Generating a Selection Policy requires (at minimum) these skills:

• information literacy: successful strategies for locating and evaluating quality materials;
• knowledge of accepted library policies, procedures and practices for selecting, organizing, and using information;
• ability to develop and evaluate policies and procedures that support the mission of the school and address specific needs of the library media program, including collection development and maintenance, challenged materials and acceptable use policies
  
• ability to plan and perform acquisition procedures;
• knowledge of a variety of formats to meet the needs of all users;
• awareness and ability to use both traditional and electronic access media;
• awareness and ability to apply the legal and ethical practices of materials selection;
• understanding of the importance of Reconsideration as a method of improving the products and services of the library, given the constant shift toward increasingly complex, technologically-rich environments. As a media specialist, you must be prepared and able to handle challenges appropriately.

In this exercise, you will work as a group to construct the necessary components of a selection policy, ponder the difficult philosophical issues involved (including multicultural sensitivity and intellectual freedom), and produce a prototype that can be applied on the job.
 

Task
Create a group of approximately three people.  (If you form a group of less than three people, please consult with MAF first.) Collaboratively, construct a Selection Policy that contains the following components:

• 1-page cover letter for parents and community members, explaining the purpose of your Selection Policy in layman language
• Clear statement of the school's mission (or slogan or Annual Yearly Progress goals)
  
• Media center philosophy and mission
• Selection Principles: these are general statements that govern how materials are selected. They should change little over the years.
  
• Annual Selection Targets: this year's foci for selection; rationales relating them to program goal(s) from PDEP and the School Mission.
  
• Responsibility - Who will perform the different roles required by selection?
• Selection criteria and explanations; these should indicate a desired positive quality.
• Copyright Policy (or Information Ethics section): describes services you offer in support of intellectual property rights and ethical information use.  Include the document or procedure used to disseminate copyright information annually.  Reference an authority that you can readily use as an information source. Address the ethical information behavior expected of your students. Do not duplicate copyright law here, but it is appropriate to provide references to it.
• Acceptable Use Policy (addresses how students use the Internet, clearly stating their responsibilities, parental permission, and consequences for infractions)
• Gift policy
  
• Weeding policy (or "Collection Evaluation Policy"): When and why will existing materials be discarded? How will this be done? (Specific discarding procedure should be spelled out.)
• Position on intellectual freedom, including your media center's position on Internet filtering
• Reconsideration Procedure for handling challenges.  This should include a form for challengers to fill out.
• References - use inline citations and a Reference list in APA format.
• Reflections - each team member should submit a private reflection that addresses group process, personal contributions to the project, and personal growth. Seal and submit with project package.
  

I highly recommend that you study several examples. It is acceptable to adopt and/or adapt existing policies, but you must cite all sources and modify them to reflect the groups' beliefs and plans.

You are encouraged to tailor your policy to an existing media center. In reality, your selection policy will be constructed and approved by the Media Committee. Although you may not have the opportunity to consult a Media Committee for this assignment, don’t forget that this is a crucial step. Write the policy with your audience in mind, which will be school staff, community members, and especially parents.

The ideal versus the real: make your selection policy as real as possible, but you should strive toward the ideals of Information Power as much as you can. Committees often disagree - find a compromise. Every school and community is different, and tolerance varies.  If you find that your philosophical positions are at variance with the ALA Library Bill of Rights or other ALA policies (see http://www.ala.org/), state your rationale.

Format

• Ideally, your policy will be displayed through your Media Center website, and so post a copy on each group member's assignment page.
• Submit one printed package per group, using single-spaced paragraphs with double spaces between them, and ample headings. List all authors on the cover. Remember to number pages; don't use a big binder.  To save paper, print on both sides if possible - staple down the side like a book.
• Perform a group self-assessment on a single rubric - staple it separately. Submit the entire package in one folder.

• The Copyright section of this Policy should not attempt to duplicate legal explanations and lengthy details.  Instead, condense the policy into a small document that references authoritative copyright information and requires school staff to follow the law.  Alternatively, provide a pamphlet or other concise format borrowed (and cited) from elsewhere. Emphasize helping staff do this, rather than enforcing rules.  Students must also follow the law, and you may find much overlap into the Acceptable Use area.
• Sample citation for another school's selection policy: see Bishop, p. 57: Falk Lab School.