606.2 Library Media Materials Selection Policy

ANOKA-HENNEPIN INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT NO. 11
DISTRICT LIBRARY MEDIA MATERIALS SELECTION POLICY

Library media center – a school library that serves the information needs of its students and the curriculum needs of its teachers and staff.

Library media materials – all items purchased by a school library to satisfy the information and curriculum needs of students, including books, newspapers, periodicals, electronic resources, reference materials, maps, non-print media, equipment, and supplies.

Library media specialist - a licensed teacher trained to deliver library services to students and staff in a school library media center.

Collection - the total accumulation of books and other materials owned by a library, cataloged and arranged for ease of access, often consisting of several smaller collections (reference, circulating books, serials, government documents, special collections, etc.)

Collection Development – the process of building a library collection over an extended period of time.

Selection – the process of deciding which materials should be added to a library collection.

Weeding - the process of examining items in a library collection title by title to identify for permanent withdrawal those that meet pre-established criteria. 

Reconsideration – a complaint lodged by a citizen concerning the inclusion of a specific item (or items) in a school library collection.

Responsibility for Selection of Materials

The Anoka-Hennepin Independent School District No. 11 School Board is legally responsible for the selection of all materials used in the schools. The responsibility for the selection of library media center materials is delegated to the building library media specialist. Teachers, instructional and curriculum facilitators, principals, and students are called upon for their ideas regarding specific materials needed in a field of specialization

Criteria for Selection of Educational Materials

Needs of the individual school based on knowledge of the curriculum and the existing collections are given first consideration.

Materials for purchase are considered on the basis of:

• appropriateness of content for student age group
• usefulness of content
• absence of cultural, racial, or sexual bias
• quality, accuracy, objectivity, and currency of information
• organization and presentation of content
• degree of readability and/or comprehensibility
• degree of potential user appeal
• artistic quality and/or literary style
• quality of format
• values commensurate with cost and/or needs
• individuality of item regardless of series

All materials, when considered as a whole, should:

• implement, enrich, and support the curriculum, taking into consideration the individual student needs, varied interests, abilities, socio-economic backgrounds, and maturity levels.
• reflect the ideas and beliefs of religious, social, political, historical, and ethnic groups and their contribution to the American and world heritage and culture, thereby enabling students to develop an intellectual integrity in forming judgments.
• be that which encourages growth and knowledge, and that which develops literacy, cultural and aesthetic appreciation and ethical standards.
• present all points of view concerning the problems and issues of our times.

Procedures for Selection

In selecting media materials for purchase, the library media specialist will evaluate the existing collection and consult reputable, unbiased, professionally prepared selection aids and specialists from all applicable departments and/or all grade levels. Additional considerations to be made by the library media specialist include:

• purchasing, as needed, multiple copies of outstanding and high-demand materials.
• carefully examining sets of media materials before purchasing.

Review Sources

The following is a recommended list of reputable review sources:

• Book Links
• Book Report
• Booklist
• Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books
• Common Sense Media
• Horn Book
• Kirkus
• Library Journal
• Library Media Connection
• New York Times
• Publishers Weekly
• School Library Journal
• Voice of Youth Advocates
• Wilson’s (Children, Fiction, Junior High School, Senior High School)
• Subject area professional journals (i.e. The Science Teacher)

Donations

Materials donated to the library media center should be selected or rejected based upon the selection criteria defined in this policy. 

Procedures for Withdrawal of Library Media Center Materials

Collection development is an ongoing process which also includes weeding or removal of materials that no longer contribute to the overall goals of an informative, interesting and accurate collection. Library media specialists, in conjunction with appropriate faculty will at least annually review the library media center collection and remove materials that:

• Contain outdated or inaccurate information
• Are no longer considered useful for curricular support or reading enrichment
• Have not been checked out for extended periods of time
• Are in poor physical condition

Materials removed from library media centers will be collected centrally and donated or discarded if no additional use is found.

Materials Used as Instructional Materials or in Extra-Curricular Programming

Materials selected and housed in the collection may be used as classroom instructional materials or as a part of an extra-curricular program or opportunity for students. Any use of these materials shall follow policies related to supplementary materials.

Part 2: Procedures for Reconsideration of Materials

Statement of Policy

Any employee, resident or parent/guardian of a student of the Anoka-Hennepin School District may formally request the reconsideration of library materials on the basis of appropriateness.

Informal Request for Reconsideration

The school receiving a complaint regarding library media materials shall try to resolve the issue informally.

The principal or library media specialist shall explain to the questioner the school’s selection procedure, criteria, and qualifications of those selecting the resource.

The principal or the library media specialist shall explain the particular place the questioned material occupies in the education program, its intended educational usefulness, and additional information regarding its use.

The library media specialist may, in consultation with the principal and others, determine that the material no longer meets the criteria for selection in this policy and may determine to remove the material from the library collection.

A parent/guardian may request that a material be restricted from his/her child, but that request shall not be deemed a request to remove the material from the library.

If the questioner wishes to file a formal request for reconsideration, a copy of the District's

Library Media Materials Selection Policy and a Request for Reconsideration of Library Materials form shall be given to the questioner.

Request for Formal Reconsideration

Each school will keep and make available Request for Reconsideration of Library Materials forms. All formal objections to library media materials must be made on these forms.

The Request for Reconsideration of Library Materials form shall be signed by the questioner and filed with the school's principal and the library media specialist.

All reconsideration requests shall be presented to the building principal, teacher, or library media specialist. The party receiving the complaint shall notify the following people:

• Building principal
• Building library media specialist
• Central Office administrator with library oversight
• Department chairperson / Team or grade leader (if applicable)
• Teacher (if applicable)

The request for reconsideration shall be referred to a reconsideration committee at the school level for reevaluation of the resource.

Access to the material in question shall not be restricted during the reconsideration process, unless the Superintendent has determined that removal is warranted due to clear violation of this policy.

The Reconsideration Committee

Upon receipt of a request for formal reconsideration of library materials, the principal

shall:

• Appoint a reconsideration committee including the following membership as appropriate:
  • One representative of district administration
  • One representative of building-level administration
  • One member of the school teaching staff
  • One representative of the library media program
  • Three members representing the school community
  • Two student representatives (if appropriate)
• Name a convener / facilitator of the reconsideration committee.
• Schedule the first committee meeting within 10 school calendar days after the complaint is received.

The reconsideration committee may choose to consult District support staff and/or community persons with related professional knowledge.

The reconsideration committee shall review the challenged resource and judge whether it conforms to the principles of selection outlined in this policy.

Resolution

The reconsideration committee shall:

• Read the challenged material in its entirety;
• Determine professional acceptance by reading critical reviews of the material;
• Weigh values and faults and form opinions based on the material as a whole rather than on passages or sections taken out of context;
• Discuss the challenged material in the context of the educational program;
• Discuss the challenged material with the individual questioner when appropriate;
• Prepare a written report with the committee's recommendation to retain or remove the material. The major criterion for the final decision is the appropriateness of the material for its intended educational use.
• A minority report may also be filed in the case of dissenting opinions.
• The written reports shall be retained by the school principal with copies forwarded to the Superintendent.

District-Level Review

Upon receipt of the building committee’s reports, the Superintendent will convene an ad-hoc District Materials Review Committee consisting of appropriate community and employee representation. The Superintendent will also appoint a facilitator for the meetings.

The role and purpose of a District Materials Review Committee will be to:

• Review the recommendations from the building committee.
• Confirm that proper procedures were adhered to at the building-level.
• Determine what, if any, impact the building recommendation may have on the material if in existence in any other site(s).
• Make a final determination to uphold or reject the building committee’s recommendations on the material in question.
• Communicate the decision to the Superintendent in writing.
• Communicate the decision to the principal that facilitated the building committee.

The Superintendent will both:

• Notify the questioner of the decision in writing no later than 10 working days of notification of the Committee’s decision.
• Notify the School Board, in writing, of the decision no later than 10 working days after being informed of the Committee’s decision.

Appeal

An appeal may be filed by the original questioner within 10 working days of the receipt of the district’s decision. If appealed, the Board Chair will appoint a Special Committee consisting of staff and community members to conduct a hearing on the materials.  The Special Committee will forward their recommendation to the School Board for a final decision.

The original questioner will be notified of the School Board decision within 5 working days of the board meeting.