Library Services

Materials Selection Policy

From the great number of new books and other materials produced each year, the Mission Viejo Library has the responsibility of selecting, within budget limits, those items which meet the goal of library service to a public with complex and diverse needs.

Materials are considered for selection by librarians. Selectors rely on their own experienced judgment and on authoritative published reviews. Decisions as to which materials to select are based on knowledge of community needs and preferences, and are reinforced by input from library staff and users.

The Library has a positive approach to selection that affirms the public's right to choose and use materials with the freedom essential to a democracy. The Library strives to make available sound factual data, as well as honest expressions of opinion, on topics of interest and importance to the public.

The Library provides materials presenting various points of view on the concerns of our times. No library materials will be proscribed or removed from the Library for reasons of partisan or doctrinal disapproval. Material dealing with controversial views or subjects is judged on the basis of the entire work, and not on isolated passages or sections. Extraneous matters such as the race, nationality, or views of the author, do not affect the evaluation of materials.

In order to invest the Library's funds wisely in its efforts to serve the needs of the public, the following criteria are considered:

Accuracy of information
Quality of treatment
Timeliness or permanence of value
Popular interest or demand
Extent to which the subject is already represented in the library
collection
Readability or literary style
Social significance
Reputation of the author and/or publishers
Cost
Availability of same or similar material elsewhere in the area
Physical durability, attractiveness and other format characteristics
Inclusion in standard bibliographies
Existence of authoritative published reviews

Comments from the public regarding the materials chosen for the library collection are welcome.  Click to e-mail library staff: