Amanda Johnson

7132
Policy Handbook and Issues
April 26, 2009
Policy Strengths /Highlights Weaknesses/Suggestions/Resources
Appropriate Personnel and The Role of Each
Superintendent Role: Vague/general
Provides leadership in establishing effective media
programs, appointing the system media committee, List specific tasks such as: setting
and designating the System Media Contact Person. budgets, assigning responsibilities,
presenting info to the Board about
media, ensuring certified staffing,
ensures facility updates, etc.

Resource:
Catoosa County Media Handbook
Liberty County Media Handbook
System Media Contact Role: The policy is accurate, but other, more
Person Provides information and guidance regarding local, specific, possible roles are available in
state, and federal policies and facilitates the Catoosa County Media Handbook.
communication between the system and building
media committees. Liberty County Media Handbook

Maintains awareness of Copyright Law and Fair Use

Guidelines and for communicating information to
school personnel.
Media Specialist (and MS: The policy needs to reiterate Georgia
Paraprofessional, if Responsibility for assuring compliance with guidelines for the number of media
applicable) Copyright Law and Fair Use Guidelines through a specialist and support staff based on
written approval process code CGB 160-5-1-.22. Specific
responsibilities of the media specialist
Involvement in selection, weeding, and and assistants need to be listed. Too
reconsideration discussed. often, we diminish their role to
checking out books when they really

Principal Role:
Facilitates implementation of the school media
program by appointing and providing guidance to the
building media committee and encourages
collaborative planning between teachers and the
media center staff to promote curriculum integration
with media resources and services.
have a huge role in student learning and
teacher partnerships.
Example specifications needed:
MS: training hired personnel and
volunteers, ask for teacher input,
planning of facilities, inventory and
budgets
Selection, acquisition, organization of
materials, information and reference
services, cooperative planning and
teaching, professionalism and
leadership
Support Staff:
Files, shelving, supervising students,
collecting funds, maintaining records,
assisting teachers, etc
Hillsborough County Policy
Liberty County Media Handbook
Not specific
List specific tasks such as reviewing
school policies, implementation and
evaluation of policies, providing
certified personnel, funding, serving
on committee, ensuring planning,
encouraging use of new technology.

Volunteers No current policy
Media Committee Role:
(county and school) System:
Comprised of: the Director of Instruction and
Technology, the System Media Contact Person,
media specialist, teacher, parent and student from
each of the three school levels-elementary, middle,
and high school. The district committee meets as
needed to establish procedures for assuring
compliance with local, state and federal policies and
to consider challenges to media materials.
School:
Appointed by the principal, is comprised of the
principal, the media specialist, the instructional
supervisor/lead teacher, one teacher representative
from each grade level or content area, one student
and one or more community representatives. The
school media committee is responsible for
recommending short and long-term goals, services,
and purchasing priorities; evaluating media materials
based on the established criteria; and making
decisions relating to challenged materials.
Catoosa County Media Handbook
Liberty County Media Handbook
See following policy for examples of
possible roles and responsibilities and
how volunteers are to be treated by
hired workers.
Hillsborough County
Vague/General
System: recommends local media
policies based on state policies and
standards, evaluate policies
periodically and recommend changes,
help determine program guidelines
based on state standards, recommends
budget allocations, establishes
procedures relating to the selection and
evaluation of media, considers
objections to materials or media center
procedures, plans for new technology
to be incorporated into the media and
instructional programs, recommends
procedures to increase copyright
compliance;, responds through
established procedures to formal
complaints regarding challenged
materials
School: reviewing, planning and
implementing policies, budgeting,
evaluating media services, encourages
 cooperative planning, responds to
challenged material, etc

Catoosa County Media Handbook

Collection Development
Selection of Materials Discussion of: May want to provide examples of “all
 Critical reviews by professional publications formats” (online articles, blogs, wikis,
and/or teachers, media committee, or media books, dvds, cds, MP3 format, etc.)
specialist
 supporting curriculum
 considering student interest, abilities, and
maturity, ordering materials that are
representative of different points of views
and cultures
 Placing principle above personal opinion and
reason above prejudice
 Various formats
 Cost, durability, literary quality, accuracy,
currency, etc.
 Advice from Technology Coordinator about
hardware, due to compatibility and
maintenance issues
Publishers and Vendors Consideration based on promptness, reliability, Sufficiently addressed
quality service and competitive pricing
Weeding With the media committees’ approval, outdated or The policy needs to mention materials
damaged materials or materials with questionable that have not been circulated in many
literary quality will be discarded according to local, years. The policy also needs to be
state, and federal guidelines. more specific about how to discard the
material. Some items may require
 Computer hardware and peripherals may be RESA permission.
discarded upon the recommendation of the district The following policy has MANY ideas
Technology Coordinator in accordance with local, about guidelines for weeding:
state, and federal guidelines and restrictions. Liberty County Media Handbook
Columbia County Media Handbook
Reconsideration of *Any parent may request that his or her child not read certain The policy for reconsideration is
Materials material based on religious, moral, or ethical beliefs specific and thorough.
Very detailed. Requires complainant to complete The policy should require a few media
required paperwork. If the complainant pursues the committee members and/or teachers to
reconsideration, the principal, media specialist and read the challenged material before
media committee are involved. Within 30 days making a decision.
appropriate action should be taken. The complainant
can share concerns with the committee. A vote will Columbia County Media Handbook
be held after selection criteria and professional
reviews have been considered, as well as discussions
and deliberations have been held. The committee
has to notify the complainant, in writing, of the
decision, and he or she can accept it or appeal the
decision, within 10 days, by going through the same
steps with the district committee.

Gifts of Instructional States that these materials should meet the same May need to state how gifts that are not
Resources requirement as the purchased materials, which suitable for the media center will be
allows media specialist justification for not accepting discarded.
old, worn, or inappropriate books.
Internet Resources Networked computers in the media center have to Sufficiently Addressed
provide access to WWW and other Internet
resources.
Mentions:
academic libraries, museums, government databases,
 and subject-matter experts.
*acceptable use mentioned addressed in another policy
Use of Materials
Using Non-school States that books and other media brought to school May want to include a disclaimer that
owned material by teachers, students, or parents and intended for the school/library is not responsible for
school use will meet the same criteria established for these items.
purchased materials, therefore covering appropriate
use rules.
Copyright Emphasizes: The system needs a policy that states
 Individual at the district and school will be specific guidelines for copyrighted
responsible for insuring that current materials including print, software,
copyright information is disseminated to all cds, videos, closed circuit airings, MP3,
employees and for obtaining copyright etc. Having a copyright policy or book
clearance for works used in the instructional about copyright in each school should
process be a requirement.
 Willful disregard for the copyright laws and
Fair Use Guidelines may (?) result in
disciplinary action. Catoosa County Media Handbook
Liberty County Media Handbook
Acceptable Internet Mentions: The policy was last updated in 2003,
Use  Prevention of access to inappropriate material which is more like 100 years in the
through the Internet, electronic mail, or Internet world.
“other forms of direct electronic
communication” A committee really needs to work on
 Unlawful online activity (including hacking the policy to ensure that CIPA
and cyber-bullying) requirements are met, without
 Prevent unauthorized disclosure of personal intellectual freedom being taken from
information about minors students. In all my searching, I really
 Compliance with CIPA (blocking child have not found an ideal internet use
pornography or other harmful information to policy. I have actually been surprised
by how many policies have not been
 minors) updated in years. With technology
 Minimal technology protection or growing so fast, we really need to focus
disablement under teacher supervision for on this topic.
research purposes (but must be done by
Director of Technology) Liberty County Media Handbook
 Definition of Terms
Scheduling and No current policy Flexible scheduling is a Georgia law
Planning for school media centers and a
requirement for SACS accreditation.
Effingham County really needs address
this policy.

No regular scheduled library times,

individuals or classes welcomed, can
come to read, research, etc, not to be
used as a planning time for teachers,
collaborative planning between
teachers and the MS ensures the media
center is an extension of the classroom,
MS visiting classroom, scheduling to
bring entire class

Liberty County Media Handbook

Catoosa County Media Handbook
Accountability Reimbursements are required for lost or damaged Since requirements vary at different
materials levels and situations vary, this
statement is sufficient. Individual
schools may have different procedures.
Teachers and Community
Staff Development No current policy Staying current, professional
 workshops and reading need to be
addressed

Idaho Department of Education

Loaning of Media Appropriate form has to be completed two weeks in Sufficiently Addressed
advance, media committee has to approve, and
borrower assumes responsibility of media