Library

School Librarians follow established selection criteria to curate a collection of books that meet the needs of the students at Souderton Area School District. Library materials align with at least one of the following purposes:

• Enriching and supporting the Souderton Area District Schools Program of Studies and the Pennsylvania Department of Education Academic Standards.
• Encouraging and supporting informational and recreational reading, viewing, or listening and helping students develop the skills necessary to become lifelong learners.
• Meeting the information needs of students and faculty, considering diverse interests, abilities, backgrounds, reading levels, maturity levels, native languages, and students’ extracurricular interests.

Librarians develop a collection development procedure specific to their school's needs and annually review that procedure with school administration.

Materials selected meet high standards including the following areas: 

• Educational significance – support and enrich the district curricula. 
• Students’ needs, abilities, interests, maturity levels, diverse points of view and background.
• Reputation and significance of the author/creator.
• Technical quality, adequacy, and scope of the material.
• The value and impact of any work are examined as a whole. 
• Validity, accuracy, clarity, objectivity, and timeliness of material. 
• High aesthetic quality and/or literary merit. 
• Quality of format, readability, effectiveness, and appropriateness of material.

Not every book in every collection will be suitable to meet the needs and/or interests of every student, but each book should meet the needs and/or interests of part of the school community. It is the responsibility of the school district to provide a wide range of materials on different levels of difficulty and representing different points of view. 

The District values each parent and family’s involvement in the development of their child’s reading interests and fluency. In addition to supporting their child’s reading, parents/guardians can work with their children to access their child's print or digital library checkouts using their child’s Destiny account login and password which can be accessed through ClassLink. 

The removal of items from the library collection (“weeding”) is essential to maintaining a relevant, current, and appealing collection. A quality library media center offers learners a dynamic collection of materials, materials that are carefully selected to meet student needs. Materials on a library's shelves, as well as electronic and online resources, are evaluated for relevance, timeliness, and appeal.

The library collection will be continually reevaluated in relation to evolving curriculum, new format of materials, new instructional methods, and the current needs of its users.

Weeding allows a school library to:

• Present a more appealing, inviting, easier to use collection.
• Effectively utilize limited space.
• Ensure that library users access current, accurate information.
• Identify materials in need of repair or replacement.
• Eliminate outdated material.

Sometimes objections to a selection are made by a parent/guardian of a child who attends the school despite the care exercised by staff members involved in the selection process. Once a complaint is made the following principles shall apply:

• Review of materials is be treated objectively, and as an important matter. 
• The option is always open for a parent/guardian to object to materials being used by his/her child. The parent/guardian has the right to judge whether the material is acceptable for his/her child and request that he/she has no access to the specific resource.

The Procedure

When a parent/guardian questions the appropriateness of library materials at his/her school building, the issue should first be discussed informally with the teacher/librarian involved and/or the building administration. This building level step clarifies the intended use of the material in question, determines the need for substitute materials for individual students, and/or finds a resolution. 

When a resolution is not determined at the building level, a Request for Reconsideration of Library Material form is completed by the parent/guardian, and a committee of District stakeholders is charged with responding to the request.  The committee re-examines the material as a whole and evaluates the extent to which the material supports the curriculum or meets the purpose of the library program.   The committee will decide if the material: 

• remains in circulation or use.
• is to be in use with limitations/restrictions. 
• is to be removed. 

During the review procedure, the library materials in use will remain until the committee reaches a decision.

Specific library material that has withstood the formal reconsideration procedure and remains in the library will not be reconsidered within one year of final determination, and any material removed will not be eligible for consideration to be added again for at least five years. The District shall verify previous decisions prior to convening a reconsideration committee.