Selection of Materials

A number of resources exist to support the professional school librarian with the selection of materials for the school library collection. In addition to being familiar with the tools and resources listed on this page, Library Media Services cannot overstate the necessity for the school librarian to read a wide variety of material in order to be most responsive to the needs of a school and its students. 

Refer to our Best Practices in Purchasing for information about vendors. 

WCPSS Board Policy 3200: Selection of Materials

This policy addresses the selection of instructional and supplementary materials. The criteria for selecting school library materials is specifically noted in Policy 3200, part D.

Professional Resources

Consult professional review sources when making selection decisions. Reviews from these sources are integrated into library vendor platforms, so no additional subscriptions are required.  Logging into Mackin.com will give you access to all professional reviews in one place.

Utilize the Secondary Book Reviews spreadsheet curated by WCPSS librarians.

Utilize the Elementary School Library Booklists by topic spreadsheet. Read the linked reviews to books that WCPSS librarian have found useful. 

Purchasing

When purchasing books and ebooks, any order over $2500.00 must be placed through one of the vendors on this list: Vendors for Book Bids over $2500.

Consider: 

Library Media Services strongly recommends purchasing materials that are pre-cataloged and pre-processed. Established library vendors offer this to WCPSS schools for FREE.  See additional tips on Book Orders.

Make full use of a vendor's site to build the best book order possible. See tips on the document below:

Tips and Tricks for Ordering Books