Library Media Center: Guidelines for Teachers & Staff

The purpose of the Library Media Center is to serve students, teachers, and staff particularly with their information needs. Every effort will be made to accommodate classes, departments, and programs of the school who need our services. We welcome your visits and want them to be a success!

Collaborative planning is a part of our philosophy regarding the teaching of information literacy. Please let us assist you in any way we can regarding research assignments: accessing and using resources and the use of technology. It is recommended that every project in the Media Center begin with an introduction to the resources available and how to use them.

Scheduling of the LMC operates on a first-come, first-serve basis. Try to plan ahead whenever possible to avoid disappointment. Download the library online calendar (here) to your desktop for convenience in scheduling. You may e-mail, phone, or visit the LMC with your scheduling request and the following information:

• preferred dates and class periods.
• the number of students in your classes.
• assignment with a copy of the student handouts or lesson plan if available.
• need for computers
• any special requests or instructions:
• locating sources, showing how to use online databases or programs such as research on Ebsco, accessing eBooks, teaching effective Internet searching and Web site evaluation skills, MLA format, etc.

Sending individual students to the Media Center during class:

Plan on sending no more than 5 students at a time to the LMC. They must have a pass. If students need to use the computers, check with the LMC staff first for availability. Students should be reminded to give passes to the LMC staff upon entering and to have them signed when they leave. Students are not to visit with students in other classes and may be asked to return to class if they are disruptive.

Library/Textbook Checkout:

All library materials and textbooks with bar codes must be returned at the end of the school year.

 

Textbooks: Guidelines for Teachers & Staff

STUDENT CHECKOUT PROCEDURES:

• Please check with the textbook clerk for availability of texts and to schedule a time for students to come in. Only when no homework is assigned using the text may a classroom set of the textbook be checked out.
• Remind students that they need their student ID or another form of school identification for checkout. For quicker checkout, students with IDs that can be scanned will receive their textbooks first. Class schedules and temporary IDs are acceptable. This also applies to new students who enroll after the beginning of the school year.
• Individual students sent to the Library Media Center during class to check out books should have a pass on which their first and last name is clearly written.
• Please monitor your students when you bring your classes into the Library Media Center. Have them keep their voices down (as the library is a shared learning space) and watch to make sure everyone checks out a book.
• Encourage students who are new to your classes to come to the LMC before or after school or during lunch to check out their textbooks.

CLASSROOM SETS:

• It is a proven fact that students do not respect books that are part of a classroom set unless the classroom teacher has a specific plan in place. Enforce student accountability. Please adhere to the following guidelines:
  • Cover classroom sets and number them (put plain side of cover on outside).
  • Assign each student a number which corresponds to textbook number. Note on seating chart, tape on desk, etc.
  • Have each student fill out a book contract which stipulates that they are responsible for the condition of the text even if they are sharing it with other students. Contracts are available in the LMC.
  • Store texts where they can be monitored closely. Check frequently to make sure they are all there.
  • Have students come to LMC to check out a text for home use. DO NOT give a student a book to take home without writing down the bar code, title, name of the student and their date of birth.

TEXTBOOK RETURNS:

• All books including class sets that have been checked out during the school year need to be returned to the Media Center as soon as they are no longer needed at the end of the school year. Dictionaries, atlases, etc. also MUST BE RETURNED. Books that are on permanent loan to a teacher or a department or books without bar codes DO NOT need to be returned.
• Teachers should schedule their classes to return books to the LMC just as they checked them out at the beginning of the year. If this is not feasible, send students to return their own books as soon as they are finished with their final exams.

Resource Selection Guides

The Board Policy Manual stipulates the following criteria to be used for the selection of library materials:

• Materials shall support and be consistent with the general educational goals of the District and the objectives of specific courses.
• Materials shall meet high standards of quality in factual content and presentation.
• Materials shall be appropriate for the subject area and for the age, emotional development, ability, level, and social development of the students for whom the materials are selected.
• Materials have aesthetic, literary, or social value.
• Materials shall be developed by competent and qualified authors or producers.
• Materials shall be chosen to foster respect for women and minority and ethnic groups, the elderly and the handicapped, and shall realistically represent our pluralistic society. Materials shall be designed to help students gain and awareness and understanding of the many important contributions made to our civilization by women and minority and ethnic groups, the elderly and the handicapped.
• Materials shall be selected for their strength rather than rejected for their weaknesses.
• Physical format and appearance of materials shall be suitable for their intended use.
• The selection of materials on controversial issues will be directed toward maintaining a balanced collection representing various views.

Materials Reconsideration Policy

The Board directs the administration to develop procedures regarding public criticism of curriculum or instructional materials.

• All criticisms of curriculum, publications, or instructional materials authorized for use in the Kern High School District which are directed to the attention of the Board of Trustees or the school administration must be presented in writing on the forms provided so that proper consideration and reply can be made. Such a procedure should apply to textbooks, library books o9r materials, magazines, audio/visual aids, courses of study, or instructional guides.
• Criticism in writing must include specific reference to titles, authors, publishers, and page numbers of each individual item against which changes are made.
• When such criticism are referred to the Superintendent, a committee under the supervision of the Assistant/Associate Superintendent of the Instruction, will be assigned to study and report on the criticism; interested lay citizens or the teacher/school involved may be consulted. Results of such a study shall then be reported back to the Superintendent for further action, if necessary.

Sustained Silent Reading

Philosophy: If students are provided with the time to read and access to materials to read, they will read.  SSR ideally should be “free reading”–freedom of choice in what to read and with no accountability.  In the real world, we do what we can and must to make SSR work for the majority of students involved in the program.

Purpose: Literacy is related to school achievement and self-fulfillment.  The purpose of the Sustained silent Reading (SSR) program is to increase literacy at Highland High School.  SSR is one part of a comprehensive reading program designed to increase fluency, increase standardized test scores, and to develop a habit of reading in our students.

Program:

1. Sustained Silent Reading will take place throughout the school during the first 20 minutes of 3rd period.
2. All staff members are encouraged to participate in SSR.
3. Interruptions including call slips will be kept to a minimum during SSR.
4. The Library Media Center will provide access to books for all students.
5. Reading Logs or any other accountability for SSR will be the responsibility of each teacher.

Role of the Library Media Center in SSR:

• Students with no reading material may be sent to the LMC during SSR to quickly pick out a book.
• The LMC will provide magazines if available upon request for SSR.
• Teachers may sign up to bring classes in during SSR for students to pick out a book.
• The Library Media Teacher may be requested to provide book talks or book recommendations.
• Students and staff are welcome to request certain titles be added to the library’s collection.