BMS Library Information 2025-2026

Dear BMS Families,

We are grateful to be part of a community that cares deeply for children. One of our core beliefs at Hudsonville Public Schools is that students are most successful when there is a cooperative partnership between schools and families. We value family engagement, and we invite and encourage families to take an active role in their children’s education. Some families wished for more transparency around materials available to their children in their school libraries. With that in mind, we are taking steps to increase transparency around books that are available in our school library collections and to allow parents or guardians to monitor what their child checks out.

At all grade levels, literacy is a central focus in our classrooms. One of our highest priorities is to provide a solid foundation upon which our students can grow and develop as lifelong readers. We make every effort to provide all students with opportunities for the practice they need to establish and maintain reading lives. To that end, we work to develop school library collections that contain a wide variety of texts to support all readers. School library collections include a broad range of books regarding issues, topics, styles, genres, and readability.  We strive to have interesting, relevant, challenging texts for all readers in order to provide students at varying levels the ability to scaffold their skills.

While library staff may recommend books based on your student's interest, rest assured that students are allowed free choice concerning their independent reading selections. We respect and honor that each family has a unique set of standards regarding what is considered acceptable reading material. As a parent or guardian, you set standards to help your child decide which movies, TV shows, music, apps, and video games are acceptable for them. In the same manner, we encourage you to talk with your child about your family’s standards for selecting reading materials, to remain aware of the books your child is selecting throughout the year, and to assist them in determining a book’s appropriateness for them.

 How are books selected for our school libraries?

• In developing our school library collections, our library staff seeks out a variety of resources to engage students in their reading journeys as well as to support the curriculum. In identifying a multitude of books for the many readers in our school libraries, we seek out recommendations from many sources, including libraries, literacy leaders, and the recommendations of student readers and our colleagues. These selections include both popular current books and classic works. Sources of recommendations and reviews may include, but are not limited to, the following:

  • Recommended Reading Lists from Literacy Organizations like American LibraryAssociation Recommended Reading for Children, American Library Association Recommended Reading for Young Adults/Teens or Tome (specializing in clean reads).

  • Book Award Winners like the John Newbery Award, Caldecott Medal,  Michael L. Printz Award, Pulitzer Prize, Hugo or Nebula Awards, Man Booker, Carnegie Medal for Excellence.

  • Recommendations from teacher literacy leaders like Colby Sharp, John Schu, Penny Kittle or Kelly Gallagher on high-interest books for students.

  • Professional reviews from sources such as School Library Journal, Kirkus Reviews, Horn Book, or Booklist or through Common Sense Media, etc.

How can I see which books are available in my child's school library collection?

• Families can access the catalog for their child’s school library by using the link below. Links are also posted on each building’s webpage. 

Baldwin Street Middle School

Are classroom libraries part of the school library?

• Classroom libraries are not part of the school library. Classroom libraries are curated and managed by classroom teachers following a set of guidelines provided by the curriculum office. Questions regarding classroom libraries should be directed to individual teachers.

As a parent or guardian, how can I monitor which books my child is reading from the school library?

• Parents/guardians can log in to their child’s Alexandria account at any time to see which books are currently checked out as well as their child’s checkout history for the time they have been in their current building. Instructions for navigating in Alexandria Researcher can be found here. 

  • To log in to a student’s Alexandria account use the following credentials:

    • Username: student’s HPS username

    • Password: student number 

• Secondary students have been provided with their district usernames and student number. For elementary students, a letter will be sent home with students including individualized login information. 

If I would like to prohibit my child from checking out a specific library book, what should I do?

• If a parent or guardian would like to restrict their child from checking out a specific book from their school’s library, they must complete this form, which will be submitted to the district’s library media integration specialist. Please note the following:

  • A  separate form must be completed for each child.

  • Individual titles can be restricted, not general topics or genres.

  • Only titles available in the library of the building your child attends can be restricted.

  • Each form response is limited to five (5) titles. If you wish to restrict access to more than five (5) titles, additional form(s) must be completed.

  • Please allow five (5) business days for restrictions to be in place in your child's account.

  • Any titles you restrict for your child will be visible to any staff member who might be checking out books to students in the library.

Optional eBook and audiobook access

Research shows that listening to audiobooks can be beneficial for the development of reading skills. We are excited to offer an additional option to support our students by providing access to a variety of eBooks and audiobooks through Sora.

Sora is a reading platform (app and website) that schools use to access eBooks and audiobooks from OverDrive. Sora provides a quick and easy way to get started with digital titles, and it allows students to access these titles not only during the school day, but also in the evening, on the weekends, or during school breaks. Some of these titles are owned by our school, but students have access to additional titles provided by OverDrive. 

While the titles we have purchased fall within our district book guidelines, we are unable to vet all titles available to students in Sora. In addition, while we cannot restrict access to specific titles in Sora, we can allow students access to specific content levels. Content levels are based on the intended audience for the book and on industry-standard subjects applied by publishers. According to these standards: 

• Juvenile is intended for ages 0-11, or preschool through grade 6

• Young Adult is intended for ages 12-18, or grades 7-12

• General Adult is everything else, including books with no specific age range in mind, available to students in grades 9-12.

Sora includes an option to link a card from a public library to an account. If you link a public library card to the account, students may be able to access content outside of your selected level of access.

Access to Sora is optional and will only be granted for students with parent/guardian permission. If you would like your student to have access to this resource, please complete this form, which allows you to choose the level of access you approve for your student. If you do not wish to allow Sora access for your student, no action is required.

Who should I contact if I have questions?

• If you are unable to login to Alexandria or have other questions about your building’s library collection, contact the library paraprofessionals, Christine Banach and Jill Porritt. 

  • Phone: 616-669-7750

  • Email: jporritt1@hpseagles.net, cbanach@hpseagles.net 

or our district library media integration specialist, Nicole Ball

• Phone: (616)669-1500, ext 2093

• Email: nball@hpseagles.net

Best regards,

Ryan Crete, Principal - Baldwin Street Middle School