Philosophy

The school media center supports the educational program of the school.  Thus, responsibility for the development of an instructional materials program and for guiding students in its use must be shared by teachers, supervisors, administrators, and librarians.

The school media center’s program, collections, and environment shall provide a broad scope of learning opportunities for large and small groups of students as well as for individual students.

The school media center shall provide:

·                   Consultant services to improve learning, instruction, and use of media resources and facilities.

·                   Instruction to improve learning through the use of printed and audiovisual resources.

·                   Information on new educational developments.

·                   New materials created and produced to suit special needs of students and teachers.

·                   Materials for class instruction and individual investigation and exploration.

·                   Efficient working areas for students, faculty, and media staff.

·                   Equipment to convey materials to the students and teachers.

Important to the success of the school media program is the co-operative support from school board members, administrators, and classroom teachers.

Objectives of the School Media Center

A.        To enrich and support the educational program of the school.

B.         To provide students with the print and non-print materials and services needed for their growth and development.

C.        To stimulate and guide pupils in all phases of their reading.

D.        To provide an opportunity through media experiences for boys and girls to develop helpful interests, to make satisfactory personal adjustments, and acquire desirable attitudes.

E.         To help students through books and other materials to find self-realization and become better citizens of the community, state, and nation.

F.         To make available all resources necessary so that the students can pursue self-directed learning, explore and satisfy their curiosities, and establish desirable intellectual habits.

G.        To help young people become skillful and discriminating users of the materials in the media center.

H.        To further learning by teacher-librarian planning.

I.          To provide all the resources of instruction so that teachers can achieve their objectives, enrich course content, keep abreast of the best ideas and practices in education and broaden their own knowledge.

J.          To aid in curriculum planning and evaluation by serving as the school materials center with the librarian acting as materials consultant.

Objective of Selection

The objective of media selection is to supply the best possible materials which will enable the media center to fulfill its role in providing optimum, quality education for the students of the Franklin Local School District.

Selection of Materials

The criteria for selection of material are as follows:

A.        Materials collections are built to suit the individual school and its curriculum.

B.         Materials are selected to meet the needs of individual differences in the school’s community and students by providing a wide range of materials with diversity of appeal and presentation of different points of view.

C.        Materials should be of high artistic quality.

D.        Materials should be of superior format.

E.         Selection of materials should consider:

1.         Reputation and significance of author or producer;

2.         Clarity, adequacy, and scope of text or audiovisual presentation;

3.         Validity, accuracy, objectivity, up-to-dateness, and appropriateness of text or audiovisual presentation;

4.         Organization and presentation of contents;

5.         High degree of readability and/or comprehensibility; and

6.         High degree of potential user appeal.

Responsibility of Selection

The Board of Education is legally responsible for all matters relating to the operation of the school.  Materials for school media centers should be selected by professional personnel in consultation with administration, faculty, and students.  Final decision on selection should rest with the professional personnel in accordance with the formally accepted policy.

The Franklin Local School District endorses the School Library Bill of Rights which asserts that the responsibility of the school library is:

A.        To provide materials that will enrich and support the curriculum, taking into consideration the varied interests, abilities, and maturity levels of the pupils served.

B.         To provide materials that will stimulate growth in factual knowledge, literary appreciation, aesthetic values, and ethical standards.

C.        To provide a background of information which will enable pupils to make intelligent judgments in their daily life.

D.        To provide materials on opposing sides of controversial issues so that young citizens may develop under guidance the practice of critical reading and thinking.

E.         To provide materials representative of the many religions, ethnic, and cultural groups and their contribution to our American heritage.

F.         To place principle above personal opinion and reason above prejudice in the selection of materials of the highest quality in order to assure a comprehensive collection appropriate for the users of the library.

Procedure

Initial purchase suggestions for library materials may come from personnel.  Students may also be encouraged to make suggestions.  The librarian is responsible for evaluation and recommendation of all library materials to be included in the school media center.  Authority for distribution of funds rests with the building principal, subject to the approval of the Superintendent.

Gifts of books and materials for the media center may be accepted in keeping with the above policy on selection as well as the Board’s policy on accepting gifts.  Complaints about library books are handled in compliance with Board policy on complaints about the curriculum or instructional materials.