As the heart of the school community, school libraries are central to teaching and learning; library integration with the full scope of the school's instructional program enriches student learning and improves achievement for all students. School libraries provide physical and remote access to appropriate high-quality resources and services during and outside the school day. School library media specialists structure meaningful learning experiences across the curriculum to ensure that learners will be able to independently inquire, locate, analyze, share, and create new knowledge in an increasingly digital world, training students to be responsible lifelong learners.

A.  Mission of the School Library Media Program

The mission of the library media program is to ensure that students and staff are effective users of ideas and information. This mission is accomplished

By providing intellectual and physical access to materials and information in all formats.

By providing instruction to foster competence and stimulate interest in reading, viewing, and using information

and ideas.

By working with other educators to design learning strategies to meet the needs of individual students.

B.  Selection of Resources

Each school’s library media specialist shall have primary responsibility for evaluating a school’s existing library collections and developing a list of recommendations for additions to the collection. The library media specialist is encouraged to consult reputable, professional journals or lists when determining what resources should be considered for inclusion in the school’s library collection. Teachers or students may request that specific resources be considered for inclusion in the collection at their assigned school by submitting a request to the library media specialist.

Resources selected for inclusion in each school’s library collection should:

1. support and complement the schools’ curriculum;
2. address the developmental, cultural, social, and linguistic needs of all learners;
3. be age-appropriate for the grade and interest level of the students the library serves;
4. appeal to the various interests of the students and faculty at the school; and
5. have aesthetic, cultural, literary, social, artistic, or historic value.

The Superintendent or designee is authorized to develop more specific procedures governing the selection and purchase of resources for school libraries, which may be contained in a Library Media Handbook. All purchases of library resources must also be made in accordance with any applicable financial policies and procedures and the applicable budget.

Gifts and donations to the school library may be accepted, but gifted or donated resources will only be included in the library’s collection if they are determined to be appropriate for inclusion in accordance with the same selection criteria applied to resources purchased by the school system.

C. Deselection of Resources

The continuous review of library materials is necessary as a means of maintaining an active library collection of current interest to users. The collection of the library media center will be continuously evaluated. Material that for any reason no longer meets the evaluative criteria or the needs of the school and its curriculum will be withdrawn from the collection.

The library media specialist will conduct periodic inventories of the school library collection and equipment. The inventory can be used to determine losses and remove damaged or worn materials which can then be considered for replacement. The inventory can also be used to deselect and remove materials that are no longer relevant to the curriculum or of interest to students. In addition, library media specialists should develop a collection maintenance plan which includes systematic inspection and removal of materials which are outdated, unused, or worn beyond usage (American Association of School Librarians).

The library media specialist is primarily responsible for identifying resources that should be removed from the library collection. A material should be removed from the library’s collection if it:

1. contains misleading, factually inaccurate, or dated information;
2. is in poor physical condition;
3. is determined to be of no real discernable value;
4. does not meet the current criteria for selection;
5. is no longer relevant to the needs and interests of the school community; or
6. does not circulate.

II.  Reconsideration of Library Materials

Occasional objections to instructional materials in a library media center may occur despite the quality of the selection process. The Mountain Brook Board of Education endorses the principles of intellectual freedom inherent in the First Amendment of the Constitution of the United States. Objections to materials may be expressed through the process outlined below by a member of the school’s faculty or the parent or guardian of a child in the school.

A. Procedures

1. The library media specialist will explain the selection process and reconsideration procedure to the person expressing concern.
2. The library media specialist will give the person expressing the concern a copy of the system Selection Policy and request that the person submit the form, “Request for Formal Review of Library Materials.”
3. The library media specialist will inform the principal, superintendent, and other appropriate personnel of the concern.
4. Upon receipt of the form, the complainant will have ten (10) business days to complete the form. If the complainant does not return the form within ten days the matter will be considered closed.
5. Upon receipt of the completed form, the principal will acknowledge the concern with a letter and will request review of the challenged material by an ad hoc Materials Review Committee within twenty (20) business days. The review committee will be appointed as needed by the superintendent and consist of a teacher, a building level administrator, a library media specialist, a reading specialist or language arts teacher, and a parent. Makeup of the committee may vary depending on the school. The Director of Instruction will serve as the nonvoting chair of the committee. The complainant may not participate in or observe the committee’s deliberations unless invited to do so by the committee.
6. The challenged material will continue to be available during the reconsideration process.
7. The committee will take the following steps to review the challenged material:

a. read, view, or listen to the material in its entirety;

b. check general acceptance of the material by reading reviews and consulting lists;

c. determine the extent to which the material supports the curriculum;

d. weigh values and faults, forming opinions based on the material as a whole rather than on passages or sections taken out of context.

8. The recommendation of the review committee will be determined by a majority of the committee voting by secret ballot. If the committee recommends removal of the material, the decision should include the levels from which the material is to be removed (elementary, middle, high).
9. The review committee will present a written recommendation to the principal who will communicate the committee’s decision to the person expressing the concern, the library media specialist, and the superintendent.

B. Appeals

1. If the person expressing the concern wishes to appeal the decision of the Materials Review Committee, a written request should be submitted to the superintendent within ten (10) business days of notification of the decision by the review committee.
2. The Mountain Brook Board of Education will convene to address the appeal. The Board will review the material, the “Request for Formal Review of Library Materials”, and the recommendation of the review committee. The decision will be determined by a majority of the Board.
3. The superintendent will communicate the board’s final decision in writing to the person expressing the concern, the library media specialist, the principal, and the review committee.
4. The library media specialist will retain or withdraw the challenged material as recommended by the review committee or, in the case of an appeal, as decided by the Board of Education.

C. Effect of Decision

A decision regarding whether to remove a challenged resource will stand for five (5) years before new requests for reconsideration of that item will be entertained. If the resource has been previously challenged within the last five (5) years, the complaint will be dismissed.