Adult fiction
We consider fiction an essential element of our public library stock, as it serves not only recreational, but also educational and social needs. In selecting stock we aim to provide titles which:
- seek to broaden the outlook, exercise the imagination and challenge the pre-conceptions of the reader
- extend literacy and encourage reluctant readers
- provide entertainment and relaxation
In building our collection, our primary objective is to provide a varied and balanced stock of all types of fiction, designed to satisfy all tastes. We aim to develop collections which consist of popular ‘genre’ fiction of all types, and we recognise the vital role of the public library service in supporting and promoting new authors, popular authors, English translations, classics, standard works and literary fiction.
Adult non-fiction, reference and information
A comprehensive non-fiction and reference stock is essential in order to encourage and assist community development and promote social inclusion. Our non-fiction and reference stocks support:
- lifelong learning, including formal and informal education and training
- personal and social development
- independent research and private study
- local commercial and economic endeavor
- entertainment, relaxation and leisure
- health and wellbeing
Though our aim is to provide as comprehensive an information service as possible, the provision of non-fiction and reference stock is subject to the same budget limitations as other parts of the library service. Increasingly, reference works are moving to online electronic formats, sometimes exclusively, which inevitably impacts upon our physical holdings.
The reference stock provided at each level of service point is decided with a consideration of the opening hours and local demand as well as financial constraints. Not all enquiries can be satisfied at a local level and may involve referral to larger collections for example - main libraries, regional reference libraries, other agencies.
The main reference collections are housed at the six main libraries and are always accessible during normal opening hours. Smaller service points hold very basic reference stock, but internet access in all branch libraries enables access to a range of online and digital information resources.
Reference stocks are replaced regularly to maintain the essential currency of the information provided. Serial publications are purchased on standing order to ensure that new issues/parts are not missed, and these standing orders are reviewed annually to assess the continued usefulness of titles.
Superseded editions of reference works may be passed down to smaller branches, but only when the information contained is still reasonably current.
Library staff have training to keep them abreast of new developments and new resources in order to maximise the exploitation of the available stock and better assist customers.
Copying
The photocopying of all materials in our reference collections is subject to the Copyright, Design and Patents Act 1988, Copyright (Visually Impaired Person’s) Act 2002, Copyright Act Guidelines 2003, and the Intellectual Property Act 2014.
Guidance states that:
Users may make a print or digital copy of anything in copyright (the amount must be fair and justifiable) for:
- non commercial
- research or private study
- text, data or content mining
- illustration for instruction or teaching
- quoting from a work
- caricature, parody or pastiche
- news reporting (excluding photographs)
Users may only:
- make a single copy of a “reasonable” proportion of a published work. This should be judged on a case-by-case basis, but 5% of a published work could possibly be reasonable. Copying more than is required under the specific copyright exception or copying the whole of a published copyright work is unlikely to be reasonable.
- copy one article from an issue of a periodical, (unless for text, data or content mining)
- make a single copy of the whole of an unpublished work, unless prohibited by a rights holder
Users must:
- acknowledge the source where reasonably practical
Users may not:
- reproduce the copy, sell it, or share it online
For Ordnance Survey maps, the following applies:
(i) copies are only supplied to persons satisfying the librarian that they require the copy for the purposes of: research for a non-commercial purpose; or private study and will not use them for any other purpose
(ii) that no person is given more than one copy of the same material or with a copy of more than a reasonable proportion of any work; and
(iii) that the person to whom copies are supplied are required to pay for them a sum not less than the cost (including a contribution to the general expense of the library) attributable to their production.
In addition to the prescribed conditions set out in section 39(2) Ordnance Survey requires that each copy is accompanied by an acknowledgment in the following form (unless such acknowledgement is impossible for reasons of practicality or otherwise): © Crown Copyright.
Reproduced by permission of Ordnance Survey®. With regard to paragraph 2(ii) above, in appropriate circumstances Ordnance Survey will not object to a maximum of 4 copies of the same map extract being made with each individual copy no larger than 625 sq cm (A4), provided the other requirements of section 39(2) of the Act are satisfied.
In exceptional circumstances Ordnance Survey may allow the copying of a single extract larger than A4 provided it is for a non-commercial purpose or private study only. Ordnance Survey copying of maps held in public libraries.
Library staff are obliged to make known these restrictions to the public.
Digital and online resources
Our online resources consist of:
- eBooks
- eAudiobooks
- digital magazines, comics and newspapers
- access to a range of academic journals and papers
- family history resources
- historical newspaper archives
- a range of encyclopedias and dictionaries
- a range of online tutorials and courses
- driving Theory Test Practice
The Library Service is committed to maintaining and developing its collections to provide access to the widest and most up to date range of resources possible, within financial resources.
Online resources ensure both currency and immediacy of access to information. Where possible, digital stock will be available both in libraries and remotely to customers at home, and, ideally, usable by multiple customers concurrently. However, we recognise that publishers’ licensing conditions do not always permit this. We aim to choose platforms which are easy to use, and resources which fit well into our collection as a whole, as well as those which offer the best content according to the appropriate selection criteria outlined above for physical stock. The sufficiency of range and coverage and whether the usage merits the subscription or license cost is also considered.
For both eBooks and eAudiobooks, we offer a range of adult fiction, adult non-fiction, young adult and children’s, with adult fiction forming the majority of the collection due to demand.
The focus is leisure reading, so while non-fiction is stocked, it does not aim to support academic study.
In all cases, use of our electronic and digital resources is monitored closely to ensure that value for money is being achieved, and contracts are reviewed annually.
Newspapers, magazines and periodicals
The six main Libraries take one copy of the local daily newspaper, but since 1 April 2018, Cumberland and Westmorland and Furness Library Services no longer provide a full range of paper copies of newspapers and magazines in libraries.
We provide access to online newspapers via Bolinda ePress, which offers access to digital full text newspapers and magazines. CWF Library Services also provide online access to a wide range of historical newspaper databases, which offer access to titles from the 19th century.
Access to a range of academic journals and papers is available via Access to Research from all Cumberland and Westmorland and Furness public computers.
Digital access to online newspapers, magazines, comics and journals is further supported with free PC usage within our libraries.
CWF Library Services do welcome donations of hard copy, local interest newspapers and journals from the public.
The only titles we accept as donations are as follows:
- local newspapers
- Cumbria Life
- Cumbria
Donated titles should be in good physical condition with no missing pages, completed crosswords.
Local studies materials
The main Local Studies reference collections are located at Kendal Library and Carlisle Library (The Jackson Collection), materials for Furness area are housed at Barrow Local Studies Library and for Eden area in Penrith Library. Additional resources are available at Kendal Archive and Barrow Archive Centres for Westmorland and Furness and at Carlisle and Whitehaven Archives Centres for Cumberland.
As stated in section 4 above, it is impossible for the library service to buy everything, but we aim to acquire a strong representation of material published about the respective local areas, providing collections which are relevant to their localities.
Material acquired for collections includes local and family history, topography, local biography, natural history, prose and poetry by local authors, and books which reflect local literary association. Library Development Officers in each area have responsibility for Local Studies stock acquisition and are expected to follow the principles and criteria of stock acquisition outlined in this document, whist remaining within available budgets.
Publications are purchased, when possible, through our main contracted supplier. However, much local material is only available locally from booksellers, local presses, societies and individuals.
Donations of materials of local interest are welcomed and may be taken into stock if space permits. (See also our Donations Policy, section 8 of this document).
Attempts are made to collect material relating to the National Park and similar bodies. Reports and journals are actively encouraged to be deposited by the appropriate body or acquired on subscription.
Journals, parish magazines and newsletters are acquired selectively and mainly for the local district or catchment area.
Maps and plans are collected selectively, particularly for each local district area. Photographs and illustrations are acquired selectively. These maybe considered for digitisation. Printed ephemera such as timetables, handbills, posters, pamphlets and the like, including company histories, prospectuses etc., may be collected but are only purchased in exceptional circumstances.
Non-book materials such as digital files or images and microforms are sometimes acquired. These may include oral history recordings, family history indexes.
Newspapers, both current and historical, are acquired relating to individual catchment areas. There is a coordinated county wide acquisition policy in accordance with national NEWSPLAN priorities. Local newspapers are microfilmed for preservation. Cumberland and Westmorland
and Furness Library Services also provide online access to a wide range of historical newspapers.
Where material is of a type more usually associated with archive centres or museums, the most appropriate place of deposit is chosen, in consultation with archivists and museum staff.
Audio visual materials: CDs and DVDs (AV)
In line with national trends, use of the AV service had declined for several years, as more and more people access music and entertainment in different ways, online, and so we no longer buy new CD and DVD titles.
Music and drama sets
The county collection includes:
- sets of vocal scores
- play sets
- orchestral sets
Access to the collections is available to registered Music and Drama societies and charges apply. These charges are set by Cumberland and Westmorland and Furness Councils and are reviewed annually. Our music and drama sets are available to other authorities outside of Cumberland and Westmorland and Furness, if there is no current requirement from local borrowers.
CWF Library Services will endeavor to borrow from other library authorities to meet requests by registered Music and Drama societies, if we cannot satisfy them from our own stock.
Sets purchased for the collection include:
- new works by popular playwrights
- new popular vocal scores
- additions to popular vocal sets
- subject to budget and potential usage, works not available elsewhere
Reading group sets
Research has proven that attending reading groups (also known as book groups), offers a number of benefits: from improved mental well-being, to increased social cohesion and a sense of community, to a reduction in loneliness and social isolation. Book groups also provide opportunities for readers to share their reading experiences and engage in reading as a creative act.
We support reading groups via a dedicated Reading Group Loan Service which offers sets of books containing multiple copies of titles, for loan.
Reading Group sets contain 12 copies of a title in standard sized print and, where available, a copy in large print and talking book formats can be provided.
Registration to use this dedicated service is free and there is no request fee for each set of books.
Each registered book group is asked to elect a secretary who will be responsible for organising the loans via our reading group loan service. Requests for sets are usually placed ahead of time, for the upcoming calendar year, and the standard request fee is charged per set requested.
There are 590 + sets available to select from, and whilst some sets may not always be available for a designated month, groups will usually get their specified title choices within the year.
Due to heavy demand, it is not our policy to request sets from authorities outside of the area, nor to lend sets to other authorities.
The Public Library Service does not lend Reading Group sets to schools, as this falls within the remit of Library Services for Schools.
Young People’s Library Service
We aim to meet the needs of all young people in Cumberland and Westmorland and Furness, and to support their learning development; to give young people the best stock we can, in terms of quality, range and balance, within budget limitations; to give children, their parents and carers help and guidance in choosing what to read, and to encourage children and young people to read.
We recognise the need to be fluid and flexible in our approach, both to stock acquisition and stock management, so that we can accommodate changing communities, educational trends, national initiatives, and the needs of successive “generations” of children, their parents and carers.
CWF Library Services do not aim to support Schools or Further Education Colleges with bulk loans of stock to support the curriculum as Cumberland Council operates a separate Library Services for Schools team.
Stock is selected using a combination of methods.
Supplier Selection is used for a large proportion of our young people’s fiction and non-fiction stock. The contracted main supplier selects new stock for our network, using very specific criteria in conjunction with community profiles for each library. The selections are created monthly online, and are then viewed and edited, if required, by CWF Library Services’ staff, before orders are confirmed. This allows us to exploit suppliers’ expertise and knowledge of the publishing industry, whilst ensuring that our criteria for selection are adhered to and that staff involvement in stock selection processes are time and cost effective. Staff have a monitoring role to ensure that the right balance of stock is achieved within their respective areas.
Standing orders ensure all major authors, series and prizewinners are represented in libraries. Supplier selection is supplemented by:
- purchases from stock lists of specialist material
- stock selected by staff from a variety of suppliers to address identified stock gaps or to develop new collections to meet identified need
- stock purchased to satisfy requests
- stock selected from as a result of staff and customer feedback
Some, or all, of the following criteria are applied when assessing a book for purchase, and requested titles are subject to the same criteria.
Books should:
- be attractively presented and packaged
- have high standards of production quality (adequate binding, legible typeface, no overprinting)
- give best value for money
- relate to present stock and potential need
- have a reading age linked to content
- reflect the diversity of lifestyles and cultures, offering positive role models and viewpoints
Fiction
Fiction should have:
- a well-structured plot and a good, well written story line capable of holding the child’s attention
- a good narrative pace
- characters which are convincing, and who relate to others in the story
- language which is appropriate and in context
- Illustrations which support and extend the text
Exclusions for fiction
The following are not supplied for our stock part of the supplier selection process:
- Reprints/reissues of previously published titles
- Bind ups
- Gift type books/expensive cumulations
- School reading schemes
- Annuals
- Books with CDs or CD ROMs
- Activity/sticker books
- Board books that have been previously published as picture books with standard text that is long and wordy
- Bath/cloth books
- Spiral bindings
- Big books
- American imprints
- Pocket books
- Delicate or complicated pop ups
- Self-published books
Self-published books recommended by the author should comply with the criteria above if they are to be considered for purchase.
Information Books
Information books should have:
- Content which is accurate and up to date
- A reading level, interest level and depth of coverage which is appropriate to the intended audience
- Easily accessible information (contents page, index, bibliography, glossary)
- Photographs, maps and diagrams which are appropriate and correctly captioned
Consideration is given to the objectivity and authority of the author(s).
Exclusions for information books
Titles in the following areas are not purchased as part of the supplier selection process:
- Study/revision aids
- Reissues
- SATs books
- Reference materials, including dictionaries and encyclopaedias
- Vanity publications; Self-published titles
- Complete school reading schemes
- Gift type books
- Cumulations
- American imprints
- Spiral binding
- Photocopiable books/workbooks
- Annuals
- Books with flimsy parts
- Pocket books or very small versions of standard works
- Sticker books
Stock is purchased to cover the entire 0 to 16 age range, with additional appropriate material for the Parents and Carers Collections located in main libraries.
Main libraries have small Junior Reference Collections.
Audio books and Story Sacks are also purchased for stock.
Stock is allocated to service points in line with population, usage, size of library, and opening hours.
Additional demands from special groups identified in the community profile, such as playgroups, are also taken into consideration.
To maximise usage and impact, stock is circulated regularly between branches.
Every effort is made to promote both a love of books and reading and the wide range of stock available through service points.
In reading groups, children and young people can develop their reading range and interests, discuss books in a fun way and meet authors.
In Storytimes, Baby Rhyme Times and activity sessions for the under-fives a wide range of stock is promoted to pre-school children and their parents/carers.
Holiday activity sessions also take place in many libraries; these are book based whenever possible. National initiatives such as World Book Day, National Children’s Book Week, Bookstart Week, Summer Reading Challenge, Family Learning Festival, National Poetry Day and Pyjamarama are used as opportunities to promote stock and libraries, as are class visits to libraries and outreach activities.
ICT is another vehicle for promoting stock. For example, the Summer Reading Challenge has a dedicated website each year, and online resources such as Encyclopedias, eBooks and eAudiobooks are promoted to children and parents.
Free internet access is available for up to 2 hours a day in all libraries for members under 18.