Strategic Plan of the Adams County Library
2018-2023
Mission
The Adams County Library plays an essential role in the continual growth of the community, quality of life and intellectual and social enrichment of Adams County, North Dakota.
Vision
The Adams County Library will strive to be a relevant, vibrant, and comfortable location for the community members to utilize for lifelong growth, education, enrichment and engagement.
Goals and Objectives
Goal 1. The Adams County Library will be a highly visible and accessible.
Objectives
- Networking with local daycare facilities, homeschool and public school.
- Networking with local businesses and chamber of commerce.
- Networking with local assisted living facility.
- Prepare a long term marketing plan utilizing all media outlets.
Goal 2. The Adams County Library will provide relevant programing and activities for all age groups.
Objectives
- Engage children and young adults in STEM and other relevant activities.
- Educate adults and senior citizens in twenty first century information seeking strategies.
- Create staff training enabling staff to become more adept at cutting edge information seeking strategies and technology use.
Collection Development Policy
Adams County Library
Purpose
The purpose of this policy is to guide library staff in the selection of library materials, to inform the Library Board and the general public of the principles upon which selections are made, and to declare the library’s commitment to the principles of free access to ideas and information.
Background
The Adams County library is located in Hettinger, ND. Hettinger supports a school, hospital, an active business and agricultural community. Hettinger is 70 miles from a town of over 10,000. The community is highly educated and somewhat diverse, necessitating a broad range of services.
Library Mission, Goal, and Objectives
Adams County Library will strive to be a relevant, vibrant, and comfortable location for the community members to utilize for lifelong growth, education, enrichment and engagement.
The Adams County Library will strive to be a relevant, vibrant, and comfortable location for community members to utilize for lifelong growth, education and enrichment.
Intellectual Freedom
The Adams County Library is committed to the principles of intellectual freedom and affirms the American Library Association’s Freedom to Read statement [Appendix] and the Library Bill of Rights [Appendix]. As such, materials representing diverse viewpoints on topics, including controversial ones, are actively collected. Selection of an item does not indicate that the Library, its Board, or its Staff agrees with the ideas and viewpoints it presents.
Target Audience
Collection of materials will be weighted 60 % adult titles with at least 15 % being adult non-fiction, and 30 % young adult and children’s titles of which 10% is non-fiction. 10% of materials, as available, will be specifically collected for the Heritage Collection.
Responsibility for Selecting Library Materials
The library director will be responsible for the selection of materials with input from other staff and community members.
Evaluative Criteria and Selection Aids
Selection of library material is an active process that applies both to materials purchased by the library and materials donated to it. The following criteria are used in the selection process to help ensure that all materials in the library are in keeping with its goals and mission and are of use to the community served.
General criteria:
- The collection will attempt to provide a balance of viewpoints on all controversial issues
- The collection will attempt to include a cross-section of media formats, topics, and viewpoints representative of patron needs and interests
- The library will attempt to meet all relevant collection standards, whether issued by governmental agencies, professional associations, or regional accrediting bodies
- Reviews from professional publications (journals and websites), as well as patron requests are considered in the selection of library materials
Specific criteria can be provided by audience or age level, by subject area/Dewey range, material type (large print, digital, A/V, etc.), special collections, etc. Specific criteria used include:
- Authority (is it from a trusted source—both author and publisher can factor in)
- Self-published/POD materials of local or regional merit.
- Comprehensiveness and depth of treatment
- Clarity, accuracy, and logic of presentation
- Currency of the publication
- Artistic presentation and/or literary merit
- Popular interest
- Relevance to the community
- Structural integrity (library will not purchase comb-bound materials…)
- Materials by local/ND authors
- Materials about the city/county/state
- Redundancy with materials available through Online Library Resources (rationale for exclusion, especially of periodicals)
Selection Aids:
- Subject bibliographies
- Standard lists
- Library catalogs
- Reviews from:
- Subject specialist journals
- Library journals
- Book selection journals
- Newspapers (local and national)
- Advance notices
Formats
Formats which will not be purchased include:
VHS, audio-tape, graphic novels
Special Collections
Heritage Room materials will be actively sought.
Resource Sharing
The library will utilize resources available through the ND State Library (ILL and databases), Overdrive and other legitimate services such as Academia.edu to expand our collection.
Appendix:
Freedom to Read: The Freedom to Read Statement | Advocacy, Legislation & Issues (ala.org)
Library Bill of Rights: Library Bill of Rights | Advocacy, Legislation & Issues (ala.org)
Approved : March 26,2023
Donations Policy
Adams County Library
Gifts of Materials
The Library gladly accepts donations of books and A/V materials, with the understanding that they are subject to the same criteria for inclusion in the collection as purchased materials. The Adams County Library reserves the right to accept or dispose of any gift through transfer to another library, transfer to the Friends of the Library organization for inclusion in their sales or for charitable donations, or to discard them. The library will not provide a valuation of donated materials for tax purposes.
Items that will not be accepted for donation include: issues of periodicals, items that are moldy or foul-smelling, items that are visibly water damaged, and items in poor physical condition, and textbooks.
Gifts of Periodical Subscriptions
Subscriptions for which there is no indexing and which have limited appeal are marked “Complimentary” and no back files are kept.
Monetary Gifts
The Library accepts monetary donations without conditions on their use or for projects previously approved by the Board. Such money is deposited in Friends of the Library account for future expenditure by the Board.
Donations will also be accepted for the purpose of purchasing library materials consistent with the Library’s Selection Policy. Such money is deposited in the Trust Account for expenditure by the Library Director.
Public acknowledgement of monetary gifts is at the discretion of the Library Board.
Memorials
The Library actively encourages donations as memorials and as tributes to living individuals on special occasions. Such acts provide the Library with an opportunity to add materials or equipment which it might not otherwise be able to afford. These donations also provide individuals with a rich opportunity to honor loved ones with a lasting statement of admiration and respect.
Except in rare circumstances, memorials and tributes are accepted in the form of monetary donations to a special fund administered by the Friends of the Library organization. The Library will make every effort to honor the donor’s wishes regarding the selection to be purchased. However, the final decision rests with the Library in accordance with its needs and selection criteria.
Bookplates will be placed in items purchased with memorial and tribute gift funds. Each bookplate will record the honoree as well as the donor. The Library will send letters to notify all parties of the gift.
Artwork
The Library will avoid the installation of permanent displays or artistic decorations in favor of rotating displays and works of art that will serve to stimulate and renew interest. The following points will be considered by the Library before accepting a gift of this kind:
- Does it conform to the general architecture of the building?
- Will it fit comfortably into the space available?
- Is the object appropriate to Library objectives or would it be better elsewhere?
- Will it cost more to accept the gift than it is worth to the community? Costs that must be weighed may include: insurance, restoration, display, maintenance, storage, etc.
- Is it generally acceptable to the Board?
No such gift will be accepted, unless it is freely given and with the agreement that library may dispose of the gift as it sees fit (including selling it, discarding it, or giving it away) and store the gift or move it to various locations.
All gifts shall be acknowledged with a personal note from the Director to the donor.
Miscellaneous Gifts
The decision as to the acceptance of furnishings, appliances, and equipment shall be made by the Library Board on the advice of the Director. Criteria influencing the decision include need, space, impact on staff, and expense and frequency of maintenance.
The decision as to the acceptance of all other gifts not previously addressed in this policy shall be made by the Library Board on the advice of the Director.
Approved April 25, 2019
De-Selection Policy
Adams County Library
The following policy is adapted from the recommendations put forth by the Texas State Library and Archives Commission in the 2008 publication CREW: a Weeding Manual for Modern Libraries, revised and updated by Jeanette Larson.
Rationales for De-selection
Shelving space is finite and in order to fulfill our mission and meet the diverse cultural, educational, research, and personal enrichment needs of our community, the materials we offer must be current, accurate, relevant, and in a useful format and condition. Subsequently, materials that are no longer accurate, used, or useful must be withdrawn from the collection. This does not mean that they were a waste of money, just that they have fulfilled their purpose.
Local History and Special Interest Materials
The following criteria need not be applied to items with local historical value, which typically possess appeal, significance, and scarcity in excess of materials of no cultural relation to the region. Local history materials may be retained indefinitely.
De-selection Guidelines for Material Formats and Conditions
Non print materials can lose utility and vitality as technology advances. Older formats, such as filmstrips, slides, audiocassettes, videocassettes, computer software on magnetic media (floppy disks), etc. should be culled from the collection as the devices needed to make use of them obsolesce. The same holds true for sets and kits that include obsolete components.
Optical media (DVDs, Blu-ray discs, CDs, etc.) should be replaced or withdrawn if they are chipped, cracked, warped, or have deep scratches that affect their play.
For print materials, the following five negative factors (MUSTI) can compromise their usefulness, making them prime candidates for de-selection:
M Misleading and/or factually inaccurate
U Ugly (worn and beyond mending/re binding)
S Superseded (either by a new edition or a much better book on the subject)
T Trivial (of no discernible literary or scientific merit; of past ephemeral interest)
I Irrelevant to the needs and interests of your community
Approved 8/02/21
Policy for Display and Distribution of Community Materials
Adams County Library
Derived From:
Larson, Jeanette and Herman L. Totten. Model Policies for Small and Medium Public Libraries. New York: Neal-Schuman Publishers, 1998.
Items that publicize community organizations and local events further the role of the library as the central source for civic, cultural, education, and recreational information. The library welcomes and encourages the display of such information on its bulletin boards and brochure racks.
Bulletin board display space is available for community organizations to disseminate information. Only one copy of a notice is permitted. Bulletin boards may not be used for personal or commercial advertisements. Items may be displayed for a maximum of one month. Library staff will remove items that have expired or that have been posted for one month. Items removed will be discarded; flyers and posters that have been displayed cannot be returned.
Brochure racks may be utilized to distribute flyers, brochures, leaflets, newspapers, and pamphlets that provide information about non-profit, civic, educational, cultural, or recreational organizations and events. Materials that promote programs or projects of a personal or commercial nature may not be distributed in the library. Items may be distributed for as long as they are valid. If space becomes limited, preference will be given to items of a timely nature and to organizations or group that have not recently distributed items. Literature related to political campaigns will be distributed for thirty days preceding an election.
All items for posting or distribution must be presented to the library director for approval; library staff will date and place items on the bulletin board or in the brochure rack. Distribution and posting of items by the library does not indicate endorsement of the issues, events, or services promoted by those materials. The library reserves the right to remove any posted item. Items left or posted without approval will be removed and discarded.
Approved 8/2/21
Adams County Library Reconsideration Policy
The library fully endorses the principles documented in the Library Bill of Rights and the Freedom to Read Statement of the American Library Association. Materials available in the library present a diversity of viewpoints, enabling citizens to make the informed choices necessary in a democracy. The library also selects a wide variety of library materials that satisfy the diverse interests of our community. The library upholds the right of the individual to secure these resources, even though the content may be controversial, unorthodox, or unacceptable to some. The library’s varied collection is available to all; however, it is not expected that all of the collection will appeal to everyone.
Procedure:
Patrons requesting that an item be withdrawn from the collection may complete a “Request for Reconsideration of Materials” form. Once the form has been fully completed and returned to the Library Director, the inquiry will be placed on the agenda of the next regular meeting of the Library Board of Trustees. Their decision will be final.
Withdrawn books are donated to the Friends of the Library for book sales. The proceeds from such sales are used for the benefit of the library.
Approved March 26, 2023
Request for Reconsideration Form
Adams County Library
Title:
Author/Producer:
Location:
Type of material: □Book □Music (CD) □Video (DVD) □Magazine/Newspaper □Other
Date request received by staff: Staff initials:
Request initiated by:
Signature:
Mailing address:
Telephone:
Representing: □Self □Organization
Organization address:
Organization telephone:
What concerns you about this material? Please be specific. Cite pages.
Did you read/listen/view the entire item? If no, what parts?
Is there any age group for which this material might be appropriate? If so, please specify.
Are there, in your judgment, any positive elements in this material? Please describe.
Are you aware of any literary reviews of this material? If so, please cite.
What material(s) can you suggest to counterbalance the point of view of this material or provide additional information on the subject?
Approved 8/02/21
Patron Computer & Internet Use Policy
COMPUTER AND INTERNET ACCESS POLICY
Purpose
In keeping with its mission of providing public access to a wide variety of educational, recreational and informational resources, the Adams County Library provides free access to the Internet for patrons of all ages.
Patrons can access the Internet using the Library’s public access computers or by using the library’s wireless network. The Library offers access to word processing, the World Wide Web, and general and specialized shared licensed databases.
Library Responsibility
The Adams County Library supports intellectual freedom and the American Library Association’s interpretation of the Library Bill of Rights as it applies to Access to Electronic Information, Services and Networks. The library offers access to information resources over the Internet in order to be responsive to the information needs of our diverse community.
However, although the Library strives to offer sites which probed current, complete and accurate information, the changing nature of the World Wide Web means the Library cannot guarantee the accuracy of information gained through this medium. The responsibility of the Library is to provide access to information, not to endorse the information. Users are responsible for determining whether the information they access is acceptable, reliable and suitable for their needs.
The Library cannot assume responsibility for material of a controversial or mature nature found on the Internet. The Library offers content filtering but does not monitor and has no control over the information accessed by patrons, nor does it protect users from material or information they may find offensive.
The Library has computers available for all ages.
All computers and Internet access are available on a first-come first-serve basis. Computer stations are designed for individual use.
The Library reserves the right to revoke a user’s computer privileges for a determined amount of time for violating conditions set forth in the policy.
Patron Responsibility
The Adams County Library requires that patrons using the Library’s network do so within the guidelines of acceptable use. It is a violation of federal law to knowingly receive visual depictions of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct. Anyone who does so is subject to federal criminal prosecution under the Protection of Children Against Sexual Exploitation Act of 1977 (18 USC 2252). Additionally, exposing Library staff or patrons to images which are deemed objectionable or obscene may result in the revocation of Library privileges. A revocation of privileges may be appealed under the Library’s Complaint Policy. Additional unacceptable activities include, but are not limited to:
- Destruction of, damage to or unauthorized alteration of the library’s computer equipment software or network security procedures
- Violation of security system
- Use of electronic information networks for any purpose which results in the harassment of other users
- Behaving in a manner that is disruptive to others, including but not limited to overuse of computer equipment which serves to deny access to other users
- Use of electronic information networks in any way which violates a Federal or State law
- Failure to comply with U.S. copyright law and other applicable laws governing the reproduction copyrighted works
- Use of electronic information networks in any way which violates licensing and payment agreements between the Adams County Library and network/database providers
- Unauthorized duplication of copy protected software of violation of software license agreements
Patrons are required to save their work to a personal storage device; access to the terminal’s hard drive will not be provided. The library is not responsible for lost or damaged files or damage to storage devices.
Patrons are responsible for the cost of all printouts made on the public access printing stations available at the Library, whether intended or unintended. Patrons are advised to ask for assistance when printing to avoid charges for unwanted copies.
Patrons utilizing any and all Library-provided internet services, whether on premise or outside of the Library, agree to release, indemnify and hold harmless the Adams County Library from any and all liability and claim for damages that may result from the use of Library-provided internet devices and services in conjunction with personally-owned electronic Internet devices.
Guidelines for Minor Children
The Adams County Library offers computer access for all children, and to teens. The Library affirms and acknowledges the rights and responsibilities of parents and guardians in guiding their children’s use of Internet resources at the library in accordance with the individual family beliefs. Parents need to notify library personnel if they do not want their child using the Internet resources available. Minor children must adhere to the guidelines of this policy. Parents are ultimately responsible if their child violates any of the previously listed patron responsibilities.
Staff Assistance
The Adams County Library encourages all users to make appropriate use of the Internet and provides programs, resources and assistance for responsible use. Staff may provide assistance to patrons in the use of library owned internet devices electronic technology and information networks as time and staff knowledge permits.
Patrons utilizing Library-provided Internet service including but not limited to, Wi-Fi connectivity with personally-owned devices are responsible for all support, troubleshooting, and configuration of personally-owned device. Library staff cannot facilitate connectivity or troubleshoot technical issues in any capacity, for a patron’s personal-owned devices.
Library staff cannot provide recommendations or advice to patrons with respect to the purchase of technology-related equipment, services or software.
Policy Approved February 8, 2005
Revised: June 24, 2013
Revised: June 6, 2018
Approved by the Board: July 10, 2018
Adams County Library 