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Selection Policy for School Library Materials


Adopted by the Philadelphia Board of Education on November 15, 1996.

Revised February 2002.




I. INTRODUCTION


Philosophy of the Library / Instructional Materials Center


We are living in an information age. A primary objective of education is to learn how to identify, locate, organize, and present needed information in a clear, concise, and persuasive manner. As technologies change, students need to develop skills to manage complex information formats. The school library program, as an integral part of the total curriculum, is the vehicle that provides opportunities for students to achieve these skills and to foster a lifelong interest in both reading and knowledge. Each student, therefore, should have access to an effective, integrated school library program that reflects the curriculum and the needs of the school community and the world in general.




II. SELECTION OBJECTIVES


School library materials will be selected by the School District to support and enrich the educational program. Materials will serve both the breadth of the curriculum and the needs and interests of the faculty and students. It is the obligation of the District to provide for a wide range of abilities and to respect the diversity of many differing points of view as specified in Board Policy 102 (Multiracial-Multicultural-Gender Education).

Library materials are defined as all electronic, print, and nonprint resources, excluding textbooks, used by students and teachers for the District's educational program.




III. RESPONSIBILITY FOR SELECTION


The Philadelphia Board of Education, by state law, is ultimately responsible for all books and materials used in the Philadelphia public schools as provided in Pennsylvania Public School Code of 1949, Section 801, revised in 1988.

Responsibilities for actual selection of school library materials shall rest with the certified school librarian, and other professionally trained personnel, who shall discharge this obligation consistent with the Board's adopted selection criteria and procedures. The librarian will work cooperatively with staff members to interpret and guide the application of the policy in making day-to-day selections.




IV. CRITERIA FOR SELECTION


The following general selection criteria will apply to all materials, including electronic, print, and nonprint resources:
  1. Library materials shall support and be consistent with the general educational goals of the state and district and the aims and objectives of the individual schools and specific courses.

  2. Library materials shall meet high standards of quality in factual content, artistic and literary value, and presentation.

  3. Library materials shall be appropriate for the subject area and for the age, emotional development, ability level, learning styles, and social development of students for whom materials are selected.

  4. Library materials shall meet the needs and interests of students and faculty.

  5. Physical format and appearance of library materials shall be suitable for their intended use.

  6. Library materials shall be current and up-to-date.

  7. Library materials shall be selected to help students gain an awareness of our diverse society.

  8. Library materials shall be selected for their strengths rather than rejected for their weaknesses.

  9. The selection of library materials on controversial issues will be directed towards maintaining a diverse collection representing various views.




V. CRITERIA FOR GIFTS AND UNSOLICITED MATERIALS


Gifts and unsolicited materials must meet the following general selection criteria in order to be accepted and become a part of the school library collection:
  1. Gifts and unsolicited materials must support and be consistent with the general educational goals of the state and district and the aims and objectives of the individual schools and specific courses.

  2. Gifts and unsolicited materials must meet high standards of quality in factual content, artistic and literary value, and presentation.

  3. Gifts and unsolicited materials must be current and up-to-date

  4. Gifts and unsolicited materials must be appropriate for the subject area and for the age, emotional development, ability level, learning styles, and social development of students for whom materials are selected.

  5. Physical format and appearance of gifts and unsolicited materials must be suitable for their intended use.

  6. Gifts and unsolicited materials must help students gain an awareness of our diverse society.




Vl. PROCEDURES


Materials for school libraries will be selected by the professional library staff in collaboration with the faculty, parents, and students. Professionally recognized reviewing periodicals, standard catalogs, and other selection aids will be used by the librarian and faculty to guide them in their selection.




Vll. POSITION ON INTELLECTUAL FREEDOM


The Board of Education subscribes in principle to the statements of policy on library philosophy as expressed in the Library Bill of Rights of the American Library Association, a copy of which is appended to this policy statement (Appendix A). The principles of intellectual freedom expressed in the Library Bill of Rights are inherent in the First Amendment of the Constitution of the United States. In the event library materials are questioned, the principles of intellectual freedom shall be defended.




VIII. POLICY AND PROCEDURES FOR HANDLING CHALLENGED MATERIAL


Despite the quality of the selection process, occasional objections to library materials may be made. No questioned material shall be removed from the school pending a decision. In the case of a complaint, the following procedures shall be followed:
  1. All complaints to staff members shall be reported to the building principal involved, whether received by telephone, letter, or in personal conversation .

  2. The complainant shall be supplied with a packet of materials consisting of the District's goals and objectives, materials selection policy statement, and the procedure for handling objections. This packet will also include a standard printed form which shall be completed and returned before consideration will be given to the complaint (Appendix B). If the complainant does not return this form to the building principal within two weeks of receiving the packet, the objection will be considered resolved.

  3. Upon receipt of a written complaint form, the principal shall inform the School District's Director of Instruction. The principal shall then convene a school-level committee which consists of an administrative representative of the Director of Instruction, the Area Academic Officer or designee, the principal, the librarian, a teacher, and a parent representative. Where a school does not have a librarian, two teachers will serve. The representative of the Director of Instruction and Learning shall chair the committee.

  4. The committee shall meet to discuss the material. Using Instructions to Evaluating Committee (Appendix C), reviews from professionally recognized reviewing materials, and the Criteria for Selection, the committee shall prepare a report containing its recommendations concerning the material. The committee will forward its report to the Director of Instruction.

  5. The Director of Instruction (with assistance if needed from the Director of Leadership Development, the Administrator of Learning Development, and the General Counsel), shall make a decision as to any action taken with regard to the material in question.

  6. The principal shall notify the complainant of the decision.

  7. If the complainant is still not satisfied, he/she may ask the Superintendent of Schools or Chief Academic Officer to present an appeal to the Board of Education which shall make a final decision regarding the issue.




Appendix A


The Library Bill of Rights
of the American Library Association


Adopted June 18, 1948, by the American Library Association Council. Amended February 2, 1961; June 27, 1967; and January 23, 1980. The history of this statement with interpretative documents appears in Intellectual Freedom Manual (4th edition, American Library Association, 1992). Reprinted with permission of the American Library Association and the Office for Intellectual Freedom (50 E. Huron St., Chicago, IL 60611) from Intellectual Freedom Manual, 4th edition, c1992.

The American Library Association affirms that all libraries are forums for information and ideas and that the following basic policies should guide their services.

  1. Books and other library resources should be provided for the interest, information, and enlightenment of all people of the community the library serves. Material should not be excluded because of the origin, background, or views of those contributing to their creation.

  2. Libraries should provide materials and information presenting all points of view on current and historical issues. Materials should not be proscribed or removed because of partisan or doctrinal disapproval.

  3. Libraries should challenge censorship in the fulfillment of their responsibilities to provide information and enlightenment.

  4. Libraries should cooperate with all persons and groups concerned with resisting abridgment of free expression and free access to ideas.

  5. A person's right to use a library should not be denied or abridged because of origin, age, background, or views.

  6. Libraries which make exhibit spaces and meeting rooms available to the public they serve should make such facilities available on an equitable basis, regardless of the beliefs or affiliations of individuals or groups requesting their use.




Appendix B


Statement of Concern about School Library Resources


                                   Date _____________________ 					

Name ________________________________________________________ 										

Address _____________________________________________________ 										

City ________________________   State ______ ZIP ____________ 				

Phone _________________

 				

1. Resource on which you are commenting:

   ____Book  ____Audiovisual/Media  ____Magazine  ____Newspaper


   Title: ___________________________________________________ 										

   Author/Producer: _________________________________________

 								

2. What brought this title to your attention?




3. Have you read or viewed the title in its entirety?




4. Please comment on the resource as a whole as well as being specific 
   on those matters which concern you.





   Optional
5. What resource(s) do you suggest to provide additional information 
   on this topic?

Appendix C


Instructions to Evaluating Committee

  1. Bear in mind the principles of the freedom to learn and to read and base your decision on the broad principles rather than on defense of individual materials. Freedom of inquiry is vital to education in a democracy.

  2. Study thoroughly all materials referred to you and read available reviews. The general acceptance of the materials should be checked by consulting standard evaluation aids and local holdings in other schools.

  3. Passages or parts should not be pulled out of context. These values and faults should be weighed against each other and the opinions based on materials as a whole.

  4. Your report, presenting both majority and minority opinions, will be presented by the principal to the complainant at the conclusion of our discussion of the questioned material.




Bibliography

Office for Intellectual Freedom, comp. (1992). Intellectual freedom manual. 4th edition. Chicago, American Library Association.

Reichman, H. (1993). Censorship and selection: Issues and answers for schools. Chicago: ALA & ASA.

Van Orden, P. J. (1995). The collection policy program in schools. 2nd edition. Englewood, Colorado: Libraries Unlimited.



(Revised 2-5-2002)
School District of Philadelphia    /    Library Programs and Services