Skip To Main Content

Policies

Ewing Public Schools

Materials Selection Policy

Media Centers

Revised 11/08/2022

 

The library media specialist at each school in the district is responsible for the evaluation and selection of material in consultation with the building principal using the board of education’s adopted selection criteria and procedures (Policy 2530).  Final authority for distribution of funds rests with the building principal under the direction of the superintendent.  Suggestions for purchase are encouraged from all sources including teachers, district supervisors, administrators, and students. 

 

School Library Selection Policy Objectives:

  • To provide faculty and students with materials that enrich and support the curriculum and meet the needs of the students and faculty served.

  • To provide students with a wide range of educational materials on all levels of difficulty and in a variety of formats, with diversity of appeal, allowing for the presentation of many different points of view.

  • To select materials that present various sides of controversial issues, giving students an opportunity to develop analytical skills resulting in informed decisions.

  • To select materials in all formats, including up-to-date, high quality, varied literature to develop and strengthen a love of reading.

 

School Library Criteria for Selection and Evaluation:

  • Support and enrich the curriculum and/or students’ personal interests and learning

  • Meet high standards in literary, artistic, and aesthetic quality; technical aspects; and physical format

  • Be appropriate for the subject area and for the age, emotional development, ability level, learning styles, and social, emotional, and intellectual development of the students for whom the materials are selected

  • Incorporate accurate and authentic factual content from authoritative sources

  • Earn favorable reviews in standard reviewing sources and/or favorable recommendations based on preview and examination of materials by professional personnel

  • Exhibit a high degree of potential user appeal and interest

  • Represent differing viewpoints on controversial issues

  • Provide a global perspective and promote diversity by including materials by authors and illustrators of all cultures

  • Include a variety of resources in physical and virtual formats including print and non-print such as electronic and multimedia (including subscription databases and other online products, e-books, educational games, and other forms of emerging technologies)

  • Demonstrate physical format, appearance, and durability suitable to their intended use

  • Balance cost with need

Recommended Material Reviewing Sources:

  • Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC) Notable Children’s Books

  • Booklist

  • School Library Journal

  • We Need Diverse Books website

  • Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) Best Books for Young Adults

  • Kirkus Review

School Library Acquisitions Procedures

  • In selecting learning resources, professional personnel will evaluate available resources and curriculum needs and will consult reputable, professionally prepared aids to selection, and other appropriate sources. The actual resource will be examined whenever possible.

  • Recommendations for purchase involve administrators, teachers, students, district personnel, and community members, as appropriate.

  • Gift materials shall be judged by the selection criteria and shall be accepted or rejected by those criteria.

  • Selection is an ongoing process that should include removing materials that are no longer used or needed, adding materials, and replacing lost and worn materials that still have educational value.

School Library Selection of Materials on Controversial Topics:

The school board subscribes to the principles expressed in the American Library Association’s Library Bill of Rights. It is the responsibility of the school district to provide a wide range of materials on different levels of difficulty and representing different points of view. School library professional staff will provide materials on opposing viewpoints on controversial issues to enable students to develop necessary critical thinking skills to be discriminant users of information and productive members of society.

NJ State law requires the inclusion of the following topics in its learning standards:

Holocaust/Genocide Bill (1994; revised 2018): NJSA 18A:35-28

Amistad Commission Bill (2002): PL2002, c.75 (A1301_1R); Amistad Commission;

LGBTQ Bill (2019): PL, 2019, c.006 (S1569)

Diversity and Inclusion in Curriculum Bill (2021): PL2021.032 (A4454)

NJQSAC: All schools in NJ are required to be QSAC compliant; compliance specifically requires inclusion of Holocaust (p.29), Amistad (p.28-9), LGBTQ (p.69).

SEL Competencies

School Library Gifts and Donations:

Gifts and donations to the school library are accepted with the understanding that the decision for use and disposition of the materials and/or funds will be determined using the same selection criteria as purchased materials. All materials should support the curriculum and needs of library users. Gifts and donations, like purchased resources, will be removed from the collection at the end of their useful life.

School Library Collection Maintenance and Weeding:

The school librarian will regularly conduct an inventory of the school library collection and equipment that can be used to determine losses and remove damaged or worn materials which can then be considered for replacement. The inventory can also be used to deselect and remove materials that are no longer relevant to the curriculum or of interest to students. Additionally, school librarians should develop a collection maintenance plan that includes systematic inspection of materials that would result in weeding outdated, damaged, or irrelevant materials from the collection.  Factors considered in discarding library materials include age, condition, accuracy of information, circulation history, sustainability to the student population served, and curricular needs.  Final responsibility for deciding which materials to discard rests with the media specialist. They may delegate the authority to other staff members.

The media specialist will use their professional judgment to decide how a weeded item will be disposed of. Disposal options are to donate to the school population via free book cart, to recycle, or to destroy. Items to be discarded or destroyed will be forwarded to the Buildings and Grounds department via the custodial staff in the building. The custodial staff will determine which items can be thrown out in the dumpster and which items will be sent to B&G for auction or storage.