Policies

SELECTION POLICY


District Objective:

Instructional materials are selected by the school district to implement, enrich, and support the educational program for the student. Materials must serve both the breadth of the curriculum and the needs and interests of individual students. The district is obligated to provide for a wide range of abilities and to respect the diversity of many differing points of view.


For the Library Media Center:

To achieve the objectives of the Mt. Zion School District, in accordance with the guidelines provided by the American Library Association, the library media specialist and staff will:


  • Provide materials that will enrich and support curriculum, taking into consideration the varied interests, abilities, learning styles and maturity levels of the students served

  • Provide materials that will stimulate growth in factual knowledge, literary appreciation, aesthetic values, and ethical standards

  • Provide a background of information which will enable students to make intelligent judgments in their daily lives

  • Provide age-appropriate material on opposing sides of controversial issues so that young citizens may develop, under guidance, the practice of critical reading and thinking

  • Provide materials representative of the many religious, ethnic, and cultural groups and their contributions to our national heritage and the world community

  • Place principle above personal opinion and reason above prejudice in the selection of materials of the highest quality in order to assure a comprehensive collection appropriate to the school community



Responsibility for the collection:


All types of learning resources for school library media centers will be recommended for purchase by the library media professionals. Although the selection process involves many members of the school community, administration, faculty, parents/guardians, and students, the responsibility for coordinating the selection and purchase of school learning resources rests with professional librarians. The principal and/or his designee will approve all purchases.

  1. Selection Criteria


1. Learning resources shall support and be consistent with the general educational goals of the state and district and the aims and objectives of the Mt. Zion School District.


2. Learning resources shall meet high standards of quality in factual content and presentation.


3. Learning resources shall be appropriate for the subject area and for the age, emotional development, ability level, learning styles, and social development of the students for whom the materials are selected.


4. Physical format and appearance of learning resources shall be suitable for their intended use.


5. Learning resources shall be designed to help students gain an awareness of our pluralistic society.


6. Learning resources shall be designed to motivate students and staff to examine their own duties, responsibilities, rights, and privileges as participating citizens in our society, and to make informed judgments in their daily lives.


7. The selection of learning resources on controversial issues will be directed toward maintaining an age appropriate diverse collection representing various views.


8. Learning resources shall clarify historical and contemporary forces by presenting and analyzing intergroup tension and conflict objectively, placing emphasis on recognizing and understanding social and economic problems.


  1. Procedures of Selection and Acquisition


  1. In selecting learning resources the librarians may evaluate available resources and curriculum with such review aides as: Booklist, School Library Journal, NoveList etc.


2. The library media specialists shall involve students, teachers, curriculum specialists, and administrators for recommendation of materials for purchase.


3. Each school library media center is given a comprehensive budget for books, audiovisual materials, periodicals and supplies. Additional budget is allocated for new and replacement media equipment.


4. Audiovisual equipment needs are evaluated on a continuing basis. Criteria used for replacement include: operating condition, age, repair history, continued need for the piece of equipment, teacher input on problems, and replacement costs. Input from teachers is also solicited on possible media equipment needed. Recommendations are then made to the building principal for the purchase of equipment.

5. Gift materials shall be judged by the criteria outlined and shall be accepted or rejected by those criteria. For procedures to be used in the handling of gifts, see Gift Policy.


6. Selection is an ongoing process that should include the removal of materials no longer appropriate and the replacement of lost and worn materials still of educational value. See Weeding Policy.


GIFT POLICY


The Mt. Zion School District welcomes gifts of books, periodical subscriptions, works of art, media, other educational materials and equipment, and money for the purchase of library media materials and equipment. Materials and equipment are accepted with the understanding that the item(s) meet(s) the standards defined in the district’s Collection Development Policy for the library media centers. Gifts are irrevocable; those not added to the collection or those deleted from the collection may be disposed of as the library media specialist deems appropriate. Delegated school district or library personnel reserve the right to determine appropriate use, housing and maintenance of gifts. Under no circumstances does the library media specialist or any other school district personnel appraise gifts. Bookplates or the appropriate labels identifying the donor may be placed in books or on other donated items unless the donor prefers anonymity.




WEEDING POLICY


Weeding is a continuous process by which materials no longer useful are removed from the school library media collection. The library media specialist assumes the responsibility for weeding the collection. However, teachers and other professional staff may recommend removal of materials judged no longer appropriate or useful. The following guidelines should be considered. Materials should be removed when it is determined that:


A. Materials are worn, torn, or spoiled; or if pages or parts are missing or have

significant disfigurement as to destroy the value.


B. Materials contain information that is out-of-date, factually inaccurate or if the

illustrations perpetuate sexual, racial, or cultural stereotypes.


  1. The technical quality of nonprint materials is poor: (a) when visuals are poor,

faded, or off-color, or (b) when sound reproductions are faulty or inferior.


D. Materials do not fit the general purpose of the library media center.





Reconsideration Policy

Any resident, employee of the Mt. Zion School District, or parent/guardian of an enrolled child may formally or informally challenge instructional materials used in the school’s educational program on the basis of appropriateness.

The Mt. Zion School District supports the principles of intellectual freedom inherent in the First Amendment of the Constitution of the United States and expressed in the Library Bill of Rights of the American Library Association, the School Library Bill of Rights of the American Association of School Librarians, and Freedom to Read of the American Library Association. In the event that materials are questioned, the principles of intellectual freedom, the right to access of materials and the integrity of the professional library personnel must be defended rather than the materials.


Procedures for reconsideration of material:


  1. Informal Reconsideration:


  1. The library media specialist or principal shall explain to the questioner the school’s

selection procedure, criteria, and qualifications of those persons selecting the resource.


  1. The school library media specialist or classroom teacher shall explain the particular place the questioned resource occupies in the education program, its intended educational usefulness, and additional information regarding its use, or refer the party to someone who can identify and explain the use of the resource.



  1. Formal Reconsideration:


If the complaint would like to make formal request for reconsideration, the following procedures should be followed:


  1. Invite the complainant to submit a formal “Request for Reconsideration of

Materials” (copy of form follows this policy).


  1. Inform the principal and other appropriate personnel.


  1. Keep challenged materials on the shelves during the reconsideration process.


  1. Upon receipt of the completed form, the principal requests review of the challenged materials by forming a review committee with fifteen working days, and notifies the superintendent that such review is being done. The review committee is appointed by the principal, with the concurrence and assistance of the library media specialist, and includes media professionals, representatives from the classroom teachers, and one or more parents. If the challenged material is at the secondary level, the committee will also include one or more students.


  1. Review Committee Actions:


The review committee will take the following steps after receiving the challenged materials:


1. Read, view or listen to the material in its entirety. (Examine the material as a whole, not passages pulled out of context.)


2. Check recognized selection aids for evaluations of the material.


3. Weigh the strengths and weaknesses of the material and form opinions based on selection criteria, relevance to the curriculum, and the educational philosophy of the school.


4. Complete the appropriate “Advisory Committee’s Checklist for the Reconsideration of Instructional Material”


5. Review committee’s recommendation will be sent to the principal, the

superintendent, and the president of the Board of Education.


D. Committee Recommendation

  1. The superintendent or his/her designee will inform the complainant of the

recommendation of the review committee.


  1. Written appeal may be made to the superintendent concerning the review

committee’s recommendation.


  1. A written appeal may be made to the Board of Education concerning the review committee’s recommendation.


  1. Retain or withdraw the challenged material as mandated by the decision of the

Board of Education.


Reconsideration forms can be found here: Click Here