Roger Williams Middle School Library

Policy and Procedure Manual

2016-2017

Roger Williams Middle School Library

278 Thurbers Avenue
Providence, RI 02905
(401) 456-9355

Contents
Introduction
School and Library Mission Statement and Vision
Statement on Censorship and Intellectual Freedom
General Policies and Procedures
Collection Development, Acquisitions, and Cataloging
Challenged Materials
Circulation
Reference Services
Multimedia Materials
Periodicals
Library Hours and Scheduling
Other Library Services
Inter-Library Loan
Online Offerings
o RWMS Library Website
o Ask RI Resources
Book Fairs
Printers and Copiers
Library Use by School and Community Groups
Patron Behavior
Food & drink
Cell phones
Talking
Acceptable Use of Computers
Other Rules and Expectations
Appendices
ALA Bill of Rights
ALA Freedom to Read Act
Principles and Policies for the Selection, Deselection, and Reconsideration of School Library Materials
at Roger Williams Middle School
First Amendment of the Constitution of the United States of America

Introduction
Mission and Vision Statements of Roger Williams Middle School and Library Adaptation
Our mission at Roger Williams Middle School is to engage our learning community in student-centered,
rigorous instruction that develops our core values and empowers our students to make the transition to high
school and successful adulthood.

In the library, this means that each student is important and the main focus of everything we do. Our
library learning is centered on developing strong information literacy and research skills that will enable
our students to be prepared for high school and beyond.

Our vision at Roger Williams Middle School is to create a community of independent, life-long learners, who
aspire to become critical thinkers and problem solvers that approach challenges creatively through
persistence and hard work, in order to become productive citizens of the world.

In the library, this means that we are a team of individuals who are building our critical thinking and
reading skills to become good problem solvers. We are creative and hardworking on our path to
becoming productive world citizens, using literature and information texts as some of our important
tools.

Censorship and Intellectual Freedom

The Roger Williams Middle School Library abides by the guidelines set forth in the American Library
Associations (ALA) Library Bill of Rights and Freedom to Read Act. Please see Appendixes A and B to read
these in their entirety.

General Policies and Procedures

Collection Development, Acquisitions, and Cataloging
Collection development, acquisitions and cataloguing are the responsibility of the school librarian. Requests or
recommendations for materials to be purchased will be accepted from staff and students, but are not
guaranteed. All decisions are made in adherence with the collection development policy. Please see appendix
C to read the collection development policy.
Once books are ordered, there is usually a lag time of several months until the book is available for check-out.
This is because orders must proceed through several departments during the PO process. Once books arrive in
the library, they are generally ready for staff and student use within a week.
All cataloguing is done on site in the Roger Williams Middle School Library by the school librarian. Materials
are catalogued through our online catalogue, Follett Destiny. Materials are classified using the Dewey Decimal
System (DDS), with deviations being made when deemed necessary and appropriate in order to increase
accessibility and ease of use for staff and students.

Challenged Materials
In the event that a material is challenged by a staff member, student or community member the school
librarian will adhere to the Materials Challenge Policy. Please see appendix C to read this policy in its entirety.

Circulation
Students
Students are allowed to borrow one title at a time. Occasionally students with a record of timely returns will
be allowed to borrow two titles at one time. Books are due back when finished. Students will not be allowed
to check-out a new book until their previous check-out is returned. There are no fines assessed for late
returns, however students are expected to replace or pay for lost materials. On most occasions a reduced
amount of $5.00 will be accepted as a replacement cost.

Faculty and Staff

Faculty and staff are allowed to borrow an unlimited amount of materials, to be returned when they are
finished. There are no fines assessed for late returns, however staff and faculty are expected to replace or pay
for lost materials. In addition to the regular collections, faculty and staff are also able to borrow from the
professional collection.

Check-Out Procedures
All materials need to be checked out through the Destiny online catalogue. Materials are checked out at the
circulation desk by the school librarian. Library cards are not used at Roger Williams; students and staff need
only to tell the librarian their school ID number or last name.

Holds
Holds are placed by the school librarian for students who desire a material that is currently checked out. When
the material becomes available the school librarian will notify the students advisory teacher by placing a
notice in their mailbox. Advisory teachers either send students down to pick up the book or give the notice to
the student so they may get the material on their own when possible.

Overdue Notices
Advisory teachers are provided with a list of students with overdue library books on or around the first of
every month. Advisory teachers advise their students that they have overdue books and allow them to come
to the library to make returns as they are able.

Privacy and Confidentiality

All staff and student records are private and confidential. As such, the Destiny catalogue system is unable to
provide information about previous patron check-outs. General circulation information is recorded for each
title, but that information does not include which students or staff checked out the material.

Reference Services
The main purpose of a school library is to provide staff and students with a safe, welcoming and organized
environment to pursue their information and recreation reading needs. In order to do this, a school librarian
must be customer service oriented, friendly, approachable and proactive in assisting staff and students.
o Safe, Welcoming and Organized Environment: Libraries are spaces that need to be safe and
welcoming to all students and staff in order to be equitable to all patrons. Libraries also need to be
clean and well maintained in order for materials to be located and accessed in a timely, efficient
manner. The Roger Williams Middle School Library will always be safe and welcoming for all students
and be organized in a neat and efficient manner.
o Customer Service Oriented: The primary role of a school librarian is to help staff and students find
materials and use the library efficiently. Their needs as patrons supersede all else.
o Friendly and approachable: Students and staff deserve a friendly and approachable librarian. This is a
necessary component in providing a space which is welcoming to all.
o Proactive: Students and staff will be greeted upon entry to the library and offered personal assistance.
In terms of book selection, the librarian will conduct a reference interview asking the staff member or
student questions to help determine and select the materials they seek. The librarian may or may not
use the library catalogue in suggesting and selecting books. Whenever possible students and staff will
be personally guided by the librarian to the correct shelf or subject area to find the book they seek.

Multimedia Materials
The library contains a small collection of educational DVDs. These items are kept on a shelf behind the
circulation desk. These DVDs are available for check out by teachers and staff only.

Periodicals
The Roger Williams Middle School Library is excited to begin building a collection of periodicals. We currently
subscribe to Yes! Magazine, Options Community Magazine and Sports Illustrated Kids. These magazines will
be kept in the library for student and teacher use.

Library Hours and Scheduling

Hours: The library is open from 7:15am-2:50pm. The library remains open to students all day, unless the
librarian is scheduled for coverage during period 5 or the library is being used for testing. In that case a sign
will be posted on the locked door and class visits will be rescheduled.
Scheduling Class Visits: The library can be booked for class use for the purposes of circulation, computer use,
or research education and assistance. Time is booked with the librarian and recorded in the binder on the
desk.
Scheduling Student Visits: Students can be sent to the library from any class with a pass. Students may visit to
get a book, research, use Microsoft Office Products, study quietly or finish a test or quiz. In the event that
another class is visiting, students may be sent back to class if there is not enough space to accommodate
them.

Other Library Services

Interlibrary Loan (ILL)
Libraries within the Providence Public School Department (PPSD) have the option to share resources with each
other. Whenever possible the Roger Williams Middle School Library will fulfill requests from other schools.
Exceptions may be made for popular titles or titles that are known to be needed by our staff or students. We
can also request to borrow items that we do not have from other schools. If these requests are filled, patrons
are subject to policies and fines of the lending school.

Online Offerings
Our library has a website (www.rwmslibrary.weebly.com) with a link to the catalogue, class research projects,
and book talk presentations. Presentation links and resources are added for classes when they visit the library
for research instruction. These links remain on the library website for future use. There are also links to
services available through our statewide library service on www.askri.com.

Book Fairs
Each year the library hosts a book fair. The Book Fairs take place under the direction of the school librarian
with help from the school community. The profit from these book fairs go toward purchasing new or
replacement titles for our library collection.

Printers and Copiers

All students printing in the library are required to ask permission prior to doing so. All staff and teachers
printing in the library are asked to print single copies only. Copiers located in the library are for use of all
teachers and staff; the school librarian will request repairs, toner and copy paper when needed but is not
personally responsible for copy machine maintenance.

Library Use by School and Community Groups

When the library is used by school and community groups it is expected that students be supervised in the
library at all times. It is also expected and very much appreciated that the library be left in the neat and
orderly fashion it was found in.

Patron Behavior
Food & Drink
Food and drink is permitted in the library so long as it confined to the tables on the opposite side of the library
from the computers. This is to maintain cleanliness and protect technology from damage from accidental
spills.

Cell Phones
In accordance with PPSD policy, cell phone use is not allowed in the library. Students in possession of a cell
phone are expected to have it turned off and put away in a backpack, locker, or pocket.

Talking
Student collaboration is encouraged in the library. Students are welcome to converse quietly with each other.
Students engaged in loud behavior or using inappropriate language will be asked to moderate their behavior.
Failure to adhere to this policy may result in students being asked to leave the library.

Acceptable Use of Computers

All computers are subject to the Acceptable Use Policy of the Providence Public School Department. This can
be found on the Providence Public Schools website: http://www.providenceschools.org/Page/353

APPENDICES:
A.) The Library Bill of Rights of the American Library Association
The American Library Association affirms that all libraries are forums for information and ideas, and that the
following basic policies should guide their services.
I. Books and other library resources should be provided for the interest, information, and enlightenment of all
people of the community the library serves. Materials should not be excluded because of the origin,
background, or views of those contributing to their creation.
II. Libraries should provide materials and information presenting all points of view on current and historical
issues. Materials should not be proscribed or removed because of partisan or doctrinal disapproval.
III. Libraries should challenge censorship in the fulfillment of their responsibility to provide information and
enlightenment.
IV. Libraries should cooperate with all persons and groups concerned with resisting abridgment of free
expression and free access to ideas.
V. A persons right to use a library should not be denied or abridged because of origin, age, background, or
views.
VI. Libraries which make exhibit spaces and meeting rooms available to the public they serve should make
such facilities available on an equitable basis, regardless of the beliefs or affiliations of individuals or groups
requesting their use.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Source: http://www.ala.org/advocacy/intfreedom/librarybill
Adopted June 19, 1939, by the ALA Council; amended October 14, 1944; June 18, 1948; February 2, 1961; June
27, 1967; January 23, 1980; inclusion of age reaffirmed January 23, 1996.

B.) The Freedom to Read Statement of the American Library Association.

The freedom to read is essential to our democracy. It is continuously under attack. Private groups and public
authorities in various parts of the country are working to remove or limit access to reading materials, to
censor content in schools, to label "controversial" views, to distribute lists of "objectionable" books or
authors, and to purge libraries. These actions apparently rise from a view that our national tradition of free
expression is no longer valid; that censorship and suppression are needed to counter threats to safety or
national security, as well as to avoid the subversion of politics and the corruption of morals. We, as individuals
devoted to reading and as librarians and publishers responsible for disseminating ideas, wish to assert the
public interest in the preservation of the freedom to read.
Most attempts at suppression rest on a denial of the fundamental premise of democracy: that the ordinary
individual, by exercising critical judgment, will select the good and reject the bad. We trust Americans to
recognize propaganda and misinformation, and to make their own decisions about what they read and
believe. We do not believe they are prepared to sacrifice their heritage of a free press in order to be
"protected" against what others think may be bad for them. We believe they still favor free enterprise in ideas
and expression.
These efforts at suppression are related to a larger pattern of pressures being brought against education, the
press, art and images, films, broadcast media, and the Internet. The problem is not only one of actual
censorship. The shadow of fear cast by these pressures leads, we suspect, to an even larger voluntary
curtailment of expression by those who seek to avoid controversy or unwelcome scrutiny by government
officials.
Such pressure toward conformity is perhaps natural to a time of accelerated change. And yet suppression is
never more dangerous than in such a time of social tension. Freedom has given the United States the elasticity
to endure strain. Freedom keeps open the path of novel and creative solutions, and enables change to come
by choice. Every silencing of a heresy, every enforcement of an orthodoxy, diminishes the toughness and
resilience of our society and leaves it the less able to deal with controversy and difference.
Now as always in our history, reading is among our greatest freedoms. The freedom to read and write is
almost the only means for making generally available ideas or manners of expression that can initially
command only a small audience. The written word is the natural medium for the new idea and the untried
voice from which come the original contributions to social growth. It is essential to the extended discussion
that serious thought requires, and to the accumulation of knowledge and ideas into organized collections.
We believe that free communication is essential to the preservation of a free society and a creative culture.
We believe that these pressures toward conformity present the danger of limiting the range and variety of
inquiry and expression on which our democracy and our culture depend. We believe that every American
community must jealously guard the freedom to publish and to circulate, in order to preserve its own freedom
to read. We believe that publishers and librarians have a profound responsibility to give validity to that
freedom to read by making it possible for the readers to choose freely from a variety of offerings.
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The freedom to read is guaranteed by the Constitution. Those with faith in free people will stand firm on these
constitutional guarantees of essential rights and will exercise the responsibilities that accompany these rights.
We therefore affirm these propositions:
It is in the public interest for publishers and librarians to make available the widest diversity of views and
expressions, including those that are unorthodox, unpopular, or considered dangerous by the majority.
Creative thought is by definition new, and what is new is different. The bearer of every new thought is a rebel
until that idea is refined and tested. Totalitarian systems attempt to maintain themselves in power by the
ruthless suppression of any concept that challenges the established orthodoxy. The power of a democratic
system to adapt to change is vastly strengthened by the freedom of its citizens to choose widely from among
conflicting opinions offered freely to them. To stifle every nonconformist idea at birth would mark the end of
the democratic process. Furthermore, only through the constant activity of weighing and selecting can the
democratic mind attain the strength demanded by times like these. We need to know not only what we
believe but why we believe it.
1. Publishers, librarians, and booksellers do not need to endorse every idea or presentation they make
available. It would conflict with the public interest for them to establish their own political, moral, or
aesthetic views as a standard for determining what should be published or circulated.
Publishers and librarians serve the educational process by helping to make available knowledge and ideas
required for the growth of the mind and the increase of learning. They do not foster education by imposing as
mentors the patterns of their own thought. The people should have the freedom to read and consider a
broader range of ideas than those that may be held by any single librarian or publisher or government or
church. It is wrong that what one can read should be confined to what another thinks proper.
2. It is contrary to the public interest for publishers or librarians to bar access to writings on the basis of
the personal history or political affiliations of the author.
No art or literature can flourish if it is to be measured by the political views or private lives of its creators. No
society of free people can flourish that draws up lists of writers to whom it will not listen, whatever they may
have to say.
3. There is no place in our society for efforts to coerce the taste of others, to confine adults to the reading
matter deemed suitable for adolescents, or to inhibit the efforts of writers to achieve artistic expression.
To some, much of modern expression is shocking. But is not much of life itself shocking? We cut off literature
at the source if we prevent writers from dealing with the stuff of life. Parents and teachers have a
responsibility to prepare the young to meet the diversity of experiences in life to which they will be exposed,
as they have a responsibility to help them learn to think critically for themselves. These are affirmative
responsibilities, not to be discharged simply by preventing them from reading works for which they are not yet
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prepared. In these matters values differ, and values cannot be legislated; nor can machinery be devised that
will suit the demands of one group without limiting the freedom of others.
4. It is not in the public interest to force a reader to accept the prejudgment of a label characterizing any
expression or its author as subversive or dangerous.
The ideal of labeling presupposes the existence of individuals or groups with wisdom to determine by
authority what is good or bad for others. It presupposes that individuals must be directed in making up their
minds about the ideas they examine. But Americans do not need others to do their thinking for them.
5. It is the responsibility of publishers and librarians, as guardians of the people's freedom to read, to
contest encroachments upon that freedom by individuals or groups seeking to impose their own
standards or tastes upon the community at large; and by the government whenever it seeks to reduce
or deny public access to public information.
It is inevitable in the give and take of the democratic process that the political, the moral, or the aesthetic
concepts of an individual or group will occasionally collide with those of another individual or group. In a free
society individuals are free to determine for themselves what they wish to read, and each group is free to
determine what it will recommend to its freely associated members. But no group has the right to take the law
into its own hands, and to impose its own concept of politics or morality upon other members of a democratic
society. Freedom is no freedom if it is accorded only to the accepted and the inoffensive. Further, democratic
societies are more safe, free, and creative when the free flow of public information is not restricted by
governmental prerogative or self-censorship.
6. It is the responsibility of publishers and librarians to give full meaning to the freedom to read by
providing books that enrich the quality and diversity of thought and expression. By the exercise of this
affirmative responsibility, they can demonstrate that the answer to a "bad" book is a good one, the
answer to a "bad" idea is a good one.
The freedom to read is of little consequence when the reader cannot obtain matter fit for that reader's
purpose. What is needed is not only the absence of restraint, but the positive provision of opportunity for the
people to read the best that has been thought and said. Books are the major channel by which the intellectual
inheritance is handed down, and the principal means of its testing and growth. The defense of the freedom to
read requires of all publishers and librarians the utmost of their faculties, and deserves of all Americans the
fullest of their support.
We state these propositions neither lightly nor as easy generalizations. We here stake out a lofty claim for the
value of the written word. We do so because we believe that it is possessed of enormous variety and
usefulness, worthy of cherishing and keeping free. We realize that the application of these propositions may
mean the dissemination of ideas and manners of expression that are repugnant to many persons. We do not
state these propositions in the comfortable belief that what people read is unimportant. We believe rather
that what people read is deeply important; that ideas can be dangerous; but that the suppression of ideas is
fatal to a democratic society. Freedom itself is a dangerous way of life, but it is ours.
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-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Source: http://www.ala.org/advocacy/intfreedom/statementspols/freedomreadstatement
This statement was originally issued in May of 1953 by the Westchester Conference of the American Library
Association and the American Book Publishers Council, which in 1970 consolidated with the American
Educational Publishers Institute to become the Association of American Publishers.
Adopted June 25, 1953, by the ALA Council and the AAP Freedom to Read Committee; amended January 28,
1972; January 16, 1991; July 12, 2000; June 30, 2004.

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C.) Principles and Policies for the Selection, Deselection, and Reconsideration of School Library Materials at
Roger Williams Middle School
A wide variety of educational media materials is needed to support the instructional programs of our school.
These materials include print, non-print and other forms of educational media which facilitate the
teaching/learning process.
A) OBJECTIVES
The Primary objectives in the selection of school library or media center materials are:
1) to support and enrich all areas of the curriculum
2) to meet the informational needs and recreational interests of the broad spectrum of the schools
community of learners
3) to promote a love of reading
4) to meet the needs of the professional staff, and
5) to provide materials which stimulate thinking, promote appreciation of the arts, develop research
skills, and promote independent learning.
In working to achieve these objectives, Roger Williams Middle School recognizes that the First Amendment
of the Constitution of the United States (Appendix D) is the cornerstone of our liberty and that it
delineates our rights and responsibilities regarding free speech, be it in written, visual, or audio form.
Roger Williams Middle School also adheres to the tenets set forth in the Library Bill of Rights of the
American Library Association (Appendix A) as interpreted in their Freedom to Read Statement (Appendix
B)
B) RESPONSIBILITY FOR SELECTION OF LIBRARY MATERIALS
The selection of library materials is an ongoing, continuous process that is carried out by the schools
certified Library Media Specialist(s).
C) SELECTION PRINCIPLES FOR LIBRARY MATERIALS
The process of examining and evaluating materials being considered for purchase is a continuous and
systematic one. Selection may be based upon reviews from a variety of journals and publications.
Recommendations from reputable sources or other criteria as listed below:
1. Meet the needs of the school, based upon the curriculum and the requests of the school community.
2. Meet the needs of the individual students based upon the certified Library Media Specialists
professional knowledge of these needs and interests, and the requests of faculty and students.
3. Develop aesthetic appreciation and creative thinking.
4. Match the ability levels, interests, diversity, and learning styles of students.
5. Reflect characteristics of the worlds societies and religious beliefs, and to foster understanding of
ethnic, racial, and minority groups within our society, including opposing viewpoints on various issues,
beliefs and practices.
6. Allow students to examine controversial economic, political, and social issues. Students must be able
to assess conflicting viewpoints. The use of controversial material does not imply endorsement of the
ideas by the schools professional staff or the Providence School Department.
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7. Present factual information which has been evaluated for accuracy and clarity, allowing students to
make informed and intelligent judgments.
8. Materials will be selected for their strengths rather than being rejected for their weaknesses. Materials
must be evaluated for their usefulness as realistic presentations of life, or as creative representations
with literary value.
D) GIFTS, DONATED OR OTHERWISE FREE MATERIALS
Gifts, free and inexpensive materials, and sponsored materials, should be judged and accepted according
to the same standards used in the selection of purchased materials.
E) DESELECTION OF LIBRARY MATERIALS
Maintaining a collection of current, appropriate and useful library materials includes the important task of
Deselection or Weeding. Therefore, evaluation of the collection will be performed in order to remove or
replace materials which are no longer useful or usable. The following guidelines have been developed to
aid in the weeding process; however, the final decision concerning the removal or replacement of material
rests with the Library Media Specialist(s).
Guidelines for Deselection/Weeding:
Weeding by Appearance
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)
6)
7)
8)

Worn-out volumes: dirty, brittle, yellow pages; missing pages; tattered covers, etc.
Badly bound volumes: soft, pulpy paper or shoddy binding
Badly printed works
Books of antiquated appearance which might discourage use
Materials with missing or broken pieces
Duplicate volumes
Older editions
Highly specialized materials (when the library holds more general or up-to-date information on the
same subject)
9) Subjects of little interest to the local community
10) Items which no longer relate to the curriculum (if specialized)
11) Mistakes in selection or acquisition
Weeding Based on Poor Content
1)
2)
3)
4)

Information is dated
Information is inaccurate
Stereotypes are present
Content is poorly written

Weeding According to Use

1) Nonfiction: Item has not been checked out within the last 5 years
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2) Fiction: Item has not been checked out within the last 3 years (classics excluded)
3) Categories which may be quickly outdated:
a. 000s: Computer
b. 100s: Psychology (especially popular literature)
c. 300s: College and career materials
d. 400s: Grammars with dated examples or illustrations
e. 500s: Astronomy, chemistry, physics, biology
f. 600s: electronics, engineering, health, technology
g. 900s: popular biographies
4) Categories which are not quickly outdated:
a. Dictionaries
b. Biographical sources
c. Literary criticism
d. Classics of literature
e. Foreign language literature
f. Art books
g. Local history or geography
h. Books providing general principles of a subject or discipline
F) PROCEDURES FOR RECONSIDERATION OF LIBRARY MATERIALS
From time to time, the suitability of particular materials may be questioned. The principles of freedom and
professional selection apply and the school will have no obligation to remove questioned material from
use before or during a review process.
If materials are questioned, the following procedure will be followed:
1. The questioner will confer with the Library Media Specialist and discuss the specifics of the material(s)
being questioned or challenged
2. If the questioner is not satisfied with the results of the conference, he/she will fill out a Request for
Reconsideration of Library Materials form and submit it to the principal.
3. The questioned material will then be reviewed by a committee of five members appointed by the
principal (or his/her designee) and composed of:
a. The Library Media Specialist,
b. One or more teachers,
c. The principal or his/her designee,
d. One or more parents (if available).
4. The review committee will:
a. Examine the material in its entirety,
b. Read reviews about the material and investigate the acceptance of the material by other
professional educators,
c. Judge the material for its strength and value as a whole and not in partthe impact of the
entire work often being more important than isolated words, phrases, or incidents,
d. Render a decision as to the suitability of the challenged materials and report in writing its
findings to the principal within 30 school days from receipt of the complaint. The principal will
notify the questioner of the decision.
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5. If the questioner is not satisfied with the review committees decision, he/she may file a written appeal
to the School Board. The School Board will render a decision as to the suitability of the questioned
material(s). The School Boards decision will be the final decision within the Providence Public Schools.

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REQUEST FOR RECONSIDERATION OF LIBRARY MATERIALS

The school board of The City of Providence has delegated the responsibility for selection and evaluation of
library/educational resources to the school library media specialist (and when required, a review committee) and has
established reconsideration procedures to address concerns about those resources. Completion of this form is the first
step in those procedures. If you wish to request reconsideration of school or library resources at Roger Williams Middle
School, please return the completed form to the principal of Roger Williams Middle School, 278 Thurbers Ave,
Providence, RI 02905.
Requestor Information
Name ____________________________________________________________
Date ___________________________
Street Address ___________________________ City ______________________________State_______Zip _________
Phone _____________________________
Do you represent: Self ____ Organization____
Resource In Question Information
Resource on which you are commenting: ____ Book ____ Textbook ____ Video ____ Display ____ Magazine
____Other (Please Specify):________________________
Title: ____________________________________
Author/Producer: ___________________________
1.) What brought this resource to your attention?

2.) Have you examined the entire resource?

3.) What concerns you about the resource? (use other side or additional pages if necessary)

4.) Are there resource(s) you suggest to provide additional information and/or other viewpoints on this topic?

Adapted From: http://www.ala.org/bbooks/challengedmaterials/support/samplereconsideration

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D.) The First Amendment of the Constitution of the United States

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof;
or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to
petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Source: http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/bill_of_rights_transcript.html

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