Spring Creek High School Collection Development Policy (Gilbertson T. and Thomas S. 2017)
1. User Base
The Spring Creek High School library will serve the educational needs of a student population enrolled in grades 9-12 and the instructional goals of the faulty and administrative staff.
2. Governing Bodies
The Governing bodies of this facility are as follows: librarian, building principal, Elko County School District Board of Trustees, Nevada State Board of Education. Requirements from each of these bodies will be met in the selection and maintenance of this collection.
3. Funding/Budget
Funding is tied to enrollment and therefore varies from year to year. Costs of operation vary, however this rough estimate demonstrates the categories and percentages allocated to different area of expenditure. 40% circulated materials 30% ILS (currently Destiny) 20% general supplies 10% repair and maintenance. Several grants have been awarded to fund large purchases and technological investments over the years. This library has not participated in community based fund raising in recent years, though it continues to be an option.
4. Philosophy
The Spring Creek High School library will provide students and teachers with the reference and supplementary materials that will support and enrich the curriculum. The materials selected will support, in an unbiased manner, a variety of viewpoints in accordance with the Library Bill of Rights (American Library Association). In addition, the materials selected will enable and encourage students to develop further their potential as creative and responsible individuals by meeting and stimulating the greatest possible diversity of interests and abilities, whether or not these materials are directly related to the curriculum.
5. Objectives
The following objectives will be used in collection development for the Spring Creek High School library:
· Material will be selected which supplement and enrich the curriculum
· Reference materials will be provided, maintained and updated so that the students will receive full benefit of the collection for educational pursuits.
· Because of the somewhat isolated nature of the SCHS library, every attempt will be made to be a full-service library, within the constraints of the budget and collection development policy.
· Online and digital resources will support and enhance the educational goals of the school.
· Selected materials will evoke a love of learning that will assure a source of continuing self-education and personal enjoyment.
· Material will be selected for students of differing abilities and interests.
· Selected materials will be appropriate for the age groups contained within the school.
· The library will select materials which will help student gain an understanding of the community’s local history.
· The library will provide material of an aesthetic, literary and creative quality.
· The library will provide materials which represent opposing views, differing lifestyles and contemporary problems in an accurate, fair and unbiased manner in accordance with the Library Bill of Rights (American Library Association, 1996) (See appendix A)
· The library will provide materials for the professional growth of the faculty.
6. Methods of Selection
Selection will ultimately be the responsibility of the librarian. However, the librarian will enlist the aid of all members of the faculty and solicit their suggestions. Students, too, will be encouraged to make suggestions, and these suggestions will be acted upon with respect to the selection policy and constraints of the budget.
Authoritative selection aids shall be used regularly. These shall be standard guides that are reputable, unbiased, and professionally prepared. Personal examination and evaluation of the materials shall be made by the staff whenever possible.
7. Collection Maintenance/ Weeding
In order to keep the collection vital and current it is necessary to discard some materials. The decisions to discard will be made by the librarian and based on the CREW method, an industry standard. Items chosen for de-selection will meet the MUSTIE criteria:
M = Misleading—factually inaccurate
U = ugly—worn beyond mending or rebinding
S = Superseded—by a new edition or by a much better book on the subject
T = Trivial—of no discernible literary or scientific merit
I = Irrelevant to the needs and interests of the library community
E = Elsewhere—the material is easily obtainable from another library (Larson, J., 2008)
These items will be donated, if their condition warrants, first to teachers for use in classrooms, then to students, neighboring libraries or charitable organizations.
8. Procedure for Challenged Materials
The following guidelines will be used in the event of questions about the appropriateness of library materials:
· The Board of Trustees of the Elko County School District advises the public that the proper channeling of complaints involving learning materials is as follows: teacher/librarian, principal, superintendent, Board of Trustees.
· Any parent who wishes to request reconsideration of the use of any instructional materials in the district must make such a request in writing on the forms provided through the building principal.
· Requests thus submitted will be considered by a committee under the chairmanship of a Director of Instruction comprised of at least one member from the following groups: teacher, librarian, school administrator, pupil, and parent. The members of this committee will be selected by the Superintendent. The challenged book or material will be judged by the committee as to its conformity to the principles of selection. This decision will be final except that an appeal in writing may be made through the Superintendent to the Board of Trustees for a final decision.
9. Special Collections
Special collections are maintained by the library: Local and Regional History and College Preparation/Career exploration/Scholarship Search. These will be updated annually for the benefit of the students. Additional special collection may be added at any time, the need is determined by the governing bodies.
10. Replacements
The library will not automatically replace materials that have been damaged or lost. The determination of whether to replace a specific work will be made based on if the library has adequate, current coverage in the subject and if there is a demand for the title.
11. Donated Material
Donated books, periodicals, etc., will be accepted with the understanding that they will not be placed in the library’s collection unless they conform to the objectives of selection. Donations that are not added to the collection will be donated, first to teachers for use in classrooms, then to students, neighboring libraries or charitable organizations.