Madison Station Elementary Library Policies and Procedures
Library Media Program
The mission of the Madison Station Elementary Library Media Program is to ensure that students are effective users of ideas and information. The library media center strives to provide the school community with a wide range of materials on appropriate levels of difficulty to create lifelong readers, critical thinkers, skillful researchers, ethical users, and producers of information in a global society.
Objectives
The goals of the media specialists are:
- To teach students to access, evaluate, and use information.
- To maintain a well-balanced collection of media appropriate to the needs of the school.
- To provide assistance in locating the using instructional materials.
- To promote instruction in information literacy to students and faculty.
- To provide instructional materials that will stimulate growth in factual knowledge and literary appreciation.
- To manage a planned program and ensure a welcoming environment.
Library Media Center Vision Statement
In collaboration with the school’s learning community, Mississippi’s 21st Century Library Media Programs will “Create collaborative relationships between schools, librarians, and classroom teachers ,which transforms the school library program into a support system that strengthens the curriculum by bridging the information literacy gap.”
(Mississippi School Library Guide Section 1.1)
Library Media Center Statement of Philosophy
The education of students is a responsibility shared by students, faculty and staff, parents, and the community. All students should have opportunities to learn and to experience success. We aim to provide a positive learning environment that includes structure and consistency. We will engage in learning activities that meet a variety of learning styles, and will also help students gain the knowledge and skills necessary to attain success.
Library Media Center Hours of Operation
The Madison Station Elementary Library Media Center is open from 7:00a.m. until 3:00 p.m. every school day. Faculty members are welcome to browse and pick up materials in person or to notify the librarian of needs via Book Request Forms, email, or phone.
Student Conduct
Student patrons of the library media center must follow the established rules of Madison Station Elementary School: Be Safe, Be Responsible, Be Respectful
Scheduling and Checkout Policy
All classes have a 15 minute scheduled class period each week to check-out books. Students in Kindergarten, First, and Second Grades may check out one book per week. Students in Third, Fourth, and Fifth Grades may check out two books per week. In order to check out a new book, the student must return their previous library books. The librarian will see classes for Rotation on Tuesdays and Thursdays. On those days, students will be reading stories and completing projects and activities which correlate with the classroom curriculum. Students may visit the library before or after school; however, they may not come to the library during scheduled classes or rotations.
Faculty Checkouts
Faculty may check out an unlimited number of materials as long as needed. Periodicals and equipment must be checked out at the circulation desk if taken outside the library media center. Items should be returned after use so that others may use them.
Overdue Notices and Fines
Overdue notices will be printed out an distributed to students at school periodically to ensure that books will be returned in a timely manner and to help remind students about books that need to be returned to the library. Students may not check out a new book until the overdue book is returned. No fines are assessed for overdue books.
Lost and Damaged Books
Students are taught good book care at the beginning of each school year. They are encouraged to take good care of library materials. If a book is accidentally damaged, parents/students should not attempt to repair it. The book should be brought immediately to the library so that the librarian can repair it and return it to circulation, if possible. If a book is lost or damaged beyond repair, the student will be required to pay to replace the book. Payment for a lost book will be reimbursed if the book is found and returned in good condition in that same school year as payment was made. Debts remaining at the end of the school year may be turned in to the office and become a part of the student’s permanent file. Any items checked out at the time a student withdraws from school must be returned or paid for upon withdrawal.
Management
Library materials are circulated using the automation program, Destiny. Teachers and Students may access Destiny from any computer at school or away from school. Links to access Destiny are located on the library webpage.
Selection Policy
The needs of the Madison Station elementary Media Center are based on knowledge of the curriculum and of the existing collection. These needs are given first consideration in the selection of materials used to enhance the classroom curriculum. The Madison Station Elementary Media Center strives to provide patrons with materials that will enrich and support the educational program of the school. It is the responsibility of the school media center to provide a wide range of materials on different levels of difficulty, with diversity of appeal, and representing different points of view. Materials will not be excluded based on race, nationality, religion, or political views of the writer. The inclusion of any item in a collection does not necessarily mean that the media center or school advocates or endorses the contents of that item.
Selection Criteria
The following criteria are recommended as a guide to selecting the best resources for the library media center:
- Literary and artistic excellence
- Lasting importance or significance to a field of knowledge
- Support of the curriculum and educational goals of the school
- Favorable reviews found in standard selection sources
- Favorable recommendations by educational professionals
- Reputation and significance of the author, illustrator, or publisher
- Timeliness of the material
- Contribution to the diversity of the collection
- Appeal to media center patrons
- Suitability for intended use
Request for Media Center Purchases
Because the media center strives to support the curriculum needs of the patrons, faculty members are strongly encouraged to take an active role in media center purchases. Requests for purchases are always welcome.
Donated Materials
Gifts and donations of books are gratefully accepted. While we sincerely appreciate all offers, there are restrictions and limitations on items which may be catalogued into the library’s holdings. The decision whether to accept gifts or donations rests with the library staff.
