| I. | Purpose:
"It is recommended that each school division (and each school, if desired) have, in writing, a general comprehensive statement of policy concerning the selection of materials for the schools and other materials centers in the division. This statement of policy should reflect the general educational philosophy of the school system and serve to direct and unify the implementation of a quality library program of uniform excellence for each school within the system. This policy should be formulated and endorsed by the school administration, librarians and other media personnel, patrons, and faculty and adopted by the school board."1 |
| II. | Procedures: |
 | A. | Objectives of the Media Collection
The Board of Education of Roanoke County reaffirms the LIBRARY BILL OF RIGHTS of the American Library Association and the American Association of School Librarians and asserts that the responsibility of the school library is: |
| | 1. | to provide materials that will enrich and support the curriculum, taking into consideration the varied interests, abilities, and maturity levels of the pupils served. |
| | 2. | to provide materials that will stimulate growth in factual knowledge, literary appreciation, aesthetic values, and ethical standards. |
| | 3. | to provide a background of information, which will enable pupils to make intelligent judgments in their daily life. |
| | 4. | to provide materials on opposing sides of controversial issues so that young citizens may develop under guidance the practice of critical reading and thinking. |
| | 5. | to provide materials representative of the many religious, ethnic, and cultural groups and their contributions to our American heritage. |
| | 6. | to 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 for the users of the library. |
| B. | Roles and Responsibilities in the Selection of Media |
| | 1. | The selection of materials shall be based on the judgment of those who are to use them. The privilege and responsibility of selection belongs to every member of the staff and shall be a cooperative effort involving the library media specialist (librarian), media staff, school system personnel, the school principal, teachers, pupils, and parents. |
| | 2. | It shall be the responsibility of the library media specialist to coordinate the selection of all media, print and nonprint, together. |
| | 3. | It shall be the responsibility of the library media specialist and the media staff to let teachers know that they are encouraged to participate in selection. |
| | 4. | Supervisory personnel of the school division shall recommend media in their particular fields, especially that of a professional nature. |
| | 5. | The principal's major concern in planning the media collection shall be that of interpreting its importance in the total school program. |
| | 6. | Requests by pupils shall be encouraged and shall be honored whenever possible. |
| | 7. | Final authority for the selection of media, as for all media related activities, shall be vested in the library media specialist who operates within the framework of policies provided by the Roanoke County School Board. |
| C. | Evaluation of Media |
| | a. | Criteria |
| | | (1) | Consideration shall be given to needs based on knowledge of current instructional practices, the curriculum, and the existing collection. |
| | | (2) | Evaluation of all media shall be coordinated. It shall be the policy not to buy any audio-visual items based on a particular book unless the book can also be recommended. |
| | | (3) | Media under consideration shall be compared to others on the same subject according to relative values, points of difference, and the need for additional materials. |
| | | (4) | All media shall be evaluated on the basis of:
- authority
- scope
- reliability
- treatment
- readability
- subject interest
- format
- special features
- potential use
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| | b. | Specific criteria for specific types of material |
| | | (1) | Audio-visual materials must be previewed before purchase. |
| | | (2) | Multi-media kits warrant careful examination as to the value of each individual item in the kit. |
| | | (3) | Abridgments and simplified versions of the classics and other standard titles should be avoided except to meet specific needs. |
| | | (4) | Local production by teachers and pupils of audio and visual materials shall be encouraged. |
| Selection tools and their use |
| | a. | Basic selection tools shall be provided. |
| | b. | Selection tools shall be available to all concerned. |
| | c. | The latest editions of these standard tools shall be used for: |
| | | (1) | reevaluation of the existing collection |
| | | (2) | adding new materials |
| | | (3) | determining what's available |
| | | (4) | determining what's "good" in terms of recommendations |
| | | (5) | selecting books to fill a gap |
| | | (6) | selecting media on a given topic |
| D. | Principles for Building Media Collections |
| | 1. | Quality |
| | | a. | Pupils have the right to be exposed to "the best" of literature, art, and music; therefore, media having superior literary, artistic, or musical quality shall be selected when available. |
| | 2. | Scope |
| | | a. | There shall be a working collection of print and nonprint media relating to all subject areas included in the particular school curriculum. |
| | | b. | No media shall be selected simply because it is good or the collection does not have a copy. Each must be evaluated in terms of a known need. |
| | | c. | Hardware necessary for the use of all types of media represented in the collection shall be purchased in sufficient quantity. |
| | 3. | Range |
| | | a. | The media provided shall be broad enough overall, as well as within a given topic, to meet the needs and interests of the user. |
| | 4. | Size of the collection |
| | | a. | Minimum quantitative standards recommended by appropriate accrediting agencies shall be met. |
| | | b. | Recommendations of professional associations such as ALA and AECT shall be considered. |
| | | c. | Priority shall be given to the QUALITY of media selected rather than quantity. |
| | 5. | Balance |
| | | a. | The collection shall be varied according to types of media. |
| | | b. | Media shall be provided in all the major disciplines. |
| | | c. | Priority shall be given to general demands of the majority of the pupils or teachers. |
| | 6. | Materials for special needs |
| | | a | Consideration shall be given to the selection of media for exceptional children. This media shall be appropriate to meet their special needs. |
| | 7. | Gifts |
| | | a. | Gift material shall be judged by basic selection standards and accepted or rejected by these standards. |
| | | b. | Gift material shall be treated as other media in the media center. It cannot be kept in special collections, used in special ways, or be subject to any other stipulations. |
| | | c. | Accepted gift materials shall be acknowledged and credit given in the media center. |
| | | d. | Bookplates are desirable. |
| | | e. | Friends of the media center should be encouraged to give from a list prepared by the library media specialist. The giver may be requested to submit a list of titles in advance. |
| | | f. | Media may be refused outright on the basis of:
- unsatisfactory binding
- mediocre quality
- lack of appeal to users
- not serving useful purpose in the school
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| | 8. | Multiples |
| | | a. | Duplicate and/or multiple items of outstanding quality and much in demand may be purchased. |
| | | b. | Sets of books for supplementary teaching purposes must not be purchased with media center funds. |
| | 9. | Replacements, Withdrawals |
| | | a. | Worn or missing standard items shall be replaced periodically. |
| | | b. | Out-of-date or no longer useful materials shall be withdrawn. |
| | | c. | The reference collection shall be kept up to date by systematically purchasing yearbooks and adding new additions of encyclopedias. The newest editions of each set shall be housed in the media center; older sets may be placed in classrooms. |
| E. | Policies for Specific Areas of the Collection |
| | 1. | Media forms represented |
| | | a. | Both print and nonprint media must be provided. All formats economically feasible and useful shall be considered. |
| | 2. | Subjects and treatments |
| | | a. | Emphasis of the collection
- To be developed by the individual school.
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| | | b | Policies on "controversial" issues
- Media shall be provided in the areas, which may be sensitive in nature:
- ethnic groups
- religion
- sex education (Materials entirely on human reproduction to be circulated to students must, in addition to standard selection procedures, be approved by local and state boards of education.)
- narcotics and other drugs
- Selections shall be carefully made. One-man decisions must be avoided; a second opinion and a printed review are essential.
- Materials purchased for use in the human growth and family living curriculum must be approved by the local and state boards of education and used only in that program.
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| | 3. | Materials published/produced in series |
| | | a. | Sets other than basic encyclopedias shall be bought only after careful consideration. |
| | | b. | Individual titles in a set shall be evaluated apart from the set or series as a whole. |
| F. | Procedures for Building Media Collections |
| | 1. | Long-range planning |
| | | a. | The existing collection shall be reevaluated to determine strengths, needed improvements, and relative needs. |
| | | b. | Priorities shall be established:
- at the school level
- at the division level
|
| | 2. | Adoption of policies |
| | | a. | The library media specialists shall initiate and appoint a committee to develop the policy. |
| | | b. | The proposed policy shall be presented to the library media specialists who shall suggest changes and the policy shall be revised accordingly. |
| | | c. | Upon approval by the library media specialists the policy shall be presented to the supervisor of library media services and the superintendent or his designee for study and approval. |
| | | d. | The supervisor of library media services shall present the proposed policy to the Roanoke County School Board for approval as official policy. |
| | | e. | The official document should be included as a part of a handbook for Roanoke County School Library Media Specialists. |
| | | f. | The policy manual shall undergo continuous revision as needed. |
| | | g. | Each library media specialist shall develop a selection policy at the school level, which will be specific to that school and which falls within the framework of the division policy.
- The library media specialist shall present the county policy and a recommended school policy to a media committee in the school.
- The committee shall present the policy to the principal.
- The policy shall be presented to the faculty for discussion, changes, and approval.
- Upon approval at the school level, the policy shall be presented to the supervisor of library media services for study and approval.
- The official school policy shall become a part of the school handbook for teachers.
- The policy must undergo continuous evaluation and shall be revised as needed.
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| | 3. | Continuous selection, Reevaluation |
| | | a. | The general policy shall be "always selecting" vs. "selection week." This selection will be accomplished by
- current issues of reviewing periodicals
- discussion with teachers, pupils, other librarians
- examination of titles and items at exhibits, bookstores, professional meetings
- consideration of supply vs. demand
- maintenance of "want" file for titles, topics, duplicates, etc., noted as needed
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| | | b. | Reevaluation of the collection is necessary in terms of the purpose of selection as it relates to the curriculum, the current teaching practices and the needs and interests of the pupils at the particular time of the reevaluation. |
| | 4. | Cooperation in evaluation and selection |
| | | a. | Specific roles and responsibilities for selection were stated in Section B of this document. |
| | | b. | The media specialist shall cooperate with other media specialists in the district, both school and public, in sharing materials for evaluation, pooling opinions, and the like. |
| | 5. | Reconsideration of materials |
| | | a. | Procedures for handling complaints
- If there are objections concerning certain media, the following procedure shall be practiced:
- Instruct the complainant to file the objection in writing on the appropriate form to the principal's office.
- Withdraw the material at the school upon receipt of the written complaint until it is reevaluated.
- Forward a copy of the material questioned with the "Citizen's Request for Reconsideration of a Book or Material" (Form I3) to the supervisor of library media services. Include supportive data provided by the library media specialist (source of reviews, etc.)
- The supervisor of library media services shall refer the complaint and all pertinent data relating to said complaint to a review committee.
- The review committee shall be appointed by the supervisor. It will be composed of three (3) media specialists, one from each school level--elementary, junior high, and high school. Responsibilities of the committee shall be:
- read the material
- read the reviews
- check standard selection aids
- seek recommendations from other persons who may be knowledgeable concerning the material in question
- discuss the material
- file recommendation with the supervisor of library media services
- It shall be the responsibility of the supervisor of library media services to notify the school principal and library media specialist of the committee's recommendation.
- It shall be the responsibility of the school principal to inform the citizen who filed the complaint.
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| | | b. | Procedures for handling appeals
- Either party who wishes to appeal the recommendation of the review committee shall petition the supervisor of library media services.
- An appeals committee consisting of three (3) citizens from the school community shall reconsider the questioned material.
- Composition of the appeals committee is to be as follows:
- one member appointed by the complainant
- one member appointed by the principal
- one member to be agreed upon by the two appointed members
- This third member is to be chosen from a list of five names submitted by the school board member representing the community.
- If the two appointed members couldn’t agree, each shall, in turn, remove one name from the list until one name remains.
- The appeals committee shall review the original complaint and the report of the review committee, which shall be supplied by the supervisor of library media services. In addition it shall
- read the material
- read the reviews
- check standard selection aids
- seek recommendations from persons who may be knowledgeable concerning the material in question
- discuss material
- The appeals committee may request the appearance of any or all of the following:
- the complainant
- the library media specialist and/or principal
- members of the review committee
- The appeals committee shall notify the supervisor of library media services in writing of its recommendation. The supervisor shall notify the principal and complainant.
- In such cases that the appeals decision is not acceptable to both parties, the final decision shall rest with the school board.
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| | | c. | Implementation of decisions
- The decision to remove an item refers only to the school community from which the complaint originated.
- Summaries of complaints and recommendations of committees shall be issued to all library media specialists in the system from the office of the supervisor of library media services.
- An evaluated item shall not be reevaluated except for appeals but shall be referred to the report already done unless the objection is different from the objection contained in the first report.
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