OK Virtual Library Collection Development Policy

Introduction

The OK Virtual Library (OKVL) is a digital collection of reading and listening materials hosted by OverDrive. It serves the patrons of public and tribal libraries in Oklahoma with populations of less than 100,000 residents. The libraries make up the OK Virtual Library Consortium. The purpose of this policy is to standardize and guide selection decisions, and to inform patrons what they can expect of the collection and services offered.

The OKVL is available to cardholders of member libraries. The populations served by these libraries include individuals of all ages who represent a multiplicity of racial and ethnic backgrounds, economic and education levels, and physical and mental abilities. Libraries participating in the OKVL agree to make this service available only to residents of their legal service areas, and make reasonable distinctions between eligible and ineligible (out of state) patrons.

Funding

Each library pays an annual fee to OverDrive based on its legal service area. A portion of the annual fee goes toward system maintenance, and another portion is credited to each library to buy shared content. Funding has also been provided through grants from the Oklahoma Department of Libraries and Institute of Museum and Library Services.

Libraries may contribute some or all of their content credit to a central fund account. Member libraries who do not contribute to this account are responsible for buying titles throughout the year. The content credit of libraries that have not elected to contribute, yet have not bought titles for more than one year will be transferred to the central fund account. A letter will be sent to libraries one month before this occurs notifying them of the transfer. Libraries may also use local funding sources above and beyond the annual fee to buy titles exclusively for their patrons by using the Advantage program. Should the consortium of libraries or an individual library terminate service, any titles purchased with OverDrive are non-transferrable (See “Consortium Agreement Form”).

Scope of Collection

The OKVL collects popular recreational and informational materials. It does not keep materials at an archival or academic level. Selectors currently buy the following formats: Kindle eBooks, ePub eBooks and audiobooks. If any library in the consortium wishes to add formats or sign up for new licensing models not currently in the collection, the OKVL administrator should be contacted to discuss feasibility, funding, and possible repercussions to other libraries.

The majority of titles in the collection are in English. The number of copies of each title is based upon available funds and anticipated popularity or demand. More copies will automatically be purchased when there are more than 15 holds per one item, although the goal of the consortium should be to reduce this ratio considerably as funding allows.

Material Selection

The members of the OK Virtual Library Consortium endorse the principles documented in the Library Bill of Rights, Freedom to Read, and Freedom to View Statements of the American Library Association. No material that meets the OKVL’s selection criteria shall be excluded because of the origin, background, or views of the author or those contributing to its creation. Not all materials may be suitable for all members of the community. Responsibility for monitoring a child’s access to resources rests with the parent or legal guardian.

The OKVL administrator purchases titles with credit from the central fund account using the guidelines below and suggestions from contributing libraries. Libraries expending their own credit on shared titles for the collection will also consider the following criteria when making purchasing decisions:

  • Positive reviews or awards from professional sources including:
    • Booklist
    • Publishers Weekly
    • Kirkus Reviews
    • Library Journal
    • School Library Journal
  • Placement on bestseller lists (New York Times, Publishers Weekly, Amazon)
  • Items with high waiting lists requiring additional copies
  • Anticipated community need
  • Reputation/qualification of author or publisher
  • Accuracy
  • Appearance in major media outlets
  • Past performance of similar titles
  • Completing a series
  • Patron interest
  • Price, availability and budget

Selectors will use circulation activity reports, patron demand, and professional judgement to determine allocation of funds.  The following budget divisions are recommended based on current trends and average checkouts.

 

Audience
Adult 80%
Young Adult 10%
Juvenile 10%
Format
eBook 55%
Audio 45%
Source
New Titles 55%
Items with high waiting lists and expired titles with holds 45%

Category
Fiction 80%
Nonfiction 20%

 

Advantage Titles and the Advantage Plus Program

All members may create Advantage accounts with OverDrive to expend funds over and above their annual fee on content that is available only to that library’s individual patron base. Advantage libraries may also use the Advantage Plus program which allows them to share Advantage titles that are not checked out with the rest of the consortium while maintaining hold priorities for their patrons.

Public Library Connect Program/Sora

This program allows a public library to partner with its local school and share titles from the OKVL collection. Students use school login credentials to access titles using the Sora app. The school can filter its collection by audience, however there is no ability for a school to deselect individual titles within an audience range.

Deselection

Deselecting (or weeding) is the planned process of removing items from a library collection to ensure that the collection remains current and appealing. Candidates for weeding include outdated formats no longer used by newer devices, editions that are no longer accurate because information has changed, titles that have displayed poor performance, and expired titles. Titles that have been expired for two years without being re-purchased will be considered for weeding. Expired titles that are no longer for sale are automatically removed from the patron site by OverDrive. The OKVL administrator will manually weed all other titles from the site and should be contacted if a library wishes to re-purchase a title.

Requests for Reconsideration

If an Oklahoma resident who is a patron of a participating library has concerns after reading a particular item within the collection, they should first discuss those concerns with their local library. If, after the discussion, the patron feels there has not been a satisfactory resolution to their concerns, a Request for Reconsideration Form found in this document may be completed and sent to the OKVL administrator to determine if the item being challenged is held within the consortium collection or through an Advantage library.

Reconsideration requests will be considered by a consortium review committee. The committee will consist of the director from the patron’s library, the OKVL administrator and three other staff from three other participating libraries. The committee will review the request and read the item in its entirety before responding in writing to the patron within 90 days. If the patron submits multiple forms at the same time, a longer response time may be required. A patron may have up to five active reconsideration requests at one time.

Challenged materials will not be removed from public access while awaiting resolution of a request for reconsideration. If the item is an Advantage Plus copy, and a decision is made to remove the item from the consortium collection, that does mean that it will also be removed from the Advantage library’s collection, as OverDrive will not revert an Advantage copy once it is shared.

A title will only be evaluated for reconsideration once within a three year period.

Reconsideration requests concerning Advantage titles not shared with the consortium will be referred to the library who purchased the title and local reconsideration policies will be followed.

Policy Revision

This policy will be reviewed during the annual consortium meeting. The policy will be revised to reflect emerging best practices in digital library collection management, and to keep pace with new developments. Should the OKVL change/add content type or licensing models the policy will automatically be updated with these changes by the OKVL administrator.

Technical Support

Libraries should familiarize themselves with both the Help section in the OK Virtual Library site and the Support section in Overdrive Marketplace for answering questions and solving most issues. Online forms for submitting questions and contact information for OverDrive representatives are found in Support. Questions regarding billing and invoicing are also submitted in that section. Reaching out to other libraries is also acceptable as time allows.

Patrons needing help will be directed to the primary contact listed for each library. Each member library is expected to help its own patrons to the greatest extent possible, and should not refer them to other OKVL libraries.

To request additional Marketplace logins, email the consortium administrator.

Revised December 2024