The Library System’s Role

The primary role of the Putnam County Library System is to serve as a popular materials center that provides high interest material and a doorway to learning for everyone. The library seeks to build a collection of popular items in a variety of formats, with adequate duplication of high-demand titles. The Library is not a place for storage of historical records, with the exception of published local history and genealogy records.
The library system’s mission is to provide and protect access to services and information in a variety of formats, both physical and digital, that promote lifelong learning thus enhancing quality of life and broadening horizons for all citizens of Putnam County. A special emphasis is placed on encouraging young children to develop an interest in reading. The library provides free services to all residents of Putnam County, regardless of race, sex, sexual orientation, gender or gender identity, religious beliefs, national origin, age, or disability.
Library materials reflect a broad diversity of format and opinion, assuring that
individuals may select freely from a wide range of items. Library users’ requests and records are kept confidential under state law. However, under the USA Patriot Act a patron’s confidentiality may be breached on request by certain government agencies.

Selection of Library Materials

Roles of the Library Board and Library Professional Staff
The Library Board governs collection development through the adoption of policy. The Library Director and professional staff are responsible for the selection, classification, placement, and maintenance of individual materials in accordance with this policy.

Responsibility of Selection
Materials selection rests with the professional librarians and branch managers, who operate within the library board’s policies, goals, and objectives. While the board is
responsible for these policies, board members do not select the books and other items for the library, that being the responsibility of the professional staff.
The Putnam County library, Director, or their designee as noted below, will use their reasonable best efforts to review all books before purchase. The library, Director, or their designee will use their reasonable best efforts to ensure the new purchases are timely reflected within the card catalog or other such means, so that the Library Board of Trustees and general public can view new purchases.
The reference librarian or assistant director is responsible for ordering all items for the reference department and reference items for the Tennessee Room.
The children’s librarian/assistant director is responsible for selecting all materials for children (pre-school to age twelve), including the selection of children’s memorials. He/she also decides which donations will be added to the children’s library.
The director or assistant director is responsible for selecting all non-reference materials for persons over age 12. They select adult memorials and decide which donated items will be added to the adult section.
The branch managers select all items for their sites, with the assistance of the professional librarians at the main library or the regional librarians. They may select memorials and decide what to do with items donated to their location.

Selection Process

In general, books and materials purchased will within the reasonable efforts of the library staff be reviewed for age-appropriateness and cataloged accordingly. Materials with sexual themes or content will be reviewed and cataloged by age-group appropriateness even if it is different from the publisher recommendation.
Age classification and placement decisions are made by professional staff using Library of Congress cataloging standards, developmental considerations, publisher information, professional reviews, and the context of the work as a whole. Classification reflects suitability for intended audiences and does not constitute endorsement or rejection of viewpoints.
Library items are purchased primarily on the basis of published reviews, bibliographies, standard catalogs, and awards. However, popular demand is also a basis for purchase, apropos with the library system’s stated role. Typical review sources include (but are not limited to) Booklist, Library Journal, Cricket, Horn Book, Publisher’s Weekly, and the New York Times Book Review, in addition to the Library of Congress’ catalog standards and standard video/movie rating guides.
Materials for the collections will be purchased with the general public in mind.
Works on obscure and esoteric subjects will not be purchased, since interlibrary loan services are available for such requests. (q.v.)
Self-published books and material will be evaluated individually on content using the criteria presented in this policy. Appearance will also be evaluated this includes but is not limited to margins, picture and word placement on page, cover design, print and picture quality, and binding.
Digital materials including e-books and audiobooks purchased through the Overdrive Advantage program, and any other digital materials, will be evaluated and considered for the collection in the same manner as physical materials being considered for the collection.
No library funds will be used to purchase illegal materials. Library materials will be purchased to reflect a wide variety of ideas and points of view. No item should be excluded for reasons relating to an author’s beliefs, lifestyle, race/religion/gender. No item of factual authority, or one of creative endeavor, will be proscribed on basis of content. Religious books of broad general interest will be added to the collection to offer information on texts, doctrines, history and leaders of all major religions.
As fully as possible, the collections should represent all sides of any given issue, while maintaining a balance across viewpoints, particularly those currently the focus of ethical/moral/political dispute. The problems and pressures of our times should be fully reflected in the library’s collection.
The library provides material to supplement school curriculum but it is the schools responsibility to supply textbooks.

Principles to consider when selecting library materials*
1. Contemporary significance or permanent value
2. Accuracy
3. Authority of author
4. Relation of work to existing collection
5. Price, format, and ease of use
6. Scarcity of information in subject areas
7. Availability of material elsewhere in community
8. Popular demand – The Library should make available materials for enlightenment and recreation even if not enduring in value, interest or accuracy
*Taken from PLA Handbook for Writers of Public Library Policies

Gifts and Memorials

Donations
Donations of materials will only be accepted if the library receives the full right for the ultimate disposition of the items, including the possible sale, free distribution, or discarding of the donations. Items with stipulations for use cannot be accepted. As outlined above, the professional librarians and branch managers will decide the disposition of donations. Most items over five years old will not be added to the circulating collection, nor will textbooks, condensed books, most magazines, yellowed or damaged books. As none of the current professional staff are certified appraisers, no dollar amount values will be placed on donated items for the donor’s tax purposes.

Monetary gifts
General (non-specified purpose) contributions will be placed with other non-designated funds and be used to purchase library materials.

Memorials
Only cash donations will be considered for memorials to the library, the only exception being items given for the Tennessee Room, or items not readily available.
The library will keep separate records for cash donations to the branches and for the children’s and adult collections at the main library.
The library staff will notify the family of the deceased and post a permanent record in the library’s memorial book.
The professional librarians and branch managers will select items from the memorial fund according to standard practices. Books so selected will have a plate added to the title page, signifying that it is a gift from the memorial fund. A personalized bookplate will be used when an amount set by the library board is donated as a memorial.

Special Collections

Tennessee and Genealogical Collections

The main library in Cookeville will be the only site in the county library system for the collection of books and microforms relating to genealogical research. However, items about state and local history, culture, and writers may be selected for the branch locations.
Items that do not have published reviews that are over five years of age, or are in fragile condition may be purchased for the Tennessee/genealogical collection if they are deemed necessary for inclusion.

TENNESSEE ROOM COLLECTION POLICY

Purpose and Role
The Putnam County Library provides reference materials for library use to those researching Tennessee genealogy and/or history. Our order of roles is to provide information on:
1. Putnam County genealogy and history
2. Upper Cumberland genealogy and history
3. Tennessee genealogy and history
4. Border states genealogy and history
The library welcomes gifts and donations; however only those items that meet the purpose and role of the collection will be added to the Tennessee Room.

Family Histories
The library welcomes family history donations of families of the Upper Cumberland region, however we do not purchase any family histories. Donated histories will be added to the collection in one of two places.
1. FAMILY FILES – bound or loose volumes of family data sheets and ancestry charts will be added to the Family Files.
2. FAMILY HISTORY COLLECTION – bound volumes of family histories that provide references to the resources used and an index will be cataloged and added to the Family History collection.

Journals
The library will retain historical and genealogical journals pertaining to the overall state and the Upper Cumberland area.

Tennessee Authors Collection
The Tennessee Room houses a limited collection of fiction written by Tennessee authors. Because these books are out of print and not replaceable they do not circulate outside the library. When a circulating book is withdrawn from the general collection the library will consider if it fulfills the criteria for addition to the Tennessee Authors collection:
1. Written by an author from Tennessee
2. 25 years or older
3. No longer in print
Audio-visual collections
Audio-visual materials will be purchased according to the general selection guidelines, and complaints for these materials will be handled in the same manner as for books.

Challenge and Reconsideration Policy

The Library’s responsibility is to serve all the residents of Putnam County, not to promote a specific political, moral or religious agenda. To that end, the Library collection may include material that some patrons find to be controversial or objectionable. Public libraries do not judge what someone reads, listens to, or views.

Request for Reconsideration of Library Materials
The Putnam County Library System recognizes that individuals may have concerns about specific library materials. The Library provides a formal, structured process for the reconsideration of materials to ensure that such concerns are addressed fairly, consistently, and in accordance with policy. Informal or verbal expressions of concern do not initiate formal review; only written requests submitted through the established reconsideration process will be considered.
Persons who wish to challenge the content of a library item – to include its age-appropriate designation – must fill out the Request for Reconsideration of Library Materials form. Library administrative staff will be available to discuss verbal complaints, and to explain library policies, but the library director will only provide formal responses to written challenges submitted via this form. Any resident of Putnam County or any patron with a Putnam County Library card may submit the reconsideration form.
Library staff should immediately notify the Library Director of reconsideration requests. Branch managers should schedule an appointment between the Library Director and the patron submitting the reconsideration request; main library staff should have the director speak with the patron before they leave the library if possible. The director will attempt to meet with the patron to discuss their concerns and explain the Library’s collection development policies.
The Library Director will review the written reconsideration request and respond in writing within a reasonable timeframe, taking into account the availability of the material and the complexity of the concern. The Library Director will report any written reconsideration requests and the resulting action to the Putnam County Library Board of Trustees at the next regularly scheduled meeting.
The patron may appeal the Library Director’s decision to the Putnam County Library Board of Trustees at a regularly scheduled meeting. In appeals, the Board’s primary role is to determine whether established policy and procedure were followed, not to substitute its judgment for professional selection decisions absent a policy violation.
Challenged materials remain available to the public during the reconsideration process except when being actively reviewed by the Library Director and professional staff or unless otherwise required by law or necessary to protect library property.

 Request for Reconsideration Form

Intellectual Freedom
The board believes that censorship is a purely personal matter and declares that anyone is free to reject for themselves that which they do not approve, but that an individual cannot exercise the right of censorship to restrict others from the freedom to read. The board respects the right of every individual to select their own library material, and affirms these selections are kept confidential in accordance with state law. However, under the USA Patriot Act a patron’s confidentiality may be breached on request by certain government agencies.
The Library recognizes the role of parents and legal guardians in guiding their own children’s reading and use of library materials. The Library does not act in loco parentis and encourages families to make individual choices consistent with their values.

Interlibrary Loan

The library offers interlibrary loans for materials not found in the collection. There is a fee (set by the library board) charged per request for interlibrary loan service. There may be additional fees for genealogical materials from specialized collections or for photocopies from other libraries. However, out-of-county residents are encouraged to use the I.L.L. services offered at their own county libraries before requesting I.L.L. material from the Putnam County Library System. Because of the number of requests and our shortage of staff, patrons at the main branch are limited to requesting two I.L.L. items per week. Patrons will be informed that a guaranteed delivery date is not possible; patrons may not order books-in-series with the hope that they will arrive in a certain order. Any patron who persistently orders books without picking them up may be denied I.L.L. service. Except for genealogical microfilm, we cannot order anything in the audio-visual format.

Collection Maintenance
Books and materials that have outlived their usefulness are withdrawn. Criteria for the withdrawal of material include:
1. Items that are unnecessary duplicates
2. Items that are outdated
3. Items that are little used
4. Items that are in poor physical condition
5. Those items that are over ten years old
Withdrawn items are subject to being discarded and sold. The responsibility for weeding the collection belongs to the professional librarians at the main library (each “weeds” the area they manage) as a permanent and ongoing duty. The branch managers are responsible for weeding their collections in like manner, and may call on the professional librarians for assistance.

Policy Review

This collection development policy will be reviewed by the Board of Trustees annually as soon as practical at the beginning of each calendar year.