Collection Development Policy
Purpose and Goals
The Orono Public Library acquires and makes available materials that inform, educate, entertain, and enrich persons as individuals and as members of society. Since no library can possibly acquire all print and non-print materials, every library must, out of necessity, employ a policy selectivity of acquisitions. It is the goal of the Orono Public Library to provide a high quality collection of books and other materials in a variety of formats for all ages that is responsive to the needs and interests of the community. The Orono community is made up of people with a wide range of backgrounds, interests, and attitudes, and the collection must reflect the diversity therein. The purpose of this policy is to guide librarians and to inform the public about the principles upon which selection and retention decisions are made.
Freedom of Access
To support an informed public, the library’s collections are intended to represent diverse points of view, and may include materials that some members of the public consider to be controversial in nature. The library will provide free and equitable access to library collections to all users, despite individual or group bias about a particular item or type of material. The library neither approves or disapproves of the views expressed in materials included in the collection. The inclusion of an item is not to be considered an endorsement, official or otherwise, by the library. The Orono Public Library adheres to the American Library Association’s Library Bill of Rights, Freedom to Read, and Freedom to View statements (see Appendix A) as official library policy. This means as a best practice that staff decisions regarding the collection will support the public’s right to read. It is a core principle of the Orono Public Library that the right to read is an important part of intellectual freedom that is foundational to democracy. The Town is committed to the idea that inclusion and diversity, along with equitable access to resources, creates a stronger community. Parents or guardians are responsible for a child’s reading and library use –this is not the library’s responsibility.
Misinformation and Disinformation
Disinformation* is defined as the creation and spreading of false information with the intent to deceive. Misinformation* is defined as the creation and spreading of false or inaccurate information without malicious intent. The spread of disinformation and/or misinformation can have disastrous results. As the ALA and Institute of Museum and Library Services states, "combined, mis/disinformation can have an alarming impact on public opinion, our trust of the media, and our understanding of democracy." The Orono Public Library makes every effort to ensure that the materials it purchases for its collections do not promote false or inaccurate information of any kind.
*Definitions provided by Media Literacy in the Library: A Guide for Library Practitioners (ALA, 2020)
The Library’s Collections
The Orono Public Library serves a patron base that represents all ages, a wide range of interests and tastes, educational and career attainments, economic backgrounds, and technological sophistication. The library provides print collections in the form of circulating fiction and nonfiction books, large-print books, reference books, and periodicals; non-print collections comprised of visual media, audiobooks, and physical items, which may include kits made up of multiple related items, and other tools and equipment the public might not be able to acquire on their own. The library also provides access to an electronic resource collection in the form of databases, e-books, e-audiobooks, streaming video, and various other services made available online through contracted services.
Budget and space limitations preclude the library from duplicating the specialized and comprehensive collections that exist elsewhere in the state. Instead, the library offers its patrons access to a greatly expanded collection via the interlibrary services of the Minerva Consortium and MaineCat. Minerva is a consortium of over 60 public, school, college, and special libraries in Maine that allows patrons of the member libraries to search a joint catalog of member library holdings, borrow and return books at any library in the system, and use other joint library services. MaineCat is a consortium of public and academic libraries whose members loan one another available items from their collections.
Responsibility for Collection Development
The responsibility for selecting, acquiring, and organizing materials rests with professional staff librarians, with the ultimate decision made by the Library Director.
“Selection” refers to the act of identifying and evaluating specific items for addition to the library’s collection. Selectors are responsible for choosing titles which fit in with the evaluation criteria in this plan, and help the library fulfill its mission. Selection is a discerning and interpretive process, involving a general knowledge of the subject and its important literature, a familiarity with the materials in the collection, and a recognition of the needs of the community. Staff members selecting library materials are assisted by reviews from established industry sources, authoritative discussions of the subject, popular demand, requests of library patrons, and circulation statistics and trends. The library selects resources based upon the principle of open access to materials for all; materials are not excluded due to frank or controversial content, or due to the personal preferences of the selectors. Decisions are made solely on critical reviews and the merits of the work in relation to the building of the collection.
All materials, whether purchased or donated, are considered in terms of the following criteria, which are applied as appropriate across all subjects, languages, material types, and formats:
● Accuracy of information and depth of content
● Clarity, originality of thought, literary merit or artistic excellence
● Reviews in professional or popular media
● Popular interest and community demand
● Cost and availability
● Suitability of physical format and durability for heavy library use
● Skill, competence, and purpose of the author
● Relationship to materials in other area libraries
● The work’s presence in standard bibliographies or indexes
● Contemporary significance or permanent value
● Ability to meet the needs of the community; appropriateness to interests and skills of intended audience
● Relation to existing collections and other material on the subject
● Material’s contribution to a diversity of viewpoints and cultural perspectives
● Material’s local, historical, or literary significance
The library does not regularly purchase the following materials:
● Costly books of little demand
● Textbooks (unless they are of general interest and the best in the subject field)
● Family genealogies
● Books that are not professionally bound
● Books that are self-published
● Highly obscure or specialized works
● Rare books
● Items that require original cataloging
● Vanity press publications
● Obsolete formats such as cassettes, vinyl records, and VHS tapes
The library collects a range of general interest materials. Owing to budgetary and space constraints, the library is unable to maintain a collection used for academic research or the pursuit of highly specialized and professional interests. Materials are acquired in multiple formats when appropriate, including print, audiovisual, and digital resources. For any given work, the determination of which format(s) is acquired is based, in part, on factors such as the work’s intended audience and its intended purpose. When all other factors are equal, ease of access by and broadness of appeal to the public should be the primary consideration in choosing formats.
New formats shall be considered for the circulating collection when a significant portion of the community's population has the necessary technology to make use of the format. User demand, cost per item, ease of use, equipment requirements, storage requirements, staff requirements for processing, maintenance, and training, and availability of items in the format are also factors that are considered in the adoption of a new format.
Staff will also consider items in terms of their ability to provide balance to the collection and their availability via the statewide resource-sharing consortia.
The library recognizes the importance of acquiring materials in formats that can be utilized by Orono residents with disabilities. The library will seek to match community demand with the existing collections of such materials.
Multiple copies of items may be purchased in response to user demand as evidenced by number of holds, anticipated popularity, and repeated requests. Orono Public Library will only add items to its collection that conform to U.S. Laws (e.g. copyright, trade laws.).
Generally, the library is limited to selecting works that are currently in print and available through customary domestic trade suppliers.
Purchase suggestions from Orono library users are always welcome and given consideration. Suggestions are subject to the same selection criteria as other materials, and suggested titles are not automatically added to the collection. Review or solicitation copies submitted for consideration as potential acquisitions are accepted under the same terms as those for donated items.
Donations of Books and Other Materials
Occasionally, gifts of books and other library materials in good condition may be accepted by the library and evaluated for inclusion in the collection using the same criteria that are used for materials acquired by purchase. Gifts which do not meet the library’s evaluation criteria and policies may be refused. Donated books that are not added to the library’s circulating collection may be returned to the donor, or, alternatively, the books may be given away. The library is under no obligation to add a donated item to the collection or to notify the donor of the disposition of that item. Donors cannot impose conditions relating to any gift either before or after the library accepts the gift.
Donation-receipt forms are available upon request at the time of donation and are completed by donors. Values are assigned by donors, not by library staff.
The library accepts tax-deductible monetary donations, lifetime gifts and bequests. While the library welcomes gifts designating funds for specific audiences or types of materials in the collection, the designation of funds for specific titles may not be accommodated if such titles are inconsistent with the library’s selection criteria.
The library’s collections are regularly evaluated to ensure that the materials they contain remain current and in good condition, and that they continue to reflect the interests and needs of the library’s patrons. Collection maintenance is undertaken with as much care and consistency as the initial selection of materials. Maintenance is critical to keeping the collections current, attractive, responsive, diverse, and useful to the needs of the community.
In the pursuit of maintaining an up-to-date, useful collection, statistical tools such as circulation reports, collection turnover rates, and hold fill rates are studied to determine how the collection is being used and how it should change to answer patron needs. Periodic visual inspections of the collections themselves also help selectors determine how and to what extent individual items and categories of works are being used and which materials are candidates for withdrawal, minimal repair, or replacement.
Material withdrawal is an important part of collection development. Systematic deselection is required to keep the collection responsive to patron needs, to ensure its vitality and usefulness to the community, and to make room for newer materials or newer formats. Items are withdrawn from the collection with the same degree of attention as initial selection. Withdrawal of library materials is vested in the Library Director who authorizes qualified staff to perform this process. Librarians must use their professional judgment when determining which items to deselect. The staff will evaluate the library’s collection for discarding of materials that are one or more of the following:
● Obsolete: outdated, factually inaccurate, or misleading, or superseded by new information
● In poor physical condition: worn, damaged, or lost
● No longer relevant to the needs and interests of the community: not in high demand, low circulation frequency
Other factors influencing the withdrawal of an item may include space limitations, altered scope of the collection, ease of access to materials through Minerva or MaineCat, and holding a higher number of copies of a particular item than are necessary. Withdrawn items may be offered to local charitable organizations for resale, given away, donated, or recycled.
Materials that have been lost or damaged may be replaced using the same criteria as for initial selection. Replacement of lost, stolen, or withdrawn materials is not automatic. The decision to replace is influenced by:
● The number of copies the library owns
● The availability of newer materials on the subject
● Existence of adequate coverage of the subject
● Item circulation numbers
● Popular demand for the title
● Availability of space
● Cost and availability of replacement copy
● If the item is a core collection title, or significant in its subject area
Requests for Reconsideration
The library welcomes expression of opinion about its collection. In the event of a concern about the inclusion materials in the collection, the following procedure will be followed:
1. Residents of Orono or OPL cardholders raising an objection to a book or other materials in the library will be asked to fill out and submit a Request for Reconsideration Form (see Appendix B) with a written explanation of their objections, citing specifics from the material in question.
2. The Library Director will then appoint a committee to review the challenge and make recommendations. This committee will comprise of an appropriate, professional staff librarian selected by the Director, a professional librarian not on OPL staff, an Orono Public Library Board of Trustees member, and two members from the community at large (Reconsideration Committee.) The Director will provide appropriate resources to the committee for their evaluation of the challenge. The committee is advisory only, and will report its findings to the Library Director within four weeks of receipt of a signed Request for Reconsideration form.
3. In considering Requests for Reconsideration, staff, the Director and the Reconsideration Committee will consider each work as a whole, and individual passages will not be treated out of context.
4. The Reconsideration Committee will base their recommendation on the evaluation criteria outlined in the Collection Development Policy.
5. The Library Director will carefully weigh the recommendations of the committee and make a decision on the disposition of the material, and will communicate the decision in writing to the selector, the Orono Public Library Committee, the review committee, the Town Manager and the complainant no later than one week after receiving the findings from the committee.
6. If the complainant is not satisfied with the response from the Director, they may appeal to the Orono Town Manager. The Manager will have two weeks to respond to the appeal and will do so in writing. The decision by the Manager will be final.
Please note: During the process outlined above, no materials challenged will be removed from public use.
ALA Library Bill of Rights
I. The American Library Association affirms that all libraries are forums for information and ideas, and that the following basic policies should guide their services.
II. Books and other library resources should be provided for the interest, information, and enlightenment of all people of the community the library serves. Materials should not be excluded because of the origin, background, or views of those contributing to their creation.
III. Libraries should provide materials and information presenting all points of view on current and historical issues. Materials should not be proscribed or removed because of partisan or doctrinal disapproval.
IV. Libraries should challenge censorship in the fulfillment of their responsibility to provide information and enlightenment.
V. Libraries should cooperate with all persons and groups concerned with resisting abridgment of free expression and free access to ideas.
VI. A person's right to use a library should not be denied or abridged because of origin, age, background, or views.
VII. Libraries which make exhibit spaces and meeting rooms available to the public they serve should make such facilities available on an equitable basis, regardless of the beliefs or affiliations of individuals or groups requesting their use.
Adopted June 19, 1939, by the ALA Council; amended October 14, 1944; June 18, 1948; February 2, 1961; June 27, 1967; January 23, 1980; inclusion of #age” reaffirmed January 23, 1996.
The Freedom to Read Statement
The freedom to read is essential to our democracy. It is continuously under attack. Private groups and public authorities in various parts of the country are working to remove or limit access to reading materials, to censor content in schools, to label "controversial" views, to distribute lists of "objectionable" books or authors, and to purge libraries. These actions apparently arise from a view that our national tradition of free expression is no longer valid; that censorship and suppression are needed to counter threats to safety or national security, as well as to avoid the subversion of politics and the corruption of morals. We, as individuals devoted to reading and as librarians and publishers responsible for disseminating ideas, wish to assert the public interest in the preservation of the freedom to read.
Most attempts at suppression rest on a denial of the fundamental premise of democracy: that the ordinary individual, by exercising critical judgment, will select the good and reject the bad. We trust Americans to recognize propaganda and misinformation, and to make their own decisions about what they read and believe. We do not believe they are prepared to sacrifice their heritage of a free press in order to be "protected" against what others think may be bad for them. We believe they still favor free enterprise in ideas and expression.
These efforts at suppression are related to a larger pattern of pressures being brought against education, the press, art and images, films, broadcast media, and the Internet. The problem is not only one of actual censorship. The shadow of fear cast by these pressures leads, we suspect, to an even larger voluntary curtailment of expression by those who seek to avoid controversy or unwelcome scrutiny by government officials.
Such pressure toward conformity is perhaps natural to a time of accelerated change. And yet suppression is never more dangerous than in such a time of social tension. Freedom has given the United States the elasticity to endure strain. Freedom keeps open the path of novel and creative solutions, and enables change to come by choice. Every silencing of a heresy, every enforcement of an orthodoxy, diminishes the toughness and resilience of our society and leaves it less able to deal with controversy and difference.
Now as always in our history, reading is among our greatest freedoms. The freedom to read and write is almost the only means for making generally available ideas or manners of expression that can initially command only a small audience. The written word is the natural medium for the new idea and the untried voice from which come the original contributions to social growth. It is essential to the extended discussion that serious thought requires, and to the accumulation of knowledge and ideas into organized collections.
We believe that free communication is essential to the preservation of a free society and a creative culture. We believe that these pressures toward conformity present the danger of limiting the range and variety of inquiry and expression on which our democracy and our culture depend. We believe that every American community must jealously guard the freedom to publish and to circulate, in order to preserve its own freedom to read. We believe that publishers and librarians have a profound responsibility to give validity to that freedom to read by making it possible for the readers to choose freely from a variety of offerings.
The freedom to read is guaranteed by the Constitution. Those with faith in free people will stand firm on these constitutional guarantees of essential rights and will exercise the responsibilities that accompany these rights.
We therefore affirm these propositions:
1. It is in the public interest for publishers and librarians to make available the widest diversity of views and expressions, including those that are unorthodox, unpopular, or considered dangerous by the majority.
Creative thought is by definition new, and what is new is different. The bearer of every new thought is a rebel until that idea is refined and tested. Totalitarian systems attempt to maintain themselves in power by the ruthless suppression of any concept that challenges the established orthodoxy. The power of a democratic system to adapt to change is vastly strengthened by the freedom of its citizens to choose widely from among conflicting opinions offered freely to them. To stifle every nonconformist idea at birth would mark the end of the democratic process. Furthermore, only through the constant activity of weighing and selecting can the democratic mind attain the strength demanded by times like these. We need to know not only what we believe but why we believe it.
2. Publishers, librarians, and booksellers do not need to endorse every idea or presentation they make available. It would conflict with the public interest for them to establish their own political, moral, or aesthetic views as a standard for determining what should be published or circulated.
Publishers and librarians serve the educational process by helping to make available knowledge and ideas required for the growth of the mind and the increase of learning. They do not foster education by imposing as mentors the patterns of their own thought. The people should have the freedom to read and consider a broader range of ideas than those that may be held by any single librarian or publisher or government or church. It is wrong that what one can read should be confined to what another thinks proper.
3. It is contrary to the public interest for publishers or librarians to bar access to writings on the basis of the personal history or political affiliations of the author.
No art or literature can flourish if it is to be measured by the political views or private lives of its creators. No society of free people can flourish that draws up lists of writers to whom it will not listen, whatever they may have to say.
4. There is no place in our society for efforts to coerce the taste of others, to confine adults to the reading matter deemed suitable for adolescents, or to inhibit the efforts of writers to achieve artistic expression.
To some, much of modern expression is shocking. But is not much of life itself shocking? We cut off literature at the source if we prevent writers from dealing with the stuff of life. Parents and teachers have a responsibility to prepare the young to meet the diversity of experiences in life to which they will be exposed, as they have a responsibility to help them learn to think critically for themselves. These are affirmative responsibilities, not to be discharged simply by preventing them from reading works for which they are not yet prepared. In these matters values differ, and values cannot be legislated; nor can machinery be devised that will suit the demands of one group without limiting the freedom of others.
5. It is not in the public interest to force a reader to accept the prejudgment of a label characterizing any expression or its author as subversive or dangerous.
The ideal of labeling presupposes the existence of individuals or groups with wisdom to determine by authority what is good or bad for others. It presupposes that individuals must be directed in making up their minds about the ideas they examine. But Americans do not need others to do their thinking for them.
6. It is the responsibility of publishers and librarians, as guardians of the people's freedom to read, to contest encroachments upon that freedom by individuals or groups seeking to impose their own standards or tastes upon the community at large; and by the government whenever it seeks to reduce or deny public access to public information.
It is inevitable in the give and take of the democratic process that the political, the moral, or the aesthetic concepts of an individual or group will occasionally collide with those of another individual or group. In a free society individuals are free to determine for themselves what they wish to read, and each group is free to determine what it will recommend to its freely associated members. But no group has the right to take the law into its own hands, and to impose its own concept of politics or morality upon other members of a democratic society. Freedom is no freedom if it is accorded only to the accepted and the inoffensive. Further, democratic societies are more safe, free, and creative when the free flow of public information is not restricted by governmental prerogative or self-censorship.
7. It is the responsibility of publishers and librarians to give full meaning to the freedom to read by providing books that enrich the quality and diversity of thought and expression. By the exercise of this affirmative responsibility, they can demonstrate that the answer to a "bad" book is a good one, the answer to a "bad" idea is a good one.
The freedom to read is of little consequence when the reader cannot obtain matter fit for that reader's purpose. What is needed is not only the absence of restraint, but the positive provision of opportunity for the people to read the best that has been thought and said. Books are the major channel by which intellectual inheritance is handed down, and the principal means of its testing and growth. The defense of the freedom to read requires of all publishers and librarians the utmost of their faculties, and deserves of all Americans the fullest of their support.
We state these propositions neither lightly nor as easy generalizations. We here stake out a lofty claim for the value of the written word. We do so because we believe that it is possessed of enormous variety and usefulness, worthy of cherishing and keeping free. We realize that the application of these propositions may mean the dissemination of ideas and manners of expression that are repugnant to many persons. We do not state these propositions in the comfortable belief that what people read is unimportant. We believe rather that what people read is deeply important; that ideas can be dangerous; but that the suppression of ideas is fatal to a democratic society. Freedom itself is a dangerous way of life, but it is ours.
This statement was originally issued in May of 1953 by the Westchester Conference of the American Library Association and the American Book Publishers Council, which in 1970 consolidated with the American Educational Publishers Institute to become the Association of American Publishers.
Adopted June 25, 1953, by the ALA Council and the AAP Freedom to Read Committee; amended January 28, 1972; January 16, 1991; July 12, 2000; June 30, 2004.
Freedom to View Statement
The FREEDOM TO VIEW, along with the freedom to speak, to hear, and to read, is protected by the First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States. In a free society, there is no place for censorship of any medium of expression. Therefore these principles are affirmed:
1. To provide the broadest access to film, video, and other audiovisual materials because they are a means for the communication of ideas. Liberty of circulation is essential to insure the constitutional guarantees of freedom of expression.
2. To protect the confidentiality of all individuals and institutions using film, video, and other audiovisual materials.
3. To provide film, video, and other audiovisual materials which represent a diversity of views and expression. Selection of a work does not constitute or imply agreement with or approval of the content.
4. To provide a diversity of viewpoints without the constraint of labeling or prejudging film, video, or 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.
5. To contest vigorously, by all lawful means, every encroachment upon the public's freedom to view.
This statement was originally drafted by the Freedom to View Committee of the American Film and Video Association (formerly the Educational Film Library Association) and was adopted by the AFVA Board of Directors in February 1979. This statement was updated and approved by the AFVA Board of Directors in 1989.
Requests for reconsideration may be made only by registered patrons, with the OPL‘s Reconsideration Request form.
Makusudi na Malengo Maktaba ya Umma ya Orono inapata na kutoa vifaa ambavyo vinawajulisha, kuelimisha, kufurahisha, na kutajirisha watu kama watu binafsi na kama wanachama wa jamii. Kwa kuwa hakuna maktaba inayoweza kupata vifaa vyote vya kuchapishwa na visivyo vya kuchapishwa, kila maktaba lazima, kwa sababu ya uhitaji, itumie sera ya uteuzi wa ununuzi. Lengo la Maktaba ya Umma ya Orono ni kutoa mkusanyiko wa ubora wa vitabu na vifaa vingine katika muundo mbalimbali kwa umri wote ambao unakidhi mahitaji na maslahi ya jamii. Jamii ya Orono imefanyizwa na watu wenye asili, mapendezi, na mitazamo mbalimbali, na mkusanyiko huo lazima uonyeshe utofauti ulio ndani yake. Lengo la sera hii ni kuongoza wamiliki wa maktaba na kuwajulisha umma juu ya kanuni ambazo maamuzi ya uteuzi na uhifadhi hufanywa. Uhuru wa Upatikanaji: Ili kusaidia umma unaofahamika, makusanyo ya maktaba yanakusudiwa kuwakilisha maoni mbalimbali, na yanaweza kujumuisha vifaa ambavyo baadhi ya wanachama wa umma wanaona kuwa vya utata. Maktaba itatoa upatikanaji wa bure na usawa wa makusanyo ya maktaba kwa watumiaji wote, licha ya upendeleo wa mtu binafsi au kikundi kuhusu kitu fulani au aina ya vifaa. Maktaba haikubali wala kupinga maoni yaliyoonyeshwa katika vifaa vilivyo katika mkusanyiko huo. Kuingizwa kwa kitu hakupaswi kuchukuliwa kuwa uthibitisho, rasmi au vinginevyo, na maktaba. Maktaba ya Umma ya Orono inashikilia Taarifa ya Maktaba ya Haki za Jumuiya ya Maktaba ya Amerika, Uhuru wa Kusoma, na Uhuru wa Kuona taarifa (tazama Nyongeza A) kama sera rasmi ya maktaba. Hii ina maana kama mazoezi bora kwamba maamuzi ya wafanyakazi kuhusu mkusanyiko itasaidia haki ya umma ya kusoma. "Kama ilivyoelezwa katika taarifa ya Maktaba ya Umma ya Orono, ""haki ya kusoma ni sehemu muhimu ya uhuru wa kiakili ambao ni msingi wa demokrasia.""" Jiji limejitolea kwa wazo kwamba ujumuishaji na utofauti, pamoja na upatikanaji wa usawa wa rasilimali, huunda jamii yenye nguvu. Wazazi au walezi ni wajibu kwa ajili ya mtoto kusoma na matumizi ya maktaba <unk> hii si maktaba <unk> wajibu. Utangazaji wa habari bandia (disinformation) ni uundaji na usambazaji wa habari bandia kwa nia ya kudanganya. Utangazaji wa habari zisizo sahihi ni uundaji na kueneza habari zisizo sahihi bila nia mbaya. Kuenea kwa habari bandia na/au habari bandia kunaweza kuwa na matokeo mabaya. "Kama ALA na Taasisi ya Huduma za Makumbusho na Maktaba inavyosema, ""kuunganishwa, habari zisizo sahihi na zisizo sahihi zinaweza kuwa na athari ya kutisha kwa maoni ya umma, imani yetu kwa vyombo vya habari, na uelewa wetu wa demokrasia.""" Maktaba ya Umma ya Orono inafanya kila juhudi kuhakikisha kwamba vifaa vinavyonunuliwa kwa makusanyo yake havitakuza habari bandia au zisizo sahihi za aina yoyote. "Makusanyo yaliyotolewa na Media Literacy in the Library: A Guide for Library Practitioners (ALA, 2020) ""Mikusanyiko ya Maktaba"" Maktaba ya Umma ya Orono hutumikia msingi wa wadhamini ambao huwakilisha umri wote, aina mbalimbali za maslahi na ladha, mafanikio ya elimu na kazi, asili ya kiuchumi, na teknolojia ya kisasa." Maktaba hutoa makusanyo ya kuchapishwa katika fomu ya vitabu vya hadithi na vitabu visivyo vya hadithi, vitabu vya kuchapishwa kwa ukubwa, vitabu vya kumbukumbu, na magazeti; makusanyo yasiyo ya kuchapishwa yanajumuisha vyombo vya habari vya kuona, audiobooks, na vitu vya kimwili, ambavyo vinaweza kujumuisha seti zilizotengenezwa na vitu vingi vinavyohusiana, na vifaa vingine ambavyo umma hauwezi kupata peke yao. Maktaba pia hutoa upatikanaji wa mkusanyiko wa rasilimali za elektroniki katika fomu ya hifadhidata, e-vitabu, e-audiobooks, video ya utiririshaji, na huduma zingine mbalimbali zinazopatikana mtandaoni kupitia huduma za mkataba. Mipaka ya bajeti na nafasi inazuia maktaba hiyo kuiga makusanyo maalumu na ya kina yanayopo mahali pengine katika jimbo hilo. Badala yake, maktaba inatoa wadhamini wake upatikanaji wa mkusanyiko mkubwa zaidi kupitia huduma za kati ya maktaba za Minerva Consortium na MaineCat. Minerva ni shirika la maktaba zaidi ya 60 za umma, shule, vyuo vikuu, na maktaba maalum katika Maine ambayo inaruhusu wadhamini wa maktaba wanachama kutafuta orodha ya pamoja ya maktaba wanachama, kukopa na kurudisha vitabu katika maktaba yoyote katika mfumo, na kutumia huduma nyingine za maktaba ya pamoja. MaineCat ni ushirika wa maktaba za umma na za kitaaluma ambazo wanachama wake hukopa vitu vinavyopatikana kutoka kwa makusanyo yao. Uteuzi, upatikanaji, na utaratibu wa vifaa ni jukumu la wataalamu wa maktaba, na uamuzi wa mwisho unafanywa na Mkurugenzi wa Maktaba. "Uteuzi" inahusu kitendo cha kutambua na kutathmini vitu maalum kwa ajili ya kuongeza kwa maktaba ya mkusanyiko. Wachaguzi ni wajibu wa kuchagua majina ambayo yanafaa na vigezo vya tathmini katika mpango huu, na kusaidia maktaba kutimiza utume wake. Uchaguzi ni mchakato wa utambuzi na tafsiri, unaohusisha maarifa ya jumla ya mada na fasihi yake muhimu, ukoo na vifaa katika mkusanyiko, na utambuzi wa mahitaji ya jamii. Wafanyakazi kuchagua vifaa maktaba ni kusaidiwa na mapitio kutoka vyanzo vya sekta ya kudumu, majadiliano mamlaka ya mada, mahitaji ya watu, maombi ya wamiliki maktaba, na takwimu za mzunguko na mwenendo. Maktaba huchagua rasilimali kulingana na kanuni ya upatikanaji wa wazi wa vifaa kwa wote; vifaa havijatengwa kwa sababu ya maudhui ya wazi au ya utata, au kwa sababu ya mapendekezo ya kibinafsi ya wachaguzi. Maamuzi hufanywa tu juu ya ukaguzi muhimu na sifa za kazi kuhusiana na ujenzi wa mkusanyiko. • Maandishi yote, iwe yanunuliwa au kuchangishwa, yanachukuliwa kulingana na vigezo vifuatavyo, ambavyo vinatumika kwa usahihi katika masomo yote, lugha, aina za vifaa, na muundo: • Uhalali wa habari na kina cha yaliyomo; • Uwazi wa mawazo, asili ya mawazo, sifa za fasihi au ustadi wa kisanii; • Maoni ya kitaaluma au ya kijamii; • Utaratibu wa matumizi ya maktaba; • Uwezo wa kuvutia; • Uwezo wa kawaida wa kuhifadhi; • Uwezo wa kukidhi mahitaji ya maktaba; • Uwezo wa kawaida wa maktaba; • Uwezo wa kawaida wa maktaba; • Uwezo wa kawaida wa maktaba; • Uwezo wa kawaida wa maktaba; • Uwezo wa kawaida; na mahitaji ya kawaida. Kwa sababu ya mapungufu ya bajeti na nafasi, maktaba haiwezi kudumisha mkusanyiko kutumika kwa ajili ya utafiti wa kitaaluma au kufuatilia maslahi ya kitaaluma na kitaaluma. Vifaa hupatikana katika muundo mbalimbali wakati unaofaa, ikiwa ni pamoja na kuchapishwa, audiovisual, na rasilimali digital. Kwa kazi yoyote iliyopewa, kuamua ni muundo gani unapatikana unategemea, kwa sehemu, mambo kama vile watazamaji wa kazi inayokusudiwa na kusudi lake linalokusudiwa. Wakati mambo mengine yote ni sawa, urahisi wa upatikanaji na upana wa rufaa kwa umma inapaswa kuwa kuzingatia kuu katika kuchagua miundo. Fomati mpya zinapaswa kuzingatiwa kwa mkusanyiko wa mzunguko wakati sehemu kubwa ya idadi ya watu wa jamii ina teknolojia muhimu ya kutumia muundo huo. Mahitaji ya mtumiaji, gharama kwa kila kitu, urahisi wa matumizi, mahitaji ya vifaa, mahitaji ya kuhifadhi, mahitaji ya wafanyakazi kwa ajili ya usindikaji, matengenezo, na mafunzo, na upatikanaji wa vitu katika muundo ni pia mambo ambayo ni kuchukuliwa katika kupitishwa kwa muundo mpya. Wafanyakazi pia watachunguza vitu kwa suala la uwezo wao wa kutoa usawa kwa mkusanyiko na upatikanaji wao kupitia vyama vya kushiriki rasilimali za jimbo lote. Maktaba inatambua umuhimu wa kupata vifaa katika muundo ambao unaweza kutumiwa na wakazi wa Orono wenye ulemavu. Maktaba itajaribu kulinganisha mahitaji ya jamii na makusanyo ya sasa ya vifaa kama hivyo. Nakala nyingi za vitu zinaweza kununuliwa kwa kujibu mahitaji ya mtumiaji kama inavyoonyeshwa na idadi ya kushikilia, umaarufu unaotarajiwa, na maombi ya mara kwa mara. Maktaba ya Umma ya Orono itaongeza tu vitu kwenye mkusanyiko wake vinavyolingana na Sheria za Marekani (kwa mfano, sheria za hakimiliki, sheria za biashara.). Kwa ujumla, maktaba ni mdogo kwa kuchagua kazi ambayo ni sasa katika kuchapishwa na inapatikana kupitia kawaida ya ndani ya biashara wauzaji. Mapendekezo ya ununuzi kutoka kwa watumiaji wa maktaba ya Orono daima yanakaribishwa na kuzingatiwa. Mapendekezo ni chini ya vigezo sawa vya uteuzi kama vifaa vingine, na majina yaliyopendekezwa hayaongeziwa moja kwa moja kwenye mkusanyiko. Nakala za ukaguzi au ombi zilizowasilishwa kwa kuzingatia kama ununuzi wa uwezekano zinakubaliwa chini ya masharti yale yale ya vitu vilivyotolewa. Mara kwa mara, zawadi za vitabu na vifaa vingine vya maktaba katika hali nzuri zinaweza kukubaliwa na maktaba na kutathminiwa kwa kuingizwa katika mkusanyiko kwa kutumia vigezo sawa ambavyo hutumiwa kwa vifaa vilivyopatikana kwa ununuzi. Zawadi ambazo hazifai vigezo vya tathmini na sera za maktaba zinaweza kukataliwa. Vitabu vilivyochaguliwa ambavyo havijaongezwa kwenye mkusanyiko wa maktaba vinaweza kurudishwa kwa mchangiaji, au, kwa njia nyingine, vitabu vinaweza kutolewa. Maktaba haina wajibu wa kuongeza kitu kilichotolewa kwa mkusanyiko au kumjulisha mtoaji juu ya utumiaji wa kitu hicho. Wafadhili hawawezi kuweka masharti yanayohusiana na zawadi yoyote kabla au baada ya maktaba kukubali zawadi hiyo. Fomu za kupokea michango zinapatikana kwa ombi wakati wa mchango na hujazwa na wachangiaji. Thamani hutolewa na wafadhili, si wafanyakazi wa maktaba. Maktaba inakubali michango ya fedha inayopunguzwa kodi, zawadi za maisha na urithi. Wakati maktaba inakaribisha zawadi za kuashiria fedha kwa watazamaji maalum au aina za vifaa katika mkusanyiko, uteuzi wa fedha kwa majina maalum hauwezi kukaribishwa ikiwa majina hayo hayapatani na vigezo vya uteuzi wa maktaba. Makusanyo ya maktaba ni mara kwa mara tathmini ili kuhakikisha kwamba vifaa vinavyohifadhiwa kubaki sasa na katika hali nzuri, na kwamba wao kuendelea kutafakari maslahi na mahitaji ya wadhamini maktaba. Uhifadhi wa ukusanyaji unafanywa kwa uangalifu na uthabiti kama uteuzi wa awali wa vifaa. Uhifadhi ni muhimu ili kuweka makusanyo ya sasa, kuvutia, kujibu, mbalimbali, na muhimu kwa mahitaji ya jamii. Ili kudumisha mkusanyiko wa hivi karibuni, muhimu, zana za takwimu kama vile ripoti za mzunguko, viwango vya mzunguko wa mkusanyiko, na viwango vya kujaza vimechunguzwa ili kuamua jinsi mkusanyiko unavyotumiwa na jinsi inapaswa kubadilika ili kukidhi mahitaji ya mteja. Uchunguzi wa mara kwa mara wa makusanyo yenyewe pia husaidia wachaguzi kuamua jinsi na kwa kiwango gani vitu vya mtu binafsi na makundi ya kazi zinatumiwa na ni vifaa gani vinavyostahili kuondolewa, kurekebishwa kidogo, au kubadilishwa. Kuondolewa kwa vifaa ni sehemu muhimu ya maendeleo ya mkusanyiko. Utaratibu wa kuondoa uteuzi unahitajika ili kuweka mkusanyiko unaojibu mahitaji ya wamiliki, kuhakikisha nguvu na manufaa yake kwa jamii, na kutoa nafasi kwa vifaa vipya au muundo mpya. Vitu huondolewa kutoka mkusanyiko kwa kiwango sawa cha tahadhari kama uteuzi wa awali. Kuondoa vifaa vya maktaba ni haki ya Mkurugenzi wa Maktaba ambaye anatoa mamlaka kwa wafanyakazi wenye sifa ya kufanya mchakato huu. Walinzi wa maktaba lazima watumie uamuzi wao wa kitaaluma wanapochagua vitu vinavyoweza kuondolewa. Mkusanyiko wa maktaba ya kitaaluma ni pamoja na: ya zamani, ya zamani, isiyo sahihi, au ya kupotosha, au imebadilishwa na habari mpya; katika hali mbaya ya kimwili, iliyoharibiwa, au kupotea; haifai tena kwa mahitaji na maslahi ya jamii; haifai tena; na haifai tena kwa mahitaji ya umma; na haifai tena kwa mahitaji ya umma. Vitu vilivyoondolewa vinaweza kutolewa kwa mashirika ya kutoa misaada ya mahali hapo ili kuuzwa tena, kupewa, kuchangishwa, au kutumiwa tena. Vifaa ambavyo vimepotea au kuharibiwa vinaweza kubadilishwa kwa kutumia vigezo sawa na uteuzi wa awali. Kubadilisha vifaa vilivyopotea, vilivyibiwa, au vilivyoondolewa si jambo la moja kwa moja. • Idadi ya nakala za maktaba inayomilikiwa na maktaba, upatikanaji wa vifaa vipya juu ya mada, uwepo wa chanjo ya kutosha ya mada, idadi ya mzunguko wa bidhaa, mahitaji ya jina, upatikanaji wa nafasi, gharama na upatikanaji wa nakala ya badala, ikiwa bidhaa ni mkusanyiko wa msingi au muhimu katika eneo lake la mada, Maombi ya Utafiti. Ikiwa kuna wasiwasi juu ya vifaa vya kuingizwa katika mkusanyiko, utaratibu ufuatao utafuatwa: Wakazi wa Orono au wamiliki wa kadi za OPL wanaopinga kitabu au vifaa vingine katika maktaba wataulizwa kujaza na kuwasilisha Fomu ya Maombi ya Uhakiki (tazama Nyongeza B) na ufafanuzi wa maandishi ya pingamizi lao, wakitoa maelezo maalum kutoka kwa vifaa vinavyohusika. 2. Uwezekano wa kupata Mkurugenzi wa Maktaba kisha ataweka kamati ya kuchunguza changamoto na kutoa mapendekezo. Kamati hii itajumuisha mkurugenzi wa maktaba wa kitaaluma aliyechaguliwa na Mkurugenzi, mkurugenzi wa maktaba wa kitaaluma ambaye si mfanyakazi wa OPL, mwanachama wa Bodi ya Wadhamini wa Maktaba ya Umma ya Orono, na wanachama wawili kutoka kwa jamii kwa ujumla (Kamati ya Utafiti). Mkurugenzi atatoa rasilimali zinazofaa kwa kamati kwa ajili ya tathmini yao ya changamoto. Kamati ni ya ushauri tu, na itaripoti matokeo yake kwa Mkurugenzi wa Maktaba ndani ya wiki nne baada ya kupokea fomu ya Ombi la Kufikiria upya. 3. Uwe na mtazamo wa kweli Katika kuzingatia Maombi ya Uhakiki, wafanyakazi, Mkurugenzi na Kamati ya Uhakiki watachunguza kila kazi kwa ujumla, na vifungu vya mtu binafsi havitashughulikiwa nje ya muktadha. 4. Uwe na uhakika Kamati ya Uhakiki itategemea pendekezo lake juu ya vigezo vya tathmini vilivyoelezwa katika Sera ya Maendeleo ya Mkusanyiko. 5. Uwe na mtazamo mzuri. Mkurugenzi wa Maktaba atachunguza kwa uangalifu mapendekezo ya kamati na kufanya uamuzi juu ya utoaji wa vifaa, na atawasilisha uamuzi kwa maandishi kwa mteuzi, Kamati ya Maktaba ya Umma ya Orono, Kamati ya Mapitio, Msimamizi wa Jiji na mlalamikaji, na si zaidi ya wiki moja baada ya kupokea matokeo kutoka kwa kamati. 6. Uwe na uhakika Ikiwa mlalamikaji hajakubaliana na jibu kutoka kwa Mkurugenzi, anaweza kukata rufaa kwa Meneja wa Jiji la Orono. Meneja atakuwa na wiki mbili kujibu rufaa na kufanya hivyo kwa maandishi. Uamuzi wa Meneja utakuwa wa mwisho. Tafadhali kumbuka: Wakati wa mchakato ulioelezwa hapo juu, hakuna vifaa vilivyopingwa vitakavyoondolewa kutoka kwa matumizi ya umma. ALA Maktaba Bill ya Haki I American Library Association inathibitisha kwamba maktaba zote ni vikao vya habari na mawazo, na kwamba sera zifuatazo za msingi zinapaswa kuongoza huduma zao. Pili. Vitabu na rasilimali nyingine za maktaba zinapaswa kutolewa kwa ajili ya upendezi, habari, na uelewevu wa watu wote wa jumuiya ambayo maktaba hutumikia. Vifaa havipaswi kutengwa kwa sababu ya asili, historia, au maoni ya wale wanaochangia uundaji wao. Tatu. Maktaba zinapaswa kutoa vifaa na habari zinazowasilisha maoni yote juu ya masuala ya sasa na ya kihistoria. Vifaa havipaswi kupigwa marufuku au kuondolewa kwa sababu ya kutokubaliana kwa upande au kwa fundisho. IV. Utafiti Maktaba zinapaswa kupinga udhibiti katika kutimiza jukumu lao la kutoa habari na ufahamu. Maktaba zinapaswa kushirikiana na watu wote na vikundi vinavyohusika katika kupinga upungufu wa uhuru wa kujieleza na upatikanaji wa bure wa mawazo. VI. Haki ya mtu ya kutumia maktaba haipaswi kukataliwa au kupunguzwa kwa sababu ya asili, umri, malezi, au maoni. VII. Maktaba zinazotoa nafasi za maonyesho na vyumba vya mikutano kwa umma wanaowahudumia zinapaswa kutoa vifaa hivyo kwa usawa, bila kujali imani au ushirika wa watu au vikundi vinavyoomba matumizi yao. "Kama ilivyoelezwa katika sheria ya Marekani ya mwaka wa 1939, ""Mwaka wa Kwanza wa Uhamiaji"" ulibadilishwa na ""Mwaka wa Kwanza wa Uhamiaji"" (ALA) mnamo Oktoba 14, 1944; ""Mwaka wa Kwanza wa Uhamiaji"" mnamo Juni 18, 1948; ""Mwaka wa Kwanza wa Uhamiaji"" mnamo Februari 2, 1961; na ""Mwaka wa Kwanza wa Uhamiaji"" mnamo Januari 23, 1980." Uhuru wa kusoma ni muhimu kwa demokrasia yetu. Inashambuliwa daima. "Kundi za kibinafsi na mamlaka za umma katika sehemu mbalimbali za nchi zinafanya kazi kuondoa au kupunguza upatikanaji wa vifaa vya kusoma, kudhibiti maudhui katika shule, kuweka alama ya maoni ""ya utata,"" kusambaza orodha za vitabu au waandishi ""wa kukataliwa,"" na kusafisha maktaba." "Hatua hizi zinaonekana kutokea kutokana na mtazamo kwamba utamaduni wetu wa kitaifa wa uhuru wa kujieleza haufai tena; kwamba udhibiti na ukandamizaji ni muhimu kukabiliana na vitisho kwa usalama au usalama wa kitaifa, na pia kuepuka uharibifu wa siasa na uharibifu wa maadili. """ Sisi, kama watu binafsi waliojitolea kusoma na kama maktaba na wachapishaji wanaohusika na kueneza mawazo, tunataka kutetea maslahi ya umma katika kuhifadhi uhuru wa kusoma. """Jitihada nyingi za kukandamiza hutegemea kukataa dhana ya msingi ya demokrasia: kwamba mtu wa kawaida, kwa kutumia uamuzi muhimu, atachagua mema na kukataa mabaya." """Tunaamini Wamarekani kutambua propaganda na habari zisizo sahihi, na kufanya maamuzi yao wenyewe kuhusu kile wanachokisoma na kuamini." "Hatuamini kwamba wako tayari kutoa dhabihu urithi wao wa vyombo vya habari huru ili ""kuhifadhiwa"" dhidi ya kile wengine wanachofikiri kinaweza kuwa kibaya kwao." Tunaamini bado wanapendelea biashara huru katika mawazo na usemi. Jitihada hizi za kukandamiza zinahusiana na muundo mkubwa wa shinikizo linaloletwa dhidi ya elimu, vyombo vya habari, sanaa na picha, filamu, vyombo vya habari vya matangazo, na mtandao. Tatizo si moja tu ya udhibiti halisi. "Tunafikiri kwamba kivuli cha hofu inayotokana na shinikizo hili husababisha ""kuzuia kwa hiari zaidi"" kwa wale wanaotaka kuepuka utata au uchunguzi usiofaa na maafisa wa serikali." Huenda mkazo huo wa kufuata kanuni za kawaida ukawa wa kawaida katika nyakati za mabadiliko ya haraka-haraka. Hata hivyo, kukandamiza kamwe si hatari zaidi kuliko katika wakati kama huo wa mkazo wa kijamii. Uhuru umewapa Marekani uwezo wa kuvumilia mkazo. Uhuru huweka wazi njia ya ufumbuzi mpya na ubunifu, na kuwezesha mabadiliko kuja kwa chaguo. Kila kukomesha kwa heresi, kila kutekeleza kwa orthodoxy, hupunguza ugumu na upinzani wa jamii yetu na kuiacha chini ya uwezo wa kushughulika na utata na tofauti. Kama ilivyo katika historia yetu, kusoma ni mojawapo ya uhuru wetu mkubwa. Uhuru wa kusoma na kuandika ni karibu njia pekee ya kufanya mawazo ya kawaida ya kupatikana au njia za kujieleza ambazo zinaweza kuamuru watazamaji wachache tu. Neno lililoandikwa ni njia ya asili ya wazo jipya na sauti isiyojaribu ambayo inakuja michango ya awali kwa ukuaji wa kijamii. Ni muhimu kwa majadiliano ya kina ambayo mawazo ya kweli yanahitaji, na kwa mkusanyiko wa maarifa na mawazo katika makusanyo ya kupangwa. Tunaamini kuwa mawasiliano ya bure ni muhimu kwa kuhifadhi jamii huru na utamaduni wa ubunifu. Tunaamini kwamba shinikizo hili la kufuata sheria lina hatari ya kupunguza wigo na aina ya uchunguzi na kujieleza ambayo demokrasia yetu na utamaduni wetu unategemea. """Tunaamini kwamba kila jamii ya Marekani lazima iwalinde kwa wivu uhuru wa kuchapisha na kusambaza ili kuhifadhi uhuru wake mwenyewe wa kusoma." Tunaamini kwamba wachapishaji na wamiliki wa maktaba wana jukumu kubwa la kutoa uhalali kwa uhuru huo wa kusoma kwa kuwawezesha wasomaji kuchagua kwa uhuru kutoka kwa matoleo mbalimbali. Uhuru wa kusoma unahakikishwa na Katiba. Wale walio na imani katika watu huru watasimama imara juu ya dhamana hizi za kikatiba za haki muhimu na watatumia majukumu yanayohusiana na haki hizi. Kwa hiyo tunathibitisha madai haya: 1. Ni kwa maslahi ya umma kwa wachapishaji na wamiliki wa maktaba kutoa maoni na usemi mbalimbali, ikiwa ni pamoja na wale ambao ni unorthodox, unpopular, au kuchukuliwa hatari na wengi. Mawazo ya ubunifu ni kwa ufafanuzi mpya, na kile kipya ni tofauti. Mtoaji wa kila wazo jipya ni mwasi mpaka wazo hilo liwe limesafishwa na kupimwa. Mifumo ya kiutawala hujaribu kujihifadhi madarakani kwa kukandamiza bila huruma dhana yoyote inayopinga usahihi uliopo. """Nguvu ya mfumo wa kidemokrasia ya kukabiliana na mabadiliko huimarishwa sana na uhuru wa raia wake wa kuchagua kwa wingi kutoka kati ya maoni yanayopingana yaliyotolewa kwa uhuru kwao.""" Kuzuia kila wazo lisilo la kawaida wakati wa kuzaliwa kungekuwa mwisho wa mchakato wa kidemokrasia. Zaidi ya hayo, ni kupitia shughuli ya daima ya kupima na kuchagua tu akili ya kidemokrasia inaweza kufikia nguvu inayohitajika na nyakati kama hizi. Tunahitaji kujua si tu tunachoamini, bali pia ni kwa nini tunaamini. 2. Uwezekano wa kupata Wachapishaji, wasimamizi wa maktaba, na wauzaji wa vitabu hawahitaji kuunga mkono kila wazo au uwasilishaji wanaotoa. "Ni kinyume na maslahi ya umma kwa wao kuanzisha maoni yao wenyewe ya kisiasa, maadili, au aesthetic kama kiwango cha kuamua nini kinapaswa kuchapishwa au kusambazwa. """ Wachapishaji na wamiliki wa maktaba hutumikia mchakato wa elimu kwa kusaidia kutoa maarifa na mawazo yanayohitajika kwa ukuaji wa akili na kuongezeka kwa kujifunza. Hawaendelezi elimu kwa kulazimisha kama washauri mifumo ya mawazo yao wenyewe. Watu wanapaswa kuwa na uhuru wa kusoma na kuzingatia aina pana ya mawazo kuliko yale ambayo yanaweza kushikiliwa na mkurugenzi mmoja wa maktaba au mchapishaji au serikali au kanisa. Ni kosa kwamba kile ambacho mtu anaweza kusoma kinapaswa kuelekezwa kwa kile ambacho mwingine anafikiri ni sahihi. 3. Uwe na mtazamo wa kweli Ni kinyume na maslahi ya umma kwa wachapishaji au wamiliki wa maktaba kuzuia upatikanaji wa maandishi kwa msingi wa historia ya kibinafsi au ushirika wa kisiasa wa mwandishi. Hakuna sanaa au fasihi inayoweza kusitawi ikiwa itapimwa kwa maoni ya kisiasa au maisha ya kibinafsi ya waundaji wake. Hakuna jamii ya watu huru inayoweza kusitawi ikiwa itaandika orodha ya waandishi ambao haitasikiliza, chochote wanachosema. 4. Uwe na uhakika """Hakuna mahali katika jamii yetu kwa juhudi za kulazimisha ladha ya wengine, kuwazuia watu wazima kusoma vitu vinavyoonekana kuwa vinafaa kwa vijana, au kuzuia juhudi za waandishi kufikia usemi wa kisanii." Kwa wengine, mambo mengi ya kisasa ya usemi ni yenye kushtua. Lakini je, si mambo mengi ya maisha yenyewe yenye kushtua? """Tunakatisha fasihi katika chanzo ikiwa tunawazuia waandishi wasishughulike na mambo ya maisha.""" Wazazi na walimu wana jukumu la kuwaandaa vijana kukutana na uzoefu mbalimbali katika maisha ambayo watakuwa wazi, kama wao kuwa na jukumu la kuwasaidia kujifunza kufikiri muhimu kwa wenyewe. Hizi ni majukumu ya uthibitisho, yasiyoweza kutolewa kwa kuwazuia kusoma kazi ambazo hawajajitayarisha. Katika mambo haya, maadili hutofautiana, na maadili hayawezi kuamriwa kwa sheria; wala mashine haiwezi kubuniwa ambayo itakidhi mahitaji ya kikundi kimoja bila kupunguza uhuru wa wengine. 5. Uwe na mtazamo mzuri. "Hakuna faida ya umma kumlazimisha msomaji kukubali uamuzi wa awali wa lebo inayoelezea usemi wowote au mwandishi wake kama ""mvunjaji au hatari.""" "Kufanya hivyo kunamaanisha kuwa kuna watu au vikundi vya watu wenye hekima vya kuamua kwa mamlaka kile kilicho kizuri au kibaya kwa wengine.""" Inadhani kwamba watu lazima waelekezwe katika kufanya mawazo yao juu ya mawazo wanayochunguza. Lakini Wamarekani hawahitaji wengine wawafikirie. 6. Uwe na uhakika Ni jukumu la wachapishaji na wamiliki wa maktaba, kama walinzi wa uhuru wa watu wa kusoma, kupinga uvamizi wa uhuru huo na watu binafsi au vikundi vinavyojaribu kulazimisha viwango vyao au ladha kwa jamii kwa ujumla, na na serikali wakati wowote inatafuta kupunguza au kukataa upatikanaji wa umma kwa habari ya umma. Ni jambo lisiloepukika katika mchakato wa kidemokrasia kwamba dhana za kisiasa, za kimaadili, au za aesthetic za mtu au kikundi mara kwa mara zitagongana na zile za mtu mwingine au kikundi. Katika jamii huru watu binafsi ni huru kuamua wenyewe kile wanachotaka kusoma, na kila kikundi ni huru kuamua kile kitakachopendekeza kwa wanachama wake waliounganishwa kwa uhuru. Lakini hakuna kundi linalo haki ya kuchukua sheria mikononi mwake na kulazimisha dhana yake mwenyewe ya siasa au maadili kwa wanachama wengine wa jamii ya kidemokrasia. Uhuru si uhuru ikiwa unapewa tu kwa kile kinachokubaliwa na kisichovunja. Zaidi ya hayo, jamii za kidemokrasia ni salama zaidi, huru, na ubunifu wakati mtiririko huru wa habari ya umma hauzuiwi na haki ya serikali au kujizuia. 7. Uwe na mtazamo gani? Ni jukumu la wachapishaji na wamiliki wa maktaba kutoa maana kamili kwa uhuru wa kusoma kwa kutoa vitabu ambavyo huongeza ubora na utofauti wa mawazo na kujieleza. Kwa kutumia jukumu hili la uthibitisho, wanaweza kuonyesha kwamba jibu kwa kitabu "mbaya" ni moja nzuri, jibu kwa wazo "mbaya" ni moja nzuri. Uhuru wa kusoma hauna maana kubwa wakati msomaji hawezi kupata habari inayofaa kwa kusudi la msomaji huyo. """Kile kinachohitajika si tu kutokuwa na udhibiti, lakini utoaji mzuri wa fursa kwa watu kusoma kile bora ambacho kimekuwa kimefikiriwa na kusemwa." Vitabu ni njia kuu ambayo urithi wa kiakili unashirikiwa, na njia kuu ya kupima na kukua kwake. "Ulinzi wa uhuru wa kusoma inahitaji wachapishaji wote na wamiliki wa maktaba zaidi ya uwezo wao, na inastahili ya Wamarekani wote msaada wao kamili. """ Sisi kusema propositions hizi wala lightly wala kama generalizations rahisi. Hapa tunatoa madai ya juu juu ya thamani ya neno lililoandikwa. Tunafanya hivyo kwa sababu tunaamini kwamba ina aina kubwa na manufaa, yenye thamani ya kutunzwa na kuhifadhiwa bure. Tunafahamu kwamba matumizi ya maneno haya yanaweza kumaanisha kueneza mawazo na njia za kujieleza ambazo ni za kuchukiza kwa watu wengi. Sisi si kusema propositions hizi katika imani ya starehe kwamba kile watu kusoma ni unimportant. "Tunaamini kwamba kile watu wanasoma ni muhimu sana, kwamba mawazo yanaweza kuwa hatari, lakini kwamba kukandamiza mawazo ni hatari kwa jamii ya kidemokrasia.""" Uhuru ni njia hatari ya maisha, lakini ni yetu. Taarifa hii ilitolewa awali Mei 1953 na Westchester Mkutano wa American Library Association na American Book Publishers Council, ambayo katika 1970 kuunganishwa na American Educational Publishers Institute kuwa Association of American Publishers. "Kama ilivyoelezwa katika sheria ya ALA, sheria hiyo ilitolewa na Kamati ya Uhuru wa Kusoma ya ALA mnamo Juni 25, 1953 na ilibadilishwa mnamo Januari 28, 1972 na Julai 12, 2000 na Juni 30, 2004.""" Uhuru wa kutazama, pamoja na uhuru wa kusema, kusikia, na kusoma, unalindwa na Marekebisho ya Kwanza ya Katiba ya Marekani. Katika jamii huru, hakuna mahali pa udhibiti wa njia yoyote ya kujieleza. Kwa hiyo kanuni hizi zinathibitishwa: 1. Ili kutoa upatikanaji pana zaidi wa filamu, video, na vifaa vingine vya sauti na kuona kwa sababu ni njia ya mawasiliano ya mawazo. Uhuru wa kutembea ni muhimu ili kuhakikisha dhamana za kikatiba za uhuru wa kujieleza. 2. Uwezekano wa kupata Ili kulinda usiri wa watu wote na taasisi kutumia filamu, video, na vifaa vingine vya sauti na kuona. 3. Uwe na mtazamo wa kweli Kutoa filamu, video, na vifaa vingine vya sauti na kuona ambavyo vinawakilisha utofauti wa maoni na usemi. Uchaguzi wa kazi haumaanishi au haimaanishi makubaliano na au idhini ya maudhui. 4. Uwe na uhakika "Kutoa maoni mbalimbali bila kukataza ""kuweka alama au kuamua"" filamu, video, au vifaa vingine vya sauti na kuona kwa msingi wa imani ya kimaadili, kidini, au kisiasa ya mtayarishaji au mtengenezaji wa filamu au kwa msingi wa maudhui ya utata." 5. Uwe na mtazamo mzuri. Kupinga kwa nguvu, kwa njia zote halali, kila uvamizi juu ya uhuru wa umma wa kuona. Taarifa hii ilitengenezwa na Kamati ya Uhuru wa Kuangalia ya Chama cha Filamu na Video cha Amerika (zamani Chama cha Maktaba ya Filamu ya Elimu) na ilipitishwa na Bodi ya Wakurugenzi wa AFVA mnamo Februari 1979. Taarifa hii ilibadilishwa na kuidhinishwa na Bodi ya Wakurugenzi wa AFV mnamo 1989. Maombi ya marekebisho yanaweza kufanywa tu na wadhamini waliosajiliwa, na fomu ya Maombi ya Marekebisho ya OPL.