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Rideau Video Pool
Collection Development Policy
1. GOALS
.1 The Rideau Video Pool collection should be well-balanced, serving the
needs of the entire
community. Materials will be selected for all ages
and all levels of comprehension.
.2 Selection will be based on informational, educational, instructional
and recreational value with
an emphasis on Canadian material.
.3 Materials will be considered in terms of timeliness, demand, quality
and authority.
.4 The collection will represent all sides of a wide range of issues.
2. SELECTION FOR PURCHASE
Decisions relating to the selection and purchase of video programs will
be the responsibility of
the Management Team of the Rideau Video Pool.
The Management Team will make selections from catalogues provided by
SOLS. These
Catalogues will be rotated among the members of the
Management Team and returned to SOLS
by June 15. Recommendations for
specific titles can be sent to SOLS throughout the year.
3. COMPOSITION OF COLLECTION
1. The composition of the Rideau Video Pool Collection shall reflect the
needs and interests of
the community as determined by analysis and
experience on the part of the Rideau Video
Pool members.
2. The collection strives to be general in nature and does not contain
specialized materials for
the exclusive use of one particular group.
3. Every effort is made to balance individual blocks so that each block
represents adult, juvenile,
family, informational and recreational
materials in equal amounts.
4. Materials selection is guided by a general design to maintain a 50-50
split between non-
fiction and feature films representing a wide variety
of general subjects and genres. Roughly
one-third of the collection
shall represent children’s’ videos.
4. PROGRAM CONTENT
Video programs will be selected from the following categories to reflect
the interests of children,
young adults and adults:
INFORMATIONAL - to include the world of nature, the environment, the
sciences, biography,
history and economic, political and social issues.
INSTRUCTIONAL - to include self-help, sports and recreation, crafts,
business, health, cooking,
travel how-to, etc.
CULTURAL - to include the world of art, music, drama, dance and
literature.
CINEMA - to include films from the international cinema, classics, and
films that have been well
reviewed in periodicals, newspapers and guide
books.
5. SELECTION CRITERIA
1. Materials selected will meet high standards in quality, content and
expression.
2. All acquisitions will be considered in terms of the following
criteria:
- content - present and potential relevance to community needs
- entertainment value
- demand in the community
- accuracy and depth of coverage
- organization
- quality of presentation
- picture quality
- sound quality
- bias
- appropriateness for audience
- Canadian content
- presentation of all sides of controversial issues where possible
- strengths and weaknesses of the current collection
- purchase price
3. Acceptable level of quality will be determined in the following ways:
- opinion of qualified reviewers in recognized, authoritative review
sources
- recognition by prizes, awards etc.
- longevity of appeal for reissued materials
- appearance on public television networks
4. Materials where the appeal of the film is achieved strictly by
sensational, erotic or other
exploitative means will not be selected.
.6 INTELLECTUAL FREEDOM
1. The Rideau Video Pool subscribes to the "Intellectual Freedom
Statement" ratified by the
Canadian Library Association in June 1984.
Therefore videos will not be labeled as "adult" or
"juvenile" and the
decision of whether to restrict the circulation of certain videos to
juvenile
patrons in their library will be left up to the discretion of
member libraries.
2. As videos often receive conflicting ratings from different rating
systems, rating stickers will not
longer be applied to videos in the
collection. Stickers which have already been applied will be
left on
however. Video rating will be left up to the judgment of individual
libraries.
7. CONTROVERSIAL MATERIALS
1. The Rideau Video Pool recognizes that some videos may be regarded by
certain individuals
or groups as controversial, whether because of bias,
frankness of language , political
expression, or moral implication.
Selection should not, and will not, be made on the basis of
anticipated
approval or disapproval by any individual or group in the community, but
rather on the
evaluation of the video’s literary merit, authenticity,
honesty of presentation, topical interest and
use to the audience for
whom it is intended. The primary aim of materials selection is to
establish a balanced collection which adequately represents various
points of view on many
subject.
2. The ideas and opinion found in the Rideau Video Pool collection are
not advocated by the
Rideau Video Pool or library staff. The presence of
materials in the Rideau Video Pool does not
indicate an endorsement of
their contents by the Rideau Video Pool.
3. Materials representing all points of view concerning the problems and
issues of our times will
be provided in the Rideau Video Pool
collection. Videos of sound factual authority shall not be
proscribed or
removed from library shelves because of doctrinal or partisan
disapproval.
8. EXCLUDE FROM THE COLLECTION
1. Materials which obviously foster religious or racial intolerance are
outside the scope of this
collection.
2. Materials that are banned under Canadian law will automatically be
excluded from the Rideau
Video Pool collection.
9. COMPLAINTS ABOUT THE COLLECTION
1. The Rideau Video Pool recognizes the right of the member libraries
and the right of an
individual library patron or group to make a
complaint to the Rideau Video Pool Management
Team concerning the
collection.
2. Requests by member libraries, individuals or groups to have an item
or items removed from
the Rideau Video Pool collection shall be referred
in writing to the Rideau Video Pool
Management Team.
3. Upon receiving the written complaint, the Rideau Video Pool
Management Team shall review
it in the light of the Rideau Video Pool’s
policy concerning the Rideau Video Pool collection.
4. If the inclusion of the item in the Rideau Video Pool Collection is
found by the Management
Team to be legitimate and justifiable based on
the guidelines set out by the Rideau Video Pool
policy, the policy shall
be explained in writing to the complainant and no further action need be
taken.
5. If the inclusion of the item in the Rideau Video Pool collection is
found by the Management
Team to be questionable based on the guidelines
set out by the Rideau Video Pool policy, the
item will be withdrawn from
the collection. The Management Team will communicate that
decision in
writing to the complainant.
10. MULTIPLE COPIES
Multiple copies will be provided based on demonstrated and anticipated
user interest and the
availability of funds.
11. DAMAGED AND LOST ITEMS
A member library accepts full responsibility for all Pool videos housed
in the library.
If a video is damaged, it should be sent to the appointed member of the
Video Pool. Send a
copy of the block list indicating which title has
been removed and the reason, to the SOLS Pool
Administrator. She will
update the master list of Rideau Video Pool holdings. If you replace it
with a similar video, indicate the new title, otherwise SOLS will send
an invoice for replacement
value.
If a video is lost, send a copy of the block list indicating that the
title has been lost to the SOLS
Pool Administrator. If you replace it
with a similar video, indicate the new title otherwise SOLS
will send an
invoice for replacement value.
12. WEEDING
In order to maintain an active, up-to-date and useful collection, it is
important for libraries to
continuously examine video materials in terms
of relevance to user needs and selection criteria.
Etlinger’s 5 point system WIDUS should be used as criteria for
individual libraries making
weeding decisions:
W - WORN OUT
Physical playing condition and age should be considered. The shelf life
for a VHS video is
usually from one to five years with an average of 100
to 250 circulations. New videos (from 1995
on) will be labeled with a
sticker indicating the fiscal year in which the video was purchased (ex.
95 sticker indicates fiscal year 1995-1996). Videos should be considered
for weeding after two
and a half years, therefore a video with a 95
sticker would be considered for weeding in late
1998 or early 1999.
Videos exceeding 200 circulations should be considered for weeding.
I - INAPPROPRIATE
Consider for withdrawal materials containing sexist attitudes and
information, geographically
incorrect information, out-dated clothing or
automobiles, unsuitable material for intended
audience etc.
D - DUPLICATED
Consider for withdrawal multiple copies or videos containing material
which is duplicated in more
current releases.
U - UNCIRCULATED
Consult the circulation card and pocket on the video case. Items not
circulated at all within the
last two years or less than five times in
their lifetimes should be considered for removal. To aid
the weeding
process, it is important to include the year as well as the month and
the day, when
recording circulations on the book card.
S - SUPERSEDED
Consider for withdrawal material that is misleading or no longer
factually accurate, or that has
been superseded by a truly new edition
or a much better video on the subject.
If material has one of the above elements, this counts as one strike and
it is a possible reject.
With two elements, there are two strikes and
it’s a probable reject. Three strikes and it’s out!
Further information on weeding videos may be obtained by consulting:
Scholtz, James C. Developing and Maintaining Video Collections in
Libraries. Santa
Barbara, CA: ABC-Clio, Inc., 1989.
Scholtz, James C. Video Policies and Procedures for Libraries. Santa
Barbara, CA:
ABC-Clio Inc., 1991.
Replacements:
Titles are not automatically replaced because they are weeded, lost or
damaged. If you feel that
a title is a candidate for replacement, notify
any member of the Management Team. They will
make a replacement decision
based on the following criteria:
1. Demand for title
2. Number of copies already held
3. Existing coverage of the subject/genre in the collection
4. Availability of more current materials on the subject
5. Age and topic
Classics:
If a classic video (i.e. a work that is honoured as definitive in its
field, ex. Cinderella,
Gone with the Wind, Wizard of Oz)) is weeded for
any reason (physical condition, lack of
circulation, damage etc.), it
should be sent to the appointed member of the Video Pool.
The Management Team will then make a decision whether to keep it if it does not
circulate or to replace it, if worn out or damaged. Send a copy of the
block list indicating
which title has been removed and the reason, to
the SOLS Pool Administrator. If a
classic video is lost, notify a member
of the Management Team. The Management Team
will then make a decision
regarding replacement.
Send a copy of the block list indicating which title has been lost to
the SOLS Pool
Administrator.
Procedure
Blocks should be weeded to keep the block total at 50 videos.
When a
video is weeded, send the SOLS Pool Administrator a copy of the block
list
indicating the withdrawn title and the reason. She will update the
master list of Rideau
Video Pool holdings.
.13 COPYRIGHT
Only original copies will be purchased by the Rideau Video Pool.
14. PERFORMANCE RIGHTS
Both Home Use and Public Performance videos will be purchased.
15. FORMAT
All video programs purchased for the Rideau Video Pool will be in VHS
format. Purchase
of alternative format video programs such as DVDs will
be considered by the Rideau
Video Pool as required. Purchase of
alternative formats for library patrons with special
needs such as
captioned or closed captioned videos and nonverbal videos will be
considered by the Rideau Video Pool as required.