Library Mission & Policy
Mission Statement
The mission of the Mt. Edgecumbe High School Library program is to ensure that all students and staff in the district have access to and are effective, independent users of ideas and information that support the curriculum and personal, lifelong learning interests.
School libraries have a responsibility to nurture intellectual growth and freedom by providing:
Materials/information that support and enrich the curriculum, taking into consideration students' varied interests, abilities, maturity levels and learning styles.
Materials/information that will stimulate growth in factual knowledge, literary appreciation, aesthetic values and ethical standards.
Materials/information that will support students' personal needs and enable them to make intelligent judgments in their daily lives.
Materials/information that present opposing sides of controversial issues, so that students may learn, with guidance, how to analyze and think critically about what they read.
Materials/information which realistically depict our pluralistic society and reflect the contributions of its various religious, ethnic and cultural groups
Selection Policy:
Satisfy the educational needs of all the members of our staff and student body
Ensure every student has access to a variety of quality, relevant and current information resources
Meet the recreational reading needs of our students, reflecting their personal growth and developmental needs
Provide resources in print, audio-visual and electronic formats to support, enrich and enhance the curriculum, taking into consideration the varied learning needs and styles, recreational and study interests and maturity levels of the students
Provide materials which will enable the acquisition of factual knowledge and the development of literary appreciation, aesthetic values and ethical standards
Provide materials offering a breadth and diversity of viewpoints on various issues so that students may develop their critical thinking skills and make informed judgements
Provide materials representative of religious, ethnic and cultural groups and their contribution to our heritage
Enhance teachers' effectiveness by providing access to recent curriculum and professional development materials
Place principle and reason above personal prejudice in the selection of the highest quality materials to ensure a comprehensive collection suitable for the needs of its users.
Community and User Groups:
Established in 1947, Mt. Edgecumbe High School (MEHS) is a residential public boarding school providing a secondary educational alternative in a residential setting for over 400. Residential student services include housing, food service, activities, and supervision twenty-four hours per day, seven days per week.
The Student Population
Comprised of students from over 110 Alaskan communities, the student body is a demographic representation of the adolescent population of Alaska; the most unique linguistically and culturally diverse student body in Alaska. Admissions is given to students who have no access or limited access to secondary education in their local communities or who would particularly benefit from placement in a residential setting or otherwise be placed in foster care or other state-sponsored programs. The health challenges facing Mt. Edgecumbe students are the same challenges facing youth in their home communities.
The percentage of Mt. Edgecumbe students who arrive with low academic requisite skills, in reading, writing and math, essential in meeting secondary content standards requires significant time spent on academic learning. The demands for high-academic performance are very real for Mt. Edgecumbe’s student population. Academic demands, although necessary for building the student’s future, dictate a heavy academic course load.
The Collection Contains:
fiction books, including magazines, comics, and novels of all genres to cater to the students from 5th grade to young adult
non-fiction titles to support the curriculum and to extend students’ knowledge
a reference collection to provide continuous access to basic knowledge
a teachers’ reference collection to support the curriculum and to enhance professional knowledge
student also have access to the Sitka public library consortium; which includes being able to borrow from all Sitka school libraries as well as the public library.
whilst the bulk of the collection is in print format, audio, visual and electronic resources form an important part of it. We have an extensive digital collection of both fiction and non-fiction titles. These are purchased under the Digital Library Consortium Grant. In addition students can access the public digital library as well.
The school website is also an integral part of our collection and the pages contain links to pre-selected sites about specific topics that support curriculum delivery. The library website also contains links to all state and school databases, newspapers, magazines and the library search engine.
Goals
Create a technology-based information retrieval system with access to district-wide multi-media resources; district and state-wide online library catalogs; periodical databases; and other research tools.
Create a multi-media collection of educational materials that supports all areas of the district curriculum.
Offer instructional program for information literacy skills in which learners will demonstrate the ability to use technology to select, retrieve, review, evaluate, manipulate, and create information for an identified information need.
Apply study, research, reference, and critical thinking skills to organize information
Objectives
Assess student/staff information needs and order materials to meet those needs.
In addition focus on: Science and social studies support materials
Implement the workflows, circulation and booking system:
Catalog multi-media materials added to the Media Center collection
Provide training in the use of the on-line library catalog service
Work closely with the Technology Staff to:
Train students/staff in the use of District Internet/On-line resources (WorldBook Online; Wiki)
Train students/staff in the use of the Statewide Databases including EBSCO and Electric Library
Update and add curriculum links to the Media Services Web pages
Assist Educators, upon request, with site library program needs
Communicate, on a regular basis, with all staff via print and online newsletters and emails
Book Challenge Policy and Procedure
Purpose: The purpose of this policy is to provide guidelines for the review of books that have been challenged within the school district. This policy is intended to ensure that all materials used in the district are appropriate for the students and do not contain any harmful content.
Scope: This policy applies to all books used in the school district, including those used in the classroom, library, and for extracurricular activities.
Definitions:
"Book challenge" refers to the process of questioning the appropriateness of a book used in the school district.
"Material review committee" (MRC) refers to the committee that is responsible for reviewing challenged books and making decisions about their continued use.
Procedures for challenging a book:
To request an item be reconsidered for a single school, complete the Request for Reconsideration of Instructional or Library Materials form and submit it to the school principal.
The material in question will be reviewed on site and compared to the district's curriculum and/or library's collection development policy.
If the item does not fall within the scope of the collection development policy, it will be removed from the library.
If it is decided that the item does meet the collection development criteria, the request for removal will be denied. If you disagree with this decision, you have the right to elevate
the request for removal to the MEHS Controversial Issues Review Committee.
The building principal or school librarian will then forward the request to the MRC for review.
The MRC will review the challenged book and make a decision about its continued use within the school district.
The MRC's decision will be communicated in writing to the individual who submitted the challenge and the building principal or school librarian.
Material review committee:
The MRC will be composed of a minimum of five members, including the building principal, a teacher, a librarian, a parent, and a community member.
The MRC will be responsible for reviewing challenged books and making decisions about their continued use.
The MRC will meet on a regular basis to review challenged books.
Decision-making criteria:
The MRC will consider the following criteria when making decisions about challenged books:
Age appropriateness
Educational value
Representation and diversity
The potential for harm or disruption to the educational environment
Appeal process:
Individuals who wish to appeal the MRC's decision must submit a written request to the school board within 14 days of receiving the MRC's decision.
The school board will review the request and make a final decision about the challenged book.
Record-keeping:
The building principal or school librarian will maintain records of all book challenges, including the names of the books challenged, the names of the individuals challenging them, and the decisions made by the MRC and the school board.
Training and education:
Staff and students will receive regular training and education about the book challenge policy and procedures.
This policy will be reviewed and revised as needed to ensure that it remains current and effective in protecting the best interests of the students.
Special Thank you to The Alaska Association of School Libraries, The Anchorage School District Policy, The Alaska Intellectual Freedom Committee & the American Library Association