p. 1

media center policy handbook cynthia johnson jennifer joines amanda madsen sharon moore keith thomas and patrice toulson

[close]

p. 2

table of contents mission statement intellectual freedom media committee acquisition of materials selection criteria weeding policy evaluation of materials resource websites

[close]

p. 3

mission statement the media center is the heart of the school so our efforts should be felt throughout the school our goal is to provide learning opportunities for all students in every curriculum content area and instill a lifelong love of reading in each of our students we believe that the library media curriculum will · develop the skills necessary to access evaluate and use both print and non-print information · · · promote and encourage reading support the curriculum set forth by county school system provide information and guidance in the use of a variety technology

[close]

p. 4

intellectual freedom intellectual freedom effective media programs result from cooperative efforts of educators students parents and communities working together to provide facilities materials personnel and services necessary to successfully implement enrich and support the instructional program and educational goals of the curriculum due to the efforts of our schools to help pupils meet the challenges of the highly complex and uncertain times and due to the mass of materials available selections should be determined by the school in the light of these policies without regard to personal preference or pressure from groups or individuals the media center shall provide a wide range of both print and audio-visual media on all levels of ability and with a diversity of appeal and presentation of different points of view the material needs to enrich and support the curriculum taking into consideration the varied interests the developmental needs learning modalities differing ability levels of students and maturity levels of the students served we further believe the media center should contribute to the development of the social intellectual moral and spiritual values of the students · materials should be available which stimulate growth in factual knowledge literary appreciation aesthetic values and ethical standards · materials should be available that are representative of the many religious ethnic and cultural groups and their contributions to our american heritage ·

[close]

p. 5

· media collections should include representative works of the past and present notable for their literary qualities and cultural value other factors that determine what should be added are the size of the collection and the appropriation in regard to topics of current criticism factual unbiased materials which present both sides of the question will be included in the collection the decision to purchase rests on the basis of whether the material presents the subject in its true proportions and on the maturity of the students who will be using the materials our schools are concerned with generating an understanding of american freedoms and the preservation of these freedoms through the development of informed and responsible citizens the instructional media and equipment are necessary and integral components of effective instructional programs high quality media and equipment in sufficient quantity to support instructional strategies and learning activities should be selected and made available to support the achievement of local educational goals students should have access to materials which treat various sides of controversial issues so that young citizens may develop under guidance the practice of critical reading viewing listening and thinking we need to prepare students to be responsible citizens in a democratic society to understand their relationship to the world community and to develop life-long learning.

[close]

p. 6

we need to provide learning experiences which enable students to communicate effectively by oral written and visual means compute accurately and think creatively critically and independently we need to promote broad awareness and reflect the diversity of our county and the world ample equipment shall be provided and maintained to promote maximum utilization of all available material formats to increase technological applications and to encourage incorporation of media into learning activities we need to provide access for students to build a better understanding of today s 21st century technical world.

[close]

p. 7

media committee the duties of the school media committee the school media committee addresses media concerns at the school level and provides input to the system media committee members of this committee should include an administrator the media specialist a teacher representative from each grade or department a student representative and a community or parent representative a balance of race gender and age is important in making your final selections for the committee since the role and structure of each committee is defined by learner needs and the school s instructional program committee composition may differ from school to school even within the same system in the normal year there will be monthly meetings usually on the designated day of the week a designated member of the committee will take minutes the school media committee roster below develops procedures for implementing the system s instructional media and equipment policy · · establishes media program objectives and priorities based on instructional goals in order to develop immediate and long range plans for the media program · assesses available media resources as related to instructional needs and recommends priorities for media budget proposal · · participates in evaluating and modifying media services and its procedures recommends media policy revisions.

[close]

p. 8

· establishes procedures for the participation of the total school community in media selection · · recommends procedures that insure accessibility to media services for all informs the community of the procedures for formally challenging materials used in the school and responds to those challenges · · creates and promotes procedures for copyright awareness and compliance assists in identifying and planning media or technology related staff development activities · recommends applications of technology for inclusion in the media and instructional programs · to provide information to the school and community about available resources and services · to recommend procedures for establishing and maintaining cooperation with other community agencies such as the regional library and businesses that serve as the school s partners in education media committee procedures for challenged materials 1 read view and/or listen to the material in its entirety and complete the appropriate checklist 2 read reviews of the material in professional reviewing sources 3 determine the extent to which the material supports the curriculum 4 weigh merits against alleged faults in light of the material as a whole rather than isolated passages out of context 5 meet as a group and discuss material prior to examining complainant s completed form.

[close]

p. 9

6 reach a decision and prepare a written report 7 send a copy of the report to the principal the media supervisor and appropriate subjectarea supervisors final decision 1 the principal will send a letter to the complainant along with a copy of the final decision report see below 2 the decision of the school media resources committee will apply only to the school where the material was challenged.

[close]

p. 10

acquisition of materials acquisition of media center materials in acquiring media center materials we will address issues related to the most efficient process for obtaining materials such as budgeting money for purchases determining what to buy choosing the right items and where to purchase these items the term materials will apply to all print and non-print resources including online databases and encyclopedias budgeting the media center budget is determined each year by the state of georgia on a per-pupil basis the budget includes provisions to support a diverse school-wide collection of materials for circulation and reference books videos magazines reference materials etc and to purchase library supplies e.g labels other materials needed for the library such as tape pens paper binders and bulletin board materials are provided through a separate school supplies budget funds for facilities upgrades and expansion are determined by the board of education and the media center committee and are separate from the media center budget other funds to supplement the media center budget may be sought through special fundraisers grant applications and contributions from the community the media specialist shall determine how to allocate funds for materials supplies and special projects and programs based on assessment of the collection teacher and student needs the collection development policy and/or provisions outlined in grants or donation acceptance agreements the media specialist shall submit to the principal a mid-year budget report in january and an annual report in june the report shall indicate expenses by line item showing purchases and special

[close]

p. 11

projects or programs using expense codes determined by the district accounting office revenues shall reflect all funding sources using revenue codes determined by the district accounting office the media specialist will 1 manage a program budget that balances print and non-print materials 2 manage purchasing receipts and records to monitor budget expenditures against budget 3 maintain records of equipment repair expenses for long-range planning and replacement determining what to buy quality instructional media resources provided through a unified media program will be acquired in sufficient quantity and diversity to support state required and locally adopted curricula varying instructional strategies and learning styles to contribute to the attainment of state and system educational goals when possible materials should be ordered from an approved list of jobbers and vendors additional jobbers and vendors may also be consulted see list below

[close]

p. 12

jobbers and vendors baker and taylor inc http www.btol.com follett library resources http www.flr.follett.com encyclopedia britannica http www.eb.com ebsco information services http www.ebsco.com w.t cox subscriptions http www.wtcox.com teachers are encouraged to make requests for the purchase of any materials which adhere to the purchase and selection guidelines of the school system teachers must supply the appropriate information including title publisher or producer cost copyright date isbn and any other pertinent information choosing the right items the materials acquired through this media center are high quality materials that have been reviewed by a reputable source like the media committee the materials are diverse in nature focusing on local global political social and cultural issues our periodicals contain up-to-date information and are published at stated intervals the two types of periodicals that are used in the school district are magazines and newspapers school magazines may be held in storage for a length of time to be determined by the library media specialist depending on space available for storage since the advent of online full-text periodical databases the need for back print issues of magazines has diminished newspapers should provide local state and national coverage and each library media center should

[close]

p. 13

subscribe to at least one daily newspaper with national and international scope in addition online databases available to every student teacher and staff member of the school district provide easy access to periodicals and newspapers periodicals and newspapers should be judged by the following criteria · needs and purpose of the individual school · contribution to the general satisfaction of the readers · requests by readers · access to basic and/or expanded information · general importance of the subject matter · quality of writing and format other sources for acquiring materials gift policy while gifts are generous they must be judged in light of their benefit to our instructional program gifts will only be accepted if they add strength to the media center s collection the media specialists will determine if the gifts can be utilized interlibrary loan as defined by the interlibrary loan code for the united states interlibrary loan is the process by which a library requests material from or supplies materials to another library the purpose of interlibrary loan as defined by this code is to obtain upon request of a library user material not available in the user s local library our media centers participate in a national interlibrary loan ill system in order to ensure access to many resources beyond the media center s collection the district follows the interlibrary loan code for the united states which was prepared by the interlibrary loan committee of the american library association s reference and user services association rusa a division of ala in 1994 and revised in 2001 with the revision approved by the rusa board of directors in january 2001 the full

[close]

p. 14

text of the interlibrary loan code for the united states statement appears online and was published in the summer 2001 issue of the official rusa journal the reference user services quarterly v 40 no 4 pp 318-319 the media center sends requests electronically through oclc using their online form materials borrowed through ill are the responsibility of the borrower selection criteria selection policy it is the school media specialist s responsibility to build and maintain a print and non-print collection of instructional materials and related equipment selected to support the local school program in accordance with the georgia board of education rule dealing with instructional media and equipment instructional media and equipment are necessary and integral components of sufficient quantity to support instructional strategies and learning activities should be selected and made available to support the achievement of local media goals a local school media committee must be involved in the selection process members of this committee will include an administrator a media specialist and representatives for teachers students parents and the community these members will represent the extended faculty community and student population in order to contribute recommendations for materials and equipment the final decision for selection of instructional media and equipment is the responsibility of the school library media specialists and the principal as follows:

[close]

p. 15

1 to provide a comprehensive collection of instructional materials and media selected in compliance with the basic objectives of the georgia performance standards 2 to provide instructional materials and media that will enrich and support the curriculum taking into consideration the varied interests abilities and maturity levels of the pupils served 3 to provide instructional materials and media that will stimulate growth in factual knowledge literary appreciation aesthetic values and ethical standards 4 to provide instructional materials and media on opposing sides of the controversial issues so that young citizens may develop under guidance the practice of critical analysis of all media 5 to provide instructional materials and media representative of the many religious ethnic and cultural groups 6 to place principle above personal opinion and reason above prejudice in selection of instructional materials and media of the highest quality 7 to provide a background of information which will enables pupils to make intelligent judgments in their daily lives and become lifelong learners 8 to promote critical thinking skills 9 to promote a variety of learning and teaching styles 10 to provide students with the best opportunities for information access criteria for selection the collection should provide up-to-date materials that will stimulate growth in knowledge and that will develop literary cultural and aesthetic

[close]