Collection Development Policy

COMMUNITY SERVED

The Village of Bee Cave, incorporated in 1987, is located eight miles west of Austin in Travis County, in the beautiful Texas Hill Country. While 2,000 residents call Bee Cave home, there are approximately 35,000 visitors to the area on any given day. The Library’s patron base reflects this, with half of library card-holders residing outside the city limits. Bee Cave is the fastest-growing community within the award-winning Lake Travis Independent School District, which serves more than 6,000 students. Unique in its highly educated and affluent population, Bee Cave is a historic, family-oriented community committed to a high quality of life.

Mission Statement of the Library

The Bee Cave Public Library will provide intellectual, cultural, educational, and recreational resources in a variety of formats. The library will offer an inviting environment, promote lifelong learning, and foster a sense of community.

PRINCIPLES OF COLLECTION DEVELOPMENT

The Bee Cave Public Library selects materials that support its mission to provide its patrons with intellectual, cultural, educational and recreational resources in a variety of formats to meet the lifelong learning needs of the community. The Library recognizes the rights of citizens granted by the Constitutions of the United States and the State of Texas.

The Village of Bee Cave Board of Alderman authorizes the Library Director, with advice and input from the Library Advisory Committee and library staff, to select materials for the Library’s collection in accordance with the principles and criteria set forth in the Collection Development Policy.

OTHER RESOURCES AVAILABLE LOCALLY

Bee Cave Public Library offers free membership to any citizen of Texas without regard to residency, and through the TexShare Card Program and Interlibrary Loan, we provide access to a world of resources beyond our own. Bee Cave patrons in good standing may receive a TexShare card, which gives them access to local public libraries including the Lake Travis Community Library, Westbank Community Library, Austin Public Library, and the Texas State Library and Archives, as well as academic libraries such as those of the University of Texas, St. Edward’s University, Concordia University, and others.

AREAS OF FOCUS WITHIN OUR COLLECTION

I. Adults

Because of the wealth of resources available in the area, and the relatively small size of our community, Bee Cave Public Library has chosen to focus its adult collection primarily on those materials most likely to circulate often, namely popular fiction, nonfiction and biographies, with a small collection of Texas-oriented historical materials, and a basic reference collection. By its membership in the Texas State Library System, the Library offers access to a wide array of online databases which supplement and expand the usefulness of the collection for research purposes and general information.

II. Youth

The children’s and young adult collections are somewhat broader in focus. Materials are selected within our limitations of budget and space to support the educational and research needs of K-12 students and local home-schooled students, as well as their recreational and general informational needs. Particular emphasis in the collection is placed on materials for preschool children, who are served by no other community agency, and for whom the Library may be their first experience of a structured educational environment. Fostering a love of books and reading is crucial to building an educated and responsible population, and is reflected in the materials and programs the Library offers to our youngest patrons.

Materials chosen for the children’s collection will be selected to appeal to children of different ages and interests. Library staff members will help parents and children locate materials, but they cannot presume to make decisions for parents as to which library materials are appropriate for their children.

SELECTION CRITERIA

Because of the volume of publishing, as well as limitations of budget and space, selection criteria will be applied in developing the collection, and materials may be selected on the basis of any, several, or all of the following:

  • Positive review in a professional journal or local media
  • Patron request
  • Individual merit of each item
  • Popular appeal or demand
  • Suitability of material for the general public
  • Existing library holdings
  • Budget

Items will be chosen for the collection based on a wide range of community tastes and interests and will not necessarily appeal to everyone.

Materials will be judged on the basis of the work as a whole, not on a section taken out of context. Selection of materials does not constitute or imply agreement with or approval of the content, viewpoint, implications, or presentation of the materials.

REVIEW OF THE COLLECTION

The collection will be frequently and systematically reviewed for currency of information, and usefulness to the community. Materials which have become outdated or are no longer of popular interest will be withdrawn from the collection.

DONATIONS

The Library accepts donations of books and other library materials that support the mission of the Library and fall within the scope of the Library’s Collection Development Policy. The Library reserves the right to utilize donated materials in any way that best benefits the collection and services. Gifts not added to the collection may be sold to benefit the Library.

PATRON REQUEST FOR RECONSIDERATION OF LIBRARY MATERIAL

The Library recognizes the right of individuals to question materials in the Library’s collection. The Library provides a form (Appendix A) by which a patron can request a reconsideration of material. After the form is completed and returned to the Library Director, the material in question will be reviewed by the Library Advisory Committee to determine whether the material meets the criteria contained in this policy. The patron will be notified of the committee’s decision.

While the Library welcomes expressions of opinion from the public, patrons’ selections of materials are an individual, private matter. While patrons are free to select or reject materials for themselves and their minor children, patrons cannot restrict the freedom of others to read/view/listen or inquire. Parents have the primary responsibility to guide and direct the selections of their minor children. Individual items which may be controversial or offensive to some may appropriately be added to the collection if they meet the selection criteria or contribute to the mission of the Library.