OVERVIEW

Each school will have a School Library Council as a stakeholder committee to support the school library media specialist’s work in effectively leading and administering the school library. In accordance with Board of Education Policy I-241 “School Libraries,” Councils will periodically review the library collection at each school, to ensure that the school’s library collection contains materials appropriate for the age and maturity levels of the students who may access the materials, and that are suitable for, and consistent with, the educational mission of the school.

Classroom libraries are subject to the same legal and policy requirements as school libraries. Each building’s School Library Council should therefore provide similar support, as needed, to teachers who choose to implement classroom libraries.

PURPOSE

School libraries are the responsibility of the school library media specialist, and classroom libraries are the responsibility of the teacher. However, both school library and classroom library collections are to be maintained in cooperation with teachers, students, parents, and administrators. The School Library Council provides a formal structure for this cooperation, ensuring that a continuous cycle of stakeholder feedback supports the development of comprehensive and high-quality collections that enrich and support the educational program of the school.

MEMBERSHIP

The Principal and the school library media specialist will collaborate to identify members of the School Library Council. The school library media specialist shall always be a member of this Council; if a school has more than one library media specialist, then each of them should belong to the Council. Other members should include, at a minimum, at least one representative from each of the following categories:

• Administrators
• Classroom teachers
• Parents

Wherever possible, given each building’s unique needs and resources, schools are also encouraged to include a Council member from a related staff specialty, such as School Counselors, School Psychologists, Instructional Coaches, or other perspective that may enrich the quality of the collection development and maintenance processes.

Student needs, interests, and perspectives are essential to effective collection development. At the discretion of the school as to age and maturity, the School Library Council may therefore also include one or more student members. However, it is equally valid if the Council prefers to use other methods for considering student input, such as reader advisory conversations, surveys, circulation reports, title requests, etc.

RESPONSIBILITIES

As outlined in Knox County Schools Administrative Procedure AP-I-241, school library collection development involves a continuous cycle through the phases of Needs Assessment, Selection and Acquisition, Access, and Evaluation. In order to add vital perspectives to the process and ensure its high quality, School Library Councils will interface with the collection development cycle through these responsibilities:

• Ensuring strategic alignment of funding to programming priorities
• Regular review of incoming and outgoing materials
• Collaborative decision-making around response to concerns

Executing these responsibilities will allow each Council to periodically review the collection for age-appropriateness and suitability for the school’s educational mission. The Principal and the school library media specialist will collaborate to set a meeting structure and workflow routine to accomplish these responsibilities, tailored to the unique needs of their school and their Council members.