Minnesota: St. Paul Public Library Collection and Book Disposal Policies Discussed at Library Board Meeting

UPDATE: Watch the Library Board Collection Briefing Here
UPDATE: We’ve Embedded a Slide Presentation Presented at the Meeting Along With a Draft of a Revised Collection Policy Below
The discussion took place during a St. Paul Public Library Board meeting held yesterday.
From the Pioneer Press:

City council member Chris Tolbert, who chairs the board, has asked for a briefing on the library’s collections policies. What’s clear is that an emphasis on technology — from public computer stations to teen tech centers — doesn’t always leave room or money for hard copies of, say, Life Magazine circa 1952.
An example of a book that was withdrawn from the collection is “The History of Cuba,” published in 1926, said library director Kit Hadley. It didn’t end up in the library’s own book sales or a program that puts free books in locations like laundromats, she said. It was given to Network for Better Futures, which has job programs for men coming out of prison. Those workers try to sell some books and recycle the rest, Hadley said. Types of books routinely given to Network for Better Futures are outdated technological and scientific works and things like tax filing guides for previous years.
The policy itself is not being changed, Hadley said, but it is being rewritten in two parts. One, directed to the public, will give a clearer and shorter description of how the policy works; the other, directed to library staff, will be more detailed and specific.

Read the Complete Article
See Also: St. Paul Library system ditches Photoplay Magazine from 1930s through 1960s. Should we care? (via City Hall Scoop, TwinCities.com)

St Paul Public Library Collection Briefing April 2014 by LJ's infoDOCKET

St Paui Public Library Collection Plan–RevST 2-27-14

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