The mission of the Z. Smith Reynolds Library is to inspire learning, advance knowledge, and build community. The Z. Smith Reynolds (ZSR) Library Collection primarily supports the study and research needs of faculty, graduate students and undergraduate students in the Undergraduate College, the School of Business, the School of Professional Studies, the Divinity School, and the Reynolda Campus programs of the Graduate School. The Collection also supports the research and operational needs of Wake Forest University administrative departments, including the ZSR Library itself. (Collection Development Policy: Z. Smith Reynolds Library, 2023)

ZSR faculty and staff exercise our expertise as information professionals in selecting library materials. Per the American Library Association (ALA) Code of Ethics:

We provide the highest level of service to all library users through appropriate and usefully organized resources; equitable service policies; equitable access; and accurate, unbiased, and courteous responses to all requests.

We uphold the principles of intellectual freedom and resist all efforts to censor library resources.

We distinguish between our personal convictions and professional duties and do not allow our personal beliefs to interfere with fair representation of the aims of our institutions or the provision of access to their information resources. (ALA, 2021)

Materials are selected in accordance with the ALA’s Library Bill of Rights, which states:

I. Books and other library resources should be provided for the interest, information, and enlightenment of all people of the community the library serves. Materials should not be excluded because of the origin, background, or views of those contributing to their creation.

II. Libraries should provide materials and information presenting all points of view on current and historical issues. Materials should not be proscribed or removed because of partisan or doctrinal disapproval. (ALA, 2019)

The library understands that authors may, intentionally or inadvertently, misstate facts, reach erroneous conclusions, or make claims that may, in fact or in perception, be hurtful to individuals, or lead future researchers astray. It is not the task of the Library to verify or validate the contents of what it acquires, but it is to make research available for review, rebuttal, substantiation, support, or further inquiry.

Any concerns regarding library materials should be directed to the Dean of the Library, zsrdean@wfu.edu.

Materials from Special Collections and Archives that are made available via the library’s Digital Collections have an existing and separate review protocol.

Drafted March 2023; Adopted March 2023