The Board of Directors of the Green Mountain Library Consortium (GMLC) recognizes the diverse nature of the communities of Vermont and the varied backgrounds and needs of all Vermont’s citizens. Materials in GMLC collections shall be selected based on the interests and needs of all the people served by Member Library communities.
The GMLC subscribes to the principles of intellectual freedom as stated in the American Library Association’s Library Bill of Rights. Included in this statement is the commitment to honor the rights of an individual to use the library regardless of age, race, religion, national origin, or social or political views. Accordingly, the Member Libraries of the GMLC provide equal service to all users. Children and adults are equally free to use and borrow from the entire Consortium collection.
Selection Process
Library materials are selected by members of the GMLC Selection Committee for the appropriate project after consulting professional review media. Committee members consult with each other and with Member Libraries to review the needs of the Consortium as documented in circulation statistics and requests. Final responsibility for the purchase of materials resides with the Selection Committee.
Standards of Selection
Members of the Selection Committee focus on the following areas when selecting materials for GMLC collections:
- Award winning titles and nominees, especially those awards particular to the State of Vermont, such as the Green Mountain Book Award, the Dorothy Canfield Fisher Award, and the Red Clover Book Award
- Titles with favorable professional reviews
- Community and Consortium requests
- Providing a range of both the popular and the esoteric
No library materials shall be excluded because of the race, creed, gender, political or social view of the work’s presenter. Only unabridged titles will be considered, unless a work of particular importance or with a strong anticipated demand is available only abridged.
The Selection Committee for the Listen Up! Vermont downloadable audio book project will seek to provide a collection balanced equally among adult titles, both popular fiction and non-fiction as well as language learning; classics for all ages, including the collection of Always Available titles; and titles for children and young adults, with a focus on chapter books rather than picture books for our youngest readers.
Procedures for a Patron’s Complaint on Selections
Complaints of any nature must be submitted in writing, on a Request for Reconsideration of Library Material form (PDF), from a library patron of a Member Library, to the Coordinator of the GMLC Selection Committee heading the collection in question, who will present it to the Board of Directors, unless an agreement is reached verbally in one short, private discussion.
In any formal objection to library materials, a complaint form must be filled out by the complainant describing the objection exactly. Forms are available from the GMLC web site. Following the receipt of such a formal complaint, the Board of Directors will arrange a hearing to include the Board, the complainant, and the Coordinator of the appropriate Selection Committee. This hearing may be completed by teleconference.
Materials under consideration will remain in circulation.
Gifts
The GMLC may receive funds for the purchase of materials as gift donations.
The library accepts these gift funds on the condition that their use is at the complete discretion of the Board of Directors and/or the appropriate Selection Committee. Stipulations as to the type, condition, or timing of materials accepted may be made, but may not be required. All donations become the property of the GMLC.
Weeding the Library Collection
The criteria used in selection will also apply to the removal or replacement of materials. Each withdrawal or replacement will be judged individually with reference to standard library selection tools and catalogs, available replacements, and to the existing collection.
Reviewed and approved by the Board of Directors
February 2008