Collection Policy Statement

Butler Collection Development Policy Committee on Collection Development, November 10, 2008

This Collection Policy Statement provides a framework of procedures, definitions, and guiding principles governing the selection, acquisition, and withdrawal of library materials in both traditional and electronic formats at the Butler Children's Literature Center at the School of Information Studies at Dominican University. This statement serves as a working document to assist in the decision-making process for developing and shaping the collection.

General Description of the Collection and Clientele Served

The Butler Children's Literature Center will serve as an examination center for children's and young adult books published annually in the United States, and as an historical collection of the best children's and young adult literature published nationally and internationally. The Butler center will also serve as an evidence-based, best practices professional collection in support of the application and integration of children's and young adult literature in classrooms, libraries, childcare centers and homes. The Center will serve educators, scholars, researchers, librarians, teachers, parents and other caring adults in children's lives through programs, conferences, credit and continuing education courses, web resources, and graduate research opportunities.

Collection Goals of the Butler Children's Literature Center

The Butler Center seeks to be an examination center for materials supporting literature-based programming for children and young adults.

From songs and rhymes for infants, to stories, picture books, and beginning readers for children, to informational books and young adult novels for adolescents, literature for children and young adults is the backbone for literacy learning. Listening to, reading, discussing, and writing serve as purposeful, meaningful activities within young people's social and cultural worlds. Literature in all its forms opens doors for every young person fortunate enough to have caring adults help them connect to the right books at the right times.

The process of selection is ongoing, enabling the Library to develop both strength in special areas and balance in general collection across all formats. While the emphasis is on contemporary literature, long term needs are also taken into consideration. The pattern of acquisitions and access to resources will change in response to need.

This policy statement will be reviewed every three years to ensure that it continues to support the mission of the Butler Center at Dominican University.

Intellectual Freedom and Censorship

The Butler Children's Literature Center at the Graduate School of Library and Information Science at Dominican University subscribes to the American Library Association's " Library Bill of Rights."

Overview of the Collection

The Butler Children's Literature Center was founded in January, 2009, as part of the Graduate School of Library and Information Science—as of October 2016 the School of Information Studies (SOIS)—at Dominican University.

Administered by the SOIS, the Butler Children's Literature Center is located in the Rebecca Crown Library at Dominican University in River Forest, Illinois. Founding partners at Dominican University include the School of Education, the Rebecca Crown Library, the Butler Family Foundation, and an anonymous donor.

The Butler Collection will:

  • Consist of publisher's donations of examination copies for the current publishing year. After a period of one year suitable copies of titles will be placed in the general juvenile collection of the Rebecca Crown Library. Remaining titles will be sold at the Annual Butler Book Sale, the money to support personnel
  • Contain examples of curriculum materials and textbooks, either purchased or solicited from publishers
  • Purchase reference and professional materials will when needed; additional copies will be added to Crown by Butler when possible
  • Be organized by genre, teacher resources, and librarian resources
  • Keep sample copies of professional journals in-house when possible
  • Develop a database to provide access to the examination center collection, and to track inventory

The Director of the Center and the Crown/Butler Liaison will coordinate collection development efforts.

Broad Subject Areas Emphasized

The Butler Children's Literature Center will serve as an examination center for children's and young adult books published annually in the United States, and as an historical collection of the best children's and young adult literature published nationally and internationally. The Butler Center will also serve as an evidence-based, best practices professional collection in support of the application and integration of children's and young adult literature in classrooms, libraries, childcare centers and homes. Subject specialties include folktales, storytelling, concept books

Staffing and Assigned Responsibilities

All materials acquired by Butler will be handled by the Butler Graduate Assistant and entered into an inventory database which will also act as a catalog of holdings in the collection.

Reference and curriculum materials, in all formats, will be purchased/added to the collection at the recommendation of the Butler director and Butler Advisory Committee members. Faculty requests and recommendations for purchase of reference and curriculum support titles are encouraged and will be given strong consideration.

Budget Structure and Allocation Policy

Butler gives high priority to acquiring materials that support the Butler mission. The SOIS dean allocates funds from the Butler endowment for materials and programming. Any financial gain from Butler's book sales, events or conferences, will go into the Butler budget line for discretionary expenses. Any financial gifts received and accepted by the Butler Collection will be expended according to the wishes of the donors.

Withdrawal Policy

The Butler collection consists of publisher's donations of examination copies for the current publishing year. After a period of one year suitable copies of titles may be placed in the general juvenile collection of the Rebecca Crown Library. Remaining titles will be sold at the Annual Butler Book Sale, the money to support personnel.

General Collection Policies

The Library acquires materials in various formats. The Library purchases titles primarily in English.

The Butler Book Collection serves as an historical collection of award-winning children's and young adult books published in the United States and internationally, as well as additional titles selected for their quality and pedagogical value. No single book serves everyone's needs, but the Center will strive to provide a collection that thoroughly, comprehensively, and positively represents all cultures of our nation.

The Butler Reference collection serves as an evidence-based, best practices professional collection in support of the application and integration of children's and young adult literature in classrooms, libraries, childcare centers and homes. Focus areas will include language development; child development; emergent literacy; reading education and the language arts; children's and young adult literature; storytelling; and literature-based curricula in all subject areas e.g. social studies, science, mathematics, music, art, etc. Special consideration will also be given to research that studies the social, economic, cultural, developmental, and political factors that impact literacy development in children. Research focusing on children and young adults with special needs will also be collected.

The curator of the Butler Center, the Butler Advisory Board, and the Butler Assistant are responsible for the selection and purchase of materials in all formats for the Library, and for the receipt and processing of gifts for the collection.

Web Collection

The Butler website will provide access to a dynamic electronic resources collection with both full-text and bibliographic content. The Butler website will serve librarians, teachers and parents seeking literature-based resources, including access to authoritative annotations of literature-based education tools. Focus areas will include a searchable database of online materials and media in support of the Center's mission, such as the International Children's Digital Library; the Family Literacy Curriculum of the Pennsylvania Center for the Book; an annotated database of the Center's professional collection; and mediated access to additional web resources presented through a user-friendly design. The Center will strive to make the web site a destination for children, young adults, and anyone who works with their literature. The site will also offer alternative viewing/listening options in compliance with the ADA.

The Butler Center will also explore the creation of a print/digital review publication on an aspect, theme, or genre of literature for children and young adults, in the service of the larger profession.

Archival and Preservation Issues

The Butler Center will archive the center inventory annually, as well as any born-digital information created by the Center.

Gift Policy

The Butler Center welcomes the donation of gift materials which support the teaching and research needs of the School of Information Studies and Dominican University. Due to space limitations and processing costs, the Center must be selective in the type of gifts it can accept, but we are eager to explore possibilities with potential donors.

Selection Criteria

The center curator, in conjunction with the Butler Planning Committee, will evaluate gifts to determine whether they should be accepted in whole or in part, offered to Crown Library, or declined. Other options will be suggested at the request of the donor.

Donors are encouraged to donate materials which:

  • Enhance existing strengths in the collection
  • Support current teaching and research
  • Are in good physical condition

The Butler Center does not accept donations of:

  • Condensed books
  • Outdated materials of little historic value
  • Short or broken runs of periodicals
  • Highlighted, underlined, or otherwise damaged materials (e.g. brittle paper, presence of mold, deteriorated bindings)

Terms of Acceptance:

  • The Butler Center will add materials to the collection as time and staff permit.
  • The Center cannot impose restrictions on use which will negatively affect access to the materials.
  • The Center will gift plate donated materials using standard gift plates bearing the donor's name, except in cases where the donor prefers no book plates, or where book plates will significantly compromise the monetary value of rare or precious books.
  • Gifts are accepted at the discretion of the Center Curator with the understanding that there are no conditions attached to their disposition.
Appraisals
  • The Library will acknowledge receipt of gifts but cannot prepare itemized lists of materials received.
  • The Center is barred by IRS regulations from appraising the value of gifts to the center.
  • The donor is urged to seek the advice of a tax accountant or attorney for tax advice regarding IRS regulations covering gifts.
Donations

To offer a gift to the Library, or to obtain further information, please contact:

Jennifer Clemons, Curator

(708) 524-6861

(708) 524-6657 (fax)

butler@dom.edu

Butler Children's Literature Center

Dominican University

School of Information Studies

7900 W. Division Street

River Forest, IL  60305