8-302 - Selection of Library Media Resources

Policy 8-302

SELECTION OF LIBRARY MEDIA RESOURCES

Responsibility for Selection of Materials

The Newtown Board of Education is legally responsible for all matters relating to the operation of its six schools, including the library media centers. The Board delegates the responsibility for selection of library media resources to the professionally trained personnel employed by the school system. Recommendation of resources may involve many people: principals, staff, students, parents, and members of the community. The responsibility for coordination of library media resources and making the recommendation for purchase rests with the professionally trained media personnel.

Criteria for Selection

The primary objective of the school's educational media center is to implement, enrich, and support the educational program of the school. It is the responsibility of the center to provide a wide range of materials reflecting all levels of difficulty, diversity of appeal, and different points of view. The criteria for selection are: support of the curriculum needs of individual schools, teachers, and students status of existing collection timeliness and permanence quality of the writing, production, or multimedia presentation readability and popular appeal authoritativeness reputation of the learning resource, technology producer, or publisher importance of the author, artist, composer, subject matter, etc.
format and price

Procedures for Selection

In selecting materials for purchase, the library media specialist (LMS) evaluates the existing collection and consults:
  • reputable, unbiased, professionally prepared selection aids
  • subject specialists and other educators at all grade levels
  • media or curriculum committees, where they may exist, which serve in an advisory capacity in the selection of materials

In specific areas, the LMS follows procedures such as the following:
  • gift materials are judged by basic selection standards and are accepted or rejected
  • by these standards.
  • multiple copies are purchased as needed.
  • work or missing standard items are replaced systematically.
  • out-of-date or no longer useful materials are withdrawn from the collection with provision made for sale with proceeds used to purchase new materials or for distribution to appropriate organizations.

Procedures for Challenged Materials

The principles of freedom to read and the professional judgment of the staff must be defended. The Board of Education acknowledges that, despite the care taken to select library media resources, occasional objection to a selection might be made by some member of the staff or community. In case the objection cannot be satisfied by the library media specialist and the building administrator, a form for requesting reconsideration of the resource shall be made available to the objector. This form, once filed with the building principal where the book or material is being used, shall go to a special review committee composed of the Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction (who serves as committee chairperson) and representatives from the building(S) where the resource is housed. The building representatives shall consist of at least one administrator, one library media specialist, and two teachers selected by the Assistant Superintendent.

Not more than one week after the filing of a request for reconsideration, the Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction shall announce a date for the committee findings to be reported to the Board of Education and convey this date to the objector. The report shall be within six (6) weeks of the original filing date unless otherwise authorized by the Board and shall contain the majority and any minority opinions. At the conclusion of the committee's report, the Superintendent shall make his recommendations to the Board of Education for its consideration and action. The objector will be notified of
the Board's decision.

Adopted...
Modified 12-10-96

IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO VIEW THE CITIZEN'S REQUEST FOR RECONSIDERATION OF LIBRARY MEDIA MATERIALS FORM PLEASE CLICK THE PDF ICON AT THE TOP OF THIS PAGE.
Inspiring Each Student to Excel

3 Primrose St., Newtown, CT 06470
Phone: 203-426-7600