Selection policies identify what a collection will contain and why it
exists. In a school, selection policies:
 | Keep the selection process focused on the objectives of a school and
district. |
| Identify criteria for materials to be included or excluded. |
| Provide a tool to communicate selection criteria to stakeholders
outside the library. |
| Identify acceptable activities within the selection process. |
| Provide for professional judgment within the limits of the selection
policy. |
| Allow for creativity and flexibility for educational decisions. |
| Allows for continuity and consistency within the collection over
time. |
| Provides a framework for handling complaints and problems. |
This is an ambitious list of goals for a selection policy. To
reach them, the policy should be developed with teachers, faculty,
administrators, and students subject to approval by the school
board.
Once a policy is approved, it should be made public -- posting it on a
school/library Web page is ideal. Library media specialists should
educate teachers and administrators about the policy and how it is applied
in the building.
ALA's
Workbook for Selection Policy Writing provides a great deal of
details and specifics on how policies should be written. In general,
selection policies should address:
| Overview of the community and district it serves along with the
mission of the library including references to intellectual freedoms
that users of the collection are entitled to. |
| Objective of selections, including what areas the collection is
intended to support. |
| Responsibility for selection. |
| Criteria for selection. |
| Procedures to follow when making selections [the How(s) and Who(s)]. |
| Reconsideration details including procedure with timeline for
handling complaints, informal review, specific actions by parties
involved, committee composition and roles, appeals, and status of
materials during process. It is a good idea to include a form
for formal written complaint. |
While some districts include copyright policies, it is often a
completely separate document.
The Groton
Public School (CT) has posted their selection policy on-line. It
is presented here to illustrate how the ideas presented in this page can
be applied to a school's selection policy. In my resource
section, there is a page devoted to selection
tools.
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Needs Analysis
Collection Evaluation
Selection Policies
Budgeting
Acquisitions
Weeding
Censorship
Circulation
Privacy Policies
Internet Access
Web Resources
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