SELECTION OF MATERIALS 

There are two key words used in the selection process: evaluation and selection.

Evaluation is judging the intrinsic merits of materials and selection is determining whether the materials meet the needs of the intended users.

Chapter 233.43 of the Florida Statutes states that "such policies shall also provide for an evaluation of any instructional materials to be requisitioned that have not been previously in the schools of the district."

Chapter 233.165 states:

"(1) In the selection of textbooks, library books, and other reading material used in the public school system, the standards used to determine the propriety of the material shall include:
(a) The age of the children who normally could be expected to have access to the material.
(b) The educational purpose to be served by the material.
(c) The degree to which the material would be supplemented and explained by mature classroom instruction as part of a normal classroom instructional program.

(2) No books or other material containing hard-core pornography or otherwise prohibited by s. 847.012 shall be used in the public school system of the State of Florida."

The media specialist is responsible to the principal who must take the legal responsibility for problems that arise from selection. In serious censorship cases, the buck stops with the governing body -- which may either stand behind or reject the opinion and action of the media specialist. In the past several years, there have been a number of censorship cases involving Florida school media centers.

Basic selection tools for books (the list is not complete but representative) are:

Periodicals: Booklist
Library Journal
Book Report and School Library Journal

Books: Children's Catalog
Junior High School Library Catalog
Senior High School Library Catalog
Books for Secondary School Libraries
Core Media Collection for Secondary Schools
The Elementary School Library Collection
Guide to Reference Books for School Media Centers
The Best in Children's Books
Adventuring With Books: A Booklist for
Pre-K - Grade 8
Best Books for Children - Preschool through the
Middle Grades

Award Lists: Notable Books of 19____
Best Books of the Year
from English Journal
from The Reading Teacher

Selection tools for A-V materials:

Periodicals: Booklist and Book Report
School Library Journal

Books: Core Media Collection for Secondary Schools
Elementary School Library Collection
Multimedia Approach to Children's Literature
Ethnic American Minorities: A Guide to Media
and Materials
Recordings for Children: A Selected List of Records and Cassettes

 

Return to Table of Contents