River Oaks Elementary

HISD Vanguard Magnet and Neighborhood School

Library Selection Policy 

Janice Anderson, EdD, MS-SLIS, MLIS

River Oaks Elementary

2008 Kirby Road

Houston, TX 77019

713-942-1460

Table of Contents

Table of Contents        2

Why have a selection policy?        2

Vision of Texas School Libraries        3

ROE Library & Media Mission        3

Part I : Selection of Learning Materials        3

Procedures of Selection of Learning Resources        3

Criteria for Selection of Learning Resources        4

Objectives        7

Selection        7

Instructional Resources        8

Additional Instructional Materials        8

Library Materials        8

Protection from Inappropriate Material        9

Gifts        9

Parent Consideration        10

Part 2 :  Procedures for dealing with challenged materials        10

Challenged Resources        10

Guiding Principles        10

Informal Reconsideration        11

Formal Reconsideration        11

Frequency of Review        12

Appeal        12

Complainant Request for reconsideration of library materials        12

Part 3 : Deselection and Weeding        14

Guidelines        14

Suggesting Weeding Schedule        16

CREW Guidelines and Formula        17

Why have a selection policy?

Every school system should have a comprehensive policy on the selection of instructional materials. It should relate to and include all materials; for example, textbooks, library books, electronic resources and media. A policy ensures that material content will keep up with changing patterns of instruction and reading.

A selection policy, with an explanation on how materials are selected, how the materials support learning in the classroom and how they support overall learning of the student will enable school officials to explain and perhaps defend the information resources, books and services provided by the school and the library.

The selection policy should be relevant to the students’ needs and school instruction needs. The learning resources should reflect the population of the school: language, age, culture, identity, learning levels, origin and interests.

Some parts of the selection policy will be used every day, such as evaluating materials for selection, deselection and weeding. The policy will have guidelines for curriculum support, age of collection, and subject coverage in nonfiction. Selection guidelines will also cover works of fiction, such as literary merit and interest or popularity of materials.

Vision of Texas School Libraries

Texas school libraries are essential interactive collaborative learning environments, ever-evolving to provide equitable physical and virtual access to ideas, information, and learning tools for the entire school community.

Certified librarians and trained staff nurture a culture of literacy and inquiry throughout the school community.

ROE Library & Media Mission

The ROE Library's mission is to inspire limitless curiosity, collaborative spirit, and caring learners in reaching collective innovation.

Part I: Selection of Learning Materials

Procedures of the Selection of Learning Resources

In selecting learning resources, professional personnel will evaluate the available resources and curriculum needs and will consult reputable, professionally prepared aids to selection and other appropriate sources. Among sources to be consulted are

• AASA Science Books and Films
• American Historical Fiction
• Basic Book Collection for Junior High Schools
• Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books
• The Best in Children’s Books
• Booklist
• Guide to Sources in Educational Media
• Hornbook
• Kirkus Reviews
• Library Journal
• Reference Books for School Librarians
• School Library Journal

Standards and Guidelines for Selecting Materials for School Libraries

District and campus professional library staff will select library materials using criteria in Board Policy EF Local while considering individual school, student, staff, and community needs. Instructional resources such as library materials may be recommended by administrators, teachers, librarians, other District personnel, parents, and community members.

NEEDS OF INDIVIDUAL SCHOOLS ARE BASED ON:

● Staff and student requests

● Alignment to curriculum and content areas

● Knowledge of current education trends and initiatives

● Knowledge of student needs and interests

● Community needs

● Existing library collections

Updated May 4, 2023 libraryservices@houstonisd.org 

Criteria for Selection of Learning Resources

EFB(LOCAL)Policy Statement

DATE ISSUED: 1/29/2025

https://policyonline.tasb.org/PolicyOnline/PolicyDetails?key=592&code=EFB#legalTabContent

School Library

A district possesses significant discretion to determine the content of its school libraries. A district must, however, exercise its discretion in a manner consistent with the First Amendment.

Removal of Library Materials

Students' First Amendment rights are implicated by the removal of books from the shelves of a school library. A district shall not remove materials from a library for the purpose of denying students access to ideas with which the district disagrees. A district may remove materials because they are pervasively vulgar or based solely upon the educational suitability of the books in question.

Bd. of Educ. v. Pico, 457 U.S. 853 (1982)

Standards

The School Library Programs: Standards and Guidelines for Texas are adopted by the Texas State Library and Archives Commission. The standards and guidelines are applicable to local Texas school districts. 13 TAC 4.1

A district shall consider the standards in developing, implementing, or expanding library services. Education Code 33.021(b)

Collection Development

A district shall adhere to the standards for school library collection development in developing or implementing the district's library collection development policies. Education Code 33.021(c)

Library Material Definitions

Obscene

"Obscene" means material or a performance:

1. The average person, applying contemporary community standards, would find that taken as a whole appeals to the prurient interest in sex;
2. Depicts or describes:

1. Patently offensive representations or descriptions of ultimate sexual acts, normal or perverted, actual or simulated, including sexual intercourse, sodomy, and sexual bestiality; or
2. Patently offensive representations or descriptions of masturbation, excretory functions, sadism, masochism, lewd exhibition of the genitals, the male or female genitals in a state of sexual stimulation or arousal, covered male genitals in a discernibly turgid state or a device designed and marketed as useful primarily for stimulation of the human genital organs; and

3. Taken as a whole, lacks serious literary, artistic, political, and scientific value.Penal Code 43.21(a)(1)

Patently Offensive

"Patently offensive" means so offensive on its face as to affront current community standards of decency. Penal Code 43.21(a)(4)

Harmful Material

"Harmful material" means material whose dominant theme taken as a whole:

1. Appeals to the prurient interest of a minor, in sex, nudity, or excretion;
2. Is patently offensive to prevailing standards in the adult community as a whole with respect to what is suitable for minors; and
3. Is utterly without redeeming social value for minors.Penal Code 43.24(a)

Library Collection Development Standards

A district must approve and institute a collection development policy that describes the processes and standards by which a school library acquires, maintains, and withdraws materials.

A school library collection should include materials that are age-appropriate and suitable to the campus and students it serves, and include a range of materials. A school library collection should:

1. Enrich and support the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) and curriculum established by Education Code 28.002 [see EHAA], while taking into consideration students' varied interests, maturity levels, abilities, and learning styles;
2. Foster growth in factual knowledge, literary appreciation, aesthetic values, and societal standards;
3. Encourage the enjoyment of reading, foster high-level thinking skills, support personal learning, and encourage discussion based on rational analysis; and
4. Represent the ethnic, religious, and cultural groups of the state and their contribution to Texas, the nation, and the world. 13 TAC 4.2(a)-(b)

Responsibility

A district is responsible for ensuring its school libraries implement and adhere to these collection development standards. 13 TAC 4.2(j)

A district should ensure a professional librarian certified by the State Board for Educator Certification or other dedicated professional library staff trained on proper collection development standards is responsible for the selection and acquisition of library materials. 13 TAC 4.2(f)

Procedures

A district must develop collection assessment and evaluation procedures to periodically appraise the quality of library materials in the school library to ensure the library's goals, objectives, and information needs are serving its school community and should stipulate the means to weed or update the collection. 13 TAC 4.2(g)

A district may add procedures to these minimum requirements to satisfy local needs so long as the added procedures do not conflict with these minimum requirements. 13 TAC 4.2(i)

Policy Requirements

A school library collection development policy must:

1. Describe the purpose and collection development goals;
2. Designate the responsibility for collection development;
3. Establish procedures for the evaluation, selection, acquisition, reconsideration, and deselection of materials;
4. Consider the distinct age groups, grade levels, and possible access to materials by all students within a campus;
5. Include a process to determine and administer student access to material rated by library material vendors as "sexually relevant" as defined by Education Code 35.001 consistent with any policies adopted by the Texas Education Agency (TEA) and local school board requirements; [This regulation is inoperable; see Book People, Inc. v. Wong, 91 F.4th 318 (5th Cir. 2024).]
6. Include an access plan that, at a minimum, allows efficient parental access to the district's library and online library catalog; and
7. Comply with all applicable local, state, and federal laws and regulations. Specifically, a collection development policy must:

1. Recognize that parents are the primary decision makers regarding their student's access to library material;
2. Prohibit the possession, acquisition, and purchase of harmful material, as defined by Penal Code 43.24, library material rated sexually explicit material by the selling library material vendor under Education Code 35.002 [inoperable; see Book People, Inc. v. Wong, 91 F.4th 318 (5th Cir. 2024)], or library material that is pervasively vulgar or educationally unsuitable as referenced in Pico v. Board of Education, 457 U.S. 853 (1982);
3. Recognize that obscene content is not protected by the First Amendment to the United States Constitution;
4. Be required for all library materials available for use or display, including material contained in school libraries, classroom libraries, and online catalogs;
5. Ensure schools provide library catalog transparency, including, but not limited to:

1. Online catalogs that are publicly available; and
2. Information about titles and how and where material can be accessed;

6. Recommend schools communicate effectively with parents regarding collection development, including, but not limited to:

1. Access to district/campus policies relating to school libraries;
2. Consistent access to library resources; and
3. Opportunities for students, parents, educators, and community members to provide feedback on library materials and services; and

7. Prohibit the removal of material based solely on the ideas contained in the material or the personal background of the author of the material or characters in the material.

Evaluation of Materials

Evaluation of materials as referenced in this provision includes a consideration of the factors described at 13 Administrative Code 4.2(b), consideration of local priorities and district standards, and at least two of the following:

1. Consideration of recommendations from parents, guardians, and local community members;
2. Consultation with the district's educators and library staff and/or consultation with library staff of similarly situated districts and their collections and collection development policies;
3. An extensive review of the text of item;
4. The context of a work, including consideration of the contextual characteristics, overall fit within existing school library collection, and potential support of the school curriculum; or
5. Consideration of authoritative reviews of the items from sources such as professional journals in library science, recognized professional education or content journals with book reviews, national and state award recognition lists, library science field experts, and highly acclaimed author and literacy expert recommendations.

Policy Review

A district's collection development policy should be reviewed at least every three years and updated as necessary. 13 TAC 4.2(c)-(d), (h)

Reconsideration of Library Material

A reconsideration process as referenced in this provision should ensure that any parent or legal guardian of a student currently enrolled in the district or employee of the district may request the reconsideration of a specific item in their school district's library catalog.

A reconsideration process should:

1. Establish a uniform procedure an individual must follow when filing a request;
2. Require a district to include a form to request a reconsideration of an item on the school's public internet website if the school has a public internet website or ensure the form is publicly available at a district administrative office;
3. Require that the completed request for reconsideration form be distributed to the superintendent or superintendent designee, school librarian, and the board at the time of submission;
4. Include a reasonable timeframe, approved by the board, for the review and final decision by a committee charged with the review of the item in its entirety. A district should convene a review committee in accordance with criteria established by the district to ensure a thorough and fair process. A reasonable timeframe should take into account:

1. The time necessary to convene a committee to meet and review the item;
2. Flexibility that may be necessary depending on the number of pending reconsideration requests; and
3. Other factors relevant to a fair and consistent process, including informing the requester on the progress of the review in a timely fashion;

5. Establish a uniform process approved by the board for the treatment of any library material undergoing reconsideration;
6. Include a review and appeal process approved by the board; and
7. Provide that if an item has gone through the reconsideration process and remains in the collection, a district may not be required to reconsider an item within two calendar years of the final decision. 13 TAC 4.2(e)

Liability

A district or a teacher, librarian, or other staff member employed by a district is not liable for any claim or damage resulting from a library material vendor's violation of Education Code Chapter 35. Education Code 35.004

Joint Facilities

A district may enter into contracts with a county or municipality in which the district is located to provide joint library facilities. The board and the commissioner's court of the county or governing body of the municipality must conduct public hearings before entering into such a contract. The hearings may be held jointly. Education Code 33.022

HOUSTON ISD

EFB(LEGAL)-P

UPDATE 124

DATE ISSUED: 1/29/2025

Complainant's Request for reconsideration of library materials

River Oaks Elementary, Houston ISD

Name _____________________________________________ Date_________________________

Address _________________________________________________________________________

City ___________________________State ________________Zip ___________

Phone ___________________________

Do you represent yourself? ____ Organization? ____ (If an organization, please identify:__________________________________)

Resource on which you are commenting:
____ Book ____ Textbook ____ Video ____ Display ____ Magazine ____ Library Program
____ Audio Recording ____ Newspaper ____ Electronic information/network (please specify)

 ____ Other ______________________________________________________
Title ___________________________________________________________________
Author/Producer _________________________________________________________

1. Have you reviewed the materials in their entirety?  If not, please do so before completing and submitting the form.
2. To what, in the material, do you object? (Please be specific: cite pages and the like)

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

3. What do you believe might be the result of using this material?_______________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________
4. For what age group would you recommend this material?___________________________________________________
5. In its place, what material of equal quality would you recommend that could be used to teach similar subject matter? _________________________________________________________________________________________________
6. What do you believe should be done with the material in question?

____ Do not allow my child to use this material

____ Remove it from the curriculum

____Use it as a resource material or a choice selection

Complainant signature____________________________________Date___________________

Revised by the American Library Association Intellectual Freedom Committee 

Part 3: Deselection and Weeding

Guidelines

From CREW: A Weeding Manual for Modern Libraries. www.tsl.state.tx.us/ld/pubs/crew/index.html Texas State Library and Archives Commission

Juvenile Fiction

While many titles are used for class reading assignments, most fiction is leisure reading. Popular interest is the primary criterion for this section. Weed duplicate copies of past bestsellers if interest has waned, beginning by discarding the most worn copies. Consider discarding older fiction especially when it has not circulated in the past two or three years. Also look for books that contain stereotyping, including stereotypical images and views of people with disabilities and the elderly, or gender and racial biases.

Replace worn editions of classics and award winners only if they are still in demand and can be replaced with attractive new editions. Discard fiction books with drab, coarse, or heavy bindings that have dull covers, especially re-binds that replaced jackets with plain or patterned covers; they will not ‘sell’ to young readers. Purchase library editions sparingly; the bindings may last well beyond interest in the book.

Young Adult Fiction

Paperbacks are often the preferred reading format for teens. This section is almost entirely leisure reading and should be kept as current as possible. Anything older than five years should be kept only if it is circulating well; classics should be replaced with newer hardback or paperback editions.

Picture Books

Use resources like the New York Public Library’s “100 Picture Books Everyone Should Know,”

Nonfiction

Nonfiction This is the area where many collections face the most difficulty. The misguided belief that ‘anything is better than nothing’ has perpetuated the retention of many outdated and inaccurate nonfiction items, often to the child's detriment. At best, providing a student with information that is no longer current can result in a lower grade on an assignment. Outdated information also provides a warped and inaccurate view of the subject and results in a lowered regard for the expertise of the librarian. Parents, teachers, and children will then question the validity of the collection. It is better to lack enough information on a topic than to have erroneous information. The need for more current titles on a particular topic can be a powerful leverage tool to make the case for more funding. Use the same general criteria for each area that is provided in the CREW Guidelines by Dewey Class, being especially attentive to weeding material that has not been used in several years or has been superseded by new editions.

Other Considerations

Simplified Classics also known as ‘abridgments,’ should be evaluated carefully. Although some may be useful for reluctant readers or adult beginning readers, they are often hackneyed, drab, and lifeless. Some exceptions include a few retellings of classics, like Shakespeare's Stories and Eric Kimmel’s The Hero Beowulf, which have received high praise and retain the spirit of the original while simplifying the text. If in doubt, check standard review sources, keeping only positively reviewed titles. Replace other titles with new hardcover or paperback editions of the full text.

Series Books may be well written and of high quality or poorly written without literary merit. Kids read series books for pleasure and, with guidance, often move on to better quality series and single titles. Replace low-quality series with newer editions of series favorites like the Hardy Boys, Nancy Drew, Chet Gecko, the Magic Treehouse, and Junie B. Jones. Be aware of whether the books are a series or if books are sequels or prequels to other titles. Replace missing titles in popular series if titles don’t stand alone. Check resources like Mid-Continent Public Library’s Juvenile Series and Sequels website, http://www.mcpl.lib.mo.us/readers/series/juv/title.cfm. Remember that there can be series in most genres, including beginning readers and nonfiction.

Older Titles with shabby bindings, outdated illustrations, or torn pages should be discarded. Replace award books, such as Newbery or Caldecott, with newer editions if the books are still being read. Discard nondescript titles that were popular fifteen or so years ago in favor of newer titles with updated illustrations addressing contemporary issues. Older Editions printed on thin paper with fine print or unattractive illustrations should be discarded in favor of newer titles. Old, worn classics should be replaced with new hardback or bright, attractive paperback editions. Be especially careful about keeping older titles for sentimental reasons, “But I loved that book as a child!” If children today are not reading the book, either bring it to their attention through book talks and displays or discard it.

Geography titles over five years old are misleading and inaccurate and should be pulled. The older the title, the more inaccurate the content will be. Imagine how useless a title published before either of the World Wars is to a student today working on a research paper topic from the 20th century! Books on countries and states are of no value for contemporary social studies projects. Science, Medicine, Inventions, and other topics that change rapidly should be reviewed and updated every five years. Items more than ten years old should almost always be discarded. Erroneous information about science, technology, or medicine potentially harms the patron who may attempt to follow instructions no longer considered safe.

Suggested Weeding Schedule

                Years ending with:

MUSTIE

M - Misleading or inaccurate information

U - Ugly, worn, beyond repair

S - Superceded by a newer volume or book

T - Trivial, ephemeral, of no discernible literary value

I - Irrelevant to users or curriculum

E - Can be gotten elsewhere, such as ILL or eBook

CREW Guidelines and Formula

Age of Book/Maximum Permissible time without usage/Presence of MUSTIE factors

Dewey Class                        CREW Formula        Dewey Class                CREW Formula

From CREW: A Weeding Manual for Modern Libraries. www.tsl.state.tx.us/ld/pubs/crew/index.html Texas State Library and Archives Commission