Library Policies

IIAC.SELECTION OF LIBRARY MATERIALS

 

Responsibility for Selection of Materials
Legal responsibility for the school policies rests with the School Committee.Selection of instructional materials involves many people: administrators, teacher leaders, teachers, and school library media specialists.The responsibility for coordinating the purchase of school library materials remains with the professionally trained school library media specialists.

Objectives of Selection of Materials
The prime objectives of the school library media centers' collections are to support and enhance the curriculum of the schools, as well as to provide informational, cultural and recreational resources in a variety of formats. The school library media centers make available a wide range of materials at varying levels of difficulty with diverse appeal compatible with the different needs, interests and viewpoints of students and teachers in accordance with the District libraries' Mission Statement (attached).

To this end, the School Committee, in keeping with the American Library Association's Library Bill of Rights (attached), asserts that the responsibility of the school library media program is to:

• Provide materials to enrich and support the curriculum taking into consideration the varied interests, abilities, and maturity levels of the students served.
• Provide materials which will enrich and stimulate growth in factual knowledge, literary appreciation, aesthetic values, and ethical standards.
• Provide a background of information which will enable students to make intelligent judgements in their daily lives.
• Provide materials, both fiction and nonfiction, on opposing sides of controversial issues so that young citizens may develop, under guidance, the practice of critical reading and thinking.
• Provide materials representative of many religions, ethnic, and cultural groups and their contribution to our American heritage.
• Place principle above personal opinion and reason above prejudice in the selection of materials of the highest quality in order to assure a comprehensive collection appropriate for the users of the library.
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• Criteria for Selection of Materials
• Individual learning styles, the curriculum, and the existing collection are given consideration when determining the library needs in each school.

Materials considered for purchase are judged on the basis of the following criteria (in no particular order):

• Overall purpose in relation to instructional objectives and/or the curriculum
• Reliability/accuracy/authoritativeness
• Quality of writing or production
•  Reputation of the publisher
• Reputation of the author/producer
• Accessibility/readability
• Treatment - clear, comprehensible, well-organized, unbiased
• Special features - useful illustrations, photographs, maps, charts, graphics, etc.
• Possible uses - individual, small group/large group instruction, in-depth study
• Format and price
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• Library materials shall be selected for their strengths rather than rejected for their weaknesses. Items chosen for the collection need not meet ALL criteria listed above.
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• Procedures for Selection
• In selecting materials for purchase, the school library media specialist evaluates the existing collection, accepts recommendations from teachers of the subject matter in question, and consults reputable, professionally prepared selection aids.
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• Gift materials are judged by basic selection standards and are accepted/rejected by the same standards.
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• Out of date, worn out, and no longer useful materials are withdrawn from the collection. Replacements are purchased for worn or damaged materials necessary to the collection.
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• Interlibrary Loans, Networks, and Telecommunications
• All reasonable measures are taken to control the content of materials received from other sources such as interlibrary loan, telecommunications, or networks. These sources are made available to meet educational goals and objectives for teaching research skills and for providing materials of interest that are not available locally. These sources of information help acquaint students with information from the world at large. All computer research should be conducted in compliance with the District's Acceptable Use Policy.
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• Challenged Materials
• Occasional objections to a selection may be made by the public, despite the care taken to select materials valuable for student and teacher use and the qualifications of persons who select the materials.
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• If a complaint is made, the following procedures will be followed:
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• Give the complainant a copy of the selection procedures and make no commitments.
• Invite the complainant to file his/her objections in writing and give him/her a copy of the Request for Reconsideration of School Library Media Material for submitting a formal complaint to the materials review committee. This shall be returned to the Superintendent of Schools.
• The Superintendent of Schools shall forward the complaint to the Materials Review Committee for reconsideration. The materials shall remain in use while the Committee deliberates.
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• The Materials Review Committee shall:
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• Read/examine the materials referred to it.
• Check reviews and professional evaluations of the materials in question.
• Weigh merits against alleged faults to form opinions based on the materials as a whole and not on passages isolated from context.
• Discuss the materials and prepare a written recommendation to the Superintendent of Schools and School Committee.
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• The final decision of the School Committee shall be delivered to the complainant and the Materials Review Committee in writing.
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• Materials Review Committee
• The Materials Review Committee shall consist of the Superintendent of Schools, the Principals of the elementary and high school, the Director of Special Education, the elementary and secondary library media specialists, a representative of the School Committee, and the Technology Coordinator.
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• Adopted: 6/7/2001

Request for Reconsideration of School Library Media Material

VISION & MISSION STATEMENTS: VISION
The School Library Media Center Programs support and enrich the curricula and state and national standards, and provide students with the skills to seek and evaluate information, to develop a love of literature, to nurture a love of reading, and to become lifelong learners.
MISSION
The mission of the School Library Media Center programs is to serve the Southern Berkshire Regional School District school community in the following ways:

Foster a love of reading and literature

Provide a collection of materials which supports the curricula

Provide materials in a variety of formats

Provide students with the skills to search for, evaluate, and use information efficiently and effectively

Encourage independent learning and critical thinking

Support effective instruction

Provide current information technology

Integrate information literacy skills into the curricula

Support the District's mission and expectations

Develop lifelong learners

Encourage reading as a habit of mind

Foster cooperation with public and academic libraries and other community agencies