing education and recreational reading for adults.
Description of the Collection:
The Roberts City Library materials collection consists of more than 11,000 books, video tapes, and DVD’s. A 60% use of the library by youth has generated the need for a homework collection and receives 25% of our materials budget. This collection consists of non-fiction books in areas that support most-asked-for-subjects. We have a collection of language instructions, audiobooks, and books both in English and Spanish as well as other languages. We also have a well-used local history section.
All materials are shelved on open shelves, freely, and easily accessible for the public, the library assures free access to its holdings for all patrons, who are free to select or reject for themselves any item in the collection.
General Selection Policies
The library collects mainly current information; within the last 10 years of non-fiction; within the last 20 years in fiction. We do maintain a collection of classic fiction and those older titles that are still on-demand by our patrons. We also have a local history section that contains current and archival copies of print materials that add to the knowledge of Southeastern Idaho and Idaho, in general.
Formats:
- Documents: The library does not collect documents at this time.
- Periodicals: The library does collect a limited selection of journal periodicals at this time.
- Audiobooks: We have a wide variety of audiobooks on both CD and tape cassette for youth and adults. We, also, rely on the Talking Books service through the IfCL.
- Language Tapes: The library purchases foreign language tapes and CD’s with special attention is paid to acquiring English as a second language materials on CD and tape.
- Videocassettes: The library does not collect documents at this time.
- DVD: The library has a limited collection of movies on DVD ranging from youth to adult, including educational and instruction programs.
- Maps: The library does not collect documents at this time.
- Pamphlets: The library does not collect documents at this time.
- Microforms: The library does not collect documents at this time.
- Special Collections: Collection statistics show that our Idaho Collection is a widely used resource. An attempt is made to cover all aspects of the state and region for visitor and newcomer information, school reports, causal interest, and research.
- Electronic Collections: The library does not collect documents at this time.
Multiple Copies:
- We do not collect multiple copies unless popular demand requires it. When we do purchase multiple copies, we purchase on hardback and multiple paperback copies.
Languages:
- We collect bilingual and Spanish Language materials. We also acquire materials that support English as a second language materials including Spanish-English dictionaries and bilingual and Spanish children’s books. These materials are necessary as The City of Roberts and its surrounding area has the largest Hispanic population in the area.
Selection Responsibilities and Criterial:
- The library exists to serve the needs of the community that supports it. Our goal in selecting materials is to meet some of the education needs and desires of all members of the community and to provide everyone the opportunity to read for pleasure. Limit resources dictate that not all the interest and views of every individual of a group in the community will be represented. This library does not promote any particular belief or view of groups or individuals in the community. The selection of any book or material is not an endorsement of the viewpoint of the author. Where controversial views are represented int eh library’s collection, a good faith effort shall be made to include materials representing all sides of the issue.
- Ultimate responsibility for materials selection rests with the Roberts City Library Director who operates within the framework of policies determined by the Roberts City Library Board of Trustees. A major consideration is to strengthen the collection by selection materials of quality, as well as those in demand. Factors such as readability, accuracy, quality of writing, cost, format, existing holdings, and budget restrictions are considered. The director is responsible for choosing appropriate material for the library and weeding of the collection to keep it current with need and demand. (for more details about Weeding please see the Weeding Policy)
Funding Consideration:
- Funds for the library are obtained from the general library fund provided by The City of Roberts. Grant funds, annual fundraisers, and donations support needs beyond the amount funded by the city. The friends of the Roberts City Library also help raise funds for the library.
Gifts Policy
- The Library solicits and welcomes gifts of books, materials, and gifts of money for the purchase of library materials. Gifts are required to supplement existing collections and to maintain existing furniture and technology as well as other supplies. To be accepted all gifts must fall within the guidelines of the Library’s Selection Policy. Once a gift has been accepted it becomes the property of the library. The library may add them to the collection/inventory, use them for exchange purposes, sell the items to procure funds for other material purchases, donate to other entities, clubs, or organizations, or dispose of them according to the Library Weeding Policy.
- In general, items must be in good condition. We do not accept items with conditions in regards to housing or processing that may restrict access to the materials. The library does not appraise gifts for tax purposes but will provide a donation receipt.
Collection Maintenance
- Titles are withdrawn from the collection by the Library Director and the Library’s Board of Trustees. For further details please see the Library’s Weeding Policy
Complaints and Censorship
- As a tax-supported institution, Roberts City Library is building a collection which includes opposing viewpoints, rather than supporting any one view of a particular topic or issue. Some of the materials may be offensive to individuals or groups because of individual perceptions of profanity, social, economic, political ideals, religious viewpoints, the background of the author, or the kind of information provided. The library does not approve nor endorse any particular viewpoint or belief represented in its collection. The Library’s role is to provide materials, which will allow individuals to freely, examine issues and make their own decisions. It is the responsibility of individuals to limit their reading to books and materials that are congruent to their individual tastes. While the person may reject materials for him or herself or his/her children, he may not restrict access to the materials by others. We have adopted the American Library Association’s Library Bill of Rights and the Freedom to Read Statement (See Appendix 1 & 2).
- When any patron objects to the presence of any library material the complaint will be heard. The Library Director will discuss the complaint with the patron. If not satisfied, the patron may fill out and submit a “Request for Reconsideration of Library Materials” (see Appendix 3). The Roberts City Library Board of will examine the item and determine whether the item conforms to the Library’s Selection Standards. A response with a letter explaining their decision will be mailed to the complainant.
- The Roberts City Library Board of Trustees has the final responsibility for the addition or withdrawal of the item in question.
Collection Assessment
- This policy will be reviewed every 3 years during a monthly board meeting. Adjustments to the needs expressed by the community and by the results of evaluation data kept during the previous year. Factors to be reviewed are:
- Circulation statistics by subject
- Circulation trends by user groups
- Recommendations by patron surveys and comments
- Recommendation by the staff
Date: 03/03/2021 Review by Date: 03/10/2024