Jennifer Kight LIB 821 Dr.

Turner Assignment 4 Collection Development

SCENARIO: You are a middle school librarian in a school with a student body of 900 students. You have an annual budgetary allocation of $12, 000. Your school is a Math and Science Magnet Middle School, and you are wanting to increase your "usable" reference materials in your library. Mission Statement: The mission of the Middlesboro High School Library is to teach the students how to be life-long learners and critical thinkers in todays society and how to effectively use information in order to become an active participant in the 21st century and beyond. The Middlesboro High School library will promote the love of reading and teach students how to be use informational tools in order to become life-long learners and critical thinkers. The Middlesboro High School Library will support the learning needs of the students and teaching requirements of the faculty by providing information to support all curriculum areas taught at the school. Purpose of the Policy The purpose of this policy is to analyze the collection and assess areas of its strengths and weaknesses, especially curriculum needs. It will be used to help define future areas of the collection that should be addressed in terms of subject area and format. The policy also sets out selection guidelines, ensuring the public is aware of how material is selected and providing objective justification for the collection. Another purpose of this policy is to refresh the library at Middlesboro High School. The library will become a place for information and learning by attracting more users. Quality materials should be available in a variety of formats and reading levels, offer a wellbalanced coverage of subjects, and support the diverse interests, needs and viewpoints of the school community.

Community and User Groups Defined Middlesboro, Kentucky is nestled in the Appalachia Mountains and is located in Bell County. Cumberland Gap National Park brings in quite a bit of tourism. According to the 2010 census, the population of Middlesboro is 10,334. The median income is $29,630. Middlesboro High School currently has a population of 450 students in grades 9-12 and has 36 faculty members. All students at Middlesboro eat free lunch this year. Budget priorities The budget for the library is decided by the school board and site based decision making council. Funding for the school is tied to enrollment and enrollment has declined in the past few years. The librarian will apply for grants throughout the year to help supplement the budget. A few grants to apply for are: Starbucks foundation, Improving Literacy through School Libraries, Verizon Foundation: Literacy, and many more. Some budget priorities do not change from year to year. Such as library materials that address changes in the schools curriculum, including the introduction of new courses; replacement of damaged/lost frequently-circulating books. Major technology purchases are included in the district expenditures and do not affect the library budget. Rationale Percent of Budget Allotted 40

Fiction

Students use the fiction collection for curriculum needs, extracurricular and recreational reading. A set budget needs to be allotted each year for award winners. Also, popular fiction can obtain significant damage due frequent use. Paperbacks will be obtained through book fairs, donations. Most fiction will be purchased in hardcover in order to last longer This area supports the curriculum the

Nonficti

30

on

most. It is important to provide a nonfiction section that is as up-todate and thorough as possible. It is necessary to add nonfiction books that relate to new classes, changed curriculum, and to cultural and language needs of the changing student body. The subscriptions for all current periodicals will be renewed. This helps students stay up to date on current events. The library needs to have a variety of references materials including, but not limited to, encyclopedias, dictionaries, thesauruses, atlases, and almanacs. Online would be a good addition to the library. Research is critical for all curriculum areas, so a good reference collection is imperative. These supplies are ordered mainly from DEMCO and can fluctuate in yearly expenditures, depending on how many books are purchased preprocessed by vendors. This area includes book binding supplies, contact-paper covers for paperbacks, barcode sheets, and spine labels. 7

Periodic als

Referen ce

10

Supplies for processi ng and repair

13

Students are required to pay fines for materials that are lost or damaged. Notices will be sent home and given to the student in advisory at the end of each trimester. The library will accept cash or checks in payment, to be paid directly to the librarian or library clerk and noted in the library receipt book. These fines may used to supplement the budget.

Collection Responsibilities and Selection Procedures: The librarian will select materials that correlate with the curriculum and instructional programs. Recommendations may be made by faculty and students. The selection process may include consultation with school administrators, other teachers, students and parents, and staff. The following criteria shall be used in selecting school library materials: 1. Materials should support the schools and the Districts educational goals and policies. 2. Materials should be selected to maintain, enhance and extend the schools curriculum. 3. Materials that cover various interests, abilities, backgrounds, cultures, and languages. 4. Materials available for student use should be appropriate for the curriculum, age, ability levels, special needs, and learning styles 5. Materials should represent various viewpoints on controversial issues to help students keep open minds and learn to be less judgmental. 6. The overall value of a work should be examined and considered over individual words, phrases or passages contained in the work. 7. Overall relevance to the collection 8. The following aspects will be considered when needed: a) Educational significance and/or contribution to the curriculum b) Informational or recreational interest c) Degree of potential user appeal d) Contribution to the variety in viewpoints offered on controversial issues e) Accuracy and currency of information f) Artistic quality, literary style or production values g) Readability levels h) Quality and variety of format i) Need to replace essential/required worn, damaged, or missing materials j) Cost of materials Selection Aids Various methods of selection will be used, including booksellers, publishers catalogues and reviews in professional journals. Book lists should be consulted. The library will use reviews from School Library Journal, Booklist, and Common Sense Media. RUSA (Reference and User Services Association), YALSA (Young Adult Library Services Association), ALSC (Association of Library Service to Children), and other associations will be consulted as well for suggestions on bibliographies and award winning books to add to the library. Suggestions from students, staff and parents will always be considered, and a suggestion slip will be available at the library. Discussion with other librarians, including listservs will also inform purchasing decisions. Reading level and interest of the students will also be taken into consideration. The library will

be sure to include award winning books as well. These books will come from some of the same associations as listed above. The Collection: Young Adult Collection: Young adult collections are developed to meet the needs and interests of the young adult community, ages 12-15. The focus of the young adult collections is popular material, primarily fiction, but the other collections include Non-Fiction, Reference, Biographies, Periodicals, Magazines, and Graphic Novels. Non-fiction and Reference: The Non-fiction and Reference Collections cover the Dewey Decimal System in its entirety and contains a wide range of material. The material included in these collections serves to meet the needs of a general researcher and a recreational reader. However, these collections are not intended to serve as academic collections. Electronic Information The Math and Science Magnet library provides internet access to information outside the realm of the collection. The internet offers links to information worldwide and it enables our users to have immediate access to timely and comprehensive information including a wide variety of primary sources. The library cannot be responsible for accuracy, authenticity, currency, availability, or completeness of information because information on the internet is created outside the library. While the staff attempts to evaluate the overall content and appropriateness of any online sources that are purchased, we cannot be responsible for all content or links to other sites. For this reason, the user is responsible for using discretion when considering the quality of material, questioning the validity of information, and choosing what is appropriate. When students visit the library to conduct research on the Internet, they will be guided in using the Internet in a responsible and discriminating manner. Student use of the Internet in the library and in the school is governed by the Acceptable Use Policy. Multimedia Materials The collection should include video sources (VHS and DVD) and books on tape, CDs. Multimedia materials are available for facilitating the use of alternative formats in the classroom. The library houses all materials that are not traditional print materials in the Teachers Center. Videocassettes and DVDs are available on a circulating basis to faculty and staff only. Gifts Policy

This library will accept anything offered by the public. However, items will be subject to the selection criteria and accepted or rejected accordingly. This library does not appraise gifts and therefore will only send confirmation of the titles and number of items, not the value. Collection Maintenance The library weeds books on a rotational basis each year. Studies have shown that weeding actually increases the circulation of the collection. Weeding is important to free up space and to make sure students and teachers have access to the most relevant and up-to-date information. We generally weed when we feel that some materials are outdated and we go by subject area. The following criteria will be used for weeding: 1. If the book has not circulated in five years and is ten years old 2. Contains outdated material 3. Poor physical condition. 4. Lack of accuracy or relevancy, 5. No longer supports the curriculum. Teachers will have the opportunity to look through the weeded books to see if they may want them in their areas. Magazines are discarded after five years and newspapers after one month. We rebind and repair materials that are of current use and replace items that get heavy use and are beyond repair and/or have lost pages. Complaints and Censorship If an objection is made to an item in the collection, the person will be asked to fill out a formal complaint form. The librarian needs to consider the individuals interest in expressing a complaint, the requirements set out in this policy, and the principles of Intellectual Freedom as expressed in the American Library Associations Library Bill of Rights and its interpretation for school libraries. If the complaint cannot be resolved through an informal telephone conference or meeting between the complainant and the librarian or principal, as appropriate, the following procedure must be followed: 1. Listen calmly and objectively to the complaint. Explain briefly the selection criteria and procedures 2. Provide the person with a copy of this policy and the complaint form. Make sure that the person understands that the signed and completed form must be submitted before further action is taken. If the librarian or principal does not receive a completed and signed form within two weeks, the matter will be considered over. 3. Upon receipt of a signed and completed complaint, the librarian shall notify the schools review committee, the principal, and the superintendent within five school days of receipt of the complaint.

4. The Superintendent, the principal, the librarian, and the review committee with the will meet and discuss the issue. They will decide if the material in question meets the criteria for selection set forth in this collection development policy. 5. The person will be notified of the committees decision in writing within 10 school days.