What is the written document that outlines guidelines for selecting, acquiring, maintaining, and removing materials?

• A. Collection Development Policy
• B. Selection Criteria
• C. Diversity (Collection Development)
• D. Dewey Decimal System

Answer: (A)

In libraries, a written document that outlines guidelines for selecting, acquiring, maintaining, and removing materials is the collection development policy. This policy provides the official framework for decisions about what to add to the collection, how resources are allocated, how items are kept up-to-date, and when items should be withdrawn through weeding or replacement. It helps ensure decisions are consistent with the library’s mission, budget, and values, including intellectual freedom and access for all patrons.

Selection criteria refers to the specific standards used to evaluate individual items, but it’s a component of the overall policy, not the entire guide. Diversity in collection development is an important aim that may be described within the policy, but it is not the governing document itself. The Dewey Decimal System is a cataloging and shelving method used to organize materials by subject, not a policy directing acquisitions or removals.