Library Selection Criteria Quiz

Selection Criteria

• Selection criteria are the standards or principles used to decide whether to include a resource in a collection.
• Selection criteria ensure resources align with the institution's goals, user needs, and budgetary constraints.
• Selection criteria can vary based on factors like the level of education, standards, and deselection processes.

Standards for Selection Criteria

• Standards may exist for determining a resource's appropriateness, but in their absence, criteria might include:
  • Age of expected users
  • Educational use of the material
  • Potential for supplementary or instructional use
• Consideration should be given to the broad racial, ethnic, socioeconomic, and cultural diversity of users. Examples include avoiding hard-core pornography in public school library collections

Levels of Collection Selection

• Defining clear levels of collection is essential for focused selection. Examples include:
  • Comprehensive: Including significant works across all subjects
  • Research: Focusing on major research materials supporting advanced study
  • Study: Supporting undergraduate/graduate course work with less research intensity
  • Basic: Introductory and selective material

De-Selection

• De-selection is a critical process in library management that removes outdated, irrelevant, or low-demand items.
• It involves evaluating and removing items based on relevance, condition, and usage.
• De-selection guidelines frequently include removing:
  • Duplicate titles no longer needed
  • Duplicate formats when suitable
  • Materials in inappropriate languages for the curriculum/student needs
  • Outdated textbooks
  • Outdated topical material without historical significance
  • Incomplete sets and short runs of serials and periodicals (selectively)

Selection Policy

• A selection policy outlines the principles, criteria, and guidelines for acquiring materials.

• Key components of a selection policy include:

  • Purpose and Goals: Defining collection objectives (supporting educational programs, community needs, research)
  • Scope: Specifying material types to be collected (e.g., books, journals, digital/audiovisual materials) and subject areas

• Criteria for selection frequently include:

  • Relevance to the collection's goals
  • Authority and credibility of the author/publisher
  • Currency of the information
  • Content/presentation quality
  • Usage and demand statistics

• Diversity and inclusion should be addressed in a selection policy

• Budget and Funding: Detail financial considerations and funding sources affecting selection decisions

• Review and Weeding: Establish procedures for periodic review (weeding) and ensure ongoing relevance.

• Community Input: Include mechanisms for user feedback and stakeholder input to ensure collection meets community needs.

• Ethical Considerations: Address issues of intellectual freedom, censorship, and ethical implications of selected materials

Types of Selection

• Macro-selection: Determining the overall worth of materials before acquisition. Involves a decision to:
  • Reject the material
  • Accept the material
  • Defer the decision
• Micro-selection: Evaluating individual materials based on detailed criteria. Involves a decision to:
  • Reject the material
  • Accept the material
  • Defer the decision to acquire the material
• Methods of micro-selection include advance copies from publishers or direct purchase.

Criteria for Selection

• Macro-selection criteria include:

  • Authoritativeness
  • Accuracy
  • Scope
  • Format
  • Language
  • Aesthetic qualities

• Macro-selection continuing criteria include

  • Reliability and impartiality
  • Style of presentation and topic arrangement
  • Special features
  • Recency of data
  • Cost
  • Interest to the user

Library Collection Development Librarian Qualities

• Understanding of principles: Understanding processes for library material selection
• Current publication knowledge: Full and detailed information on recently published books
• Community knowledge: In-depth knowledge of the community's interests
• Recognizing expertise: Familiarity with outstanding writers and publishers' work
• Extensive reading and familiarity: Understanding of books in all subject areas
• Continuous learning: Continuously updating knowledge
• Bias avoidance: Avoiding bias in selections

Summary of the Lesson

• Selection criteria provide specific standards to evaluate and choose materials.
• De-selection is a process of evaluating and removing items from a library's collection.
• Selection policies guide material acquisition, including principles, criteria, and selection guidelines.
• Quality and skills of collection development librarians are essential for comprehensive collections

IP and Copyright

• Intellectual property (IP) is a broad category covering legal rights for inventions, designs, brands, and artistic works.
• Copyright is a specific type of IP.
• Copyright protects the expression of ideas, while other forms of IP protect the ideas or branding themselves
• Copyright covers literary works, music, films, software, and other creative expressions
• Copyright durations typically last for the author's life plus a set number of years

Test your knowledge on selection criteria in libraries. This quiz covers essential concepts such as de-selection, selection policy, and the importance of user demographics. Explore the skills librarians need for effective collection development and the impact of budget constraints on material selection.