except those that are illegal, even if they do not collect those materials in their physical

collection. In order to provide this access, a librarian may attempt to find material not

included in the library's own collection in other libraries in the system, through

interlibrary loan, or through a referral, perhaps to a government agency or a commercial

bookstore.  Interlibrary loan is expensive, however, and is therefore used infrequently.  

Public librarians also apply professional standards to their collection development

practices.  Public libraries generally make material selection decisions and frame policies

governing collection development at the local level.  Collection development is a key

subject in the curricula of Masters of Library Science programs and is defined by certain

practices.  In general, professional standards guide public librarians to build, develop and

create collections that have certain characteristics, such as balance in its coverage and

requisite and appropriate quality.  To this end, the goal of library collections is not

universal coverage, but rather to find those materials that would be of the greatest direct

benefit or interest to the community.  In making selection decisions, librarians consider

criteria including the content of the material, its accuracy, the title's niche in relation to

the rest of the collection, the authority of the author, the publisher, the work's

presentation, and how it compares with other material available in the same genre or on

the same subject.   

In pursuing the goal of achieving a balanced collection that serves the needs and

interests of their patrons, librarians generally have a fair amount of autonomy, but may

also be guided by a library's collection development policy.  These collection

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