Selection Policy

The librarian is responsible for selecting library materials. The librarian will collaborate closely with faculty to ensure that the curriculum is fully supported, and will regularly seek feedback from students on how the collection could better meet their needs. Community input is always welcome.

Materials selected for purchase or accepted as gifts by the library should:

• Support the school’s curriculum

• Be consistent with the vision and mission of the library and the school as a whole

• Support the academic and recreational needs of the community

• Reflect the diversity of the student body and expose students to a wide variety of cultures and experiences

• Be suitable for the range of learning styles, levels of ability, and stages of social and emotional development represented within the student body

• Not reflect the personal values and biases of the librarian or other members of the school community

• Encourage critical thinking and good citizenship by representing opposing viewpoints on controversial issues in a manner that informs rather than indoctrinates.

• Meet quality standards for content, presentation, and durability

• Be accurate and up-to-date

• Represent a good value for the collection in light of cost, available budget, and competing needs

The librarian will consult a variety of sources to inform selection decisions, including but not limited to:

• Surveys and request forms representing the reading interests of the community

• Book review publications including Booklist, Horn Book Guide, Kirkus, School Library Journal, and Voices of Youth Advocates

• Youth Media Awards such as the YALSA, Michael L. Printz, Robert F. Sibert, Schneider Family, Coretta Scott King, Stonewall, and Pura Belpré Awards

• Collection guides such as the Children’s Core Collection from H. W. Wilson

• Resources for building diverse collections such as Social Justice Books, Reading Diversity: A Tool for Selecting Diverse Texts, We Need Diverse Books, and Globalizing K-12 Reading Lists of Children’s and Young Adult Literature

Community members who have concerns about the inclusion of a title in the library’s collection are invited to discuss the matter informally with the librarian. If a satisfactory resolution cannot be reached in this way, the community member may submit a formal Request for Reconsideration of Materials.

Within ten days after the form has been submitted, the library advisory committee will meet to consider the request. This committee will include an administrator, a classroom teacher from the relevant subject area, the school librarian, an objective member of the community, and a student. Each member of the committee will read the complaint and the challenged material in full before the meeting. Once the committee has reached a decision, the complainant will be notified by the school’s administration.

Challenged materials will continue to circulate until the challenge process is complete.

The library adheres to the professional principles stated in the ALA Library Bill of Rights, The Freedom to Read Statement, and Challenged Materials: An Interpretation of the Library Bill of Rights.