SECURING GENERAL SUPPORT FOR THE POLICY

 

The primary focus in legitimizing the written policy should consist of obtaining the formal approval of the library's governing board as well as applicable supervisory staff. For example, in a public school setting, the latter might include the district superintendent, the principal, and district coordinator for library/media services. Evans has recommended the following steps in the policy approval process:

The head librarian appoints a staff committee to draft a basic policy statement, which is to be

submitted to the head librarian. In libraries possessing limited staff, non-library personnel

(e.g., teachers) might prove useful on such a committee.

The head librarian reviews and comments on the draft and distributes it to the library staff for

their comments and suggestions.

An open meeting is scheduled for patrons to hear about and comment upon the proposed

policy. If such a meeting is held, members of the drafting committee, the head librarian, and

representatives of the governing board should be present to explain, describe, and if necessary,

defend and modify the statement.

The original committee then incorporates the comments and suggestions into a revised, final

statement. Perhaps a general meeting will be needed to discuss the interim draft before the

final version is prepared.

The final draft statement is presented to the board for review, possible revision, and eventually,

approval.

Copies of the final statement are prepared for the library staff and those patrons desiring to view

it. One sound public relations device would be to prepare a brief condensed version for distribution

to each new user of the library.

 

 Most experts have noted that it is desirable to prepare a collection development policy--and secure its acceptance--in advance of any crisis situations. While the board and relevant administrators will retain ultimate responsibility for enforcing the provisions of the policy, it is imperative that the head librarianin question is provided latitude in carrying out both the longterm planning and day-to-day provisions of the collection management program.