Policies and Procedures

Adapted From:

Anne Arundel County Public Schools. (2022). Purchasing Guidelines. Library Media Services Intranet. https://aacpsportal.sharepoint.com/sites/lms

AACPS-LMS has established partnerships with the following vendors:

• Amazon & Amazon Business Shipping Directions 

• Barnes & Noble

• Follett: Titlewave

• Junior Library Guild

• Mackin

• Demco

Orders can be placed with Procurement Cards or through Requisitions and should always be tax exempt. 

Full purchasing guidelines can be viewed here.

Adapted From:

Anne Arundel County Public Schools. (2022). Purchasing Guidelines. Library Media Services Intranet. https://aacpsportal.sharepoint.com/sites/lms

When the appropriateness of instructional materials or library books is questioned by a parent, student, or staff member, resolution begins at the school level with the Inquiry and/or Reconsideration Procedure . In the event that a question is raised by an Anne Arundel County Public School resident, parent, student, or staff member about any instructional materials used within a school, the procedure outlined in the linked document MUST be followed for such material to be removed. Materials being evaluated through the reconsideration process shall remain in use until the conclusion.

Adapted From:

Anne Arundel County Public Schools. (2022). Collection Development Manual. Library Media Services Intranet. https://aacpsportal.sharepoint.com/sites/lms

Collection Development:

The school library supports all members of the learning community. The collection should meet all academic needs, with materials that are current, accurate, engaging, and reflect a wide variety of perspectives and viewpoints. It should also support and expand personal reading interests, with high-quality fiction and nonfiction titles that meet the needs of the full range of learners. The collection must reflect the diversity of the school community, as well as the global community, and support the developmental, cultural, social and linguistic needs of all learners. The library must provide a collection of sufficient size for the learner population and be supported by reliable hardware and software that enables all members of the school community to access materials in person and digitally.

AACPS Collection Development manual can be viewed here.

Weeding:

A critical part of maintaining a high-quality, relevant collection is weeding and replacement. Guidelines and procedures for weeding can be found here. Library staff should review the collection annually to determine which materials should be removed and/or replaced. Materials to consider for weeding include items that are in poor physical condition or have been superseded by more current information, and those containing subject matter no longer needed to support the curriculum; receiving little use; providing wrong, inaccurate or dated information; or encouraging stereotypes or biases. For more information on items to weed, refer to the MUSTIE sheet. For yearly targeted sections, refer to the weeding schedule/calendar. Recommended guidelines for collection size and age can help to determine the extent of weeding a collection requires.

The following LS2 reports provide data in support of this practice: “Items in a Collection” and “Items with Lowest Check Out Counts by Holdings Codes.”

To have weeded library books removed from the Library Media Center, complete the “Pick-up of Surplus Library Media Books” form.

Adapted from:

Anne Arundel County Public Schools. (2022). Collection Development Manual. Library Media Services Intranet. https://aacpsportal.sharepoint.com/sites/lms

Our Media Center is open daily and materials can be checked out by students when Ms. Carrie or Ms. Tracy is present.  Teachers can check out materials for classroom use by filling out the form on the circulation desk. Please note the date, your name, material title, and barcode number.  These procedures help keep our collection organized. 

Each student will be assigned a plastic book bag to keep their book in.  The bag will also contain a slip of paper noting the child's name, teacher, and book return day.  Students may have one book checked out at a time, books can be kept for two weeks before they are considered overdue.  Students are encouraged to take books home but some teachers and families may elect to keep the books in the classroom.  Books should be returned to the cart outside of the media center. 

Teachers can request materials using the Media request forms located near the book return cart. 

Check in/out procedures linked here.

Donated materials must be evaluated and meet the same approval criteria as purchased materials before being added to the collection.

Adapted From:

Anne Arundel County Public Schools. (2022). Collection Development Manual. Library Media Services Intranet. https://aacpsportal.sharepoint.com/sites/lms

Media Specialists in AACPS are evaluated differently than classroom teachers. See forms linked below.

Library Media Specialist Observation Form 

Form D - LMS Rating Form 

Cuches, Jessica S. “Unit 1 Ratings.” Anne Arundel County Public Schools, 22 Sept. 2022.

To maintain an accurate public access catalog, the Library Media Specialist should inventory their collection each year adhering to the following guidelines:

• Even Years – Everybody Fiction, Fiction, and Graphic Novels

• Odd Years – Biography, Nonfiction, and Reference

Schools that are able to inventory their entire collection on a yearly basis are encouraged to do so. Inventory can be completed at any point during the school year and is the shared responsibility of the Library Media Specialist and Media Assistant (if applicable). For more information and training on the inventory process, please refer to this document or the inventory module housed in the Library Media PLC (Professional Learning Community) on Brightspace.

Use Real Time Inventory to complete the inventory process.

Adapted from:

Anne Arundel County Public Schools. (2022). Collection Development Manual. Library Media Services Intranet. https://aacpsportal.sharepoint.com/sites/lms

Volunteers are welcome in the media center to shelve books.  

Click here for more information on volunteering. 

Most books should come from vendors who will handle cataloging and processing. Specifications can be viewed below.

Book Specs

AV Specs

Collection Codes and AACPS Call Number Prefixes

Adapted from:

“LS2 Links & Resources.” AACPS Intranet, https://www.aacps.org/site/default.aspx?PageType=3&ModuleInstanceID=5049&ViewID=5C8B25C6-C8F8-4BD5-923B 8A7C70A93DDA&RenderLoc=0&FlexDataID=13605&PageID=1626.

​The circulation or LS2Staff module keeps track of all materials in the collection. LS2Staff uses the database maintained by the library system, so whenever a record is added, it is immediately available to in circulation.  Periodicals or serials are also added and deleted through the circulation system.  All MARC data records are imported into the database by our central office staff. 

Library Systems Training Manual

Adapted From:

“LS2 Links & Resources.” AACPS Intranet, https://www.aacps.org/site/default.aspx?PageType=3&ModuleInstanceID=5049&ViewID=5C8B25C6-C8F8-4BD5-923B-8A7C70A93DDA&RenderLoc=0&FlexDataID=13605&PageID=1626. 

Click here to see weekly Media schedule.

Throughout the school year, students will occasionally lose materials that have been borrowed from the Library Media Center. Although Media has a compassionate policy concerning overdue and lost books, students do pay for lost Media materials.

Compassionate Overdue/Lost Book Policy

One of our many jobs is to teach responsibility. Students should return the books and materials they check out. It is, however, important to know your students and their stories and to be compassionate when dealing with overdue/lost materials.

Adapted From:

Anne Arundel County Public Schools. (2022). Purchasing Guidelines. Library Media Services Intranet. https://aacpsportal.sharepoint.com/sites/lms