Library Media Services

This state’s policy for the selection of school library materials states that any parent, guardian, student with parental consent, community member, or employee of the district may formally challenge library materials used in the district’s educational program. This policy further allows those persons in the school or the school community, who are not directly involved in the selection of library materials to make their opinions known. The focus of the examination procedure is to provide an open forum for making an informed decision.

Learn more about the district’s school library materials examination and challenge processes.

Certified educational media specialists are responsible for curating school library collections according to district and state guidelines. All titles in the collection must meet the needs of the school community. They must also meet district policies for academic and age-appropriateness and be available through district-approved vendors. These vendors provide library processing and computer records necessary to include books in the collections.

Objectives and criteria for selecting library materials

The primary objective of each school’s library program is to enrich, extend, and support the instructional program of the school.

The school library program makes available a wide range of materials on varying levels of difficulty attending to diverse needs, interests, and viewpoints of students and teachers.

Pursuant to Florida Statute 1006.40, any materials purchased with Library Materials Media funds must be:

• Free of pornography and material prohibited under s.847.012.
• Suited to student needs and his/her ability to comprehend the material presented.
• Appropriate for the grade level and age group for which the materials are used or made available.

Library materials for purchase are considered based on the following criteria:

            Purpose – relationship with instructional objectives and/or the curriculum

            Reliability – accurate, authentic

            Quality – writing and/or production of merit

            Treatment – clear, comprehensible, skillful, convincing, well-organized

            Technical production – is in appealing and well-crafted format

            Construction – durable, manageable, functional, safe

            Special features – useful illustrations, photographs, maps, graphics, charts, graphs, documentation

            Possible uses- individual, small, and/or large group instruction, in-depth study

Special Considerations:

• Religion – factual materials that represent all major religions
• Ideologies – philosophy that exert a strong force in society
• Sex – pornographic, sensational, or titillating material is not included, but the evidence of sexual incidents appearing in the media does not automatically disqualify its use (Reference Florida State Statute 847.012)
• Profanity – use of profanity does not automatically disqualify a selection; effort is made to exclude media using profanity in a lewd or detrimental manner
• Science- factual information about medical and scientific knowledge
• Health, Substance Abuse, and Violence Prevention Curriculum Materials MUST be approved by Mark Wilcox.

Purchasing resposiblities for school/site based personnel

State mandated training is provided to all media staff annually.  Tasks are based on media staffing at each school.

Library Media Specialist:

Prior to the end of the first month of school complete a Collection Development Plan that includes:

• School Demographics
• Collection Analysis
• School Media Committee Form (school administration, teachers, students, and parents)
• Recommendations & Action Plan

When funds are available, refer to the most recent Collection Development Plan for ordering needs.  Ordering must adhere to the following guidelines:

• Books must be age-appropriate for the intended audience (utilizing Renaissance rating system):
• Elementary – Up to MG, exceptions may be made for titles on B.E.S.T. list
• Middle – Up to MG+ for fiction, exceptions may be made for titles on B.E.S.T. list
• High School – Up to UG/YA for fiction with extensive reviews and searching tags for sensitive topics, exceptions made for titles on B.E.S.T. list
• Books must be purchased from an approved vendor, with shelf-ready processing.
• Multiple professional, full text, reviews must be read by the media specialist prior to purchasing (School Library Journal, Kirkus, YALSA, etc…). Reviews are available using Destiny Titlewave.
• The School Media Committee will convene to review the titles selected BEFORE submitting them to the Principal/Senior Coordinator.
• Principals must verify the title list prior to the requisition being created, following district library material ordering procedures. 

Media Paraprofessional II:

Library Media Services will provide a Collection Development Plan that includes:

• School Demographics
• Collection Analysis
• Recommendations & Action Plan

Prior to the end of the first month of school the Media Paraprofessional II will complete the School Media Committee Form.  Throughout the school year, Media Paraprofessional II will be responsible for maintaining a list of requested books from students and staff.

Per HB1467: schools staffed with Paraprofessionals or non-certified staff, cannot order books for schools.

“Each book made available to students through a school district library media center or included in a recommended or assigned school or grade-level reading list must be selected by a school district employee who holds a valid educational media specialist certificate, regardless of whether the book is purchased, donated, or otherwise made available to students.”

Therefore, Library Media Services, utilizing the Collection Development Plan and requested books, will create ALL library material quotes for schools with Media Paraprofessional II staffing.  Quotes will be reviewed by the Media Committee and approved by Principal/Senior Coordination of Library Media before entering a requisition, following district library material ordering procedures. (Florida House Bill 1467)  

Criteria for donations/gifts

Guidelines for purchasing library materials will apply to monetary donations for books and must be ordered from an approved vendor, processed with electronic book records, labeled, and shelf ready.

Follow district guidelines for accepting and tracking monetary donations.

Donations of materials is not currently allowed under HB 1467. 

Criteria for bookfairs

Bookfair profits can be either books or cash.  Orders from the bookfair vendor, after the bookfair is complete, need to follow Purchasing Responsibilities for School/Site Based Personnel Section.

HB1467 States that each district school board shall adopt procedures for developing library media center collections and post the procedures on the website for each school within the district. The procedures must:

“Provide for the regular removal or discontinuance of books based on, at a minimum, physical condition, rate of recent circulation, alignment to state academic standards and relevancy to curriculum, out-of-date content, and required removal pursuant to subparagraph (a)2.”

Weeding and discarding of the library collection occurs to keep materials relevant, effective, and appropriate to the school’s needs. District Library Media services will provide guidance for targeted weeding of the collection on an ongoing basis.

In discarding materials, the following should be considered:

• Acquisition date
• Circulation statistics
• Publication date for nonfiction, age-sensitive subject areas

District Library Media Services advises use of the CREW/MUSTIE ² approach to weeding.

CREW (Continuous Review, Evaluation, and Weeding) – This method makes it easier to routinely remove outdated and unused materials from the collection while also learning where the collection has gaps or needs new items.

MUSTIE (Misleading, Ugly, Superseded, Triviality, Irrelevant, Elsewhere).

Misleading – refers to information that is factually inaccurate due to new discoveries, revisions in thought, or new information that is now accepted by professionals in the field covered by the subject.

Ugly – includes most of the elements related to the physical condition of the item—wear, damage, stains, tears, dirt, water damage—that make it less attractive to a library patron. Taping a small tear is worth the effort but if there will be more tape than binding after the repair is completed, discard the item.

Superseded – those items sitting on the shelf next to newer editions or newer titles that update information. Libraries don’t need to keep more than one or two previous editions of almanacs, trivia books (Guinness Book of World Records), cookbooks, and other titles that are frequently updated.

Triviality – implies that the material included in the item was popular for a brief period of time, but interest has largely waned. Biographies of pop culture performers, games and consumer products, television shows, diets, and fiction series come and go very quickly.

Irrelevant – means that the interests and needs of your community may have changed over time. Frequently, we purchase multiple copies of a book or a wide variety of books on a topic to meet intense local interest, only to have that interest dissipate after a few years. CREW doesn’t recommend that you eliminate all items on any topic from a collection. If a particular topic is no longer as relevant to the community as it was at another time, the collection may have too many items just sitting on the shelf. Even though the last use time period may not have passed, these irrelevant items are prime candidates for weeding.

Elsewhere – It can be difficult to let go of items that are still in good condition even though the information covered is trivial or irrelevant. With the exception of local history and regional documents, almost everything is available someplace else. The Internet has reliable information on many topics; prepare bookmarks and pathfinders for your patrons on frequently used topics.

² Larson, Jeanette, CREW: A Weeding Manual for Modern Libraries, Texas State Library and Archives Commission, 2012