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 Count 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.
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.
