Replaces 05/16/2023
The Board of Library Trustees recognizes that within Arlington Heights there are groups and individuals with disparate interests, backgrounds, cultural heritages, social values and needs. The board further recognizes that the library was created to serve all residents regardless of age, race, gender, creed, sexual orientation, national origin, or political or social views.
The library adopts and adheres to the principles set forth in the Library Bill of Rights, the Freedom to Read Statement and the Freedom to View Statement of the American Library Association.
The library’s collection is developed and managed to meet the cultural, informational, educational, and recreational needs of the community. In efforts to support our values of diversity and inclusion and achieve the strategic objective of creating an environment for the open exchange of differing ideas and points of view, the Board of Library Trustees permits a collection of a broad range of materials.
By representing multiple points of view within the collection, libraries may contain materials that some may find offensive. The choice of library resources by a customer is an individual matter; each person may reject resources for themself but may not restrict access to those resources by other library customers.
The Arlington Heights Memorial Library (AHML) does not advocate for the ideas found in its collection; rather, the library provides a safe haven for those ideas. The selection of any item or resource does not constitute an endorsement of its contents by the library.
Selectors
Selection of materials for the library is done by staff members who have subject or format area specializations. Ultimate responsibility for the library’s collection resides with the executive director.
Selection Criteria
Each year, far more items than the library can purchase are available. Therefore, staff must be selective in what they choose for the library’s collection. Selectors consider factors such as customer interest, cost, and space. They also consider anticipated or existing demand; local interest; reputation and skill of the author, performer, or artist; existing library resources in the subject area; published reviews; availability of titles from other sources; and the physical durability of the item.
Collection Maintenance
The purpose of AHML’s collection is to provide the materials most in demand by the community. It does not serve as an archive of historical materials nor as an institute for advanced scholarly or professional research. To maintain a vital, current collection which meets the needs of the community, continuous review is necessary. To make space for in-demand materials, less popular items must be withdrawn on a regular basis.
Library items are classified and labeled broadly for the sole purpose of locating them within the collection.
Withdrawn library items are given to the Friends of the Library to sell or dispose of with proceeds used to benefit the library and may not be reserved for specific individuals.
Recognition of Public Interest
A resident may suggest the addition of an item to the library’s collection or request the reconsideration of an item that is currently in the library’s collection by following established procedures. Items will not be added or removed from the collection until they have been evaluated and a decision is reached.
Residents who wish to discuss the contents of the library’s collection are encouraged to discuss their concerns with the Collection Services Manager or Collection Librarian.
Frankness of language and/or graphic content is not considered sufficient justification to remove or restrict materials. Titles with viewpoints or content deemed objectionable by a resident are judged as entire works, not on isolated passages or sections.