Management

1.1  Input from LMS/LIS and professional staff is used to determine student needs and to provide resources which relate to curriculum demands and instructional goals and objectives.

We rely heavily on conversations with students and teachers to tell us what they like, which series books students want, and what is trending.  Additionally, the library website links to a Materials Request Form where teachers and students can easily send us to purchase suggestions to support their instructional goals and reading choices.

Annually, we solicit staff suggestions for materials prior to submitting our final book order through KCS.  Here is the email we sent in October 2024. I also followed up with an email to Academy Deans the next week.

We did not receive many replies from staff this year, but we did fill all requests made by teachers.

• Mrs. Graham: more picture books for TAP.

• Mr. Martin/Mrs. Dickerson: current literary fiction and mysteries

• Mrs. Christian: jazz, composition, and audio engineering

We unexpectedly received additional funding in our budget this year, increasing from $8,000 to approximately $13,000.  I don't think this will be an ongoing bonus; we anticipate that it will be one-time only. We expanded our order list, adding to both fiction and non-fiction, some extended series, and academy support.

In addition, librarians take input from students on an ongoing basis. Talking with students about what they are reading is essential! As students ask us for specific titles, we note what we do not currently own. If possible, we can purchase quickly from local bookstores or add to our annual order. When we don’t have an item that a student needs immediately, we do our best to seek it out through another library, McKay’s, or Info-to-Go inter-library loan.

For classes that regularly visit the library for booktalks or just to check out books, we can survey them ahead of time if the teacher agrees to do so. Students can complete a short Google Form (for fiction or non-fiction) to tell us what they are interested in, and we use the results to select books to pitch to the class. We often show these results and use it for whole group discussion.

1.2  The LMS/LIS initiates communication and follow-up activities to determine effectiveness of selected resources.

When our annual book order arrives, we attempt to notify each teacher or student who has made a specific request if we were able to fulfill it. We can also use circulation data to see what books have been checked out and how often for any given time period.

Whenever a librarian has presented to a teacher’s class, both formal and informal follow-ups help us learn how we could improve on the lesson the next time we present to their class. The librarians often receive valuable feedback informally from faculty.

1.3  Written procedures have been established to prioritize needs.

The BHS Librarians adhere to KCS Materials Selection Policy (BOE I-211) adopted by our district. A list of BOE and KCS policies and procedures pertaining to libraries can be found at the  Library-Media Services website. [If the previous link is not viewable, staff should log in to their SchoolWires account to view this internal website.]

In previous years, both Amy and Kristen volunteered to serve on a system-wide committee that established collection requirement standards for our district. The Collection Requirements document explains how we prioritize needs by systematically evaluating the collection. We evaluate our collection on an ongoing basis.

1.4  The LMS/LIS has established written procedures and has obtained needed materials, resources, and equipment, all of which have been labeled and are in order for easy access.

LMS Professional Resources and procedural documents are located here.  In addition to adherence to KCS and BOE policies, the librarians use all user data, teacher requests, informal assessments, and the like to obtain needed resources, whether print or digital.

Relevant signage directs students to computers, fiction and nonfiction books, biography, graphic format, games, and meeting spaces.

Guidelines for ordering materials: Guidelines for ordering materials are provided by the district, including preparing and submitting orders, specification sheets, barcode management, bookkeeping, receiving orders, audio-visual management, etc. We migrated this year from ordering through Canvas to the KCS Library App. As orders are received, we submit invoices for payment to the department secretary through the app as well.

Our primary vendor is Follett, who provides free shelf-ready processing to all KCS libraries, which is an essential volume discount for us. Past orders include:

• 2024-25: Invoice. Reflects one-time budget increase.

• 2023-24: Invoice 1/Invoice 2. In addition to staff requests, we also worked toward building our holdings for Mrs. Ford's students in nutrition, macronutrients, and ingredients. Next year we will focus on nutrition and diseases.

• 2022-23: Invoice. We focused this year on several sections of non-fiction that we found were to be aged, plus health sciences, coding, and careers (to support Academy development). We typically also spend the largest portion of our budget on general fiction, which is our most circulated area.

• 2021-22: Invoice. This year, we focused on updating biography (asking students who we should add to collection), filling in holes in GF series, adding light novels for our manga lovers, and adding to our diverse selection of fiction titles. 

• 2020-21: Invoice.

In addition to our main orders from Follett, we also use a subscription service with Junior Library Guild. We have selected 7 categories that are either very popular with our readers or fill a gap within our collection. We receive a box of books each month, keeping fresh, new books on the shelf throughout the year. Currently, we receive books in Mystery, High Demand, YA Plus,  Current Trends, Fantasy/Sci Fi, City Life, and Hi-Lo Mature (high interest/lo readability). 

Our website provides access to all digital resources (databases, ACT test prep, catalog, etc.), and we work diligently, with help from volunteers, to keep the library in good order for day-to-day use.

We also received a PTSO/Foundation grant to fund Swank K-12 Streaming. This is an on-demand video streaming service for classroom use.

1.5  Written procedures have been established to deal with challenged materials.

Knox County Schools and the BOE provide system-wide procedures for challenged materials. Beginning in 2024-25, KCS will also put in place a School Library Council at every school, made up of 5-7 stakeholders (librarian, admin, teacher, counselor, parent, etc.) to help guide collection decisions. Our School Library Council Members are staff members, Amy Davis, Kristen Heffern, Karen Smiley, Leslie Wiles, Dave Rynkiewicz, Sean Webb, and Anne Fine, and parents Angela Roberts and Latoya Williams.

In addition, the district will form Sensitive Titles Review Committee, made up of librarians in each grade band, who will be responsible for proactively reading and evaluating sensitive titles identified by KCS Library Services staff.

• MC 130 form: Citizen’s Request for Reconsideration of Instructional Materials

• KCS BoE Policy and Procedure I-212: Reconsideration of Instructional Materials and Textbooks

• KCS BoE Policy and Procedure I-211: Selection of Instructional Materials other than Textbooks

In 2024, Tennessee’s legislature passed an update to the Age Appropriate Materials Act (AAMA).  In 2022, the original version of this law required us to catalog all classroom libraries.  The 2024 update to the AAMA prohibits several categories of content.  To remain in compliance with the law, we will remove any books from school and classroom libraries that include prohibited content.  An initial list of affected books was released in December 2024; identification of affected materials is ongoing, and more titles have now been added to the list. This law only applies to library materials, and will not affect curriculum materials.  

1.6  Circulation procedures have been established to maximize use of library resources and communicated to all patrons.

Our circulation procedures are clearly indicated on the library’s website. We frequently communicate to students during classes what our circulation procedures are. Also, during checkout with a patron, we discuss when a book is due, how many they can have out at a time (4 books), fine policies, renewals, etc.

In 2020-21, we ceased charging overdue fines. Waiving overdue fines has been a trend in many libraries over the last 5 years, and the 2020 pandemic pushed many libraries toward this change, citing barriers to low-income students/patrons and people of color.

Students are still responsible for replacing lost/damaged books or paying the replacement cost. We notify students via Canvas message as needed when books are overdue. In the past, notices were printed and distributed to 1st block teachers. Canvas messaging has proved to be an effective method for reminding students about overdues, renewals, and lost items.