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Collection Development Guidelines

Odell Primary School Collection Development Guidelines

2021-2022 School Year

Reviewed: August 2019

I. Mission Statement

    A. Odell Primary School Mission Statement:

At Odell Primary, we persevere, innovate, and problem solve with compassion to become engaged citizens of our community.

    B. Odell Primary School Media Center Mission Statement:

The mission of the Odell Primary School Media Center is to provide equal access to a collection of materials and collaborative instruction in order to enrich and support the entire curriculum as well as to meet the individual educational, emotional, and recreational needs of all school community members.

    C. Cabarrus County Schools Media Technology Mission Statement:

This will be announced soon. Please check back later. 

II. Selection

Cabarrus County Board of Education Regulation 3200-R:

B. SELECTION OF MEDIA CENTER MATERIALS

1. The Media Specialist at each school shall have primary responsibility for selecting, acquiring, organizing and circulating supplemental instructional materials that are maintained in the Media Center.  The Media Specialist may request that such materials be reviewed by a Media Advisory Committee prior to their being made available to students.

2. The principal for each school shall appoint a Media Advisory Committee to review supplemental instructional materials when requested by the Media Specialist.  The Media Advisory Committee shall be composed of at least five (5) persons and shall include the following:  the principal, the Media Specialist (who shall be the Committee's Chair), a department or grade level head, at least two (2) classroom teachers, and one (1) parent.  Upon the request of the Media Specialist, the Media Advisory Committee shall recommend and the principal shall decide whether the material(s) under review will be made available to students.

3. Whenever possible, the Media Specialist shall preview or examine the actual item under consideration.  The Media Specialist shall use reputable, professionally prepared selection aids when firsthand examination is not possible.

4. The Media Specialist shall establish a procedure for conducting preventive maintenance, repair, and replacement of materials.


III. Criteria for Selection

    A. Materials selected for inclusion in the Odell Primary School Media Center shall satisfy the following:

  1. Materials shall be chosen to support, complement, and enrich the curriculum and to meet the educational, emotional, and recreational needs of all patrons.
  2. Books shall meet high standards of quality in:
    1. Accuracy and currency of information
    2. Treatment of subject
    3. Educational soundness
    4. Physical format and construction
    5. Arrangement and organization
    6. Literary style
    7. Importance of the subject matter and relevance to real-life situations
  3. Audiovisual materials shall meet high standards of quality in:
    1. Authenticity and currency
    2. Appropriateness and relevance
    3. Scope
    4. Interest
    5. Accessibility
    6. Organization and format
    7. Technical aspects and physical characteristics
    8. Educational soundness
  4. All materials shall be appropriate for the subject area and for the ages, stages of emotional development, ability levels, learning styles, and stages of social development of Odell Primary School students.
  5. Materials shall represent varying viewpoints so that users can engage in critical analysis of information, make judgments based on all available information, and explore their own beliefs, attitudes, and behavior.

IV. Selection Tools

    A. In order to select the most current and relevant materials on any topic, the Media Coordinator and the Media Technology Advisory Committee (MTAC) will use the following representative list of selection tools to aid with the review and purchasing process.

    B. Reviewing media:

  1. Booklist
  2. Curriculum Connections
  3. Curriculum guides in all subject areas
  4. Horn Book
  5. School Library Journal
  6. Publisher’s Weekly
  7. Kirkus Reviews
  8. VOYA
  9. MultiCultural Review
  10. Personally previewed materials
  11. Reviews by Cabarrus County Media Coordinators and teachers
  12. Subject area bibliographies

V. Electronic Information Guidelines

    A. The Media Center is a learning commons that supports the provision of information in a variety of formats. As such, Internet access is provided through the availability of individual computer stations. All patrons will need to log onto the computers and will be permitted to use the Internet as their research and study needs require.

    B. Because equipment and time are limited and must be used to best meet patron needs, the computers in the Media Center will be limited in the following ways:

  1. Academic use will always have priority over recreational use.
  2. Printing privileges are reserved for academic purposes only. The Media Staff must grant permission for printing to occur.
  3. Students must use headphones or earbuds when using sound on the computers.

    C. Staff members will monitor student computer use to the best of their abilities, including Media Center Staff and teachers. Students are held to the statements they agreed to in the Student Code of Conduct. Any violations of these guidelines will be reported to the administrative team.

    D. The Media Coordinator will assist with the instruction, formal and informal, of appropriate selection, evaluation, and use of information found on the Internet.

VI. Audio Visual Guidelines

    A. The Media Center provides AV materials and services for the following purposes:

  1. To supplement its collection of materials
  2. To support, complement, and enhance the curriculum of Odell Primary School
  3. To meet the individual, educational, and recreational needs of all Odell Primary School community members

     B. Format

  1. The Media Center’s AV collection consists of films (DVD), electronic databases, electronic reference sources, ebooks, and audio books.
    1. The Media Center does not collect VHS tapes, filmstrips or music CDs.

VII. Gifts

    A. The Odell Primary School Media Center welcomes gift materials. These materials shall be subject to the same criteria as those obtained through the regular selection process before being entered into the collection.

VIII. Weeding

    A. Purpose

The Odell Primary School Media Center recognizes the importance and necessity of having a collection of materials that is current, accurate, relevant, and useful with regard to content and format. Therefore, a periodic evaluation of the collection will be conducted by the Media Coordinator to determine if any items in the collection no longer meet the standards for inclusion. The following guidelines have been devised to aid with the weeding process.

    B. Guidelines

  1. Weeding Based on Content
    1. Information is out-of-date
    2. Information is inaccurate
    3. Poorly written or presented information
    4. Unsuitable subject or treatment not suitable to school population (perpetuation of sexual, racial, or cultural stereotypes)
  2. Weeding Based on Physical Condition
    1. Pages are tattered, torn, damaged, yellowed
    2. Cover is torn, missing, damaged
    3. Binding is beyond repair
    4. Antiquated appearance that discourages use
  3. AV materials with broken or missing pieces
    1. Poor technical quality
  4. Weeding Based on Duplicate or Superfluous Copies
    1. Unneeded duplicate copies
    2. Older edition when newer one is available
    3. Books which no longer relate to the curriculum
  5. Weeding Based on Use
    1. Nonfiction: the item has not been checked out in the last 5-7 years
    2. Fiction: the item has not been checked out in the last 5 years (exclusions: classics, autographed copies, copies with bookplates)

Weeded materials will be withdrawn from the collection according to Cabarrus County Public School System guidelines.

IX. Reconsideration of Materials - CCS Policy Code: 3210 Parental Inspection and Objection to Instructional Materials

In Policy 3200, Selection of Instructional Materials, the board established a process for the selection of instructional materials that should meet State Board of Education requirements and the educational goals of this board. That process provides an opportunity for parental input in the selection of materials.

The board recognizes despite the opportunity to participate in the selection of materials, parents still may have concerns about instructional materials used in the school district. Thus, to further involve parents in the education of their children, the board also provides opportunities for parents to review instructional materials and a process for parents to use when they object to instructional materials.

  1. PARENTAL RIGHT TO INSPECT MATERIALS

Parents have a right under federal law to inspect all instructional materials used in connection with any survey, analysis or evaluation as part of any applicable federally funded programs. Parents ordinarily also may review all other instructional materials following procedures provided by the school or superintendent. The term "instructional materials" does not include academic tests or assessments (ex. EOG, EOC). Some materials available through the Internet and used in individual classes to provide up-to-date information or information on current events may not be available for advance review; however, all materials used in reproductive health and safety education shall be available for review as provided in Policy 3540, Comprehensive Health Education Program.

  1. PARENTAL OBJECTION TO MATERIALS

Parents may submit an objection(s) in writing to the principal regarding the use of particular instructional materials. The principal will establish a committee to review the objection(s). In addition, the principal may consult with the Board attorney on issues related to constitutional or other legal rights. The committee will render a decision within 10 school days. While input from the community may be sought, the board believes professional educators are in the best position to determine whether a particular instructional material is appropriate for the age and maturity of the students and for the subject matter being taught.

If the principal or the committee determines any material violates constitutional or other legal rights of the parent or student, the principal or the committee will either remove the material from instructional use or accommodate the particular student and parent. Before any material is removed, the principal or the committee will ensure the curriculum is still aligned with the current statewide instructional standards and articulated from grade to grade. If an objection made by a parent or student is not based upon constitutional or legal rights, the principal or the committee may accommodate the objections after considering the effect on curriculum, any burden on the school, teacher or other students that the accommodation would create, and any other relevant factors. Books and other instructional materials may be removed from the school media collection only for legitimate educational reasons and subject to the limitations of the First Amendment.

The decision of the committee or principal may be appealed to the superintendent, designee, or school system committee within ten (10) days of receipt of the principal's decision. The decision of the superintendent, designee or school system committee may be appealed to the board within ten (10) days of the superintendent's decision.

The superintendent or designee will be responsible for developing any necessary administrative procedures.