SCHOOL LIBRARY BILL OF RIGHTS
for School Library Media Center Programs
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, 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, approved by the local Boards 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
There are times a student may encounter materials that may seem unsuitable for his/her age. We first respectfully ask the parent to consider that the purpose of the media center is to meet the needs of the entire school community, and this means providing materials that are of interest to several grade levels (grades 6-12), as well as the faculty.
If the parent determines they do not wish for their child to continue reading a particular book, we ask that they first handle the situation with their child. If you wish to inform the library staff, we will make a note in the child’s library account he/she should have restricted access to the book.
If the parent truly believes the media center should not keep the book in its general collection, we ask the parents to follow the steps for “Challenging Library Materials,” which are outlined below. This will result in a review of the particular book. It does not guarantee the book will be removed from the collection.
We will make every effort to insure the confidentiality of the challenger will be kept anonymous and this matter will be kept private.
Challenging a Library Resource
1. Fill out the form Request for Materials Review (see attachment)
2. Submit the form to Mrs. Kristin Irace, District School Library Media Specialist
3. Mrs. Tagmire will document the challenge and bring it to the attention of the appropriate administration and the review committee
4. The Committee on Challenged Resources will review the book and make a recommendation on whether or not the book should be removed from the collection. If the book is deemed inappropriate, the committee will remove the book from the general collection and place it in the Restricted Section
5. If the challenger is not happy with the result, he/she can request to move forward with a board hearing
Challenged Book Form is found here: