MISD LIBRARY INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY EDUCATOR S POLICY HANDBOOK

Transcription

1 MISD LIBRARY INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY EDUCATOR S POLICY HANDBOOK Revised2014 This document gives MISD stakeholders useful information about the MISD LITE goals and objectives. [Type text]

2 1 The terms Librarian and Library are experiencing a transition in Mansfield ISD. These terms have been replaced with Library Information Technology Educator (LITE) and Library Learning Commons. Other documents referenced use the term Librarian or Library Media Specialist and Library or Library Media Center. As you view this document, please keep in mind that while some of these documents are approved policy by the MISD School Board, some are considered best practices for school librarians and not Board Policy. This document was revised by a committee of Mansfield ISD Librarians under the supervision of Christie Alfred. The committee members were: Jennifer Chen; Janet Brockett Elementary School Lesley Norris; Nancy Neal Elementary School Kayla Middleton; Lake Ridge High School

3 2 Table of Contents MISD Mission Statement 3 MISD Library Information Technology Educator s Mission Statement 3 American Library Association Library Bill of Rights 4 American Library Association Code of Ethics 5 National Council of Teachers of English Students Right to Read 6 American Association of School Librarians Standards for the 21 st Century Learner 8 MISD Librarian s Job Description 12 Library Learning Commons Hours 14 Conduct in the Library Learning Commons 14 Student Responsibility 14 Teacher Responsibility 14 LITE Responsibility 14 Circulation Procedures 14 Procedures for Donations 15 Selection of Materials 15 Request for Reconsideration 16 MISD School Board Policy on Instructional Materials 16 MISD School Board Policy on Copyrighted Materials 16 Request for Consideration of Materials 16 Works Cited 17

4 3 Mansfield ISD Mission Statement Mansfield Independent School District ensures educational and personal success by: Aspiring to high academic standards Fostering a community built on mutual support and excellence Delivering innovative educational opportunities Cultivating productive, lifelong learners. MISD Library Information Technology Educator s (LITE) Mission Statement MISD Library Information Technology Educators (LITE) support the District mission to ensure educational and personal success by providing curriculum support through partnerships that create innovative 21st Century learning opportunities. LITEs empower students to be effective and responsible users of ideas and information and enthusiastic readers. LITE s Two Goals: 1. All students and staff are effective and responsible users of ideas and information. 2. All students are enthusiastic and critical readers.

5 4 American Library Association Library Bill of Rights 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 person s right to use a library should not be denied or abridged because of origin, age, background, or views. VI. Libraries that 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.

6 5 American Library Association Code of Ethics As members of the American Library Association, we recognize the importance of codifying and making known to the profession and to the general public the ethical principles that guide the work of librarians, other professionals providing information services, library trustees and library staffs. Ethical dilemmas occur when values are in conflict. The American Library Association Code of Ethics states the values to which we are committed, and embodies the ethical responsibilities of the profession in this changing information environment. We significantly influence or control the selection, organization, preservation, and dissemination of information. In a political system grounded in an informed citizenry, we are members of a profession explicitly committed to intellectual freedom and the freedom of access to information. We have a special obligation to ensure the free flow of information and ideas to present and future generations. The principles of this Code are expressed in broad statements to guide ethical decision making. These statements provide a framework; they cannot and do not dictate conduct to cover particular situations. I. We provide the highest level of service to all library users through appropriate and usefully organized resources; equitable service policies; equitable access; and accurate, unbiased, and courteous responses to all requests. II. We uphold the principles of intellectual freedom and resist all efforts to censor library resources. III. We protect each library user's right to privacy and confidentiality with respect to information sought or received and resources consulted, borrowed, acquired or transmitted. IV. We respect intellectual property rights and advocate balance between the interests of information users and rights holders. V. We treat co workers and other colleagues with respect, fairness, and good faith, and advocate conditions of employment that safeguard the rights and welfare of all employees of our institutions. VI. We do not advance private interests at the expense of library users, colleagues, or our employing institutions. VII. We distinguish between our personal convictions and professional duties and do not allow our personal beliefs to interfere with fair representation of the aims of our institutions or the provision of access to their information resources. VIII. We strive for excellence in the profession by maintaining and enhancing our own knowledge and skills, by encouraging the professional development of co workers, and by fostering the aspirations of potential members of the profession.

7 6 National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) The Students Right to Read The right to read, like all rights guaranteed or implied within our constitutional tradition, can be used wisely or foolishly. In many ways, education is an effort to improve the quality of choices open to all students. But to deny the freedom of choice in fear that it may be unwisely used is to destroy the freedom itself. For this reason, we respect the right of individuals to be selective in their own reading. But for the same reason, we oppose efforts of individuals or groups to limit the freedom of choice of others or to impose their own standards or tastes upon the community at large. The right of any individual not just to read but to read whatever he or she wants to read is basic to a democratic society. This right is based on an assumption that the educated possess judgment and understanding and can be trusted with the determination of their own actions. In effect, the reader is freed from the bonds of chance. The reader is not limited by birth, geographic location, or time, since reading allows meeting people, debating philosophies, and experiencing events far beyond the narrow confines of an individual's own existence. In selecting books for reading by young people, English teachers consider the contribution which each work may make to the education of the reader, its aesthetic value, its honesty, its readability for a particular group of students, and its appeal to adolescents. English teachers, however, may use different works for different purposes. The criteria for choosing a work to be read by an entire class are somewhat different from the criteria for choosing works to be read by small groups. For example, a teacher might select John Knowles' A Separate Peace for reading by an entire class, partly because the book has received wide critical recognition, partly because it is relatively short and will keep the attention of many slow readers, and partly because it has proved popular with many students of widely differing abilities. The same teacher, faced with the responsibility of choosing or recommending books for several small groups of students, might select or recommend books as different as Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter, Jack Schaefer's Shane, Alexander Solzhenitsyn's One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovitch, Pierre Boulle's The Bridge over the River Kwai, Charles Dickens' Great Expectations, or Paul Zindel's The Pigman, depending upon the abilities and interests of the students in each group. And the criteria for suggesting books to individuals or for recommending something worth reading for a student who casually stops by after class are different from selecting material for a class or group. But the teacher selects, not censors, books. Selection implies that a teacher is free to choose this or that work, depending upon the purpose to be achieved and the student or class in question, but a book selected

8 7 this year may be ignored next year, and the reverse. Censorship implies that certain works are not open to selection, this year or any year. Wallace Stevens once wrote, "Literature is the better part of life. To this it seems inevitably necessary to add, provided life is the better part of literature." Students and parents have the right to demand that education today keep students in touch with the reality of the world outside the classroom. Much of classic literature asks questions as valid and significant today as when the literature first appeared, questions like "What is the nature of humanity?" "Why do people praise individuality and practice conformity?" "What do people need for a good life?" and "What is the nature of the good person?" But youth is the age of revolt. To pretend otherwise is to ignore a reality made clear to young people and adults alike on television and radio, in newspapers and magazines. English teachers must be free to employ books, classic or contemporary, which do not lie to the young about the perilous but wondrous times we live in, books which talk of the fears, hopes, joys, and frustrations people experience, books about people not only as they are but as they can be. English teachers forced through the pressures of censorship to use only safe or antiseptic works are placed in the morally and intellectually untenable position of lying to their students about the nature and condition of mankind. The teacher must exercise care to select or recommend works for class reading and group discussion. One of the most important responsibilities of the English teacher is developing rapport and respect among students. Respect for the uniqueness and potential of the individual, an important facet of the study of literature, should be emphasized in the English class. Literature classes should reflect the cultural contributions of many minority groups in the United States, just as they should acquaint students with contributions from the peoples of Asia, Africa, and Latin America.

9 8 American Association of School Librarians Standards for the 21 st Century Learner Adopted 2007 Standard I. Learner Centered Teaching and Learning Goal: To promote the integration of curriculum, resources, and teaching strategies to ensure the success of all students as the effective creators and users of ideas and information, enabling them to become lifelong learners. Principle 1. The librarian models and promotes collaborative instruction with teachers, as determined by the independent and diverse needs of all learners, and within the context of state curriculum standards. Principle 2. The librarian works collaboratively with students, teachers, and the community to promote local, state, and national reading initiatives that encourage learners to read, write, view, speak, and listen for understanding and enjoyment. Principle 3. The librarian collaborates, designs, and provides ongoing instruction for staff and students in the integration of information technology and information literacy, emphasizing and modeling the ethical use of resources. Standard II. Learner Centered Program Leadership and Management Goal: To demonstrate effective school library program leadership and management throughout the school, the district, and in local, state, and national activities and associations. Principle 1. Planning: As an advocate for libraries, the librarian leads in the development and implementation of a library vision, mission, goals, objectives, and strategic plan that incorporate sound policies and practices. Principle 2. Organizing and Staffing: The librarian manages staff, volunteers, and partners to support the curriculum, to satisfy learners diverse needs, and to encourage lifelong learning. Principle 3. Budgets/Funding: The librarian advocates for funding and manages school library program budgets to build and maintain a program with resources and services that support a curriculum designed to develop information literate students who achieve success in the classroom and function effectively in the community. Principle 4. Research/Assessment/Reporting: The librarian manages a successful program by demonstrating the value of the library program through research, data collection, assessment, evaluation, and dissemination of information about services and resources.

10 9 Standard III. Learner Centered Technology and Information Access Goal: To promote the success of all students and staff by facilitating the access, use, and integration of technology, telecommunications, and information systems to enrich the curriculum and enhance learning. Principle 1. The library media program provides a balanced, carefully selected, and systematically organized collection of print and electronic library resources that are sufficient to meet students needs in all subject areas and that are continuously monitored for currency and relevancy. Principle 2. The librarian models and promotes the highest standards of conduct, ethics, and integrity in the use of the Web and other print and electronic resources. Principle 3. The librarian employs existing and emerging technologies to access, evaluate, and disseminate information for integration into instructional programs. Principle 4. The librarian models information problem solving processes while providing formal and informal instruction about reference and research techniques. Standard IV. Learner Centered Library Environment Goal: To provide design guidelines for facilities to allow for manipulation, production, and communication of information by all members of the learning community. Principle 1. The design of the school library is aligned with the educational objectives of the learning community. The library environment is designed for flexible access and supports all educational objectives of the library program. Educational specifications for any renovation or proposed new facility will include a description of the proposed project expressing the range of issues and alternatives, in accordance with 19 TAC , School Facilities Standards for Construction on or after January 1, 2004, Subchapter CC, Commissioner s Rules Concerning School Facilities. Principle 2. The library is designed to serve as a flexible, functional, and barrierfree simultaneous use facility for individuals, small groups, and classes as described by state and federal guidelines. The library is also designed to maximize the use of available space to permit displays of student, faculty, and community produced materials, and collections. The facility provides all members of the learning community opportunities to explore and meet their information and recreational needs during and beyond the school day. The library provides an exemplary level of safety, security, and an ageappropriate facility for all individuals, small groups, and classes.

11 10 Standard V. Learner Centered Connections to Community Goal: To provide information equity by working for universal literacy; defending intellectual freedom; preserving and making accessible the human record; ensuring access to print and electronic resources; connecting school faculty, staff, and students to community resources and services as needed; and by connecting community members to school resources and services as appropriate. Principle 1. The librarian develops a school library program that offers students, faculty, and staff, families, partners, and community constituents opportunities for participation and collaboration in the library and educational community. The librarian promotes/encourages broad school and community based advocacy for the school library program to support student success. Principle 2. The librarian facilitates broad access to library resources and provides opportunities for use for students, faculty and staff, families, partners, and community constituents. Principle 3. The librarian is knowledgeable about learning differences and ethnically and culturally diverse interests of the school and local community and develops a school library program that responds to these unique community characteristics. Principle 4. The librarian, in partnership with community organizations, develops, maintains, and markets the vision, goals, and needs of the school library program to the broadest community constituency to promote the library and student success. Standard VI. Learner Centered Information Science and Librarianship Goal: To promote the success of all students and staff by: providing information equity; working for universal literacy; defending intellectual freedom; preserving and making accessible the heritage of all cultures; and ensuring that equal access to resources in all formats is available for everyone. Principle 1. The librarian works collaboratively with other information professionals in support of the library program, student achievement, and the profession, and understands the role of all types of libraries in an integrated learning environment. Principle 2. The librarian creates a school library program that is recognized as the central element in the intellectual life of the school as evidenced by use of statistical measures to evaluate and improve the program. Principle 3. The librarian applies and implements the principles and concepts of collection development: evaluation, selection, acquisition, and organization of information, and employs standard bibliographic and retrieval techniques. Principle 4. The librarian evaluates and selects existing and emergent technologies to support the library program in coordination with the

12 11 Standard VI (con d) Texas Education Agency s Long Range Plan for Technology and the campus STaR Chart. Principle 5. The librarian communicates effectively with students and staff to determine information needs and applies knowledge of literature to guide development of independent readers. Principle 6. The librarian demonstrates ethical behavior and promotes the principles of intellectual freedom, information access, privacy, and proprietary rights. Principle 7. The librarian engages in continuous self evaluation and self directed learning for professional growth by participating in and contributing to professional associations and publications.

13 12 MISD Librarian (LITE) Job Description Major Responsibilities and Duties: Instruction: 1. Provide group instruction and individual guidance to students to help them locate resources and use research techniques. 2. Consult teachers on appropriate use of materials and help them schedule materials for classroom instruction. 3. Serve as information resource for users of library/media center materials and provide staff development opportunities for teachers on the availability and use of campus and district learning resources. Library Programs: 4. Effectively plan school library program to meet identified needs. 5. Assist in preparation of bibliographies and curriculum guides. 6. Manage acquisitions, processing, organizing, distribution, maintenance, and inventory of resources. 7. Coordinate development and maintenance of community resource file. 8. Maintain schedules for instructional television programs and encourage use of video programs for educational purposes. 9. Create a library/media center environment that is conducive to learning and appropriate to the maturity level and interests of students. 10. Use appropriate and effective techniques to encourage community and parent involvement. Student Management: 11. Carry out discipline in accordance with board policies and administrative regulations. 12. Interact with students to promote positive attitudes toward life long learning. Administration: 13. Compile, budget and cost estimates based on documented program needs. 14. Compile, maintain, and file all physical and computerized reports, records, and other documents required. 15. Comply with federal and state laws, State Board of Education rule, and board policy in the library/media services area. 16. Develop and coordinate a continuing evaluation of the library/media center program and make changes based on the findings. 17. Comply with all district and campus routines and regulations. Communication: 18. Maintain a positive and effective relationship with supervisors. 19. Communicate effectively with colleagues, students, and parents. 20. Other duties as assigned. Supervisory Responsibilities: 21. Supervise clerical aide(s), student aides, and volunteers.

14 13 Working Conditions: Mental Demands/Physical Demands/Environmental Factors: Maintain emotional control under stress. Climbing, stretching, frequent light lifting of books, boxes.

15 14 Library Learning Commons Hours The Library Learning Commons should remain open to serve students and staff during regular school hours. These hours should be posted in a prominent place at the entrance of the Library Learning Commons; including information about Library Learning Commons hours in student and staff orientations and, if possible, in the school policy manual. Conduct in the Library Learning Commons In order to maintain an atmosphere conducive to learning and enjoyment, the following guidelines for conduct in the Library Learning Commons should be followed: Student Responsibility 1. Each student is expected to comply with rules and expectation of the Library Learning Commons in order to maintain an atmosphere conducive to learning. 2. Non compliance will result in consequences consistent with the campus discipline plan. As a last resort, a student may be suspended from the Library Learning Commons for persistent misbehavior. Teacher Responsibility 1. The teacher is to remain with his/her classes during checkout, information skill lessons, and/or when students are involved with research activities. 2. The teacher will be responsible for maintaining the discipline of his/her class while in the Library Learning Commons. Library Information Technology Educator Responsibility 1. The LITE is responsible for ensuring that an atmosphere conducive to learning is maintained. 2. When a teacher is not maintaining discipline, the LITE should intervene to restore a proper atmosphere. 3. Each campus LITE should present the rules and expectations of the Library Learning Commons to the students. Circulation Procedures See individual campus websites for circulation policies and procedures.

16 15 Procedures for Donations Gifts, Memorials, or Cash Donations Books, other materials, or cash donations, may be received as gifts provided they meet the school library selection standards. They are accepted with the understanding that, if not suitable, they may be disposed of at the discretion of the LITE. It is preferred that the LITE selects books, or other materials for gifts or memorials. Groups wishing to purchase material may request that the LITE provide a list from which selection may be made. Selection of Materials The LITE, with the support and the assistance of the faculty, is responsible for the selection of resource materials. These materials should implement, support, and enrich the educational programs of the Mansfield ISD schools. The LITE must have a thorough knowledge of the student body, the strengths and weaknesses of the collection and must consider both curriculum needs, as well as needs of the faculty, in selecting materials. The following criteria should be considered when selecting new materials: 1. Curriculum 2. Literary and artistic quality of the item 3. Authority 4. Publication or production date 5. Appropriateness of level for intended user 6. Appropriateness of format 7. Overall appeal 8. Value commensurate with cost 9. Balanced viewpoint 10. Favorable review sources (if available) The selection of materials and equipment is a primary responsibility that should be assumed with care and judgment. The LITE is guided by the principals for selection and reconsideration of materials established in the Mansfield ISD Board Policy Manual, EFA (Local) that is excerpted in the section.

17 16 Board Policy on Instructional Resources Mansfield ISD Board Policy Manual EFA (Exhibit A & B) Board Policy on Copyrighted Material Mansfield ISD Board Policy on Copyright Request for Reconsideration of Materials MISD LITE s use their training, the MISD Board Policy, Campus Plan, and the TEKS to select materials for their individual campus. If you have a concern about a particular item found in the Library Learning Commons, the following procedure is suggested. Read the item of concern in its entirety making notations of specific areas of concern. Schedule an appointment to discuss these concerns with the school librarian. Once these steps are completed, if there is still concern, please schedule an appointment with the building principal. If, after these steps have been taken, there is still concern, please complete the steps found on the MISD Board Policy to Request Reconsideration of Instructional Materials.

18 17 Works Cited "Code of Ethics of the American Library Association." American Library Association. N.p., n.d. Web. 6 Feb < "Library Bill of Rights." American Library Association. N.p., n.d. Web. 5 Feb < Standards for the 21st century learner. Chicago: American Association of School Librarians, Print. "The Students' Right to Read." NCTE Comprehensive News. N.p., n.d. Web. 6 Feb <