Moorpark City Library

A. The Library aims to obtain and make readily accessible materials that fill the cultural, educational and leisure needs of City residents.

B. Materials are selected from a number of sources. The basic consideration for the selection of any item is whether it is of proven or potential interest to the community served.

C. Additional criteria include:

• Availability and cost of the material
• The amount of similar material already in the collection
• The availability of the material elsewhere in the community
• The physical makeup of the material
• Opinions expressed by critics or reviewers
• Local interest or demand

D. In Selecting Materials to reflect the diversity of the needs and interests of the residents of Moorpark, it should be recognized that some materials chosen may be offensive or trivial to some persons while being meaningful or significant to others. The Library does not endorse or agree with all opinions expressed in the materials in the collection.

E. Materials shall be made as accessible as possible to the public. The Library does not serve as censor of the reading of any person. The Library recognizes the importance in an open and democratic society of allowing individuals to form their own opinions on issues and, therefore, acquires materials that may be of a controversial nature.

F. Responsibility for the use of Library materials by minors rests with their parents or guardians. The selection of materials for the Library will not be governed by the possibility that these materials may come into the possessions of minors. The Library cannot be expected to act in loco parentis.

A. The initial responsibility for materials selection lies with the professional staff working within the area of service to children, young adults, and adults. The general public may recommend material for consideration.

B. In making selections, Library staff shall do so in a manner based on principle rather than personal opinion, reason rather than prejudice, and judgment rather than censorship. The spirit of selection should be inclusive rather than exclusive. Variety and balance of opinion are sought whenever possible.

C. The Moorpark City Representative shall be the City Manager or his/her designee, who shall be responsible for overseeing the development of the Library collection according to the principles set forth in this policy.

A. The Public has free access to all Library materials consistent with this policy.

B. Placement of materials within the library is a professional decision.
Criteria include:

• Assigned Classification
• Format
• Susceptibility to loss or damage
• Rarity or cost

C. The Library labels materials for placement only, not to predispose the user for
or against any materials.

Only those materials of local significance, of long-term importance to the collections, or heavily used items will be bound or rebound as needed.

Donations of materials or funds to enrich the collection are welcome. Gift materials must meet the same selection criteria as purchased materials. The Library reserves the right to make the final decision on use or disposition of gifts.

Damaged, worn, obsolete, superseded, or unused items may be withdrawn from the Library upon the recommendation of the City Librarian or Library Director with the approval of the Moorpark City Representative.

Weeding and/or disposal of Library Materials shall be at the discretion of the Moorpark City Representative. Recommendation regarding resale, donation, or disposal of weeded material will be made by the City Librarian and approved by the City Representative prior to undertaking the following procedural options:

Materials determined worthy of re-sale or donation will be offered to the Friends of the Moorpark City Library for the purpose of sale(s) with all proceeds to benefit the Moorpark City Library. Items that remain unsold are the responsibility of the Moorpark Friends of the Library who will dispose of the material.
If the Friends of the Moorpark Library do not accept the discards worthy of resale or donation, the City will hold book sales or donate the material to nonprofit, charitable organizations.
Books determined not worthy of re-sale or donation will be appropriately disposed of by the City as determined by the Moorpark City representative. Any material that can be recycled will be recycled.

Persons objecting to the content of materials in the Library shall be invited to state their objection in writing. Any request for reconsideration will be reviewed by the Library Director in consultation with the City Representative. The decision of the Library Director shall be final.

Revised and Adopted by the Moorpark City Council 1/16/2008

The American Library Association affirms that all libraries are forums for information and
ideas, and that the following basic policies should guide their services.
I. Books and other library resources should be provided for the interest, information,
and enlightenment of all people of the community the library serves. Materials
should not be excluded because of the origin, background, or views of those
contributing to their creation.
II. Libraries should provide materials and information presenting all points of view on
current and historical issues. Materials should not be proscribed or removed
because of partisan or doctrinal disapproval.
III. Libraries should challenge censorship in the fulfillment of their responsibility to
provide information and enlightenment.
IV. Libraries should cooperate with all persons and groups concerned with resisting
abridgment of free expression and free access to ideas.
V. A person’s right to use a library should not be denied or abridged because of origin,
age, background, or views.
VI. Libraries which make exhibit spaces and meeting rooms available to the public they
serve should make such facilities available on an equitable basis, regardless of the
beliefs or affiliations of individuals or groups requesting their use.

Adopted June 18, 1948, by the ALA Council; amended February 2, 1961; January 23,
1980; inclusion of “age” reaffirmed January 23, 1996.

An Interpretation of the

The heritage of free men is ours.
In the Bill of Rights to the United States Constitution, the founders of our nation
proclaimed certain fundamental freedoms to be essential to our form of government.
Primary among these is the freedom of expression, specifically the right to publish
diverse opinions and the right to unrestricted access to those opinions. As citizens
committed to the full and free use of all communications media and as professional
persons responsible for making the content of those media accessible to all without
prejudice, we, the undersigned, wish to assert the public interest in the preservation of
freedom of expression.
Through continuing judicial interpretations of the First Amendment to the United States
Constitution, freedom of expression has been guaranteed. Every American who aspires
to the success of our experiment in democracy...who has faith in the political and social
integrity of free men...must stand firm on those Constitutional guarantees of essential
rights. Such Americans can be expected to fulfill the responsibilities implicit in those
rights.
We, therefore, affirm this proposition:
We will make available to everyone who needs or desires them, the widest
diversity of views and expressions, including those that are considered strange,
unorthodox, or unpopular.
Creative thought is, by its nature, new. New ideas are always different and, to some
people, distressing and even threatening. The creator of every new idea is likely to be
regarded as unconventional... occasionally heretical... until his idea is first examined,
then refined, then tested in its political, social or moral applications. The characteristic
ability of our governmental system to adapt to necessary change is vastly strengthened
by the option of the people to choose freely from among conflicting opinions. To stifle
nonconformist ideas at their inception would be to end the democratic process. Only
through continuous weighing and selection from among opposing views can free
individuals obtain the strength needed for intelligent, constructive decisions and actions.
In short, we need to understand not only what we believe, but why we believe it.

Adopted June 18, 1948 by the ALA Council; Amended February 2, 1961 and January
23, 1980

The Freedom to View, along with the freedom to speak, to hear, and to read, is
protected by the First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States. In a free
society, there is no place for censorship of any medium of expression. Therefore these
principles are affirmed:
1. To provide the broadest access to film, video, and other audiovisual materials
because they are a means for the communication of ideas. Liberty of circulation
is essential to insure the constitutional guarantee of freedom of expression.
2. To protect the confidentiality of all individuals and institutions using film, video,
and other audiovisual materials.
3. To provide film, video, and other audiovisual materials which represent a
diversity of views and expression. Selection of a work does not constitute or
imply agreement with or approval of the content.
4. To provide a diversity of viewpoints without the constraint of labeling or
prejudging film, video, or other audiovisual materials on the basis of the moral,
religious, or political beliefs of the producer or filmmaker or on the basis of
controversial content.
5. To contest vigorously, by all lawful means, every encroachment upon the public's
freedom to view.

This statement was originally drafted by the Freedom to View Committee of the
American Film and Video Association (formerly the Educational Film Library
Association) and was adopted by the AFVA Board of Directors in February 1979. This
statement was updated and approved by the AFVA Board of Directors in 1989.
Endorsed January 10, 1990, by the ALA Council