Selection Principles and criteria
Responsibility for Selection
The media specialist serves as the coordinator of all media purchased with school monies and funds that are cataloged and circulated through the media center (excluding textbooks and consumables). The media committee and other teachers will also be involved in purchasing decisions. All materials will be obtained in the most efficient and cost-effective manner. If materials are needed quickly, the media specialist may give preference to a local source to expedite an order to meet the needs of the patron with special circumstances.
The media specialist will acquisition media materials that meet the curricular goals and objectives of the school. This criterion includes approximately 8,000 books or a minimum of ten books per child.
Selection decisions have been delegated by the school board to a media committee, which will consist of a teacher from each department, an administrator, a student, and a parent. The principal will supervise the selection process. Teachers, administrators, students, parents, community members, and staff may make suggestions for the selection. The media specialist will make final decisions and evaluations about the selection.
Selection Criteria
General Criteria
The following criteria shall be used as a guide for selection of resource materials:
- Overall purpose
- Relevancy to today’s world
- Supportive of school purpose and objective
- Current and representative of differing view points
- Supportive and appropriate for subject areas and age levels
- Quality of content, format, and presentation
- Reputation of author, publisher, producer, artist, etc…
- Potential use and demand
- Cost efficiency
Technical Criteria
Technical criteria may include the previous criteria as well as:
- Clarity of sound in audio materials
- Cinematography in videocassettes
General Subject Boundaries
The media center collection will include, but not be limited to, the curriculum at Berrien High School.
Kinds of Programs Supported
The collection will include all instructional materials, reference materials, and recreational reading materials, as well as teacher resource materials.
Sources of funds
Funds for all materials in the media center will come from the Berrien County School System and from grants.
Forms of materials to be collected
The collection will include books, videos, presentation stations, televisions, VCRs, DVDs and other audio-visual equipment.
Duplication of materials
Materials in the collection will be duplicated based on how frequently they are used.