SCHOOL LIBRARY MEDIA CENTER
SELECTION OF MATERIALS
(REGULATION)
The responsibility for the selection of library media center materials rests with the Tannehill Board of Education. Authority for the selection of proper materials shall be delegated to the library media center staff. Materials shall be selected in accordance with the principles established by the School Library Bill of Rights as approved by the American Association of School Librarians. Final selection will be made by the media specialist subject to approval by the board. Suggestions from the administration, the faculty, and from the students are encouraged.
The superintendent shall prepare regulations that support this policy.
The board of education and the media staff of the Tannehill Public Schools subscribe in principle to the following statement of policy expressed by the American Association of School Librarians:
BILL OF RIGHTS FOR LIBRARY MEDIA CENTER PROGRAMS
The professional staff of school media centers is concerned with the development of informed and responsible citizens. To this end, the American Association of School Librarians reaffirms the Library Bill of Rights of the American Library Association and asserts that the responsibility of the school media center is:
To provide materials that will enrich the student as an individual and support the curriculum, taking into consideration individual needs, and the varied interests, abilities, socioeconomic backgrounds, and maturity levels of the student served.
To provide materials that will stimulate growth in knowledge and develop literary, cultural, and aesthetic appreciations and ethical standards.
To provide materials on all sides of issues, beliefs, and ideas so that young citizens may develop the habit of critical thinking, reading, listening, and viewing, thereby enabling them to develop an intellectual integrity in forming judgments.
To provide materials which accurately reflect all religious, social, political, and ethnic groups, and their contributions to our American heritage as well as knowledge and appreciation of world history and culture.
To provide a comprehensive collection of instructional materials which, when selected in compliance with basic selection principles, can be defended on the basis of their appropriateness for the users of the media center.
Responsibility for Selection
The board of education, the governing body of the school district, is legally responsible for the selection of instructional materials. This authority is delegated to the professional personnel of the district for the selection of these materials.
Materials for the library media center are selected primarily by the librarian with input from the Review Committee.
SCHOOL LIBRARY MEDIA CENTER, SELECTION
OF MATERIALS, REGULATION (Cont.)
Review Committee
Library Media Specialist
Principal
Counselor
Classroom Teacher
This committee must be approved by the superintendent.
Types of Material for Purchase
1. Instructional materials are chosen because they are of interest and have learning value for the student in the community. Materials are not excluded because of race, nationality, religion, or political views of the writer.
2. Insofar as it is practical, materials are provided which present all points of view concerning the problems and issues of our time: international, national, and local. Books and materials of sound factual authority are not removed or banned from library media center shelves because of partisan or doctrinal disapproval.
3. Periodicals and newspapers that supplement the curriculum needs shall be chosen for accuracy, objectivity, accessibility, demand, and prices.
4. Multiple items of outstanding quality and much in demand media are purchased as needed.
5. Nonfiction subjects that are topics of criticism are carefully considered before selection. Among these are:
A. Religion -- Factual unbiased material that represents all major religions may be included in the library media center collection. Bibles and other sacred writings are acceptable. Publications from religious bodies may be selected if they have general value or appear in magazine indexes.
B. Ideologies -- The library media center should, without making any effort to sway the reader's judgment, make available basic factual information on the maturity level of its reading public of ideologies or philosophies that are of current or continuing interest.
C. Science -- Medical and scientific knowledge suitable to the development stage of the student should be made available without any biased selection of facts.
Criteria for Selection
1. Selections are made for, and in accordance with, the different maturity levels of the students.
2. Materials are selected which fill a need related to the curriculum and/or contribute to the development and enrichment of the student.
SCHOOL LIBRARY MEDIA CENTER, SELECTION
OF MATERIALS, REGULATION (Cont.)
3. Interests, needs, abilities of the students, and correlation of materials with the curriculum are dominating factors in the selection of materials.
Criteria for Evaluation
1. The author or producer should be qualified as a subject specialist.
2. Concepts, content, and vocabulary should be appropriate for the potential user.
3. Facts presented should be accurate and up-to-date.
4. Information should be logically arranged.
5. Subject matter should hold the attention of the student.
6. Format of the material should be attractive and durable.
7. Illustrations should be pertinent and well executed.
8. Each medium should meet a real or potential need.
9. Evaluation from standard selection aids should be given consideration.
Selection Tools
In selecting materials for purchase, the media specialist evaluates the existing collection and consults reputable, unbiased, professionally prepared selection aids, such as:
Booklist
Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books
Children's Catalog
The Elementary School Library Collection
Hornbook
Oklahoma Department of Libraries Book
School Library Journal
Junior High & Senior High School Catalog
Fiction Catalog
When possible, audiovisual materials shall be previewed before purchase or ordered with return privilege guaranteed.
SCHOOL LIBRARY MEDIA CENTER, SELECTION
OF MATERIALS, REGULATION (Cont.)
Gift Books and Materials
1. Gift books and materials are accepted with the understanding that they must meet the same selection criteria as materials purchased with board of education funds. The practice of a donor's purchasing new books or materials as library media center gifts is discouraged. It is preferable that donors make monetary gifts for the purchase of books and materials because the school receives a discount and can purchase more books for the same amount of money.
2. Gift books and other materials, once accepted by the Tannehill Public Schools, become the property of the Tannehill Public Schools.
Procedures for Reconsideration of Materials
It is recommended that a student or the student's parent should have this right to reject the use of library media center materials which seem incompatible with the student's values or beliefs. It is further recommended that classroom assignments involving library media center materials provide for alternative choices. This procedure is consistent with the National Council of Teachers of English Statement on Students' Right to Read, which is endorsed in its entirety. However, no parent has the right to determine the reading matter for students other than his/her own children. Books and other materials shall not be removed or banned solely because of partisan or doctrinal disapproval.
If an objection to a selection is made by the public, the procedures are as follows:
Be courteous and inform the patron of the process of media review. Make no commitments.
Invite the complainant to file his/her objections in writing on forms provided through the principal's office.
Completed forms are to be returned to the principal.
An informal conference with the principal will be held.
If unable to satisfy the complainant, refer the complaint to the Review Committee.
Material is not to be withdrawn without referring to the Review Committee, which determines whether the material should be withdrawn.
Material is reviewed and judged by this committee as to conformity with selection criteria and instructional goals.
The decision of the committee is submitted to the complainant and a file of the objection and decision is kept by the library media specialist and the principal.
SCHOOL LIBRARY MEDIA CENTER, SELECTION
OF MATERIALS, REGULATION (Cont.)
In the event that the complainant does not accept the decision of the Review Committee, he/she may appeal to the board of education through the superintendent.
Final decision rests with the board of education.
Weeding and Discarding
Worn or missing standard items will be replaced periodically.
Out-of-date or no longer useful media are withdrawn from the collection.
Definition of Critical Terms
Selection -- the act or process of selecting materials.
Instructional Materials -- materials that fill a need related to the curriculum or contribute to the development and enrichment of the student.
Evaluation -- to examine and judge the quality of materials.
Inquiry -- an information request, usually informal, that seeks to determine the rationale behind the presence of a particular item in a collection.
Expression of Concern -- an inquiry that has judgmental overtones. The inquirer has already made a value judgment on the material in question.
Complaint -- an oral charge against the presence and/or appropriateness of the material in question.
Challenge -- a formal written complaint filed with the library media center questioning the presence and/or appropriateness of specific material.
Attack -- a publicly worded statement questioning the value of the material, presented to the media and/or others outside the library media center organization, in order to gain public support for further action.
Censorship -- the removal of material from open access by any governing authority or its representative (boards of education/trustees, principals/library media center directors, etc.).
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