School Library Catalog

In Perry Township School our instructional media center collections serve two purposes; to provide a balanced collection of materials to implement and support school curricula, and to provide materials that foster intellectual growth, promote leisure reading, stimulate new interests, and reflect the diversity of our learners and the world around us.  Collection development will be based upon requests from certified media specialists, professional staff, students, and parents. Requests and gifts will be honored on the basis of the selection criteria.

Media specialists, together with their school administrators, use education criteria and professional information to select materials, rather than personal opinions, values, or beliefs in the selection of resources. Resources are judged as a whole and according to the scope, arrangement, organization, relevance, and overall value to the collection. These leaders choose resources that:

  • enrich and support the curriculum
  • are appropriate to the educational program and school community
  • assist in developing reading, viewing, listening, and thinking skills
  • will stimulate growth in factual knowledge, literary appreciation, and aesthetic values, and will motivate staff and students to examine their own attitudes and behavior, to comprehend their duties, responsibilities, rights and privileges as participating citizens in our own society, and to make informed decisions in their daily lives
  • are representative of the diversity of religious, ethnic, political, and cultural values held in a pluralistic society, and of the diversity of K-12 learners in our school community, and offer a variety of viewpoints on controversial subjects
  • are appropriate for the students for whom they are selected, including age, interest, ability, social development, learning styles and maturity level of students

COLLECTION DEVELOPMENT GUIDELINES

Recognizing that personal views about resources may differ, Perry Township Schools  adopts the following procedures for the review of resources about which concerns have been raised. Any resident, employee, parent or guardian of a child in the district may express concerns following this process:

  • Primary contact should be to the school’s Media Specialist, or in the case of elementary schools, to the building principal. An informal discussion about the material is appropriate to clarify intended educational use or value to the collection (as outlined above).
  • If the concern is not resolved, the concerned party is invited to complete the Materials Reconsideration Form which will be forwarded to the Director of Elementary or Director of Secondary, appropriately.
  • The appropriate Director will convene a Material’s Reconsideration Committee (MRC) consisting of one or more certified staff member(s), parent or community member(s), Perry Township Media Specialist, and Perry Township administrator(s).
  • Members of the MRC will be asked to read the material in question, meet to discuss the questioned resource, gather information including interviews with media specialists, independent experts, and the concerned party, in order to reach a majority recommendation.
  • The MRC’s recommendation, and all supporting documentation, will be forwarded to the Assistant Superintendent of the appropriate grade level.   That office will communicate with the concerned party about the consideration.
  • Once materials have been reconsidered, they may not be brought to the committee for one school year.
  • If materials are voted as a sustained reconsideration, material will be removed from all district libraries at the level where the concern was presented.

Appeal Process

Should the person filing the request for reconsideration of materials not be satisfied with the decision of the Materials Reconsider Committee, the decision may be appealed to the Board of Education. The appeal procedure follows:

  1. The request for appeal must be filed in writing with the president of the Board of Education within 10 school days of the written decision of the Materials Reconsideration Committee.
  2. Upon receipt of a request for appeal, the president of the Board of Education will notify the Superintendent.
  3. The Superintendent will provide the members of the Board of Education with the record of the case which is to include:
    • ­the Material’s Reconsideration Form
    • the material in question
    • copies of reviews of the material in question
    • the signed report of the Materials Reconsideration Committee including any supporting material used in that discussion
  4. The Board of Education will review this request at the next public meeting (HB1447 – effective January 2024)
    • The Board of Education will have the opportunity to interview the media specialist, the person(s) filing the request for reconsideration, and members of the Material’s Reconsideration Committee.
    • The Board of Education has the right to solicit testimony from independent experts to aid in deliberation.
    • The Board of Education’s decision will be by simple majority vote.
    • A written report of the Board’s decision on the apparel will be provided to the concerned party, principal, media specialist, and Assistant Superintendent’s office of the appropriate grade level within 30 days of the appeal meeting.

MEDIA CENTER MATERIAL RECONSIDERATION FORM