Collection Development Policy

Guiding Statements About the Key School Libraries

Mission Statement
Every day, we take students to worlds beyond the classroom to explore questions requiring critical thinking, creativity, collaboration, and a robust understanding of the ethical uses of information so they become effective consumers and producers of ideas as well as lifelong readers.

Vision
We aspire to be the inclusive heart of our Key School community where everyone feels welcome to discover, create, connect, and learn. We seek a just, diverse and equitable library program where everyone feels they have a free and authentic voice.

Library Material Selection Policy
This policy provides guidelines for material selections in the Key School libraries.

School Library Selection Policy Objectives

To provide materials that enrich and support the curriculum and meet the needs of the students served.
To provide students with a wide range of educational materials in a variety of formats with diversity of appeal and points of view.
To select materials that present various sides of complex issues, giving students an opportunity to develop analytical skills resulting in informed decisions.
To select varied literature to develop and strengthen a lifelong love of reading.

Responsibility for Collection Selection
Material selection shall be a continuing process in which curricular requests from administrators, teachers and students are taken into consideration. The librarians, as trained professionals, will evaluate the existing collection and the curriculum needs of the School and will be responsible for the final selection of materials.

School Library Selection Criteria

General Criteria

Support and enrich the curriculum and/or students’ personal interests and learning.
Meet high standards in literary, artistic and aesthetic quality; technical aspects; and physical format.
Be appropriate for the subject area and for the social, emotional and intellectual development of the students for whom the materials are selected.
Incorporate accurate and authentic content from reliable sources for nonfiction resources.
Earn favorable reviews from standard reviewing sources and/or favorable recommendations based on preview and examination of materials by professional personnel.
Exhibit a high degree of potentially broad user appeal and interest.
Represent differing viewpoints on complex issues.
Provide a global perspective and promote diversity by including materials by authors and illustrators of all cultures.
Include a variety of resources in physical and virtual formats including print and non-print such as electronic and multimedia including subscription databases and other online products as well as emerging technologies.
Demonstrate physical format, appearance and durability suitable to their intended use.
Balance cost with need.

Top Recommended School Library Reviewing Sources

Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC) Notable Children’s Books
Kirkus
School Library Journal
We Need Diverse Books website
The Horn Book
Publishers Weekly
Booklist

Additional reviewing tools used from time to time: https://www.ala.org/tools/challengesupport/selectionpolicytoolkit/reviewresources

School Library Acquisitions Procedures

In selecting learning resources, professional personnel will evaluate available resources and curriculum needs and will consult reputable, professionally prepared aids to selection, and other appropriate sources. The actual resource will be examined whenever possible.
Recommendations for purchase involve administrators, teachers, students, and community members, as appropriate.
Gift materials shall be judged by the selection criteria and shall be accepted or rejected by the same criteria.
Selection is an ongoing process that should include removing materials that are no longer used or needed, adding materials, and replacing lost and worn materials that still have educational and/or literary value.

School Library Gifts and Donations
Gifts and donations to the school library are welcomed with the understanding that the decision for use and disposition of the materials and/or funds will be determined using the same selection criteria as purchased materials. All materials should support the curriculum and needs of library users. Gifts and donations, like purchased resources, will be removed from the collection at the end of their useful life. Weeded materials are donated to local nonprofit organizations including Books for International Goodwill, a local nonprofit organization that has provided more than 8.7 million books to more than thirty countries around the world including the United States.

School Library Collection Maintenance and Weeding
Annually, the school librarians will conduct regular inventories of the collection and equipment. The inventory will be used to determine losses and remove damaged or worn materials, which can then be considered for replacement. The inventory will also be used to deselect and remove materials that are no longer relevant to the curriculum or of interest to our students. Additionally, there is an ongoing collection maintenance plan that includes systematic inspection of materials that results in weeding outdated, damaged or irrelevant materials from the collection. Weeding follows American Library Association guidelines for removing books. Additionally, books and other resources will be considered for weeding if they are more than ten years old and have not been checked out in the last three years.

Consideration of New Material Formats for Inclusion
The process for including new material formats such as online databases, ebooks, streaming media, games, and apps is ongoing. Factors considered in their selection include current demand, trends or growth in demand, and strengths and weaknesses of the format. Accessibility to patrons with special needs is also considered when purchasing materials.

Collection Materials Reconsideration Policy

Guiding Principles

Libraries have diverse materials reflecting differing points of view, and a library’s mission is to provide access to information to all users.
All library users have a First Amendment right to read, view and listen to library resources.
The Library Bill of Rights and the Freedom to Read Statement of the American Library Association are used as guiding documents.
Any member of the community has the right to express concerns about library resources and expect to have the objection taken seriously.
When library resources are reconsidered, the principles of the freedom to read, listen and view are defended rather than specific materials.
A questioned item will be considered in its entirety, not judged solely on portions taken out of context.
Parents and guardians have the right to guide the reading, viewing and listening of their children but must give the same right to other parents and guardians.
Questioned items will remain in circulation during the reconsideration process.
The reconsideration process should be completed in its entirety and not subverted or ended prematurely, leaving the library open to legal challenge.

Reconsideration Policy
Despite the careful selection of library resources and the qualifications of those involved in the selection process, objections to library resources that are deemed offensive or inappropriate may occur. Any member of the community may express an informal concern and, if not satisfied afterward, may file a formal request for reconsideration of a library resource.

Procedures for Handling Informal Complaints
Community members with a complaint about library print or digital resources should state their concerns to the school librarian, who will listen attentively to the concerns and attempt to resolve the issue informally. As part of the discussion, the school librarian will explain the library’s selection policy, selection criteria, diversity of the collection with resources from many points of view, and the selection process. Additionally, each parent or guardian has the right to determine the appropriateness of library resources for their own children and should accord the same right to other families.

If the complaint is not resolved informally, the librarian or Division Head will explain the formal reconsideration process and provide the individual with a copy of the school’s library selection policy with reconsideration procedures and a request for reconsideration of library resources form (see below). All complaints must also be reported to Head of School Matthew Nespole, whether received by telephone, letter or in personal conversation. No library resources will be removed or restricted from use as a result of the informal complaint. If a completed and signed formal request for reconsideration form has not been received by the Division Head within two weeks, the matter will be considered closed.

School Library Procedures for Handling Formal Complaints
The following procedures should be followed if, after discussing the questioned resource, no resolution is made.

A concerned community member who is dissatisfied with earlier informal discussions will be offered a packet of materials which includes the library’s mission statement, selection policy, request for reconsideration of instructional resources form, and the Library Bill of Rights.
The complainant is required to complete and submit the reconsideration form to the Library Head within ten business days.
If a completed reconsideration form is not submitted within ten business days, the matter is considered closed.
Upon receipt of the form, the Library Head will notify and provide a copy of the reconsideration form to the Division Head, School Library Reconsideration Committee and school librarian.
The work in question will remain on library shelves and in circulation until a formal decision is made.
The Reconsideration Committee will be appointed by the Division Head and consist of a teacher, a building-level administrator, the librarian, a subject specialist, and a member of the community.
The school librarian will secure copies of the resource for the committee to review.
The school librarian will provide the reviewing committee with a short formal Intellectual Freedom training that explains the packet of materials, which includes the library’s mission statement, selection policy, the Library Bill of Rights, the completed reconsideration form, reviews of the resource being reconsidered, and a list of awards or honors, if any.
The Reconsideration Committee will schedule a formal reconsideration meeting within ten school days after the Library Head receives the written request for reconsideration.

The Reconsideration Committee Should Follow the Procedures Listed Below:
At the initial meeting, the Division Head and committee will review reconsideration committee guidelines and procedures. A school administrator should fully participate in the reconsideration process.

A member of the committee should keep minutes.
All committee members should fully review the resource (read or view the entire work) before voting.
The committee reserves the right to use outside expertise if necessary to help in its decision-making process.
The complainant may make an initial verbal presentation about the resource under reconsideration or may choose to share the written form. The complainant is asked to provide sources for quotes used during this presentation.
The complainant may not participate in or observe the committee’s deliberations unless invited to do so by the committee. The committee chair may choose to give committee members time to ask questions.
During the initial or subsequent meetings, the committee will make its decision determined by the simple majority to retain, move the resources to a different level, or remove the resource. This will be a secret ballot vote.
The committee's written decision (including a minority report if needed) shall be presented to the complainant within five school days after the decision is made.
The committee’s decision is final.

Formal Request for Reconsideration
If you wish to request reconsideration of library resources, fill out this form online.

Support for Intellectual Freedom
The Key School libraries are guided by the principles set forth in the American Library Association’s Library Bill of Rights and its interpretative statements, including The Students’ Right to Read statement of the National Council of Teachers of English.