Collection Development

Introduction to Collection Development

Collection development is the ongoing and long-term process of maintaining, adding, and weeding your library’s materials. Typically, collection development is done using a preset list of guidelines that are determined by library staff and the library board, and ideally, community needs and interests are taken into account when developing these guidelines. As part of your responsibilities at the library, you may be asked to assist or lead collection development efforts for children’s services.

There are many materials designed to develop literacy skills, build interest in reading, and assist in information gathering that libraries make available to their community.  Materials include books, DVDs, music CDs, downloadable audio and eBooks, streaming services, software, video games, apps for tablets, and educational, interactive items ranging from toys and puppets to gaming consoles and makerspace equipment.

Books and non-print materials come in many styles and formats for every age and developmental level. It is a good idea to be familiar with the different types of materials so that you can search for age-appropriate supplies to acquire for your library as well as recommend appropriate materials to families and caregivers.

Material Selection

Selection of materials should follow the guidelines of your library’s collection development policy. It is important to adhere to these guidelines when making purchasing selections, as you might have to explain to your library board or your patrons why you decided to purchase or not purchase a specific book or item. In some cases, your library might receive a book/material challenge, when a patron requests that a book be removed from the library for whatever reason. In those cases, it is important that you can explain why you purchased an item. Having a collection development policy will help you explain why the item should remain in the library collection, or explain why something should be removed.

There are a variety of methods for finding quality and popular materials, including review journals, publisher’s catalogs, best seller lists, and popular interest. You can also talk to youth and their parents and caregivers to find out what they are hearing, watching, or reading to get more ideas.  Sources include:

• Review Journals (School Library Journal, Horn Book, Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books, Kirkus, and Booklist)
• Publisher’s Catalogs
• Best Seller Lists (New York Times, Publisher’s Weekly, and Amazon)
• Popular Interest
• Community Interest
• Award Lists (Caldecott, Printz, etc.)

Selection Criteria

Inevitably, there are more books and materials we want to purchase than there are dollars in a budget for us to spend. So how do you choose? Use the following criteria when making selections:

• Does it fit within the guidelines of my library’s Collection Development policy?
• Does this material reflect our community members? 
• Does it meet our community’s needs?
• Will it be popular and appealing?
• Does this item fill a gap in the collection? (For example, materials in another language, books featuring Indigenous peoples, highly requested best seller, etc)
• Is the material of high quality and effectively presented?
• Do the illustrations appropriately fit the subject and age of the audience and are they accurate?
• Are there insensitive or outdated depictions/stereotypes in the materials?
• Is the information presented well researched?
• Has the material received positive reviews in reviewed sources?

Weeding the Collection

Deselecting or weeding of materials is as important as selecting materials. Shelf space is often limited, so when new books are added, old books should be removed. Weeding should be a regular part of library service.

Some catalog systems allow users to create reports to identify items that haven’t checked out for some time. Run a list of these titles, and use that as a starting point to identify which ones to remove from the collection. Your goal should be to keep shelves between two-thirds to three-quarters full with clean, attractive, relevant children’s titles.  Popular, worn-out titles can be reordered if still available. Pay close attention to board books when weeding in the early childhood collections. Because these books are intended to be heavily touched, mouthed, and used, they have a shorter shelf life.  

This is another instance in which referring to your library’s collection development policy is a good idea, as there might be a predetermined set of criteria for weeding the collection.

Book Challenges

Community members may challenge books in your collection for a multitude of reasons. The best way to be prepared for any challenge is to be familiar with your library’s collection development policy, and to have a process in place for handling challenges.  When a challenge arises, it’s helpful to be able to provide the patron with a copy of your policy, which explains what you collect and why.  Having good policies in place also protects you from having to make judgment calls or arguing with patrons. 

Many libraries also give the patron a form to complete that asks for more details, including:

• Title and Author
• Whether they have read the entire book
• What their specific concern is, including page numbers
• Patron contact information and library card number

Having such a form allows the patron a non-confrontational outlet for sharing their concerns and minimizes the likelihood of conflict because it also keeps the interaction between you and the patron transactional.  Make sure you maintain a neutral attitude about the challenge with the patron, and refrain from offering your own opinions.  Be sure to let the patron know from the beginning what the process is once they turn in the form, so they understand next steps.

Check with your supervisor to see whether your library has a procedure for reviewing and responding to challenged books.  Such a procedure might involve asking colleagues to read the book, consulting resources such as Booklist, Kirkus, or School Library Journal to see what respected book reviewers have said, and referring to your library’s collection development policy to make sure the book fits the library’s collection parameters.  Once the staff and/or board doing the assessment come to a consensus on how to handle the book, the patron should be notified of that decision, usually in writing by the director.