Find out how we select, manage, and share books, videos, and other resources within our budget.
Newcastle Libraries stock management policy sets out the principles by which books, audiovisual materials and other resources should be acquired, managed, and made available for the maximum benefit to residents, within the available budget.
Our aim is to ensure that the stock in Newcastle Libraries should be provided, promoted, and made available in such a way as to interest, inform and excite our customers. We aim to provide a modern service with relevant diverse collections that support reading, information, and learning.
The key objectives are:
We will use this policy to ensure that the funds allocated for stock purchase are used effectively to offer value for money.
This policy will be reviewed on an annual basis.
Books and other materials are made available to users as a single, city-wide resource. Items can be requested free of charge from any library across the city.
A huge volume of material is published annually in print and electronic formats, and the constraints of space and budget mean that it is impossible for the library service to buy everything.
Our aim is to provide access to as wide a range of material as possible to support: the information; learning; business; cultural; and leisure needs of the city and its communities.
This document shows how we select our stock and defines the principles that underpin this process.
Within the budget available, we aim to ensure a balanced and comprehensive collection, with range and breadth, and in sufficient quantity to meet public demand.
Stock is selected by a team of professional library staff.
Decisions on stock selection include the following range of criteria and assessments:
The following categories of stock will normally fall outside the scope of our collections:
Items from our stock can be requested to be collected free of charge from any library in the city. Where demand for a particular title is high, multiple copies may be purchased. These may be in a range of formats, including physical and digital stock. To ensure breadth of stock is maintained, where multiple copies are already in our collection, requests for additional copies may be declined.
Stock suggestions for all formats are welcomed and can be made in person or on line using Suggest a title for Newcastle Libraries. The standard selection criteria apply, and the library service reserves the right to decline to acquire items which have been requested.
The library service is sometimes asked to acquire, either by purchase or donation, books which have been self-published. These items may not have been through the rigorous editing and legal content checks undertaken by mainstream publishers. Where the library service agrees that such an item may be of use in our collection (often in cases of local interest), it is the responsibility of the author to ensure and demonstrate that content is reliable and does not contravene any laws.
Self-published stock will be subject to the same selection criteria as stock published by a mainstream publisher: quality; format; content; and anticipated demand. Items will not automatically be added to stock if they are donated by the author but must also meet the relevant selection criteria.
We support reading groups via a dedicated Reading Group catalogue (available on line) which offers sets of books containing multiple copies of titles for loan. Suggestions for titles are welcomed, but purchase of reading group stock is in line with the overall stock selection policy. As a result, we may be unable to fulfil all such requests.
Some stock which is older and no longer suitable for display, is retained in City Library if we feel it may have some future value for our customers. These tend to be books which are no longer in print and cannot be replaced. These are accessible on request.
The nature and provision of information materials within libraries has changed dramatically in recent years. The advent of both free and subscription-only online resources has significantly enhanced the provision of information services. Our preference is to provide on line information which is always available over the internet and is free for our customers to access.
Each library will have a small reference collection. Some material may be available only to be viewed in the library due its condition or rarity.
Heritage material from the North East, with a clear focus on Newcastle, including books, maps and other media is available at City Library. We aim to acquire all published material related to Newcastle. Each branch library maintains a level of stock relating to the local area appropriate to the size of the branch.
Newcastle Libraries accepts donations to its Heritage Collections in the form of gifts, deposits, bequests, local authority transfer or temporary loans.
Any items from the categories above must relate to Newcastle and the surrounding area and be of local significance. We reserve the right to refuse any items, while our Heritage Loans Policy outlines the terms and conditions.
The library service accepts donations of recently published material that meets our criteria for stock selection and is of a sufficiently high physical standard for library needs.
For example, we will consider:
We will not accept:
Donations become the property of the service as a whole and will be treated in accordance with our existing stock guidelines. Donations are accepted on the understanding that they may not necessarily be added to stock or retained at a particular branch. We are unable to return items that are not selected for stock, and we reserve the right to dispose of any items we are unable to use, in line with our disposal policy.
Unsolicited items sent to the library service will not be considered for purchase by library staff. Items will only be returned to the sender if contact details have been provided, and this can be done so at no cost to Newcastle Libraries.
It is the responsibility of the library team to ensure that stock remains relevant and in good condition at all service points. Stock is monitored and evaluated using automated stock management tools, national and in-house surveys, stock suggestions and customer comment forms.
The library team periodically 'weed' the shelves and analyse the stock gaps and stock demand. This remains an important part of the stock management process.
Items may be disposed of in line with the City Library Stock Management and Retention Policy.
Items which have been withdrawn may be sold or recycled.
Fines are no longer charged for overdue items.
If an item is lost, damaged, or defaced, the library service will ask the customer to pay the cost of replacing the item.
Newcastle Libraries subscribes to the guidelines laid down by the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals (CILIP):
"It is the role of a library and information service that is funded from the public purse to provide, as far as resources allow, access to all publicly available information, whether factual or fiction and regardless of media or format, in which its users claim legitimate interest.
Access should not be restricted on any grounds except that of the law. If publicly available material has not incurred legal penalties, then it should not be excluded on moral, political, religious, racial or gender grounds, to satisfy the demands of sectional interest. The legal basis of any restriction on access should always be stated."
Our primary objective is to provide the widest possible choice of published material, in the most appropriate format, which does not contravene any law and to provide such material, either on the shelves or on demand, to all users of the library service without prejudice.
The library service will not add or remove an item from our shelves solely at the request of any individual or group. Library staff are responsible for the management and disposal of stock following the principles outlined in this stock management policy. The final decision as to whether an item is considered suitable for library stock rests with the Head of Service.
It is the responsibility of parents, guardians, or carers to determine the suitability of materials used by their children.
Last reviewed: June 2023. We review this annually.
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