Who are we?

~Media Specialist: Kathy Anglin

~Media Clerk: Beth Sinquefield

~School: Centennial Arts Academy

~Contact us: 770/287-2044 email: katherine.anglin@gcssk12.net or beth.sinquefield@gcssk12.net

Mission of the Media Center

The role of the media center and media specialist is to provide classroom and educational support for the teachers and students--through technology, audio/visual aides, research, and all genres of literature.

Library Media Center Statement of Philosophy

The Media Center functions as an integral part of the school. We seek to integrate the objectives, the philosophy and the curriculum of the school into our library program in an effective manner. The primary goals of the administration, the faculty and the library are identical: to instill in each student a sense of integrity, a concern for others, a respect for the uniqueness of each individual, and to provide a variety of experiences for optimum academic growth.

The librarian responsible for the collection should have a thorough understanding of our users and their needs and a familiarity with the existing collection and curriculum.

Position on Intellectual Freedom

In addition to observing the evaluation and selection policies established by the Board of Education, the library staff should also be aware of the suggestions of the American Association of School Librarians, which reaffirm its belief in the Library Bill of Rights of the American Library Association. Whenever it doesn’t conflict with school district policy, it is the responsibility of the library media center:

            “To provide a comprehensive collection of instructional materials selected in compliance with basic written selection principles, and to provide maximum accessibility to these materials.”

            To provide materials that will support the curriculum, taking into consideration the individual’s needs, and the varied interests, abilities, socio-economic backgrounds, and maturity levels of the student served.

            To provide materials for teachers and students that will encourage growth in knowledge, and that will develop literary, cultural and aesthetic appreciation, and ethical standards.

            To provide materials, which reflect the ideas and beliefs of religious, social, political, historical, and ethnic groups and their contribution to the American and world heritage and culture, thereby enabling students to develop an intellectual integrity in the forming judgments.

            To provide a written statement, approved by the local Board of Education, of the procedures for meeting the challenge of censorship of materials in school library media centers.

            To provide qualified professional personnel to serve teachers and students.”

Selection Objectives

The resulting balanced collection of resources should accomplish the following:

• Support current teaching and learning needs at an appropriate level
• Provide current information
• Provide sufficient depth to support student research
• Provide sufficient breadth to support self-directed studies
• Support faculty and administrative special projects and studies
• Provide resources for recreational purposes
• Support non-academic interests

SELECTION OF PRINT MATERIALS

The primary objective of the media center is to implement, enrich, and support the educational program of the school. It is the responsibility of the media center to provide a wide range of materials at various levels of difficulty, offering a diversity of appeal, and presenting different points of view.

Input into the selection process by administration, faculty members and students is encouraged. Suggestions made by any member of the school community will be subject to the regular selection process.

SELECTION CRITERIA

• Authoritativeness and accuracy
• Reputation of the author or originator of the source
• Relevance and significance of the subject matter
• Clarity of presentation
• Timeliness or permanence of the material
• Availability of materials on the subject
• Literary merit or artistic quality
• Suitability of the subject and style for the users
• Potential use by the Centennial community
• Importance to the total collection
• Price, format and physical durability

Decisions made in selecting print materials are based on the philosophy and objectives of the school; the curriculum and academic needs of the students and faculty, and the existing collection.

SELECTION OF NON-PRINT MATERIALS

The librarian selects materials in the following formats, as appropriate:

• Audiocassettes/Compact Discs
• Pictures
• Posters
• Realia
• Slides
• Videocassettes/DVDs

The decision whether to rent or to purchase materials will be based primarily on expected frequency of use. (For example, if a particular item is for one-time use, rental is practical; if the material will likely be used again in subsequent semesters or years, purchase may be more cost-effective.) Teachers must submit a Videocassette Request Form to the assistant principal before showing to their students. These forms are available in the media center.

WEEDING

In order to maintain the quality of the collection, obsolete and factually inaccurate materials shall be removed on a continuous basis. The advice of uniquely qualified individuals or subject specialists is sought when appropriate, but the final decisions regarding weeding rest with the librarian.

The process of weeding this or any collection involves time, skill in collection development, expertise in the maintaining of a balanced collection, and a thorough knowledge of the users and their needs.

In addition to the selection criteria presented in this policy, the media center professional staff will also consider the following factors in weeding materials:

• Obsolescence (especially in regard to science, mathematics and social science materials)
• Physical condition
• Number of copies
• Balance, and coverage of the subject by other materials
• Use patterns (Note: insufficient use must never be the sole governing factor. Infrequently used books are retained if they contribute to the excellence of the collection and appear in at least one standard bibliography.)
• Value to the total collection (Out -of-print and rare items shall be retained.)
• Research value

When print materials are removed permanently from the collection, all discards are given to worthwhile charities. All marks identifying the material with the name of the school shall be marked out, and the record of the material shall be deleted from the computer catalog.

CHALLENGED MATERIALS

The professional staff of the media center recognizes the right of individuals and/or groups to present concerns about either print or non-print materials in the library collection. In the interest of handling all legitimate concerns, complaints and challenges fairly and expeditiously, the following guidelines shall be followed:

1. All requests for the reconsideration of a work are referred to the Media Specialist, who will:
1. Supply the requesting person with a copy of the library's selection criteria.
2. Supply the requesting person with the library's form for reconsideration of materials.
3. Inform the Principal of the school of the request for reconsideration of a work.
2. Upon completion of the form, the requesting person will return the form to the Media Specialist. The Media Specialist will request a meeting with the requesting person, the Principal and the Media Specialist; and the Principal will forward a copy of the request for reconsideration to the County Superintendent.
3. If further action is necessary, the Media Specialist and the Principal of the school will appoint a Library Committee to consider the validity of the challenge in light of the selection criteria and the educational objectives of the school. Such a committee shall be composed of:

• The Media Specialist
• The Principal
• One teacher from each grade level
• One teacher representing special area teachers
• Two parents (not related) from the school community

The committee will review the material in question and its entirety as well as critical evaluations, where available, before reaching its determination.

4. The committee’s decision will be reported in writing to the filer of the request for reconsideration. If the filer is not satisfied with the decision, the filer has 30 days in which to contact the office of the Superintendent.
5. If the action continues beyond the Superintendent,

0. It will be reported to the ALA Office of Intellectual Freedom. If external advice is needed, it shall be sought from this office at this time.

The goal is to reach an agreeable solution at the lowest possible level.