Collection+Development

Tuscaloosa County: Library Media Center Selection of Materials The collection of materials in each school shall support the curriculum, enrich the educational program and be consistent with the philosophy, goals and objectives of the Tuscaloosa County School System. We believe the purpose of education is to help all students acquire the skills, understanding, and attitudes which will promote sound character, responsible citizenship, intellectual proficiency, and fulfillment in an ever-changing society. Materials selected for our library media centers shall support this purpose and shall be appropriate to the developmental and maturity levels of the students served. []=

Shelby County Schools:

Supplemental Learning Resources Selection and Retention Policy Responsibility of the Board and Delegation of Authority to Certified Personnel

The Shelby County Board of Education is ultimately responsible for the selection of all instructional resources. The Board delegates to certified personnel of the school district the initial responsibility for the examination, evaluation, selection, and retention of supplemental learning resources utilizing approved selection procedures. As used in this policy and the adopted procedures, the term "Supplemental learning resources" refers to both materials and individuals that are selected to complement, enrich, and/or extend the curriculum in formal and/or informal learning contexts. Supplemental learning resources include but are not limited to library materials, teacher-selected resources for individual classes, charts, kits, maps, globes, games, pictures, periodicals, transparencies, slides, filmstrips, laserdiscs, videotapes, audio recordings, motion pictures, television productions, databases, computer software, Internet sites, and the environment itself. Individuals who are supplemental learning resources include but are not limited to teachers, teachers’ aides, community resource people, and representatives of agencies and organizations. The Shelby County Board of Education recognizes that any member of the school community (administrators, faculty, staff, parents, or students) may request reconsideration of the use of certain supplemental learning resources. Such requests will be handled pursuant to the procedures approved by the Board. All procedures prepared to effectuate this policy must be approved by the Board of Education. Approved []

This is the Selection Policy found in the Lamar County handbook:(Donna) "The main objective of a libray media center is to provide access to a wide selection of materials which will implement an denrich the educational program of the school. Materials should consist of varying levels of difficulty with an emphasis on diversity an da variety of points of view"

The term "library materials" refers to all resources (print or non-print) that have educational content or function and are housed by the library media center.

The person responsible fro selection of librayr materials is the professionally trained school librayr media specialist or personnel. Appropriate adminstrators should first approve of all materials selected for purchase.

Each library acquisition should be considered according to certain standards ( but need not meet all criteria to be selected).

These criteria include: 1.Educational significance 2.Favorable reviews from reputable sources(see selection guides which follow) ( Donna note-they have a page of selection resources which I did not include) 3.Contribution of an item to the curriculum 4.Validity, currency, and appropriateness 5.Reputation or significance of author 6.Durability 7. Cost 8.High artistic value 9.Historical quality 10.Reflections of problems,aspirations, attitudes, and ideals of society 11.Reading enjoyment 12.Differing viewpoints on controversial subjects 13.Level of intended user 14.Literary style 15.Ease of operation

Gifts should be considered based on the same criteria used for purchasing materials.

There is a nice section in the handbook for librarians in New York City that might be helpful here. The link is []. Go to Section 3 in contents list.