Materials Retention Policy

Last Updated Date

The library shall maintain an active collection with constant evaluation by the library staff to ensure its usefulness and relevance to the community. The library’s policy for removal of materials shall be based on the elimination of materials which have lost the value for which they were originally selected and which no longer meet the library’s materials selection criteria. Library materials may be discarded for any of the following reasons:

  • obsolescence: the material is no longer timely, accurate, or relevant
  • damage or poor condition
  • space limitations
  • number of copies in District collection to avoid unneeded duplicates
  • insufficient use or lack of customer demand
  • availability in other collections

Frequency of circulation, community interest and availability of newer or more valid materials shall be prime considerations when weeding. As a general rule, library items which haven’t circulated in the past two years shall be considered candidates for removal. It shall be the library’s goal to review the collection on an annual basis using the American Library Association’s CREW Method guidelines.

It is the responsibility of the library staff to assess the need for replacing material that is damaged, withdrawn or otherwise lost from the collection. This decision may be influenced by popular interest, adequacy of coverage in the subject area, the number of other copies in the library system, significance, cost and availability.

Items that have become historically significant, assumed reference value, or increased dramatically in monetary value may be considered for inclusion in special collections or stored in the work room stacks for “on demand” retrieval.

Resources that no longer meet expectations for the library’s collection are discarded. They may then be declared surplus in accordance with library policies and:

  • sold to benefit the library at the Friends of the Library Book Sale
  • given to other libraries, government offices, or community agencies
  • made available to the public through a magazine exchange or other means
  • destroyed or recycled

ADOPTED by the Wasco County Library Service District Board of Directors