MATERIALS COLLECTION POLICY

1. PURPOSE
The purpose of this document is to provide an optimum balanced collection, guide the librarian’s decision, and inform the community about the selection principles of the Fox Lake Public Library.

2. SCOPE OF THE COLLECTION
In accordance with the recommendation of the 6th edition of the Wisconsin Public Library Standards, the Fox Lake Public Library will allocate not less than $17,000 of its operating budget on materials for patrons every year. These materials will be selected in a variety of formats including, but not limited to, print, video, sound recordings and electronic media. The library sees as its primary role that of popular material center. Therefore, the library will provide materials and services to patrons of all ages and backgrounds for educational, informational, recreational, and cultural pursuits within the scope of that role. Each type of material must be considered in terms of its own excellence and the audience for whom it is intended.

3. RESPONSIBILITY FOR SELECTION
The authority and responsibilities for the selection of library materials are delegated to the library director and, under his or her direction, to additional staff members who are qualified for this activity. No employee may be disciplined or dismissed for the selection of library materials when the selection is made in good faith and in accordance with the written policy. Suggestions from patrons are welcome and will be considered using the same criteria as all other selections. The library director shall welcome and encourage the staff and public to recommend materials to be considered for purchase.

4. CRITERIA FOR SELECTION
Each type of material will be considered in terms of its own excellence and the audience for whom it is intended. No single standard can be applied in all cases. Some materials may be judged primarily in terms of artistic merit, scholarship, or value to humanity: others are selected to satisfy the informational, recreational or educational interests of the community. Points to be considered in selection will include existing holdings, and cost and budgetary constraints. Other factors liming selection of material may include the finite physical space of the building, availability of specialized material in neighboring library collection, and suitability of format for library purpose.
The Fox Lake Public Library has the responsibility to provide more than one point of view to an issue. The selection of materials does not constitute the library’s endorsement of the contents or viewpoint of those materials. All materials shall be examined as a whole and no one of the criteria shall necessarily have more importance than the other.
The choice of materials by users is an individual matter. Responsibility for the reading materials of children and adolescents rest in their parents or legal guardians. While a person may reject materials for himself or herself and for his or her children, he or she cannot exercise censorship to restrict access to the material by others. The library supports intellectual freedom and has adopted the following statements as policy: ALA /Freedom to Read Statement, ALA Library Bill of Rights, and the ALA “Freedom to View” statement.
Reviews in professionally recognized periodicals are a primary source for material selection. Standard bibliographies, book lists by recognized authorities, including best seller lists, and the advice of competent people in specific subject areas also will be used.

5. WEEDING
The Fox Lake Public Library keeps the collection vital and useful by retaining or replacing essential materials, and by removing, on a systematic and continuous basis, those works that are worn, outdated, of little historical significance, or no longer in demand. Materials which are removed from the library collection will be disposed of as the library sees fit. The director shall be the final authority in the weeding of materials, although this activity may be delegated.

6. GIFTS
Gift materials are subject to the same selection criteria as purchased materials and/or the Fox lake Public Library Gifts and Donations Policy. If the gifts do not meet these criteria, the library reserves the right to dispose of them as it sees fit.

7. REQUEST FOR RECONSIDERATION
The Fox Lake Public Library welcomed the expression of opinions and recognizes that from time to time there may arise an issue with the selection of specific items that were placed in the collection. Patrons requesting that an item be removed, relocated, labeled, and/or restricted from the collection shall complete a “Request for Reconsideration of Library Materials” form. A patron may only submit one (1) completed request form at any given time.

To request that materials or programs be considered for exclusion or removal from the library, a patron must do the following:

  1. Be a primary resident of the City of Fox Lake OR a non-libraried area of Dodge County, Wisconsin.
  2. Be a Fox Lake Public Library Card Holder.
  3. Verify that the item is owned by the Fox Lake Public Library.
  4. Have either read the materials, or seen/heard the program, in its entirety.
  5. Have reviewed the Fox Lake Public Library Materials Collection Policy, Fox Lake Public Library Intellectual Freedom policy, Fox Lake Public Library Safe Child policy, AND the ALA Library Bill of Rights, ALA Freedom to Read statement, ALA Freedom to view statement.
  6. Complete the Fox Lake Public Library Reconsideration of Library Materials Form. Only completed forms will be reviewed by the Library. The Library does not respond to anonymous phone calls, rumors or voice concerns according to the reconsideration process; however, alternative formats to the form will be made available upon reasonable request.
  7. Understand that individual titles will only be reviewed once every five years unless substantial content changes have been made.

Request for reconsideration will be considered by the Library Director. The Library Director shall be granted a minimum of fourteen (14) days to conduct a thorough review of the material subject for reconsideration. The Library Director will notify the patron in writing within ten (10) days of the decision.

If the patron is not satisfied with the response, the patron may ask that a review of the request for reconsideration be done by the Fox Lake Public Library Board members. The Library Board shall be granted a minimum of fourteen (14) days to conduct a thorough review of the material subject for reconsideration. Requests submitted at least fourteen (14) days prior to the next regularly scheduled Board meeting shall be placed on the agenda for that meeting, and the patron shall have the opportunity to attend. Requests submitted fewer than fourteen (14) days before a scheduled meeting shall be deferred and considered at the subsequent regular meeting. The Board shall not convene a special meeting for the purpose of addressing such requests.

The decision of the Library Board shall be final. The Library Director shall notify the patron of the Board’s determination in writing within ten (10) days of the decision. Until a final determination is rendered, the material under reconsideration shall remain available in the Library’s collection.

No duly selected materials or programs whose appropriateness is challenged shall be removed from the library except upon the recommendation of the review committee, with the concurrence of the Library Director, or upon formal action of the Board when a recommendation of the review committee is appealed to it.

8. Previous Reconsideration Requests

Requests to reconsider materials which have previously undergone the reconsideration process, shall be referred to the Library Director. Repeated or redundant requests by an individual or a group to reconsider materials with differing title but similar content will be restricted as follows: if the Library Director concludes a request may be redundant, he/she will notify the complainant(s) that the item(s) in question, having already undergone a thorough review and reconsideration process, will or will not be reevaluated. Individual titles will only be reviewed once every five years unless substantial content changes have been made.

Approved April 20, 2012, Reviewed May 6, 2025