SCMS Collection Development Policy

Mission

The mission of the library media program is to ensure that all students proficiently use information in various formats, and to provide a wide range of learning resources at varying levels of difficult, with diversity of appeal and points of view to meet the needs of students and teachers.

Purpose

The primary objections of the media program are:

to provide materials that will enrich and support the curriculum, taking into consideration the varied interests, abilities, learning styles and maturity levels of the students served;
to provide materials that will stimulate growth in factual knowledge, literary appreciation, aesthetic values, and societal standards;
to teach students to identify and use credible information;
to provide guidance in the practice of critical analysis and to make informed judgments in students’ daily lives;
to provide materials representative of the many religious, ethnic, and cultural groups and their contributions to the world community;
to place principle above personal opinion and reason above prejudice in the selection of materials of the highest quality in order to assure the development of a comprehensive collection appropriate to the school community.

Collection Description

The media center provides a variety of materials in both print and non=print collections. The print collection encompasses all Dewey classification numbers, a large fiction collection, and digital databases. Computers are available for accessing email and Canvas. They can also be used for school assignments. No game playing will be allowed. The media center provides a variety of resources to meet both the academic and personal needs of students and teachers. The staff makes a continued effort to provide a balance of resource materials to all curriculum areas.

Material Selection

Material selection is conducted by the Media Coordinator and is guided by the state core curriculum, as well as the needs and interests of students and teachers. The following serve as guidelines for selecting materials:

Educational significance
Contribution the subject matter makes to the curriculum and to the interests of the students
Favorable reviews found in standard selection sources
Favorable recommendations based on preview and examination of materials by professional personnel
Reputation and significance of the author, producer and publisher
Validity, currency, and appropriateness of material
Contribution the material makes to breadth of representative viewpoints on controversial issues
High degree of potential user appeal
High artistic quality and/or literary style
Quality and variety of format
Value commensurate with cost and/or need
Timeliness or permanence

Funding

The media center is funded annually by the Washington County School District. An annual budget of 10,000+ is allocated to print and other library materials, $ is allocated to audio/visual materials. Additional funding is provided through student fines.

Collection Maintenance

The print and non-print collections are updated annually. Titles and other materials are updated to meet curriculum standards, fulfill student and teacher demand, and to stay abreast of innovations and current issues. Materials are added to replace lost or damaged items, and to replace aging titles with new editions. Computer equipment and software are updated to facilitate student needs. Outdated or irrelevant materials are weeded according to circulation stats and/or accuracy. The maintenance of the collection is fluid avoiding stagnation or uselessness of information.

Challenged Materials

The SCMS media center follows the Washing County School District policy and procedure regarding challenged materials, policy 4221. Subsequently, the required challenged material form is available, form 944.