Collection Development Policy

Collection Development Policy
Snow Elementary School, Middletown, CT

Prepared by Christeen Gilman
Mission Statement:
The Library/Media Center at Snow Elementary school is the heart of the school. The mission of
our program is to provide a rich learning environment for students and staff by:
Teaching information literacy

Fostering a love of reading
Supporting the curriculum through collaboration with teachers
Connecting lessons to the Connecticut Common Core State Standards
Creating life-long learners
Providing opportunities for authentic learning
Snow Elementary School Librarys Role in the Community

The Librarys role in the community is to provide its elementary students with library/ media
instruction. The library seeks to work with the other elementary schools in the district as well as
the public library, Russell Library, which is located in downtown Middletown. The library also
services the staff in the school and district.
Snow Elementary School is located in Middletown, CT and is part of eight elementary schools in
the district. There are approximately 48,000 residents in Middletown, CT.
Snow Elementary School has a student population of 327 and serves grades Pre-K through 5th
grade. The age range is from 3 years old to 10 years old. The students use the library for
Library/Media instruction, with teachers for research projects and for pleasure. The faculty has
35 staff members. The staff uses the library for materials to use in classroom curriculum, to do
research projects with the students, to obtain fictional material to read to their students and to
obtain professional resources to aid in teaching. The Library/Media center is also used to hold
staff meetings and the monthly PTO meeting.
Selection of Materials
Materials for the library will be coordinated by the two Library/Media Specialists that
work in the library.
Recommendations from the students, teachers, and staff will be considered and are
encouraged.
Materials will be selected based on the below criteria:

1. Are the materials relevant to the classroom units being taught?
2. Are the materials age appropriate for grade levels Pre-K through 5th grade?
3. Do the materials align with the Common Core Standards?
4. Do the materials help create life longer learning opportunities and foster a
love of reading?
5. Do the materials help prepare students for high education instruction and
becoming a member of our global society?
Sources to consider when purchasing materials (please note that detailed information can
be found regarding these sources under Appendix A: Analysis of Reviewing Media).
School Library Journal

Scholastic
Booklist
The Bulletin of the Center for Childrens
Collection Criteria (Information in this section was compiled from Fundamentals of

Childrens Services by Michael Sullivan):
Board Books
A collection of board books will be selected for our younger preschool students based on
the needs of the preschool curriculum.
Picture Books
A collection of picture books will be selected for our preschool students through grade 3
based on curriculum needs, the Common Core Standards and enjoyment.
Step-up Easy Readers

A collection of step up easy reader chapter books will be selected for student who are
learning how to read.
Fiction Books
A collection of fiction (chapter books) will be selected regarding childrens reading
levels, curriculum needs, Common Core Standards and enjoyment. Books will be
selected from current titles and classics.
Graphic Novels
A collection of Graphic Novels will be selected based on appropriate content for
elementary students and their reading levels.
Non-Fiction
As the new Common Core Standards adopted by the state of Connecticut focus heavily on
non-fiction this collection needs special attention. Books will be selected that align with the
common core and the entire collection needs to be expanded in order to meet the needs of
Common Core.
Magazines
Several magazine subscriptions will be purchased that are written for elementary students.
Both educationally focused subscriptions such as National Geographic for Kids and reading
for pleasure subscriptions such as Sports Illustrated for Kids will be considered. Students
should have the opportunity to read magazines both for educational purposes as well as for
pleasure.
Staff Resources
A selection of staff resources regarding the Common Core State Standards will be reviewed
and selected to help teacher incorporate these new standards into their lesson plans. Other
books regarding classroom management, teaching strategies and lesson planning will also be
considered.
Weeding of Materials
Weeding of materials will take place in the Spring of each year in order to prepare for next years
book order. Materials that are damaged beyond repair will be discarded and considered for
replacement. In addition materials that are outdated (10 years or older) and have not been
circulated in the past five years will be discarded.
Challenges to Materials
It is the Library/Media Specialists duty to uphold every students right to intellectual freedom.
Materials selected for the library should be appropriate for elementary students and their reading
levels. Any materials challenged will be noted and, if needed, brought to the attention of the
administration. A meeting will occur to discuss the challenged materials and actions that need to
take place.
Sources:
Home - City of Middletown, CT. (n.d.). Retrieved September 29, 2014, from
http://www.cityofmiddletown.com
Sullivan, Michael (2013). Fundamentals of childrens services, second edition. Chicago, IL:
American Library Association.
State Department of Education - CEDaR. (n.d.). Retrieved September 29, 2014, from
http://sdeportal.ct.gov/Cedar/WEB/ResearchandReports/SSPReports.aspx
Appendix A:
Analysis of Reviewing Media
School Library Journal
School Library Journal is a must for any Library/Media Specialist. It is thelargest reviewer of
books, multimedia, and technology for children and teens. This website and print resource
provides a massive collection of resources for the library and classroom, blog posts, reviews, and
articles pertaining to children and teen library services. There is additional information
regarding upcoming events and job opportunities. You can access the information via their
website or by subscribing to their print publication. By subscribing to their print publication you
get some additional resources through their database: Book Verdict School Library Journal,
which provides thousands of book and multimedia reviews. In addition you get free access to
the I-pad addition through the subscription. There is also information on the Common Core
State Standards and integrating technology into the library. http://www.slj.com/
Scholastic
Scholastic has a special section on their website devoted to teachers. There is access to book
reviews, Common Core information, and Strategies & Ideas, authors and illustrators. There is a
great collection of video Book Talks that can be used in the classroom and reviewed when
selecting books for the collection. There is an easy to use guide to select books for grade level
and reading level. The site also contains lesson plan ideas, book discussion ideas and printables.
In addition there are links to different technology resources to use in the classroom.
http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/
Booklist
Booklist provides book reviews of children and young adult literature by the experts at the
American Library Association. The free website has over 135,000 reviews dating back to 1992.
There is also access to newsletters and webinars as well as information regarding the Common
Core. http://www.booklistonline.com/
The Bulletin of the Center for Childrens

The Bulletin of the Center for Childrens Books is a subscription based source which is devoted
to providing current children book reviews for school and public libraries. Reviews include the
books content, reading level, strengths and weaknesses, and quality of formation, and suggestion
for curricular use. It is a great source to use when looking for reviews of new books.
http://bccb.lis.illinois.edu/

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Collection Development Policy

Snow Elementary School, Middletown, CT

Teaching information literacy

Supporting the curriculum through collaboration with teachers

Connecting lessons to the Connecticut Common Core State Standards

Creating life-long learners

Providing opportunities for authentic learning

Snow Elementary School Librarys Role in the Community

Materials will be selected based on the below criteria:

School Library Journal

The Bulletin of the Center for Childrens

Collection Criteria (Information in this section was compiled from Fundamentals of

Step-up Easy Readers

The Bulletin of the Center for Childrens

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