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Collection Development Manual > Collection Development

Collection Development

The authority and responsibility for the selection of library materials rests ultimately with the Library Director. By the Director's delegation, the professional staff has responsibility for the selection of materials. All staff members and the general public are encouraged to recommend materials for consideration. Current tools designed to capture patrons, comments, ideas, and opinions about the library include the Comment Card and the Suggest a Purchase form, also available at any library service desk.

In support of its Mission, materials available in the library present a diversity of viewpoints, allowing people of all ages access to the information needed to make the informed choices so crucial in a democracy. Multnomah County Library will routinely gather statistics to determine user characteristics, expectations, and needs and apply the latest tools and innovations to our collection development practices, maintaining the depth and diversity of our collections. Anticipating the community's interests and needs, observing their responses to innovations, and acting quickly in response to these needs will serve as the underlying framework for material selections and practices. Operating as good stewards of the public's tax dollars requires constant re-evaluation of current distribution and selection plans, as library staff imagines and implements alternative, cost-effective ways to provide services, aligning resources to demand. Positive collection strategies may include:

General criteria for selecting material include:

In addition to examining materials that come to the Library through publisher and vendor distribution plans, library staff regularly consult professional review sources, such as Library Journal, Publisher's Weekly, School Library Journal, Choice, Kirkus, and numerous Internet-based sources. Selection practices include: reliance on the individual subject expertise of staff or community members, suggestions from customers, promotions in local bookstores, media, standard bibliographies, and professional reviews.

Formats collected include print (including large print), audiovisual, electronic media, government documents, books on CD and tape, magazines, newspapers, and pamphlets. A wide range of digital resources are provided on the library Research Web site, including the library's catalog, subscription databases and selected Web sites.

While most materials are acquired in English, Multnomah County Library has a few items, such as a dictionary or a Bible, in more than forty international languages. There are larger collections in Chinese, Vietnamese, and Russian at designated libraries. Current selection practice includes building substantial collections in Spanish at some locations in response to increasing public demand and demographic trends.