This document outlines selection criteria and tools for various library materials. It discusses the importance of selection as the heart of collection development and then provides detailed criteria for evaluating books, graphic materials, electronic resources, and more. Selection considerations include subject matter, construction quality, potential use, relation to existing collections, bibliographic information, cost, and more. The document also lists review sources, recommended lists, publisher catalogs, online bookstores, and national bibliographies as selection tools.

1. SELECTION POLICY

2.  Selection is the heart of collection
development process. It is the process of
deciding which materials are to be
acquired for the library collection. It may
involve deciding between items that
provide information about the same
subject, determining quality and value.

3. • It is the goal of the library to own or have ready
access to a sufficient number of informational
resources with sufficient scope, depth,
relevance, and accuracy in a variety of useful
formats for the purpose of providing
information; education and instruction; cultural
experience and growth.

4. The words "library materials," as they occur in
this policy, have the widest possible meaning.
Every form of the permanent record is to be
included whether printed or audio; bound or
unbound; photographed or otherwise
reproduced on tapes, discs and pictures in the
form of photographs, paintings, drawings, etc.

5. This policy will be continuously
reviewed by the library staff and the
Board to ensure that it continues to
meet the needs and desires of the
library and its community.

6. Selection Criteria
The set of standards used by librarians to decide
whether an item should be added to the collection,
which normally includes a list of subjects or fields to
be covered, levels of
specialization, editions, currency, languages,
and formats.

7. General criteria to consider when you are involved in making
selection decisions include:
1. Subject matter
What subjects do you need to collect in to build the
library collection?
How suitable is the subject, style, and reading level of
the material for the community?
2. Construction quality
Is the item well made and durable?
For books and periodicals, does the material have good
print quality? Is the paper of appropriate quality?

8. 3. Potential use
 What will the demand for the material be?
 What level of use justifies the acquisition?
4. Relation to the collection
• How will the material strengthen the library
collection? Will it fill a gap, complement something
that is already present, or provide an alternative
opinion to what is already covered?
• Are the materials available elsewhere in the
community?

9. 5. Bibliographic considerations
• What is the reputation of the publisher?
• Is the type of publication and the format appropriate for
your library?
• What is the reputation and/or significance of the author?
6. Cost
• Almost all libraries have limited budgets and have to make
very careful decisions about how to allocate their funds
during the selection process. One approach to the selection
process is to rank the materials desired for selection. More
expensive materials that are ranked highly must still be
purchased, but then the library would be unable to purchase
as many items. These decisions can be difficult to make, but
prioritizing patron needs is always a good way to start.

10. Selection Criteria for Books
Authority
o Who is the author (and the publisher)?
o What expertise does the author have in the subject
matter?
Currency
o How current is the material?
o Are there other sources that are more current?
o Would the item duplicate information in another
source already owned?

11. Scope
• What subject areas are covered? Is it a broad
o specific treatment of the subject?
Interest
• How interesting is the source?
• Does the source have the potential for being
heavily used in the library?

12. Organization
• How is the book laid out?
• Can the user easily find the information
needed in the book? Are there appropriate
access points, indexes, and cross references?
Format
• What is the quality of the binding and the
paper (acid free is preferred)?
• How readable is the print?

13. Special features
• Does the book include important illustrations
or other features that would make it valuable?
Cost
• How much does it cost?
• Are there other comparable sources that are
less expensive?

14. Accuracy
• Is the information contained accurate?
• Would experts in the subject agree that the
item is a good source?
Impartiality
• Is the source a balanced treatment of the
subject matter?
• It the book does not have a balanced
treatment, does you book collection in the
subject address differing viewpoints?

15. Selection Criteria for
Graphic Materials

16. Graphic materials include maps,
photographs, and globes (although there are
other items such as sheet music and prints
that the library may collect).

17. The following summarizes points to consider in
selecting graphic materials.
scale
type of projection
information represented
amount of detail and accuracy
use of color and symbols
use and placement of nomenclature

18. Selection Criteria for Electronic Resources
Electronic resources is an all encompassing term
to include sources in digital format – e-serials, e-
journals, e-newsletters, digital serials, e-books,
and many more. The prefix “e” for any type of
publication stands for electronic.

19. Content
• Does the electronic version have retrospective
data? Most electronic sources do not include
data prior to 1970s or 1980s.
• How complete is the electronic database,
especially when compared to its printed
counterpart? Some electronic resources do not
include information on the same extent that print
resources do. For example, graphical information
may not be included on CD-ROMs due to space
considerations.

20. Access
• How will these resources be accessed and
what will be the implication for other library
services? For example, it is common for
libraries that acquire a CD-ROM version of a
particular index to experience an increase in
number of interlibrary loan for periodical titles
they do not have.
• How many users will the electronic resource
accommodate at one tome?

21. Technical support
• How much training will library personnel need
to feel comfortable using the product and how
much time will it take to train users?
• How detailed are the instructions that come
with the product? Are there online help
screens?

22. Cost
• How much do acquisitions and updates to the
product cost?
• What type of licensing agreement will be
made?
What kind of charges can the library expect for
initial connections or from telecommunications
providers?

23. Selection Tools for Books
Selection tools for books may either be
selective or comprehensive.
1. Selective resources only list s fraction of
the available titles based on some criteria.
They provide critical evaluation for the
books. They are especially helpful in making
title selection decisions. Included in this
category are:

24. A. Book reviews
These resources provide descriptive and evaluative
information that can be used instead of physically examining
the actual book. They make comparisons to similar works to
help the librarian determine whether the book being
reviewed should be added to the library collection. Examples
of titles of some of these printed book reviews include:
• School Library Journal
• Library Journal
• Booklist
• Choice
• American Reference Books Annual

25. • Book reviews are also available from the
internet. Some of the web sites that contain
book reviews include:
• http://www.ala.org/Content/NavigationMenu
/Products_and_Publications/Periodicals/Bookl
ist/Booklist.html

26. B. “Best of” books and recommended lists
• These materials are intended for non-current
reviews. They can be used as checklists to see to it
that no good book has been missed. If the selectors
know that the library community’s reading choices
are influenced by recommendations, they may
want to consider recommended lists in the book
selection process. Examples of web sites that
contain such lists are
• Literary Lists at
http://www.stat.wharton.upenn.edu/~seller/litlists.ht
ml
• Oprah’s Recommended Books at
://www.2think.org/oprah/oprah.shtml

27. 2. Comprehensive resources include such listings as
all of the books published in the United States, in a
bookstore inventory, by a particular publisher, and
so on.
a. Publisher sources
• These resources include catalog, flyers, and
announcements to libraries from publishers to
publicize their publications. They may also be
web sites of publishers that contain the most
current information about their publication.
Examples of these web links are:
• AcqWeb’s Directory of Publishers and Vendors at
• http://www.acqweb.library.vanderbilt.edu/acqwe
b/pubr.html

28. b. Online bookstores
• Online bookstores allow the selector to search
and purchase print books over the internet.
They can provide a quick and easy way to find
publication information.
Example
Amazon.com at http://www.amazon.com, the
largest online bookstore in the world. It is a full-
service online bookstore providing lists of book
sellers, award-winners, and excerpts from
review sources.

29. c. Directories of in-print and out-of-print books
• These are resources for finding bibliographic
and purchasing information of books that are
available for purchase, are about to be
published, or are no longer being printed.
Examples
Forthcoming Books
Weekly Records
Books in Print

30. d. National bibliographies
• National bibliographies can be useful for
checking what library owns a particular work
in a particular country.
Examples
British National Bibliography
National Union Catalog
Bibloiographie Nationale Française
Deutsche Nationalbibliographie

31. Selection Tools for Graphic Materials
Maps, globes, photographs, illustrations, and some
kinds of games fall under the graphic materials
genre.
Examples
• Cartographic Journal at
• http://info.abdn.ac.uk/~geo181/journal.htm
• US Geological Association at
• http://www.usgs.gov
• Maps and References at
• http://www.nlc.state.ne.us/nsf/maps.html

32. Selection Tools for Audiovisual
Materials
Audiovisual materials fall under the genre of
non-book library materials. It may be further
broken down into two narrower categories –
audio and video materials.
Some of these titles include
• Publisher’s Weekly
• AudioFile
• Wilson Library Bulletin
• Library Journal

33. Types of Censorship in Libraries
1. Political censorship: Political censorship
occurs when governments hold back
information from their citizens. Many political
parties published many objectionable
publications, which may create some unwanted
problems for the Governments.

34. 2. Moral/Ethical censorship: Moral censorship is
the removal of materials that censor regard to
be obscene or otherwise questionable.
Pornography, for example, is often censor under
this rationale specially child pornography, which
is censor in most jurisdiction in the world.

35. 3. Religion Censorship: Religion Censorship is
the means by which any material objectionable
to a certain faith is removed. This often involves
a dominate religion forcing limitation on less
prevalent one. Alternatively one religion make
shun the work of another when they believe the
content in not appropriate for their faith.

36. 4. Military Censorship: Military administration is
the highest authority to protect the sovereignty
for a country. so any pamphlet, letter, report and
publication arranged military rolled are censors
for defense and security of the country. Military
Censorship is the process of keeping military
intelligences and tactics confidential and
keeping away from enemy.

37. Prepared By:
Marivic A. Buiza
BLIS-II