Mission 

The Flagstaff City-Coconino County Public Library enriches the lives of residents and visitors by offering access to resources and opportunities to grow, learn, and innovate in a safe, supportive, and sustainable environment.

Statement of Purpose 

The Collection Development Policy, approved by the Library Board, is one of the library’s foundational policies. This Policy outlines the philosophies that create and shape the Flagstaff City-Coconino County Public Library material and digital collection, the de-selection practices that maintain it over time, and the guidelines that help the collection respond to community needs. The Collection Development Policy ensures that over time the Flagstaff City-Coconino County Public Library’s collection will reflect the needs of the City of Flagstaff, Coconino County, and the greater Northern Arizona communities, while facilitating meaningful experiences for the individual library patron. 

Philosophy of Policy 

The Flagstaff City-Coconino County Public Library collects materials, in many formats, which support its function as a community hub and information access point for the needs of the Northern Arizona community. The goal of the collection is to serve the general, educational, recreational, and entertainment needs of the public. The aim is also to select materials that reflect the racial, ethnic, and cultural diversity of the community. 

Patron demand, widespread interest and usage are the most powerful indicators of influence on the Library’s collection. The other driving force is the Library’s mission to enrich the lives of residents and visitors by offering access to resources and opportunities to grow, learn, and innovate in a safe, supportive, and sustainable environment.


Collection decisions are made to further the existing collection and to build exceptional local Arizona and Native American Library collections. The Flagstaff City-Coconino County Public Library special collections have a particular focus on the following areas: Arizona-specific reference and fictional materials, Genealogy and Native American History in Northern Arizona.  

When selecting materials for the Library, the community needs and interests are placed above the personal views or objections of the material selector. Selection of materials does not imply the endorsement of the contents. 

Every effort is made to have materials that are of interest to and representative of the community, even when the content or views expressed in these materials may be unpopular or may be deemed inappropriate by some users or Library staff. The responsibility to choose to access or not access specific materials found in the Library rests with the individual customer. No Library staff member or any other person, group, or organization should be allowed to restrict an individual’s access to materials. The responsibility for selecting materials for a minor lies solely with the parent or legal guardian. 

The following American Library Association (ALA) collection development guidelines are subscribed to by Flagstaff City-Coconino County Public Library:

Scope of the Physical Collection 

Holdings at the Downtown and East Flagstaff Community Library, Tuba City Public Library, Forest Lakes Community Library, and Grand Canyon Community Library locations include fiction and nonfiction collections. Holdings include information in multiple formats, such as microfilm, large type book, graphic novel, DVD, Music CD and audiobook, video games, and braille, and languages to represent the diverse viewpoints and interests of the Northern Arizona community. The collection also includes non-traditional materials, including but not limited to board games, seeds, culture passes, and the Library of Things. 

Library holdings concentrate on materials of high interest. Collections are shaped, in part, by customer use through the patron-driven acquisitions process, by which items may be requested for order, or in-demand items may have additional copies ordered. Suggestions for materials to be added into the library collection are subject to the library’s Purchase Requests Policy. 

The Reference and Arizona Reference collections contain current and historical non-circulating publications, bound periodicals, city/county historical records, local maps, and vertical file resources to support reference service for the general public. 
 

Scope of the Digital Collection

The Digital Collection represents the diverse viewpoints and interests of the entire community the library serves. This collection includes citation and full-text databases; eBooks, eAudiobooks and other downloadable and streaming media; information resources and guides; and instructional programs. Through the Arizona State Library, other services are offered, such as eMagazines, access to the Talking Books Library, online databases, the Arizona Memory Project and Historic Newspapers archives, and more. Some digital resources are obtained from third-party vendors, the Library does not have direct control over the items available.

Collection Management Philosophy

The Flagstaff City-Coconino County Public Library materials collection is constantly evolving and is governed by the needs of the community. As materials are bought and added into the collection others are removed through a process known as de-selection. De-selection is a process that libraries continually perform in order to ensure the library collection is up-to-date, relevant, in good condition, and meets the needs of the community. 

The Flagstaff City-Coconino County Public Library takes great care to retain or replace items that are used continually by the community or possess great cultural or educational value. 

Decisions regarding selection or de-selection are influenced by usage patterns, the physical space at each library location, and the specialized collections that exist in each library. 

Responsibility for Collection Management

The ultimate authority for the Library collection rests with the Library Director. The collection development policy and any changes or updates are approved by the FCCCPL Board. Staff assigned to collection development tasks follow the policy in performing these duties.  

Selection Methodology

The Flagstaff City-Coconino County Public Library selects materials for the greater Northern Arizona area based upon the interest and needs of the community. The Flagstaff City-Coconino County Public Library does not exclude or remove content from the Library on the basis of race, nationality, sexual orientation, or social, political, or religious beliefs. All selections are subject to the criteria listed below. Gifts or donations to the library are evaluated with the same selection methodology and criteria as purchased items. Members of the community may suggest new items to be added to the library collection through patron requests following this same criteria. Items excluded from the library collection include the following: 

  • Academic Textbooks or highly specialized or technical research materials
  • Expensive or out-of-date formats no longer collected
  • Prohibitively old or out-of-print materials that are available through Interlibrary Loan 

Selection Criteria

Library staff, spearheaded by the Collection Management Team, use their professional knowledge and expertise to select material for the collection. Some of the criteria used for selecting materials to be included in the collection are listed below. 

  • Support of Library’s mission, vision, values, and goals
  • Public demand and interest
  • Timeliness and/or significance of the subject
  • Reviews in recognized sources
  • Local or community relevance
  • Contribution to diversity, depth, or breadth of collection
  • Effectiveness and suitability of format, durability, and ease of use
  • Cost in relation to use and/or enhancement to the collection
  • Artistic presentation and/or originality
  • Availability of the product for multiple, concurrent users
  • Technical and support requirements needed for access to the product
  • Appropriateness to the interests and skills of the intended user
  • Subject matter under-represented in the general collection relative to demand
  • Representation of a significant trend, genre, or culture
  • Historical or cultural significance
  • Items that are out of print
  • Items that are written by Arizona authors or deal with Arizona subjects
  • Items that fit the cultural needs of the area, including Indigenous peoples
  • Qualifications of the publisher, author, editor, or vendor
  • Format and appeal to the Flagstaff and greater Northern Arizona area
  • Date of publication
  • Price and availability 

De-Selection (Weeding) Methodology

The Flagstaff City-Coconino County Public Library regularly removes materials that have been withdrawn according to the criteria for de-selection. Removed materials are made available to the Friends of the Flagstaff Library for potential resale. 

De-Selection Criteria

Items are not de-selected based solely on viewpoints related to race, ethnicity, sexual identity, gender expression, religion, politics, or social ideologies. The criteria for items to be removed from the library collection are as follows: 

  • Poor condition or damaged
  • Infrequent circulation or no demand
  • Outdated or inaccurate information
  • Availability through other library entities or partners 

Retention Methodology

The Flagstaff City-Coconino County Public Library reserves the right to retain material within the collection even if it falls within de-selection criteria. Some materials, as decided by library professionals, possess certain outstanding characteristics, whether historical, cultural, or regional, that may make them exempt from the normal de-selection methodology. 

Retention Criteria

The criteria for items to potentially remain in the collection, even if they fall within de-selection criteria parameters, are as follows: 

  • Classic or award-winning title
  • Best available title for a particular subject
  • Northern Arizona or southwest regional interest
  • Material is rare/out of print/non-replaceable
  • Contains photographs or pictures that are no longer available on newer titles
  • Newer/replacement edition of item is unavailable for purchase due to budgetary concerns
  • Material serves an under-served population
  • ADA requirement  

Gifts 

The Flagstaff City-Coconino County Public Library accepts donations of books from members of the community. Any donations become the property of the Library and may be accepted into the collection, pursuant to selection methodology and criteria, or given to the Friends of the Library for book sale purposes. 

Donations of materials are especially welcome for Arizona specific materials. The library will not accept textbooks, VHS tapes, audio cassettes, outdated manuals, or items in poor condition.  

Arizona Talking Book Library

The Flagstaff City-Coconino County Public Library is a partner library for the Arizona State Library. The Arizona State Library is a regional Library for the Library of Congress National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped (NLS). The State Library maintains a circulating collection of federally supplied materials in recorded disk and tape, braille, and other special formats. The collection provided by the Arizona Talking Book Library and NLS represents a wide range of informational and recreational library materials. Other materials of regional or personal interest to eligible readers may be acquired by purchase, transcription, or recording to supplement the basic collection. 

 

Purchase Requests

The library welcomes suggestions for additions to the collection. Please check the Catalog or Overdrive to see if the library already owns the item first. The request may be up to $50 for a physical item and no more than $95 for an e-book/e-audiobook1. Patrons may request up to 10 books per year. 


Generally, the library will only purchase items that are available from the Library’s regular vendors,  published within the last three years, and that fit the Collection Development Policy above. Used materials are typically not considered for purchase. Many older titles are no longer available for purchase. The library encourages patrons to request an Interlibrary Loan (ILL) for older books. Any requests for items not yet published or released will not be accepted more than 30 days prior to the publication or release date. 


Due to the large number of suggestions the library receives, it is not possible to buy every request or respond individually to each recommendation. Holds on requested physical items will not be placed automatically. We are unable to do this for e-materials, however, patrons can check the catalog and place a hold when an item appears, usually 1-3 days after being ordered. Physical items can take three to five weeks to be added to the catalog. 

Footnote: 

  1. The library purchases e-materials on a subscription basis through special library vendors, and each copy is available to multiple individuals over time. This means the cost for a library purchasing a digital title dedicated to public use is significantly higher than the cost of an individual purchasing the same title for personal use. 

 

Information for Authors Interested in Having Their Book Added to the Library Collection

The Flagstaff Public Library’s collection development policy is used to determine which materials are added to the collection. The Library selects books containing content that is written for the general reader rather than for the specialist or professional. Books will be considered for the collection if they:

  • Are competitive in the market in terms of quality of writing and illustration.
  • Demonstrate that the publisher and author are familiar with current publishing trends.
  • Appeal to a broad audience and “sell themselves” in terms of jacket art, annotations, etc.
  • Are reasonably expected to have interest to a Flagstaff Library customer.  If the topic is too specialized (e.g. memoirs of a Kansas childhood by J. A. Smith), it may not be considered.
  • Are available from standard library vendors- preferably major vendors who can catalog and process the materials for the library customer. If the book is only available as an e-book it must be carried by Overdrive (https://cocolib.overdrive.com/).  This company supplies the library platform which allows us to lend e-books and circulate them while protecting copyright.
  • Have positive professional reviews in trade journals such as Kirkus, Library Journal, School Library Journal, Publishers Weekly, etc.  
  • Are designed to be checked out to multiple users.
    • “Consumable” books with pages designed to be filled in by the reader or torn out are not appropriate. Because library books are heavily used, those with sewn or glued spines are best suited to public libraries. Paperback editions are acceptable. Spiral and comb bindings do not stand up well to the multiple uses library books will receive.

If you donate a free copy of your book, please consider that donations become the property of the Library to use, distribute and dispose of as staff deems appropriate. Donated copies will not be returned to the author if not added to the collection.

How to Let Us Know About Your Book

The best way to bring your book to our attention is through professional reviews. A positive review in one or more of the review journals, such as Library Journal, School Library Journal (for children's books), Publisher's Weekly, Booklist, or the local newspaper will give your book a better chance of being bought by our library (and other public libraries as well). 

To contact the Collection Management Supervisor directly, please use the Contact Us Form and enter “AUTHOR QUERY” in the Subject Field.

 

Revised and approved by Library Board 9/25/2025