The Hampton Falls Free Library endeavors to provide the adults and children of Hampton Falls with the best possible print and non-print recreational, informational and educational materials to meet the diverse needs and interests of the community.

The Board of Trustees and staff endorse those selections of the Library Bill of Rights, the Freedom to Read statement and the Freedom to View statement developed by the American Library Association that concern themselves with book selection and library programs.  The Librarians shall always have copies of these statements available who wish to study them.

All materials and programs chosen for the Hampton Falls Free Library shall be judged individually on the basis of merit, subject matter, community interest and need in a balanced library.  No material or program shall be excluded on the basis of a single idea, word, phrase, or passage lifted out of context.

In areas considered controversial, more than one point of view shall be represented by materials and/or programs in the library.  They may represent points of view sometimes considered unorthodox or unpopular by the majority.

While collections for adults and children and housed in separate areas, the library will not act in loco parentis, censor, label or restrict access to library materials or programs because of a person’s age, race, religion, gender, socio-economic status.  Parents are the appropriate judges of their own children’s library materials and staff members encourage those who wish to supervise their children’s borrowing to accompany them on their library visits.

In the even that a patron objects to an item or items in the collection, or a program, he/she will be asked to fill out a “Request for Reconsideration” form provided by the library. Consideration shall be made by the Librarian and the Trustees who shall present a written decision within 30 days of the filing.

During reconsideration, materials challenged will remain in circulation and programs with continue as scheduled.

Selection Criteria

Materials are selected in accordance with one or more of the following guidelines:

• Artistic, historic, literary and/or scientific merit
• Community request and/or anticipated popular demand
• Favorable reviews
• Price, in relation to budget
• Relationship to existing materials in collection
• Clarity and accuracy of information and presentation

The Librarian shall use professional selection tools, which currently include Booklist, Library Journal, VOYA, and The New York Times Book Review to choose media that has been favorably reviewed and that will contribute to a balanced library collection.  In addition, the Librarian may also consult Books in Print, Public Library Catalog, Fiction Catalog, Children’s Catalog, trade journals and other authoritative subjects bibliographies.

Audiovisual Materials

Audiovisual materials currently collected by the Hampton Falls Free Library consist of juvenile and adult abridged and unabridged audio books, DVD’s and videocassettes that are of broad family appeal and general interest.

Selection of these materials is made by the Librarian after careful review of standard selection guides such as Audiofile, Booklist and Library Journal and ongoing evaluation of collection needs and usage.  Requests from the community will also be considered.

Other audiovisual formats may be acquired for the collection at a future time to fulfill the Library’s mission of meeting the diverse needs and interests of the community.

Electronic Materials

Electronic materials currently collected by the Hampton Falls Free Library consist of educational and informational CD-ROMs, such as National Geographic and the Grolier Multimedia Encyclopedia, for in-house only.

The Library has access to EBSCOhost, provided by the New Hampshire State Library, and will download and print articles requested by customers at the current cost of photocopying a page.

Factors that influence purchase of electronic materials include content, access, support and cost.

Other electronic formats be be acquired at a future time to fulfill the Library’s mission of meeting the diverse needs and interests of the community.

Gifts

Gifts will be evaluated using the same criteria as for purchased materials.

Gifts of books and media, money objet d’art, personal property and real property shall be welcomed on the condition that the terms are acceptable to the Trustees and/or that the Library is authorized to make the final disposition of such materials in accordance with NH RSA 202-A.

The Library staff and Board of Trustees are not trained to appraise materials and cannot provide an estimated value for any gifts received.  However, the Librarian will be please to issue a letter acknowledging the item(s) received and affix bookplates as requested.

Gifts become the property of the library and will be used as deemed most appropriate for the development of the collection.

Networking

In order to maximize the Library’s resources and fully cooperate with libraries throughout New Hampshire, the Hampton Falls Free Library actively participates and Interlibrary Loan services as established by the New Hampshire State Library.  Access to the online services such as EBSCOhost and Article Express provided by New Hampshire State Library allows the Library to offer document delivery quickly and efficiently.

Periodicals

Periodicals of general interest that meet recreational, informational and educational needs of the community will be collected by the library.

Under the direction of the Librarian, the staff is responsible for making judicious periodical selections after careful review of selection guides, such as Gale Direction of Publications and Broadcast Media, Library Journal, and Magazines for Libraries, and ongoing evaluation of collection need and usage.  Requests from the community will also be considered.

With the exception of National Geographic and Consumer Reports, back issues of magazines are kept for one year after publication; Newspapers are available for one month.  Every effort will be made to distribute or recycle the above materials.

The Library will attempt to supply all requests for articles not found in the Hampton Falls Free Library through interlibrary loan and through EBSCOhost and Article Express, a document delivery service provided by the New Hampshire State Library.

Collection Evaluation

In order to maintain the value of the library collection, the Hampton Falls Free Library recognizes the need to examine the condition and usage of all print and non-print materials, and dispose of materials that are no longer deemed useful to the collection.  To that end, the library is engaged in an ongoing inventory/weeding process.  Statistics from this process are compiled and used to determine future allocation of the acquisitions budget.  Outdated materials will be replaced as use and the budget allow.  Memorial gifts no longer deemed useful to the collection may be withdrawn after consulting the donor whenever possible, and a new items on a related topic shall be purchased in its place.

To determine which books to thin from the collection, the library staff will check each title against the most recent editions of the Public Library Catalog, Fiction Catalog, and Children’s Catalog to see if a book, although dated, should remain.  The Librarian will review the circulation history of the book and its state of repair.  As a rule, the criteria set forth in the CREW Method: Expanded Guidelines for Collection Evaluation and Weeding for de-selecting books will be followed, with the exception of local history materials or titles by local authors.

Materials to be discarded may be sold at the Library Book Sale, donated to local entities, donated to local charities, or recycled.

Adopted 9/8/1998
Revised 4/21/2008