When a member of the community has a question or an objection concerning the presence of a book or other item in the collection, library staff will give serious consideration to each patron’s opinion and inform the person of the Library’s Materials Selection Policy, especially the Guidelines for Selection. If this discussion does not satisfy the patron and the patron would like the inclusion of the item in the Library’s collection to be reconsidered, the patron should be given the “Resident’s Request for Re-evaluation of Library Material” form. The form should be completed as fully as possible and returned to the Library Executive Director.
The Library Executive Director will convene a Materials Evaluation Committee consisting of the manager of the department where the concern originated, the staff person responsible for selection in this area, the Collection Development Manager, one other member of the staff, and the Library Executive Director. All members of the Committee will read, view, or listen to and evaluate the material in question. Review sources will also be examined.
The Committee will then meet to discuss and evaluate the material, and the Library Executive Director will prepare a report summarizing the Committee’s evaluation. A copy of this report will be sent to the person who submitted the “Resident’s Request for Re-evaluation of Library Material” form.
If the patron is not satisfied with the Materials Evaluation Committee’s report, they can request that the Library Board review whether or not the Library Executive Director and Committee followed proper procedures. The members of the Board will be sent copies of the Committee’s report and the “Resident’s Request for Re-evaluation of Library Material” form prior to the Board meeting at which the review is scheduled.
