As Gaeilge

The purpose of the Collection Acquisition and Development Policy is to ensure that Dublin City Public Libraries meets "the wide ranging information, educational, research, recreational and cultural needs of the citizens of Dublin and visitors to the city, through the pursuit of strategies which will result in the effective acquisition, conservation, management and promotion of its lending and reference collections".
(Source: "Dublin Corporation Public Libraries/Information Services & City Archives Programme for Development 1996 - 2001")

Policy

Dublin City Public Libraries will secure quality materials within available purchasing funds across the broad range of knowledge and materials format. This will include; books, maps, manuscripts, photographs, prints, pamphlets, programmes, posters, business, professional, political and estate papers, in addition to all non-print items such as exist or may exist in the future. Acquisition will have particular regard to material about Dublin, by Dubliners and to general reference and lending materials including ephemeral and public interest information designed to assist citizens of Dublin in their education, information and recreational needs.

Where appropriate, Dublin City Libraries will avail of co-operative lending schemes such as the Irish Joint Fiction Reserve Scheme and national and international inter-lending schemes to meet specific requests for non-current, out-of-print or special interest material.

In order to achieve its objectives Dublin City Libraries will acquire materials within the following defined criteria.

Selection Criteria

Any or all of the following criteria will be applied by library staffs to all items selected for purchase:

• Professional awareness and judgement
• Reputation, authority and competence of author and/or publisher
• Literary merit
• Accuracy, clarity of information and/or presentation
• Published reviews, trade literature and attention of critics
• Value for money
• Cost of acquisition as against borrowing from other sources
• Suitability and durability for library use
• Adding value to specialist collections Specialist items appropriate to the Dublin & Irish Studies Collections

Acquisition by Donation or Gift

Dublin City Public Libraries welcomes interest and support by way of donation and/or gift of money or materials.

Such criteria as apply to acquisition by selection and purchase will also apply to donations/gifts of materials. Offers of material will be reviewed on that basis. DCPL reserves the right to decline donations/gifts and reserves the right to determine the disposition of all donations and gifts received including the sale of material for the benefit of the Library in the interest of library users.