Collections Through Public Libraries
Most State Library collections, excluding unpublished heritage items, are available to Western Australians for borrowing – either through inter library loan or directly to members - predominantly through public libraries.
The underlying principles for the collection basis for public libraries are currently outlined in a partnership agreement.
This Framework includes collecting for Indian Ocean Territory libraries.
Current collecting is based on the following:
- Collection development decisions for public libraries are the responsibility of staff in each public library. For smaller country libraries, these decisions may be taken at a regional level.
- Collection development decisions at each public library primarily relate to local community need.
- Collection development policies may be developed by individual public libraries.
- Purchase of state-wide digital resources will be considered. These purchases may be on the basis of access or ownership.
- There is a commitment to seek opportunities for purchasing collection resources through consortium
- New acquisition selection is made from a subset of resources, primarily determined by suppliers, within profiles developed and maintained by State Library staff through liaison with public library staff.
- A specific public library’s collection may be partially refreshed through an exchange process with other Western Australian public libraries.
and/or opt in/opt out models.
Collections are developed to satisfy the immediate needs of Western Australians of all ages.
Format
Public library materials continue to be acquired in a variety of formats and new formats explored.
The provision of access rather than ownership of specific digital collection resources may be more appropriate to satisfy community needs.
Duplication
Ease of access, popularity or high use are criteria used to make decisions about duplication of a resource across public library loan collections.
Language
Whilst these collections are predominantly in English, selected resources in languages other than English (LOTE) are collected and provided through public libraries to support literacy and learning for and about:
- public library LOTE clients whose first language is not English.
- clients with an interest in reading material in another language.
- Western Australian Indigenous people.
Collection analysis
Responsibility for conducting analysis of individual collections and use lies with public library staff.
We conduct collection analysis from a state-wide perspective in liaison with public library staff particularly in relation to profile development for suppliers.
Page last updated: Tuesday 23 November 2010
