This Collection Development statement supports the Library in its mission and defines the purpose and objectives of the Libraries and Central Library collections, and it gives direction to their growth and development.
The Library is a forum for all points of view on current and historical issues and adheres to the principles of intellectual freedom as expressed in the Library Bill of Rights and contained within the Freedom to Read and Freedom to View Principles adopted by the American Library Association or ALA. It is the goal of the Queens Public Library to make available to its customers materials that reflect the diverse, multiethnic, and multilingual communities served by its Libraries and Central Library collections.
The Library opposes any attempts by individuals or groups of individuals to censor materials selected for its Community Libraries and Central Library collections. Further, the Library's decision to acquire or remove materials from its collections will not be determined by partisan or doctrinal points of view. It is the Library's goal to offer the widest diversity of views and expressions, including those which may be unorthodox or unpopular with the majority or controversial in nature. The Library's decision to acquire material does not constitute endorsement of the material's content. Customers are free to challenge the presence of material in any collection and may request in writing reconsideration of the appropriateness of the item in question. The Library does not support or subscribe to any system of industry coding, rating, or labeling.
The Library provides free access to all materials, in print, non-print, and electronic formats, to all customers who are free to select or reject any item for their personal use. Children are permitted access to viewing and borrowing material in the adult collections with parental consent. Responsibility for a child's use of library materials, regardless of format or content, lies with the parent or guardian, not the Library.
The Queens Public Library consists of sixty-two (62) Community Libraries and a Central Library which serve the culturally and ethnically and linguistically diverse population of the Borough of Queens. Additionally, the Central Library special subject collections support the academic, professional, and technical research needs of the Borough. The sixty-three (63) locations house general and special interest circulating and reference collections for all age groups: children, young adults, college students, adults and senior adults, in languages which represent the ethno-linguistic character of the local community. It is the Library's intention that the collection in each agency or library location addresses the individual needs and interests of its immediate community and, to the degree possible, reflect the diversity of the entire borough.
FORMATS COLLECTED
Print and Audio Visual Media
Books, large print material, music cassettes, music compact discs, videocassettes, 16mm films, photographs, mounted pictures, music scores, maps, New York State/New York City/U.S. government documents, books on tape, multi-sets (book and CD or floppy disk), magazines, newspapers, and pamphlets.
Electronic Media
The Library provides customers with access to the Internet and other electronic resources and supports the American Library Association's doctrine on Access to Electronic Information, Services, and Networks. The Internet is a global electronic network that provides dynamic resources and facilitates communication. Because Library staff cannot control access points that often change rapidly and unpredictably, customers are responsible for the choice of sites accessed (see Queens Public Library's Public Use of the Internet Statement and Copyright & Disclaimer Statement).
MATERIAL SELECTION
In addition to examining materials that come to the Library through publisher and vendor approval and Greenaway plans, the following are among the review sources regularly consulted as part of the material selection process: Kirkus, Publishers Weekly, Library Journal, School Library Journal, New York Times Book Review, Multimedia World, Multicultural Review, Black Books Bulletin, Quarterly Black Review, the Lambda Book Report, Choice, World Literature Today, Video Source Book, Video Librarians, Stereo Review, and sources available through the Internet.
General criteria for selecting material include importance of subject matter, timeliness of the material, permanent value of material as a standard work, prominence of the author, critical reception, suitability of subject and style for intended audience, and customer interest. Selection criteria for electronic resources additionally include: ease of access, hardware requirements, comparison of content with other available formats, licensing requirements, networking capabilities, and staff training and customer assistance requirements.
Juvenile
The children's collections of the Queens Public Library serve children from birth through sixth grade, as well as their parents, teachers, caregivers, and other professionals working with children, by providing books and other media of the best available quality for recreational use, general information, and elementary school-level curriculum support. Literary excellence, accuracy and timeliness of factual material, and high-quality art and illustrations are the standards met in materials selected for the Library's collections. Hardcover material not approved for purchase is not acquired in any other format.
Young Adult
The Queens Public Library Young Adult collections are designed to address the recreational, developmental, and informational needs and interests, including those which are curriculum related, of youth in grades seven to twelve and to stimulate the interests of young people in reading and the world around them. These collections are intended to be browsing in nature, to contain current interest material, to be changing constantly, and to be aesthetically appealing. Hardcover and paperback books and pamphlets are collected specifically for them.
Languages Other Than English
Although the Library primarily collects materials in the English language, in order to address the ethno-linguistic needs of its diverse population, print and non-print collections are maintained in languages other than English that reflect local community needs. These general interest collections, which are under the responsibility of the New Americans Program, are tailored to meet the needs of immigrants. They are intended to guarantee equity of access to the Borough's diverse population and are integral parts of branch libraries' collections. The materials are further intended to assist in the acculturation process and to help maintain a connection to native languages and cultures. As the need arises, structured collection development programs are undertaken for specific languages.
The Central Library houses the Library's largest collection in languages other than English and helps serve Community Libraries' needs through rotating collections.
The Archives, housed in the Central Library, exists to preserve, organize, and manage the use of materials that deal with the geography and the natural, cultural, social, economic, and political history, both past and present, of the four counties of Long Island. Printed monographs, serials, pamphlets and broadsides, manuscripts, photographs, prints, drawings, maps, and plans are collected to the comprehensive level. The collection is under the responsibility of the division librarian.
Queens Memory & Web Archiving
Queens Public Library collects born-digital archival materials capturing contemporary local history. These collections include oral histories collected as part of the Queens Memory Project, scans of family photos and other memorabilia shared by Queens residents at Queens Memory public events, and websites of local interest captured as part of the library’s web archiving initiative.
The Black Heritage Reference Collection
The Black Heritage Reference Collection is housed in the Langston Hughes Community Library and Cultural Center and exists to document the African-American experience, to preserve Black culture and heritage, and to promote and support the study of Black history and culture. The collection consists of books, films, videos, doctoral dissertations, periodicals, pamphlets, compact discs, phonograph records, audio cassettes, posters, artifacts, and letters.
Film and Video
The Library's film and video collections, housed in the Branch Libraries and Central Library, support ALA's Freedom to View Principle and strive to provide a diversity of viewpoints without the constraint of labeling or prejudging film, video, and other audiovisual materials on the basis of the moral, religious, or political beliefs of the producer or filmmaker, or on the basis of controversial content.
WEEDING AND COLLECTION MAINTENANCE
It is the policy of the Library to develop and maintain collections that meet customer needs for current and retrospective information and further address customers' cultural, educational, and recreational needs and interests. Weeding is an ongoing process essential to this end. When information in material becomes dated and misrepresentative of current knowledge, or the materials themselves become damaged beyond use or are no longer in demand, they should be removed from all collections.
GIFTS
All material presented to the Library as gifts is subject to the same scrutiny and review as that purchased. The Library reserves the right to dispose of gifts as it deems appropriate. Material received as gifts may be included in collections, used in book sales, or discarded.