Defending Frequently Challenged Young Adult Books by 
The Collection Program in Schools by Collection Development Guidelines: Children's Collection
Albert S. Cook Library, Towson University; Last edited: April 2017
This document is a supplement to the overall Collection Development Policy for Albert S. Cook Library.
Mission/Objective Statement
The mission of the Children’s Collection is to support the Towson University College of Education teacher and school librarian education programs, as well as other academic disciplines, including science and math education, and the arts.
Scope
The Children’s Collection includes high quality fiction, nonfiction, picture books, folk and fairytales, graphic novels, wordless books, big books, poetry (and other emerging genres and formats) appropriate for use with preschool through twelfth grade learners. The collection includes materials of current significance, with an emphasis on award winning books and those published within the last ten years.
Books in the collection are primarily written in English, however, materials used to teach bilingual and multilingual education are also included. Emphasis is placed on collecting books that demonstrate sensitivity to issues of race, ethnicity, religion, gender, and ability, as well as empowering and varied depictions of diverse communities.
Selection Criteria
Priority is given to faculty requests, especially those that support faculty research interests and course alignment. Award-winning and notable books, books with positive reviews, and books that appear on "best of" lists are also priority acquisitions. Culturally responsive books that promote empathy and critical thinking are a collection development focus.
In addition, librarians make an effort to acquire books in ways that counteract publishing biases, including purchasing materials produced by small press, local, and non-traditional publishers. Librarians also seek books with quality illustrations, including author/illustrator texts (books written and illustrated by the same person.) Mentor texts (books modeling good writing) and high quality informational texts (both narrative and expository) are purchased at levels corresponding to Maryland Common Core curriculum, whenever possible. Acquisitions are responsive to current events, issues, and trends.
When selecting books for the collection, librarians will utilize authoritative review sources, such as library and discipline-specific journals, books, and databases, but may also physically preview books at public libraries, bookstores and conferences or via Interlibrary Loan (ILL) requests.
Collection Management
In order to keep the collection relevant and approachable, ongoing de-selection (weeding) of materials is essential. Books are typically weeded for the following reasons:
Items that meet the above criteria, but with potential historical or research value, may be relocated to the Library's Legacy Collection.
Gifts
Please see the Cook Library Collection Development Policy for guidelines on donating to the library.
