Collection Development Policy

The WCDPL Board of Trustees establishes this Policy to guide staff and inform the public of the philosophies involved in the process of selecting materials for the library. The Board’s adopted Vision, Mission, Core Values, and Core Services Statement guides all library services:

WCDPL Vision Statement:
Deemed an essential asset by the community, WCDPL strives to engage everyone with learning opportunities and creative experiences.

WCDPL Mission Statement:
WCDPL encourages lifelong learning and advances knowledge through literature, information, and exploration.

WCDPL’s Core Values:

• Accountability. We take responsibility for our resources, actions, services, materials, and facilities.
• Expertise. We deliver quality, user-focused library services, & materials through skilled staff.
• Freedom. Free & open to all, we support the freedom of ideas & the free exchange of knowledge.
• Innovation. We explore new ways of doing things and new things to do.
• Passion. We love serving our communities and the role libraries can serve in them.
• Respect. We treat everyone with dignity.
• Relationships. We celebrate our diverse experience. We build connections & trust with everyone.

WCDPL’s Core Services:

• We offer traditional and virtual library services to our entire legal service district.
• We provide quality, in-demand, diverse materials to encourage curiosity within our diverse community.
• We deliver materials and experiences for babies, preschoolers, and families to build early literacy skills.
• We collect and share the history, genealogy, and stories of our service district.
• We link our patrons to our materials with learning, literary, and cultural opportunities.
• We provide welcoming community gathering spaces.
• We offer entertainment in a variety of formats and through partnerships.

We are committed to ensuring that the collection, in terms of both internal and external resources, is attractive, diverse and reflects well on the library and its standards.

The library’s primary services, related to the selection of materials, are:
General Information: Patrons can meet their needs for information and answers to questions on a broad array of topics related to work, school, and their personal life.
Popular Materials: Patrons have timely access to the latest popular titles in a variety of formats for reading, viewing and listening pleasure.
Lifelong Learning: Patrons have materials needed to explore topics of personal interest, continuing to learn throughout their lives in our ever-changing world.
Local History: The library collects comprehensively items about Bowling Green and Wood County history and that preserve our community’s shared story.

Philosophy of Selection:
Fundamental to the philosophies governing the selection of materials are the principles expressed in the American Library Association’s Library Bill of Rights, Freedom to Read Statement, Freedom to View Statement, and the Access to Library Resources and Services for Minors Interpretation of the Library Bill of Rights (appended).

Delegation of Authority:
The Board delegates responsibility for selection of all materials to the Director, who appoints individuals from the staff to select materials for specific collections. The Director develops administrative guidelines and procedures for the staff to follow (appended) as they make material selections.

Adopted by the Board of Trustees June 11, 1996. Revised July 9, 2008. Revised October 17, 2022.