The School Board of Broward County has adopted procedures for developing library media center collections. Below are the guidelines used.
SELECTION OF MATERIALS
Criteria for Selection of Print and Non-Print Materials
- Materials are selected to support the mission of the school: (Identify school mission)
- Materials are selected to enrich and support the curriculum and the educational, emotional, and recreational needs of the users.
- Materials shall be appropriate for the age, emotional development, ability levels, learning styles, and social development of students.
In keeping with the Library Bill of Rights, materials will be considered based on the following:
- Needs of the curriculum, learning/teaching styles of students, faculty and staff
- Possible use of material (including small or large group instruction, in-depth study)
- Level of physical, artistic, and literary quality
- Treatment of subject and lack of cultural bias
- Accuracy and currency of information
- Scope of coverage
- Support of inquiry and critical thinking skills
- Relationship of the material to the overall collection
- Cost, packaging, and documentation
MAINTENANCE OF COLLECTION
Removing materials from a library collection that are no longer educationally appropriate is an equally important process as selecting new items of high quality. The library media specialist and/or instructional staff have an ongoing process to evaluate the library media collection and to keep the collection relevant to the changing needs of the curriculum, personal interests, and needs of students. Evaluation of items under consideration for removal from the Library Media Center should be based on criteria related to the educational value of the resources.
Criteria For Removing Items from the Library Collection
- Condition: Materials in poor condition due to damage, wear and tear, missing pages or heavily marked pages are prime candidates for replacement.
- Content: Materials may be in good physical condition but contain inaccurate or outdated information.
- Use: Materials that have not circulated for several years and are not needed for reference purposes should be considered for removal.
- Educational Value: Materials that are at inappropriate reading or interest levels for students and materials no longer aligned with the curriculum. The Department of Innovative Learning recommends that the following items should not be weeded or discarded:
- Literary classics, unless more attractive formats are available
- Local and state history, unless collected by another agency
- Major publications of the school, unless another department is responsible for the archive.
