Library Selection Policy

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School District U-46
Library Selection Policy
June, 2002

GOAL: The objective of the district selection policy is to provide a wide range of educational and leisure materials to our learning community, offering many levels, formats, and different viewpoints that will serve our diverse population.

RESPONSIBILITY OF SELECTION: The Board of Education has delegated to the individual school library professionals the responsibility for the selection of materials added to a school's library; however, it should be the responsibility of every staff member to make recommendations and help in the selection of materials for the library. Students are also encouraged to make suggestions in selecting materials.

OBJECTIVES:  School district U-46 subscribes to the philosophy and objectives of the Standards for School Media Programs by the American Association of School Librarians which states that the responsibility of the library is to:

· Provide materials that will enrich and support the curriculum, taking into consideration the varied interests, abilities, and maturity levels of the pupils served.
· Provide materials that will stimulate growth in factual knowledge, literary appreciation, aesthetic values, and ethical standards.
· Provide a background of information which will enable pupils to make intelligent judgments in their daily lives.
· Provide materials on opposing sides of controversial issues so that young citizens may develop, under guidance, the practice of critical analysis of all media.
· Provide materials representative of the many religious, ethnic, and cultural groups and their contributions to our American heritage.
· Place principle above personal opinion and reason above prejudice in the selection if materials of the highest quality in order to assure a comprehensive collection appropriate for the users of the library.

CRITERIA:  Materials do not need to meet all criteria.
· Selected for their strengths, rather than rejected for their weaknesses.
· Needs of the school, based on knowledge of the curriculum and of existing collection.
· Contributes to the breadth of representative viewpoints.
· Readability and popular appeal.
· Requests from faculty and students that meet other criteria.
· Reputation of the publisher or producer.
· Reputation and significance of the author/artist, composer/producer, etc.
· Timeliness or permanence.
· Quality of writing or production.
· Contribution the material makes to the curriculum.
· Value commensurate to cost and/or need.
· Validity, currency, and appropriateness.                                         Back to the Top

Introduction and Rationale
Library and Information and Literacy Skills
Grade Continuum
Performance Indicators
Illinois Learning Standards


	*Home* *Events and Programs* *Information Literacy Curriculum* *Libraries in U-46* *Newsletter* *Reference Desk*	Award Winning Books \| Parents \| Reference Desk \| Resources Kids \| Resources Teens School District U-46 Library Selection Policy June, 2002 GOAL: The objective of the district selection policy is to provide a wide range of educational and leisure materials to our learning community, offering many levels, formats, and different viewpoints that will serve our diverse population. RESPONSIBILITY OF SELECTION: The Board of Education has delegated to the individual school library professionals the responsibility for the selection of materials added to a school's library; however, it should be the responsibility of every staff member to make recommendations and help in the selection of materials for the library. Students are also encouraged to make suggestions in selecting materials. OBJECTIVES: School district U-46 subscribes to the philosophy and objectives of the Standards for School Media Programs by the American Association of School Librarians which states that the responsibility of the library is to: · Provide materials that will enrich and support the curriculum, taking into consideration the varied interests, abilities, and maturity levels of the pupils served. · Provide materials that will stimulate growth in factual knowledge, literary appreciation, aesthetic values, and ethical standards. · Provide a background of information which will enable pupils to make intelligent judgments in their daily lives. · Provide materials on opposing sides of controversial issues so that young citizens may develop, under guidance, the practice of critical analysis of all media. · Provide materials representative of the many religious, ethnic, and cultural groups and their contributions to our American heritage. · Place principle above personal opinion and reason above prejudice in the selection if materials of the highest quality in order to assure a comprehensive collection appropriate for the users of the library. CRITERIA: Materials do not need to meet all criteria. · Selected for their strengths, rather than rejected for their weaknesses. · Needs of the school, based on knowledge of the curriculum and of existing collection. · Contributes to the breadth of representative viewpoints. · Readability and popular appeal. · Requests from faculty and students that meet other criteria. · Reputation of the publisher or producer. · Reputation and significance of the author/artist, composer/producer, etc. · Timeliness or permanence. · Quality of writing or production. · Contribution the material makes to the curriculum. · Value commensurate to cost and/or need. · Validity, currency, and appropriateness. Back to the Top Introduction and Rationale Library and Information and Literacy Skills Grade Continuum Performance Indicators Illinois Learning Standards
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