Greenburgh Public Library Blog

How the Library Chooses Books, Music & DVDs

How does the library decide what books, DVDs and music to purchase? 

This frequently asked question has no simple answer. Each item the library buys is the result of a process that follows guidelines and procedures that have been established by generations of librarians, and Library Board members at the Greenburgh Public Library.

The Library Board sets the formal policy which outlines the criteria and expectations for purchasing materials.  You can read GPL’s policy HERE.  It's the librarians who decide which specific items will be purchased.  Librarians continually read professional review publications like Publishers Weekly, Booklist, Kirkus, Library Journal and School Library Journal.  They also scan reviews in popular magazines and newspapers.  These reviews inform their judgment, but are not the exclusive basis for deciding purchases. 

Each selector, what we call the librarians who purchase items, has a specialty area – Health, Biography, DVDs, etc. Selectors must consider not just the quality of a book based on the reviews, but its appropriateness for our community (Greenburgh needs fewer books about raising horses than would, say, Bedford). They also consider the number of books we may already have on a given topic (how many DIY books about building a deck is enough?).

This kind of analysis goes on continuously as librarians observe items that are being shelved (indicators of popularity and interest), those that need to be repaired (an indication of usefulness, as only highly circulating items show wear and tear), and those gathering dust on the shelves. 

Another factor in purchasing items is timeliness.  No one wants a travel book that is out of date, so those must be kept current.  The same is true of medical information.  Political books also must be purchased to reflect what is happening in our world.

All of these choices must be made within the constraints of our budget.  We obviously can’t buy every book that is published, so librarians work very hard to ensure that the books we do purchase are going to have appeal or fill an information need for our community.

Librarians always welcome suggestions for purchase from library patrons. If you have a suggestion for a book that you realize is not in the library and you think would be a good fit for our community, you can let us know by filling out the suggestion form HERE.

Selecting books for our community is a never ending process.  And so is the process that ensures our library isn’t overflowing with materials.  Next time, I’ll write about how we keep our inventory under control.