Library Policies (Elaine Hove)
Circulation Policy
1. Checkouts are limited to 10 items (only 1 video at a time) for students in first to fifth grade. Students in Kindergarten start the year checking out one book, increasing gradually to a four book check-out limit. Pre-K students can check out books when visiting the library with their parents.
2. Checkouts are for two weeks
3. Any item may be renewed unless there is a hold on it.
4. There are no fines for overdue books, but students must pay for lost or damaged items.
5. No checkouts are allowed if student has:
- 10 books already checked out
- four or more books overdue
Selection Policy
The primary objectives of selecting materials for a library media center is to provide a wide range of instructional materials on all levels of difficulty, with diversity of appeal, and the presentation of different points of view for all students. This objective also allows for the systematic review of existing media collections as well as the reconsideration of allegedly inappropriate instructional materials through established procedures.
OBJECTIVES OF SELECTION:
In order to assure that The Blake School Library Media Program is an integral part of the educational program of the school, the following selection objectives are adopted:
• To provide materials that will enrich and support the curriculum and the personal needs of the users, taking into consideration their varied interests, abilities and learning styles;
• To provide materials that will stimulate growth in factual knowledge, literary appreciation, aesthetic values, and ethical standards;
• To provide a background of information which will enable pupils to make intelligent judgments in their daily lives;
• To provide materials on opposing sides of controversial issues so that users may develop, under guidance, the skill of critical analysis;
• To provide materials which realistically represent our pluralistic society and reflect the contributions made by these groups and individuals to our American heritage.
RESPONSIBILITY FOR SELECTION
The administration, although legally responsible for the operation of the school, delegates to the professional library media personnel the responsibility to select instructional materials for the library media centers within the guidelines of the materials selection policy.
While the selection of materials involves many people, including library media specialists, teachers, students, administrators, and other
members of The Blake School community, the responsibility for coordinating and recommending the selection and purchase of instructional materials for the library media centers rests with the professional library media personnel.
CRITERIA FOR SELECTION OF MATERIALS:
In developing the library collection, consideration is given to the educational goals and the mission of The Blake School, including individual learning styles and abilities, teaching styles, curriculum needs, faculty and student needs and existing materials.
Curriculum materials selected should:
• Be relevant to today’s world;
• Be factually accurate and objective in presentation;
• Contribute to the objectives of the instructional program
• Be appropriate to the level of the user;
• Represent artistic, historic, and literary qualities;
• Represent differing viewpoints on controversial subjects;
• Reflect problems, aspirations, attitudes and ideals of society;
Provide a stimulus to creativity.
In addition, technical materials selected should:
• Be of acceptable technical quality; clear narration and sound; synchronized pictures and sound.
CONTROVERSIAL MATERIALS:
• Religion: unbiased, but factual materials covering all major religions, shall be included in the library media center collection.
• Racism: factual materials on all races shall be represented with special emphasis on their heritage and culture, both past and present, as well as the problems they have encountered as members of minority groups.
• Sexism: factual materials should reflect sensitivity to the needs of men and women without bias. All materials should represent the claim of each person to all traits we regard as humans, and not assign them arbitrarily according to preconceived notions of sex roles.
• Ideologies: basic factual information shall be available in all aspects of ideologies and philosophies which exert a strong influence on economic, political, and social areas.
• Profanity and obscenity: materials which deal with sex objectively or which contain profanity shall be judged on their individual merit. If the materials present factual information of an educational nature, deal with life objectively, have literary and/or artistic merit and honest, accurate character portrayals, they may be included in the collection.
PROCEDURES FOR SELECTION:
The professional media personnel will select materials for the school library media centers after evaluating the existing collection, assessing curriculum needs, examining materials, and consulting reputable, professionally prepared selection aids. Recommendations for purchase will be solicited and may come from teachers, administrators, students, other media personnel, and other members of The Blake School community.
Gift materials will be judged by the criteria listed in the preceding sections and will be accepted or rejected on the basis of those criteria.
Selection is an ongoing process which does include the removal of materials no longer appropriate and the replacement of those lost and worn materials still of value to the curriculum.
PROCEDURES FOR RECONSIDERATION OF MATERIALS:
Since opinions may differ in a community, occasional objections to instructional materials will be made, despite the quality of the selection process.
While The Blake School supports principles of intellectual freedom inherent in the First Amendment of the Constitution of the United States and expressed in the LIBRARY BILL OF RIGHTS of the American Library Association and STUDENTS’ RIGHT TO READ of the National Council of Teachers of English, any member of The Blake School community has the right to question the presence of materials in The Blake School Library Media Centers. Each request shall be judged on its own merit and treated with equal consideration and courtesy.
Members of The Blake School community should direct their inquiries to the professional library media personnel and/or the director of the school involved.
Informal Procedures:
Contact will be made with the inquirer to ascertain the problem and explain the circumstances. If the inquirer is satisfied, the matter is dropped at this point. If the inquirer is not satisfied, then proceed to the Formal Procedures.
Formal Procedures:
The inquirer should submit to the director of the school involved the prepared form, REQUEST FOR RECONSIDERATION FORM. These forms are included on this website or are available from the school library media personnel. Upon receipt of such a form, the school director requests review of the challenged material by an ad hoc materials review committee and notifies the library media professional involved and the Head of School that such a review is being done. The review committee is appointed by the director and includes media professionals, representatives from the classroom teachers, one or more parents, and one or more students.
Challenge materials will remain on the shelves during the reconsideration process.
The review committee shall:
1. Read, view, or listen to the material in its entirety;
2. Check general acceptance of the material by reading reviews and consulting recommended lists;
3. Determine the extent to which the material supports the curriculum;
4. Complete the appropriate checklist for School Media Advisory Committee’s Reconsideration of Instructional Materials judging the material for its strength and value as a whole and not in part;
5. Promptly prepare a written report of the re-evaluation and the concluding recommendation.