Hello, Everyone,
I’m sure you didn’t expect to hear from me again this week, but I got a great question from one of you wondering if I had a written selection policy that I would share. At first I sat sheepishly thinking, “Yes, I do, but it is in MY HEAD!” Then I remembered that I HAD written one up a while ago and searched for it on my computer. Well, here it is. You can see that it was written up in 2003, but it does live in my head as I select books and other materials for our library.

Please let me know if you have any questions about our policy or any ideas about selection policies. If you don’t have a selection policy written, it really is a good thing to have for your school particularly if a parent or constituent questions materials in your library. Feel free to use ours as a base for yours.

Please don’t feel threatened if a parent does question material in your library. Also, don’t immediately discard the questioned material. I tell parents that I appreciate their concern and I also don’t want inappropriate materials in the library. (Many libraries require that a patron fill out a form to request removal of materials they find offensive. You can find examples of these forms online.) I explain our procedure for removing the book and I thank them for reading the book and letting me know about it since I cannot read every book. I tell them that I will temporarily remove it from the shelf and reevaluate the book personally. Then I read the book and make a decision. I usually send a letter to the parent to let them know of my decision.

I hope this is helpful to you.
Audrey

Rogers Elementary School Library Selection Policy
April 30, 2003


Description
The Media Center Director is responsible for the selection of library materials and the development of the collection of the Rogers School Library.


Criteria for Selection
The Media Center Director is guided in selection of materials by professional book reviews and standard bibliographies. Recommendations from the patrons will be given careful consideration for purchase.

The Library’s collection will be built to meet the needs and interests of Rogers School. Materials are selected to reflect the varying age groups, abilities, and interests of the patrons. All materials to be selected are subjected to the following criteria as they are applicable:

 Current interest and usefulness
 Permanent value
 Comprehensive in scope
 Relevance to the existing collection
 High standards of quality in content
 Cost in relation to the individual title and to the overall collection
 Availability of funds and space
 Attention of critics, reviewers, and public
 Balance of viewpoints in the collection
 Strengths and weaknesses of the existing collection
 SDA values

Physical Maintenance of the Collection
The Media Center Director and staff will regularly weed and update the Rogers School library collection. In general, removal will be based on:

 Relevance of content
 Duplicates of titles no longer popular
 Usage over time
 Condition of material

Reconsideration Policy
If library material is challenged, the material will temporarily be removed from the shelf giving the Media Center Director time to reevaluate the material using the above criteria. If the materials are not in line with the selection criteria, they will be removed from the library collection. If the materials are found to be worthy of the collection, they will remain in the collection and the person who challenged the material will be informed by letter the reasons why the materials will remain in the collection.