The School District of Random Lake materials selection policy supports the following documents:

• American Library Association's Library Bill of Rights

• American Library Association's Intellectual Freedom brochure

• American Library Association's Freedom to Read

The school librarian/library media specialist is responsible for the review, evaluation, and selection of the school library media collection. They are guided by the selection policy that embodies the philosophy and procedures set forth in national, state, and county documents. The librarian works cooperatively with administrators and teachers to provide resources that represent diverse points of view, stimulate growth in thinking skills, and promote the overall educational program. Library media collections are developed to meet both curricular and personal needs. To ensure that these needs are met, the librarian applies selection criteria and uses recommended selection tools. All purchases, including gifts, should meet the same selection standards.

The following criteria shall be used in selecting school library materials:

1.  Materials should support the school’s and the District’s educational goals and policies, including the advancement of student literacy.

2. Materials should be selected to support, enrich and extend the school’s curriculum and to encourage informational, educational and recreational reading, viewing and/or listening.

3.  Consideration should be given to diverse user interests, abilities, backgrounds, cultures, languages, and maturity levels. Materials intended for student use should be appropriate for the subject area and for the age, social development, ability levels, special needs, and learning styles of students served by the collection.

4.  Materials should represent various viewpoints on controversial issues so that students learn to explore, analyze and make intelligent judgments.

5.  The value of a work should be examined as a whole and given greater weight than individual words, phrases or passages contained in the work.

6. In order to assure quality selection the following additional factors will be weighed as they apply: 

   • Educational significance and/or contribution to the curriculum;

   • Informational or recreational interest;

   • Reputation and significance of the author, producer, editor and/or publisher;

   • Degree of potential user appeal;

   • Contribution to the variety in viewpoints offered on controversial issues;

   • Accuracy and currency of information;

   • Arrangement and organization of the material (for example, indices, glossaries, tables of contents, chapter headings, etc.);

   • Artistic quality, literary style or production values;

   • Readability levels;

   • Quality and variety of format;

   • Need for duplicate copies of extensively used materials;

   • Need to replace essential/required worn, damaged, or missing materials; and

   • Value commensurate with cost and/or need.

Additional criteria are considered when selecting materials available in non print formats.

1.  Ease of use of the product

2.  Accessibility to multiple users

3.  Access to needed equipment

4.  Enhancement of the print equivalent (if any) in terms of speed, flexibility, combinations of search terms, or general utility

5.  Continued access to retrospective information when necessary or desirable

6.  Reduction of space requirements over print products

7.  Reduction in number of copies of a print source when purchased for multiple locations

The following are resources that may be used to assist in the selection process:

1.  Reviews in professional, reputable sources such as Booklist, School Library Journal, Kirkus Reviews, Horn Book, Bulletin for the Center for Children’s Books, Voice of Youth Advocates, Cooperative Children's Book Center Choices, GoodReads, AASA Science Books and Films, and American Film & Video Association.

2.  Recommendations ALA’s Young Adult Library Services Association, and children’s literature experts.

3.  National and state award nominated and winning titles.

4.  Professional selection bibliographies such as The Best in Children’s Books, Elementary School Library Collection, Books for the Teen Age, Best Books for Young Teen Readers, Senior High School Library Catalog, and Middle and Junior High School Library Catalog.

5.  Online collection development tools such as Follett’s Titlewave and Baker & Taylor’s School Selection.

6.  Recommendations by faculty, administration, students or parents.

Gift and donated materials shall be judged by the selection criteria and shall be accepted or rejected by the same criteria as purchased items. 

Despite the careful selection of library resources and the qualification of those involved in the selection process, objections to library resources that are deemed offensive or inappropriate may occur.  Parents of children attending school in the District and District residents may request formal reconsideration of the inclusion of specific material in a school library. 

See SDRL Policy #2522 for further details.

• RLSD Library Request for Reconsideration of Material Form