Collection Development Policy
Introduction
The purpose of the West Florida Public Libraries (WFPL) Collection Development Policy is to provide information to the public about principles that direct the selection and management of all public library resources acquired and shared by libraries in the system. WFPL provides our patrons with access to a broad and relevant collection of materials and resources that meet their informational, educational, and recreational needs and desires in both physical and electronic formats.
WFPL affirms the public’s right of free access to a diverse and balanced spectrum of reading, listening, and viewing materials in a variety of current and emerging formats. WFPL has adopted the following American Library Association (ALA) guidelines for public access to information:
Selection Criteria
The following criteria are considered in materials selection (not all requirements must be met):
- Popular interest
- Contemporary significant or permanent value
- Currency of information
- Accuracy
- Local emphasis or relevance to the community
- Readability or ability to sustain interest
- Treatment of the subject for the intended audience
- Reputation and qualifications of the author, performer/composer, publisher, producer, or illustrator
- Creative, literary, or technical quality
- Reviews in professional literature
- Attention of the public, or recognition of material by other general interest media outlets
- Format and its ease of use
- Use of similar works as measured through the integrated library system (ILS)
- Cost and availability
- Relation to existing materials in the collection
Help Build Your Library's Collection
Patrons may recommend materials for consideration using the Suggest a Title form. There is no guarantee that these materials will be purchased.
If the item is unavailable, it can be requested through our Interlibrary Loan service. Millions of items can be borrowed from thousands of libraries. Requested materials that are available are sent by mail. Please wait at least two weeks before following up on requests that have not yet arrived.
Donations
WFPL accepts donations in reasonable physical condition. Donated materials become the property of WFPL upon receipt and will be considered for addition to the collection in accordance with the selection and assessment criteria described in this Policy. Materials not added to the collection may be given to BCC-approved recipient organizations, including, but not limited to, the Friends of the West Florida Public Libraries, Inc., or the Friends of the Southwest Branch Library Foundation, Inc.
Upon request, WFPL staff will supply an acknowledgement of donation receipt for the donor’s income tax records. WFPL staff cannot make recommendations, estimates, or appraisals on the value of donated materials.
Responsibility
The ultimate responsibility for the growth and maintenance of the WFPL collection rests with the Library Director, who, in turn, delegates collection responsibilities to appropriate staff members. Those staff members are qualified by education, training, or experience to select materials and resources.
Collection Management
WFPL adheres to professional collection management practices, including the use of:
- Statistical reports;
- The CREW method (Continuous, Review, Evaluation, and Weeding), identifying and ensuring our collections remain relevant and useful;
- The MUSTIE Method: Items with any of these undesirable factors are more likely to be withdrawn from our collection:
- M = Misleading (and/or factually inaccurate)
- U = Ugly (damaged or worn)
- S = Superseded (by a new edition or resource with better coverage of the subject)
- T = Trivial (no longer of discernible literary or scientific merit)
- I = Irrelevant (to the needs and interests of the community)
- E = Elsewhere (found expeditiously through another resource)
Library Materials Reevaluation Request
Materials dealing with controversial views, language, or images are judged as entire works, not on isolated passages or sections. WFPL recognizes that some library items are controversial and that any given item may offend a patron.
WFPL will consider requests for reevaluation submitted by any current WFPL cardholder. Current cardholders are asked to complete and submit the Library Materials Reevaluation Request form to state any objections to the library material or resource. Download a printable version of the form here.
Materials and resources in question will be reviewed from the standpoint of the concerns expressed. However, there is no guarantee that the reevaluation will result in a change of the material’s placement in the collection. The Library Director may designate librarians and other staff qualified by education, training, or experience to review the material and provide a recommendation. However, the Library Director is not bound by any recommendation and inherently maintains the ultimate responsibility for the final decision.
Upon request, a written response will be sent to the cardholder explaining the resulting decision made by the Library Director.
The Library Director’s reevaluation decision will stand for two years unless appealed for review by the WFPL Board of Governance (BOG).
The cardholder must initiate an appeal within ten days of receiving the decision notice. The email timestamp will be used to indicate the start of the ten days.
The cardholder must submit a written communication to the Library Director to appeal the decision to the WFPL BOG.
The cardholder may appeal against the Library Director’s decision to the WFPL BOG.
The WFPL BOG will refer the Library Director’s reevaluation results back to the Director if additional information is presented in the appeal that could change the decision. However, the Library Director is not bound by any recommendation and inherently maintains the ultimate responsibility for the final decision.
The results of the appeal will remain in effect for two years.
Revised and approved on Aug. 25, 2025, by the West Florida Public Libraries Board of Governance.
