Collection Strategy

Introduction
Developing and managing a collection that supports the Whitefish Bay Library’s Mission and Values is central and vital to the Library’s role and success.

Through this Collection Strategy, the Library Board identifies principles that are to be realized by the Library Director and staff through the Collection Management Policy and the Collection Management Operational Procedures.

Collection Strategy
The Whitefish Bay Library collection shall be developed and managed to achieve the Library’s Mission and Values (attached as part of this document).

To realize this, the collection must be:

• relevant to and reflective of the Whitefish Bay community
• valued by the community, by patrons as a whole, and by target segments of patrons
  • recognized as a significant element of the Library’s role as a cornerstone of the Whitefish Bay community 
• well-used by the community and by patrons as a whole, or, in the case of specialty items, by the target patron group
• balanced, serving a variety of patron interests and age groups
  • serving all age groups, prioritizing none
  • providing classic, significant works as well as popular materials, being neither exclusively archival nor current
  • providing reference material, including important local and area historical information, but not serving as a research library
  • providing material that meets a range of needs and interests for both educational and entertainment purposes
  • promoting a love of learning and facilitating the exchange of ideas and information by providing a diversity of materials and viewpoints that allow patrons to explore and grow in their knowledge, and supports the American Library Association: Library Bill of Rights
• responsive, not static, evolving with patron interests and trends over time
•  inclusive of all available media formats, and embracing technology that expands and/or enhances access to material
• accessible, providing reasonable access to materials either directly through the Library’s own collection or through the Library’s access to other collections
• a source of reliable information that supports an informed citizenry

Responsibility for the Collection Strategy
The Library Board has final responsibility for the Library’s Collection Strategy. The Board delegates to the Library Director responsibility for collection development and management to achieve the Collection Strategy through the Collection Management Policy and the Collection Management Operational Procedures.

The Director delegates to professional staff the authority for decisions regarding the development and management of the collection, and the related selection of library materials and resources using best practices and standards of the library profession while considering the Library’s Mission and Values, this Collection Strategy, the Collection Management Policy and the Operational Procedures. Professional staff members are considered to be those with a Master’s Degree in Library and Information Science.

Whitefish Bay Public Library Collection Strategy Policy Approved by the Whitefish Bay Library Board of Trustees February 17, 2015.