Materials Selection Policy

Materials Selection Policy (PDF)

Responsibility For Selection 

The Board of County Commissioners of Seminole county, Florida, determines the materials selection policy of the Seminole county Public Library System with the advice and counsel of the Seminole county Library Advisory Board. Within the framework of this policy, the Library Services Manager is responsible for the selection of the system's collection. 

General Policy

Within the limitations of available financial resources and physical space, the Library is committed to providing a collection which spans all areas of knowledge and is responsive to the needs and requests of the entire community. The collection shall be characterized by breadth, since it represents most areas of knowledge, and by depth in those areas in which particular emphasis is necessary to serve the needs of this community.

The selection policy reflects the fact that the Library must serve not only today's but tomorrow's community as well. Books and other materials of limited use currently must be considered for purchase in light of their present availability and the needs of the rapidly developing community. 

The policy recognized the networking concept of materials selection. With a well-developed central collection, union catalog, frequent deliveries among units, and the use of developing technologies, duplication of less-used and specialized materials will be minimized.

The policy accepts the position of the Library System within the community as the greatest single free public information resource. The policy is a broad-based one, reflecting the full spectrum of users served by the Seminole County Public Library System. The information seeker, the recreational reader, the serious researcher, students of all ages, and the non-reader should all be represented in the variety of materials selected. Needs should be met with materials varied in format such as videocassettes, film strips, microform (microfiche, microfilm), documents, large-print materials, maps, pictures, pamphlets, compact discs and other electronic information resources.