The Heights Library  

Library Selection Policy

The Library of The Heights Baptist Church affirms these guidelines to insure that the highest quality materials are provided to church members.

All materials are subject to approval by the library staff and church leadership with the library administrator carrying the major responsibility of selection.

Materials include printed media such as books, audiovisual media such as audio tapes, video tapes, CDs, DVDs, and multimedia kits.

All materials will be of sound doctrine and scriptural interpretation. Titles related to religious groups and their belief should be objective in content. Materials should nurture the believer, proclaim the gospel, and call us to minister and to worship the Lord Jesus Christ.

The collection should be constructive in influence, morally sound, and support our belief in positive development of the individual and Christian lifestyles.

Personal lifetime concerns, such as family, marriage, childcare and rearing, discipline, characteristics and problems of aging, substance abuse, interpersonal relationships and personal improvement.

Leisure materials on recreation, sports, cooking, health, travel, gardening, hobbies and other special interests, such as fiction, poetry and the arts.

Educational materials in psychology, history, geography, biography, non-fiction and other areas.

Materials in print and electronic form, such as Biblical commentaries, lexicons, encyclopedias, dictionaries, almanacs, and atlases.

Materials will be selected with the characteristics of our members in mind, which will determine our general collection choices: age, culture, locale, educational background, spiritual maturity, denominational background, special interests and needs.

Gift Policy

Gifts to the library are welcomed and encouraged. They are subject to approval by the library staff and church leadership. All designated funds are credited through the church financial office.

The most common and preferred gifts are monies for the purchase of new media or furnishings.

Tributes in the form of Memorial and Honor gifts are encouraged. The library will send letters of acknowledgement to the honoree and the donor.

The donor and library team may determine specific needs of the library regarding the choice of gift.

Gifts of equipment and furnishings are subject to approval by the library staff and church leaders.

All gifts of pre-owned materials to the library must meet the same standards as purchased items and must be in proper condition. Donations, such as used books and other media, may be added to our collection, disbursed to mission locations or persons needing resources. Unless specified, these donations will not be returned to the donor. No provisional gifts will be accepted.

The collection of The Heights Baptist Church is continually reviewed, and each item is evaluated as to its current value in meeting the needs of users. Space must always be available to house quality media that will benefit our church ministries and members.