Trenton_Bd_of_Ed_Library_Policies_and_Procedures_Manual

THE TRENTON BOARD OF EDUCATION TRENTON, NEW JERSEY LIBRARY POLICIES AND PROCEDURES PK - 12 Created by: Fran Willever, 2005 Revised and Adopted by: Trenton School Library Media Specialists, 2011 Approved and Adopted by: Trenton Board of Education: [DATE] Table of Contents Section Page I District Mission Statement II Media Center Mission Statement III Intellectual Freedom The Library Bill of Rights School Library Bill of Rights Code of Ethics The Freedom to Read Statement 4 IV Trenton Board of Education Copyright Policy 11 Acceptable Use of Electronic Networks 11 V Materials Selection Policy Responsibility Procedures Weeding Criteria and Procedures for Library Donations 12 12 12 14 15 VI 15 15 16 Reconsideration of Materials Statement of Policy Procedure for Handling Challenged Materials VII Circulation Policy Student Library Circulation Policy Overdue Materials and Fines Lost and Damaged Materials Faculty Library Circulation Policy 16 16 17 17 17 Appendix A Trenton Public School’s Acceptable Use Policy 18 Appendix B Recommendations for Library Media Center Materials 22 Appendix C Request for Reconsideration of Library Materials Appendix D Sample Circulation Permission Slip 27 Appendix E Sample Overdue/Fine Notice 28 24 Bibliography 29 I District Mission Statement All students will graduate with a vision for their futures, motivated to learn continually and prepared to succeed in their choice of college or career II Media Center Mission Statement Trenton Library Media Specialists cultivate a student-centered environment that provides opportunities to seek, evaluate and ethically use information in order to generate new ideas and compete in the global reach of the 21st century We aspire to support and further the curriculum, to ensure that all students are taught research skills with up-to-date print and electronic formats and to promote a life long love of reading III Intellectual Freedom Library Bill of Rights The American Library Association affirms that all libraries are forums for information and ideas, and that the following basic policies should guide their services I II III IV V VI Books and other library resources should be provided for the interest, information, and enlightenment of all people of the community the library serves Materials should not be excluded because of the origin, background, or views of those contributing to their creation Libraries should provide materials and information presenting all points of view on current and historical issues Materials should not be proscribed or removed because of partisan or doctrinal disapproval Libraries should challenge censorship in the fulfillment of their responsibility to provide information and enlightenment Libraries should cooperate with all persons and groups concerned with resisting abridgment of free expression and free access to ideas A person’s right to use a library should not be denied or abridged because of origin, age, background, or views Libraries which make exhibit spaces and meeting rooms available to the public they serve should make such facilities available on an equitable basis, regardless of the beliefs or affiliations of individuals or groups requesting their use Adopted June 18, 1948 Amended February 2, 1961, and January 23, 1980, inclusion of “age” reaffirmed January 23, 1996, by the ALA Council SCHOOL LIBRARY BILL OF RIGHTSary Media Centers The American Association of School Librarians reaffirms its belief in the Library Bill of Rights of the American Library Association Media personnel are concerned with generating understanding of American freedoms through the development of informed and responsible citizens To this end the American Association of School Librarians asserts that the responsibility of the School Library Media Center is:       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 students 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 forming judgments To provide a written statement 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 Approved by the American Association of School Librarians Board of Directors, Atlantic City, 1969 Code of Ethics of the American Library Association As members of the American Library Association, we recognize the importance of codifying and making known to the profession and to the general public the ethical principles that guide the work of librarians, other professionals providing information services, library trustees and library staffs Ethical dilemmas occur when values are in conflict The American Library Association Code of Ethics states the values to which we are committed, and embodies the ethical responsibilities of the profession in this changing information environment We significantly influence or control the selection, organization, preservation, and dissemination of information In a political system grounded in an informed citizenry, we are members of a profession explicitly committed to intellectual freedom and the freedom of access to information We have a special obligation to ensure the free flow of information and ideas to present and future generations The principles of this Code are expressed in broad statements to guide ethical decisionmaking These statements provide a framework; they cannot and not dictate conduct to cover particular situations I We provide the highest level of service to all library users through appropriate and usefully organized resources; equitable service policies; equitable access; and accurate, unbiased, and courteous responses to all requests II We uphold the principles of intellectual freedom and resist all efforts to censor library resources III We protect each library user's right to privacy and confidentiality with respect to information sought or received and resources consulted, borrowed, acquired or transmitted IV We recognize and respect intellectual property rights V We treat co-workers and other colleagues with respect, fairness and good faith, and advocate conditions of employment that safeguard the rights and welfare of all employees of our institutions VI We not advance private interests at the expense of library users, colleagues, or our employing institutions VII We distinguish between our personal convictions and professional duties and not allow our personal beliefs to interfere with fair representation of the aims of our institutions or the provision of access to their information resources VIII We strive for excellence in the profession by maintaining and enhancing our own knowledge and skills, by encouraging the professional development of co-workers, and by fostering the aspirations of potential members of the profession Adopted by the ALA Council, June 28, 1995 The Freedom to Read Statement The freedom to read is essential to our democracy It is continuously under attack Private groups and public authorities in various parts of the country are working to remove or limit access to reading materials, to censor content in schools, to label "controversial" views, to distribute lists of "objectionable" books or authors, and to purge libraries These actions apparently rise from a view that our national tradition of free expression is no longer valid; that censorship and suppression are needed to counter threats to safety or national security, as well as to avoid the subversion of politics and the corruption of morals We, as individuals devoted to reading and as librarians and publishers responsible for disseminating ideas, wish to assert the public interest in the preservation of the freedom to read Most attempts at suppression rest on a denial of the fundamental premise of democracy: that the ordinary individual, by exercising critical judgment, will select the good and reject the bad We trust Americans to recognize propaganda and misinformation, and to make their own decisions about what they read and believe We not believe they are prepared to sacrifice their heritage of a free press in order to be "protected" against what others think may be bad for them We believe they still favor free enterprise in ideas and expression These efforts at suppression are related to a larger pattern of pressures being brought against education, the press, art and images, films, broadcast media, and the Internet The problem is not only one of actual censorship The shadow of fear cast by these pressures leads, we suspect, to an even larger voluntary curtailment of expression by those who seek to avoid controversy or unwelcome scrutiny by government officials Such pressure toward conformity is perhaps natural to a time of accelerated change And yet suppression is never more dangerous than in such a time of social tension Freedom has given the United States the elasticity to endure strain Freedom keeps open the path of novel and creative solutions, and enables change to come by choice Every silencing of a heresy, every enforcement of an orthodoxy, diminishes the toughness and resilience of our society and leaves it the less able to deal with controversy and difference Now as always in our history, reading is among our greatest freedoms The freedom to read and write is almost the only means for making generally available ideas or manners of expression that can initially command only a small audience The written word is the natural medium for the new idea and the untried voice from which come the original contributions to social growth It is essential to the extended discussion that serious thought requires, and to the accumulation of knowledge and ideas into organized collections We believe that free communication is essential to the preservation of a free society and a creative culture We believe that these pressures toward conformity present the danger of limiting the range and variety of inquiry and expression on which our democracy and our culture depend We believe that every American community must jealously guard the freedom to publish and to circulate, in order to preserve its own freedom to read We believe that publishers and librarians have a profound responsibility to give validity to that freedom to read by making it possible for the readers to choose freely from a variety of offerings The freedom to read is guaranteed by the Constitution Those with faith in free people will stand firm on these constitutional guarantees of essential rights and will exercise the responsibilities that accompany these rights We therefore affirm these propositions: It is in the public interest for publishers and librarians to make available the widest diversity of views and expressions, including those that are unorthodox, unpopular, or considered dangerous by the majority Creative thought is by definition new, and what is new is different The bearer of every new thought is a rebel until that idea is refined and tested Totalitarian systems attempt to maintain themselves in power by the ruthless suppression of any concept that challenges the established orthodoxy The power of a democratic system to adapt to change is vastly strengthened by the freedom of its citizens to choose widely from among conflicting opinions offered freely to them To stifle every nonconformist idea at birth would mark the end of the democratic process Furthermore, only through the constant activity of weighing and selecting can the democratic mind attain the strength demanded by times like these We need to know not only what we believe but why we believe it Publishers, librarians, and booksellers not need to endorse every idea or presentation they make available It would conflict with the public interest for them to establish their own political, moral, or aesthetic views as a standard for determining what should be published or circulated Publishers and librarians serve the educational process by helping to make available knowledge and ideas required for the growth of the mind and the increase of learning They not foster education by imposing as mentors the patterns of their own thought The people should have the freedom to read and consider a broader range of ideas than those that may be held by any single librarian or publisher or government or church It is wrong that what one can read should be confined to what another thinks proper It is contrary to the public interest for publishers or librarians to bar access to writings on the basis of the personal history or political affiliations of the author No art or literature can flourish if it is to be measured by the political views or private lives of its creators No society of free people can flourish that draws up lists of writers to whom it will not listen, whatever they may have to say There is no place in our society for efforts to coerce the taste of others, to confine adults to the reading matter deemed suitable for adolescents, or to inhibit the efforts of writers to achieve artistic expression To some, much of modern expression is shocking But is not much of life itself shocking? We cut off literature at the source if we prevent writers from dealing with the stuff of life Parents and teachers have a responsibility to prepare the young to meet the diversity of experiences in life to which they will be exposed, as they have a responsibility to help them learn to think critically for themselves These are affirmative responsibilities, not to be discharged simply by preventing them from reading works for which they are not yet prepared In these matters values differ, and values cannot be legislated; nor can machinery be devised that will suit the demands of one group without limiting the freedom of others It is not in the public interest to force a reader to accept the prejudgment of a label characterizing any expression or its author as subversive or dangerous The ideal of labeling presupposes the existence of individuals or groups with wisdom to determine by authority what is good or bad for others It presupposes that individuals must be directed in making up their minds about the ideas they examine But Americans not need others to their thinking for them It is the responsibility of publishers and librarians, as guardians of the people's freedom to read, to contest encroachments upon that freedom by individuals or groups seeking to impose their own standards or tastes upon the community at large; and by the government whenever it seeks to reduce or deny public access to public information It is inevitable in the give and take of the democratic process that the political, the moral, or the aesthetic concepts of an individual or group will occasionally collide with those of another individual or group In a free society individuals are free to determine for themselves what they wish to read, and each group is free to determine what it will recommend to its freely associated members But no group has the right to take the law into its own hands, and to impose its own concept of politics or morality upon other members of a democratic society Freedom is no freedom if it is accorded only to the accepted and the inoffensive Further, democratic societies are more safe, free, and creative when the free flow of public information is not restricted by governmental prerogative or self-censorship It is the responsibility of publishers and librarians to give full meaning to the freedom to read by providing books that enrich the quality and diversity of thought and expression By the exercise of this affirmative responsibility, they can demonstrate that the answer to a "bad" book is a good one, the answer to a "bad" idea is a good one The freedom to read is of little consequence when the reader cannot obtain matter fit for that reader's purpose What is needed is not only the absence of restraint, but the positive provision of opportunity for the people to read the best that has been thought and said Books are the major channel by which the intellectual inheritance is handed down, and the principal means of its testing and growth The defense of the freedom to read requires of all publishers and librarians the utmost of their faculties, and deserves of all Americans the fullest of their support We state these propositions neither lightly nor as easy generalizations We here stake out a lofty claim for the value of the written word We so because we believe that it is possessed of enormous variety and usefulness, worthy of cherishing and keeping free We realize that the application of these propositions may mean the dissemination of ideas and manners of expression that are repugnant to many persons We not state these propositions in the comfortable belief that what people read is unimportant We believe rather that what people read is deeply important; that ideas can be dangerous; but that the suppression of ideas is fatal to a democratic society Freedom itself is a dangerous way of life, but it is ours This statement was originally issued in May of 1953 by the Westchester Conference of the American Library Association and the American Book Publishers Council, which in 1970 consolidated with the American Educational Publishers Institute to become the Association of American Publishers Adopted June 25, 1953; revised January 28, 1972, January 16, 1991, July 12, 2000, June 30, 2004, by the ALA Council and the AAP Freedom to Read Committee 10 Procedure for Handling Challenged Materials Upon the receipt of a complaint, the library media specialist will hold a conference with the complainant The principal will be notified and may be present at the conference If the conference does not result in a resolution, the complainant will be given a “Request for Reconsideration of Library Materials” form (See Appendix C) The complainant shall return the completed form to the library media specialist, who will forward a copy to the principal and the superintendent The superintendent and the principal will appoint a committee to review the complaint within 10 school days This committee shall be composed of the school library media specialist, the principal, the superintendent (or a designee), two teachers from the school (one from the discipline and/or grade representing the subject matter of the material and one from a different discipline or grade), and one other member of the school community (this person could be a member of the Parent-Teacher Organization or another parent interest group) The committee will review the complaint and make a written report and recommendation to the principal and the superintendent within 30 school days Following the committee report, final disposition authority to keep, move or remove a book or other material rests with the principal and the superintendent A letter explaining the decision shall be sent to the complainant The complainant may not raise the same or substantially same challenge after the appeal has been decided or matter closed An item will be evaluated for reconsideration only once in a twelve month period 10 Challenged material may remain in circulation until this review and appeal process is completed VII Circulation Policy A Student Library Circulation Policy All circulating material taken from the Library Media Center must be checked out properly at the circulation desk, once a signed permission slip has been returned to the School Library Media Specialist (See Sample: Appendix D) Circulation is limited to books, playaways, ebooks and periodicals Special collections, AV software, and reference books not circulate However, certain situations may be given consideration for overnight borrowing as determined by the Library Media Specialist Students are fully responsible for any materials checked out in their 16 name Overdue Materials and Fines Library materials that are not returned by their specified due date are considered overdue Overdue notices will be sent out with an accompanying letter to inform parents of the cost of the book if not returned (See Sample Overdue/Fine Notice: Appendix E) Elementary and middle school students will not be issued fines for overdue books Fines for overdue materials are issued at the High School levels Lost and Damaged Materials Students with outstanding materials, who are transferring to another school within the district, are still responsible for said materials and will not have borrowing privileges in the new school until the obligation is cleared Material that is not returned by the end of the marking period will be considered lost Parents/Guardians will be sent an overdue notice and/or notified by phone of the obligation to pay for or replace lost or damaged materials Students will not be permitted to check out any other materials from the Library Media Center and, in accordance with the district policy, the student’s report card will be withheld until the obligation is cleared B Faculty Library Circulation Policy All circulating material taken from the Library Media Center must be checked out properly at the circulation desk Overdue material notices will be issued to the faculty at the end of each year Faculty members are fully responsible for any Library Media materials that have been checked out in their name Material that is not returned by the end of the current school year will be considered lost Faculty members will be billed at the end of the school year for any lost or damaged materials 17 Appendix A TRENTON PUBLIC SCHOOL’S ACCEPTABLE USE POLICY TRENTON BOARD OF EDUCATION POLICY FILE CODE: 6142.10 X Monitored X Mandated X Other Reasons TECHNOLOGY The Trenton Board of Education believes that technology should be infused into all areas of the curriculum and school operations The Board believes that it is essential for the school district to bridge the digital divide that exists in urban areas as compared to the rest of the nation The chief school administrator shall develop a technology plan that effectively uses electronic communication to advance and promote teaching and learning This system of technology shall be used to provide local, statewide, national and global communications opportunities for staff and students Educational technology shall be integrated into the district curriculum to maximize student achievement of the New Jersey Core Curriculum Content Standards ACCEPTABLE USE OF THE INTERNET Purpose To support its commitment to providing avenues of access to the universe of information available, the district's system of electronic communication shall include access to the Internet for students and staff Limitation of Liability The Internet constitutes an unregulated collection of resources that changes constantly, so it is not possible to totally predict or control the resources that users may locate The Board cannot guarantee the accuracy of the information or the appropriateness of materials that a user may encounter Furthermore, the board shall not be responsible for any damage users may suffer, including but not limited to, loss of data or interruptions of service Nor shall the Board be responsible for financial obligations arising through the unauthorized use of the system District Rights and Responsibilities The computer system is the property of the district, and all computer software and hardware belong to it Therefore, the District retains the right to monitor all access to and use of the Internet The Board designates the chief school administrator as the administrator of the district system He/she shall recommend to the board of education qualified staff persons to ensure provision of individual and class accounts necessary for access to the Internet, designation of quotas for disk usage on the system, establishment of a document retention schedule, establishment of a virus protection process and coordination of other activities as required to maintain the system The chief school administrator shall determine that: Access by minors to inappropriate matter on the Internet and the Web is restricted; The safety and security of minors when using electronic mail, chat rooms and other forms of direct electronic communications is protected; Unauthorized access, including so-called hacking and other unlawful activities by minors online does not occur, 18 Unauthorized disclosure, use and dissemination of personal identification information of minors does not occur and 5.Measures designed to restrict minor’s access to materials harmful to them are put in place The chief school administrator will be responsible to verify that blocking or filtering technology is implemented on all computers with Internet access The blocking or filtering must protect against access to visual depictions that are obscene, pornographic, and violent and/or any materials harmful to minors School Staff Notification and Responsibility Each principal shall coordinate the district's system in his/her building by approving all activities for that building; ensuring that staff receive proper training in the use of the system; ensuring that students are adequately supervised when using the system; maintaining executed user agreements; and interpreting this acceptable use policy at the building level Parental Notification and Responsibility The chief school administrator shall ensure that parents/guardians are notified about the district network and the rules governing its use Access to the System This acceptable use policy shall govern all use of the system Sanctions for student misuse of the system shall be included in the disciplinary code for students, as set out in regulations for policy 5131 Conduct/discipline Employee misuse may result in appropriate discipline in accord with the collective bargaining agreement and applicable laws and regulations The Board shall ensure the acquisition and installation of blocking/filtering software to deny access to certain areas of the Internet World Wide Web All students and employees of the Board shall have access to the Web through the district's networked computers District Ed Site The Board authorizes the chief school administrator to establish and maintain a district web site The purpose of the website will be to inform the district educational community of district programs, policies and practices Individual schools and classes may also establish Web sites that include information on the activities of that school or class The building principal shall oversee these Web sites USE OF E-MAIL Classroom and Individual E-mail Accounts for Students Students may be granted classroom and individual e-mail accounts for educational purposes only If e-mail accounts for students are requested as part of the instructional program, then that use will be monitored by the teacher responsible for that instructional program Individual E-mail Accounts for District Employees District employees shall be provided with an individual account and access to the system SUPERVISION OF INTERNET Supervision of Students Student use of the Internet shall be supervised by staff 19 ACCEPTABLE USE BY STUDENTS AND STAFF Student Safety Practices Students shall not have access to inappropriate matter or content on the Internet and the Web Students shall not post personal contact information about themselves or others Nor shall students engage in any kind of personal contact with individuals they meet online Attempts at contact from such individuals shall be reported immediately to the staff person monitoring that child's access to the Internet Personal contact information includes but is not limited to names, home/school/work addresses, telephone numbers, or personal photographs Any form of direct electronic communication by students (chatting, instant messaging, email) shall be monitored by staff or otherwise restricted from access Prohibited Activities Staff and students shall not engage in any type of unauthorized access, including so-called "hacking," and other unlawful activities Staff and students shall not attempt to gain unauthorized access to the district system or to any other computer system through the district system, nor shall they go beyond their authorized access This includes attempting to log in through another individual's account or accessing another's files Staff and students shall not deliberately attempt to disrupt the district's computer system performance or destroy data by spreading computer viruses, worms, "Trojan Horses," trap door program codes or any similar product that can damage computer systems, firewalls, servers or network systems Staff and students shall not use the district system to engage in illegal activities, to conduct commercial activities, to advertise products or services or for political lobbying Staff and students shall not access material that is profane or obscene, that advocates illegal acts, or that advocates violence or hate Inadvertent access to such material should be reported immediately to the supervising staff person Staff and students shall not plagiarize material that is available on the Internet Plagiarism is presenting another's ideas/words as one's own Staff and students shall not infringe on copyrighted material and shall follow all dictates of copyright law and the applicable policies of this district Staff and students shall not assume the identity or use the password or materials of another person Prohibited Language Prohibited language applies to public messages, private messages, and material posted on web pages Staff and students shall not send or receive messages that contain obscene, profane, lewd, vulgar, rude, inflammatory, or threatening language Staff and students shall not use the system to spread messages that can reasonably be interpreted as harassing, discriminatory or defamatory System Security Staff and students are responsible for their accounts and should take all reasonable precautions to prevent unauthorized access to them In no case should a user provide his/her password to another individual 20 Staff and students shall immediately notify the supervising staff person or technology office if they detect a possible security problem Users shall not access the system solely for the purpose of searching for security problems Staff and students shall not install or download software or other applications without permission of the supervising staff person Staff and students shall follow all district virus protection procedures when installing or downloading approved software System Limits Staff and students shall access the system only for educational, professional or career development activities This applies to discussion group mail lists Staff and students shall check e-mail frequently and delete messages promptly Privacy Rights Staff and students shall respect the privacy of messages that they receive and refrain from reposting messages without the approval of the sender Staff and students shall not publish private information about another individual Implementation The chief school administrator shall prepare regulations to implement this policy 21 Appendix B RECOMMENDATIONS FOR LIBRARY MEDIA CENTER MATERIALS Name _ Date Subject Area: Grade Level: Reading Level: Curriculum Unit/Subject Special Needs (Visually impaired, ESOL, G/T): Type of media requested, e.g., book, video, computer software, CD-ROM Please list specific recommendations Provide review source, if known: Author: _ Title: _ Type of Media: _ Publisher/Producer: _ Copyright Date: Review Sources: Author: _ Title: _ Type of Media: _ Publisher/Producer: _ Copyright Date: Review Sources: 22 Author: _ Title: _ Type of Media: _ Publisher/Producer: _ Copyright Date: Review Sources: Author: _ Title: _ Type of Media: _ Publisher/Producer: _ Copyright Date: Review Sources: Author: _ Title: _ Type of Media: _ Publisher/Producer: _ Copyright Date: Review Sources: 23 Appendix C Trenton Board of Education Request for Reconsideration of Library Materials Our Library Media Center’s mission is to select and acquire a wide variety of materials for access by all Library Media Center patrons The Library Media Center seeks to provide information on all sides of every issue, even if that issue is a controversial one Librarians not serve as censors for any materials or for any age group, since we believe that everyone, regardless of age, should be free to form his or her own opinion Therefore, we support equal access to all materials in our Library Media Center collections The Library Media Center values your opinion If you wish to request reconsideration of library materials, please complete the form below, outlining your concerns as concisely as possible, and return it to the library media specialist For the Request for Reconsideration to be considered the form must be completed in full The library media specialist will respond to your inquiry within 10 school days Thank you Name: _ Date: Address: Phone: Email _ Representing: Self Student Organization: School _ Student’s Name _ Student’s Age Grade _ Teacher _ Have you read the district’s Materials Selection Policy? Yes No Format of resource on which you wish to comment (Please check one): Book Video DVD Magazine Newspaper Audio Cassette CD Other: _ Author/Producer: _ Title: _ ISBN # _ Copyright Date Publisher _ 24 What brought this work to your attention? What concerns you about this work? (Use opposite side or additional pages if necessary.) Did you read, view or listen to the entire work? To what you object? Please be specific and site page numbers What you feel might be the result of using this item? Do you feel there is any value in this item? Explain For what age group would you recommend this item? 25 Are you aware of the judgment of this work by critics? Have you had an opportunity to discuss the proposed use of this item with the: Library Media Specialist _ School Counselor _ Student’s Teacher _ Building Administrator _ Other _ What would you like us to about this work? Re-evaluate it _ Withdraw it from the collection _ Other: _ What works would you recommend to provide additional information and/or other viewpoints on this topic? Signature: Date _ Please use additional pages if necessary After you have submitted this form, the library media specialist will ask the principal and the superintendent to appoint a review committee When the review committee has completed a review of your request, the committee members will make a recommendation to the principal and superintendent, who will review it and contact you with the result within 30 school days We thank you for your concern and interest 26 Appendix D Dear Parent/Guardian, We are beginning a new and exciting year at School Our goal is to encourage all children to become better students and to be excited about learning We would like each student to continue becoming better readers and writers As you know, reading more each day, both at home and at school, helps our children to continuously improve all of their literacy skills Keeping this in mind, we would like to make our school’s library/media center available to all students so that they can have more choices of books to read If you would like your child to be able to check out books from the library, we are asking that you sign and return this form, giving him/her permission to so This will indicate that you know your child is responsible for returning books to the library in a timely manner as well as in good condition This will also indicate that you will take responsibility for the replacement of any lost or damaged books If you not sign this form your child will be unable to check out any books from our school’s media center Thank you in advance for your cooperation in this matter Feel free to come in and see what we have to offer in our Media Center whenever you visit School and check out a book or two for you We have some titles that are sure to interest you as well Sincerely, Media Specialist Name of Student Teacher: _ Check one please: My child has permission to check out library books. My child DOES NOT have permission to check out library books. Parent’s/Guardian’s Signature: Phone Numbers: Home: _ Cell: _ 27 Appendix E Academic Year Dear Parents and Guardians, Your child has checked out a book from our school library or another library in the district and has failed to return it Please make every effort to find the book and return it or send in money to cover the cost of the lost item so it can be replaced The attached slip has the title and price According to Trenton Board of Education Policy, schools are able to withhold report cards, in-district and out-of-district transfer paper work as well as high school diplomas if students have any outstanding fees These fees include and are not limited to overdue, lost or damaged text books and library books, computer equipment or other school property Students will not be given report cards if books are outstanding Refunds will be issued for books that are found after payment has been made The library provides a free service to students (and parents) with the opportunity to borrow books weekly and use the library computer lab Our school library has lost hundreds of books over the years, with many just sitting at home forgotten about We are trying to instill a sense of responsibility as well as respect for books and all they offer students personally and educationally Please take the time to remind your child of the importance that caring for the things entrusted to them involves Sincerely, Media Specialist Bibliography 28 American Association of School Librarians [and] Educational Communications and Technology (1998) Information Power: Building Partnerships for learning Chicago: American Library Association American Association of School Librarians (1969) School library bill of rights Retrieved March 28, 2005, from the Dallas High School Library Web site: http://www.open.org/~dallashs/rights.htm American Library Association (1996) Code of ethics Retrieved March 28, 2005 from http://www.ala.org/ala/oif/statementspols/codeofethics/codeethics.htm American Library Association (2004) Freedom to read statement Retrieved March 28, 2005 from http://www.ala.org/ala/oif/statementspols/ftrstatement/freedomreadstatement.htm American Library Association (1996) Library bill of rights Retrieved March 28, 2005 from http://www.ala.org/ala/oif/statementspols/statementsif/librarybillrights.htm Caroline County Public Schools (1998-2005) Acceptable use of electronic networks Retrieved April 25, 2005 from http://cl.k12.md.us/AUP.html Chicago Public Schools Policy Manual (2006) New Collection Development Policy for School Libraries Educational Media Association of New Jersey (2004) School library media program Retrieved March 18, 2005 from http://www.emanj.org/documents/SLMP.pdf Ewing Public Schools (1999) Request for Reconsideration of Media Challenge Groton Public Schools (2001) Copyright implementation manual Retrieved April 25, 2005 from http://groton.k12.ct.us/mts/eg1.htm Lawrence Township ( ) School Library Selection Policy Monroe Township Public Schools (2004) Library policy/procedures and program guide: K-12 Williamstown, NJ: Monroe Township Public Schools New Jersey Core Curriculum Content Standards (2004) Retrieved February 12, 2005 from http://www.state.nj.us/njded/cccs/ Ocean County Library (2006) Request for Reconsideration of Library Materials Reinhardt, P (1997) Copyright and citations: What educators need to know Retrieved April 23, 2005 from http://homepage.mac.com/prr/copyright.html 29 Schrock, K (1995-2005) Kathy Schrock’s guide for educators: Subject access: Ready reference, librarian, and copyright sources Retrieved April 23, 2005, from the DiscoverySchool.com Web site: http://school.discovery.com/schrockguide/referenc.html#copyright Stanford University Libraries (2004) Copyright & fair use Retrieved April 23, 2005 from http://fairuse.stanford.edu/ Trenton Public Library (2003) Materials selection policy Trenton, NJ: Trenton Public Library University of Maryland University College (1996-2005) Copyright and fair use in the classroom, on the Internet, and the World Wide Web Retrieved April 23, 2005 from http://www.umuc.edu/library/copy.html Virginia Department of Education Division of Technology (2005) Acceptable use policies: A handbook Retrieved April 23, 2005, from http://www.pen.k12.va.us/go/VDOE/Technology/AUP/home.shtml West Windsor-Plainsboro Regional School District (1979) Selection of Instructional Materials and Equipment 30