POLICIES & GUIDELINES

In accordance with The Office of Curriculum, Instruction and Student Support’s School Library Services (SLS) and Hawaii's public school Library Media Specialists (LMS), the AAES Library promotes collaboration, innovation, advocacy and education to prepare our students with the skills and knowledge to be positive contributors and participants in a global society. Goals are:

• To promote and support innovative school library media programs that model the Elements of a Quality School Library Media Program.

• To promote and encourage the ethical use of technology for learning, enhanced instructional design, and collection development.

• To advocate and nurture the love of reading and the habits of lifelong learning.

• To provide Library Media Specialists with equitable and accessible mentoring, networking and collaborating opportunities through current technology and communication tools.

• To provide Library Media Specialists with professional development opportunities to continually improve and strengthen library media services that meet the needs of today’s learners.

• To research and negotiate consortium pricing for digital educational resources and tools that are aligned with national, state, and school priorities.​

​Our school library media programs and services are a valuable resource for students and teachers. They are evolving to meet needs in a digital age and serve as 1) Promoters of active learning; 2) Curators of resources; 3) Developers of responsible and compassionate citizenship; and 4) Leaders in forging local and global connections. Programs and services vary from school to school. Be sure to check with your school's library media specialist.

Other Resources​

Copyright and Fair Use: The Board of Education adopted Policy 900-2, Copyright, to ensure that Department of Education employees, volunteers, and students are made aware of and comply with copyright and fair use law. Information available on the federal copyright website.

Policies and Procedures

Library Material Selection Policy: The primary objective of the school library media program is to implement, enrich and support the educational program of the school. In the area of materials selection, school library media programs provide a wide range of materials on various levels of difficulty, with consideration for diversity and different points of view. These materials are also in digital formats, non-book formats, and online. Therefore, School Library Media Programs should:

• Provide materials that will enrich and support the curriculum by collaborating with instructional stakeholders and relevant data, taking into consideration the varied interests, abilities, learning needs, learning styles and maturity levels of the students served.

• Provide materials for teachers and students based on their needs that encourage growth in knowledge, and that helps to develop literary, cultural and aesthetic appreciation and ethical standards.

• Provide materials which reflect the broad ideas and beliefs of religious, social, political, historical, and ethnic groups and their contribution to the local, national and world heritages and cultures, thereby enabling students to develop intellectual integrity in forming sound judgments.

• Provide a variety of print, non-print, digital and online formats to support needs-based student learning.

• Place principle above personal opinion and reason above prejudice in selection of materials of the highest quality in order to ensure a comprehensive collection appropriate for the users of the school library.

Controversial Issues Policy 101-13:

Student discussion of issues which generate opposing points of view shall be considered a normal part of the learning process in every area of the school program. The depth of the discussion shall be determined by the maturity of the students. Teachers shall refer students to resources reflecting multiple and diverse points of view. Discussions, including contributions made by the teacher or resource person, shall be maintained on an objective, factual basis. Stress shall be placed on learning how to make judgments based on facts. View the policy.

Chapter 57: HRS 8-57-1:

Restitution for Lost and Damaged Books, Equipment, Supplies, and Outstanding Financial Obligations

The Department is responsible for providing students with appropriate instructional materials. When students do not return the loaned materials and resources, other students are deprived of these materials and the department is expected to purchase replacement copies. Chapter 57 requires that students be responsible for paying required fees and for restitution of school property that is lost through their negligence. It further allows consequences for students who do not make restitution or pay required fees. Schools have had varying degrees of success in collecting money from students for lost books, equipment, supplies, and outstanding financial obligations. While this Chapter allows schools to restrict students from participating in athletics and co-curricular activities if they have outstanding financial obligations, the following guidelines are provided to aid schools in applying these restrictions with consistency. Statewide application of these guidelines will ensure that students are treated with fairness and equity when it is found that they are responsible for the loss, destruction, breakage, or damage of school books, equipment, and supplies, including library and assigned textbooks; digital devices and non-payment of fees.

Goals

August Ahrens Elementary School provides students with devices (computers, iPads, etc.), network connectivity, and Internet access to aid in learning and teaching opportunities. The Internet provides a powerful tool for educators and learners beyond the classroom and print documents to explore a network of local, national, and international resources in every aspect of their curriculums. We aim to teach students the foundations of print and electronic information retrieval as well as necessary research and inquiry skills to succeed beyond their time at our school.

Rights & Responsibilities

Access to computers and networks are only provided to students who act in a responsible manner to aid in research and communication. Use of computers and the Internet is a privilege, not a right. The following has been developed to outline responsibilities students must adhere to in order to maintain user privileges. Devices and all software contained shall only be accessed and used by students for school-related activities. AAES takes no responsibility for the content of resources over which it has no control. All users shall assume full liability, legal, financial, or otherwise, for their actions.

Guidelines for Internet and Computer Use

Responsible, ethical, and legal behavior is expected from each user. Each user must respect the rights of all other users on the Internet and must be responsible for his/her actions involving school computers, networks, files, passwords, and accounts.

Students are expected to abide by these rules of network etiquette:

1. Be polite and use appropriate language. If you would not say it face-to-face, do not say it online.

2. Stay on task. Device and network usage shall only be accessed and used by students for school-related activities.

3. Communicate clearly, factually, and grammatically.

4. Respect people's privacy. Do not reveal personal information of yourself or anyone else (i.e. names, email addresses, passwords, home addresses, phone numbers, etc.).

5. REMEMBER: The internet is everywhere and lasts forever. Once something is posted or said, it cannot be taken back.

Unauthorized and unacceptable use allows AAES the right to revoke any and all privileges. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Committing plagiarism, the act of copying words or ideas with the intent of presenting that information as your own.

• Accessing, typing and/or sending inappropriate language and media content that is offensive, threatening, discriminatory, sexually explicit, or otherwise inappropriate for the school environment.

• Playing games and/or using chat or instant messaging software not specifically authorized by a teacher or at inappropriate times.

• Damaging or endangering computer equipment or software.

• Deleting or altering files and file contents that do not belong to you.

• Changing system settings and installing software or plug-ins with the intent of bypassing security protective measures.

Cases of fair use are evaluated on the following:

• Purpose and character of the use, including whether the use is of a commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes: Courts look at how the party claiming fair use is using the copyrighted work, and are more likely to find that nonprofit educational and noncommercial uses are fair. This does not mean, however, that all nonprofit education and noncommercial uses are fair and all commercial uses are not fair; instead, courts will balance the purpose and character of the use against the other factors below. Additionally, “transformative” uses are more likely to be considered fair. Transformative uses are those that add something new, with a further purpose or different character, and do not substitute for the original use of the work.

• Nature of the copyrighted work: This factor analyzes the degree to which the work that was used relates to copyright’s purpose of encouraging creative expression. Thus, using a more creative or imaginative work (such as a novel, movie, or song) is less likely to support a claim of a fair use than using a factual work (such as a technical article or news item). In addition, use of an unpublished work is less likely to be considered fair.

• Amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole: Under this factor, courts look at both the quantity and quality of the copyrighted material that was used. If the use includes a large portion of the copyrighted work, fair use is less likely to be found; if the use employs only a small amount of copyrighted material, fair use is more likely. That said, some courts have found use of an entire work to be fair under certain circumstances. And in other contexts, using even a small amount of a copyrighted work was determined not to be fair because the selection was an important part—or the “heart”—of the work.

• Effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work: Here, courts review whether, and to what extent, the unlicensed use harms the existing or future market for the copyright owner’s original work. In assessing this factor, courts consider whether the use is hurting the current market for the original work (for example, by displacing sales of the original) and/or whether the use could cause substantial harm if it were to become widespread.