Policies+and+Manual+Project

by Marjorie L. Pappas
Marjorie L. Pappas, Ph. D., is an Associate Professor at the School Library and Information Technology Online Learning, Mansfield University of Pennsylvania. E-mail: mpappas@mansfield.edu School library media specialists often post messages on LM_NET and other state listservs I monitor, requesting examples of information that I used to maintain in a management manual when I was a school library media specialist. I started my manual when I was a student in the organization and administration course we all take in library science programs and I kept it current with information gleaned from conferences, workshops, and networking with other school library media specialists. Manuals are easier to maintain today because of networking through listservs and the Internet. In thinking about the requests for information related to policies, job descriptions, cataloging, resource acquisition, etc., I decided a virtual version of this traditional paper manual might be an interesting and useful concept.

SETTING UP MY VIRTUAL MANUAL
My concept of virtual is paperless. Virtual manuals can be maintained without the challenge of adding pages and adjusting page numbers. Virtual manuals can include hyperlinks to information located on the Web. Before starting the development of my manual, I thought about who might access the manual besides the school library media specialist. Library assistants, volunteers, and, occasionally, substitutes should all be able to access this manual. Also, the library media specialist should be able to access the manual when working at home. The best way to achieve that flexibility is to post the manual on the library media center's website or on the school's network, assuming the network is Internet accessible. If a library media center website or network is not available, the concept is still feasible, but a little more challenging, because new versions would need to be loaded on separate computers. Once this decision has been made, the next step is to scan and/or key-in the existing information related to the specific library media center. Following are sections and weblinks to include.

POLICIES
Some policies need to be written to fit the unique needs of a specific library media center, for example, circulation policies that establish the time periods books circulate and the cost for replacing lost books. Other policies, like copyright, are based on federal legislation. Links to Web-based copyright information will be useful to supplement local policies.

POLICY WEBLINKS:

 * [|Library Copyright Alliance.] Resources about copyright and related intellectual property laws; members include ALA.
 * Challenges to Media MaterialsLiberty County School System
 * [|Acceptable Use Policy.] An example of a comprehensive acceptable use policy for computer and Internet use by students and employees.
 * Copyright Basics and the Internet. Follow the "Schools, the library, and copyright" link.
 * [|Copyright Guidelines.] A list of copyright guidelines for students and teachers by the Uni High School Library.
 * Lost/Overdue Materials Guidelines.
 * Plainview School District. School Libraries Policies and Procedures. PDF.
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Tahoma,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;">[|Manual for Developing Policies and Procedures.] A manual to help guide librarians on create policies and procedures for their library from the Australian School Library Association.

<span style="color: #650022; font-family: Tahoma,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">PERSONNEL
<span style="font-family: Tahoma,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;">The school library media specialist's job description should be posted, but it also would be useful to link to job descriptions for student and parent volunteers. The Web provides examples of job descriptions for this section.

<span style="color: #6c8fc9; font-family: Tahoma,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">EXAMPLES OF JOB DESCRIPTIONS:

 * <span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Tahoma,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"> Certified School Librarians: Duties and Responsibilities. Norman School District. Includes nature and scope of position.
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Tahoma,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"> Job Description: Library Clerk. Main. PDF
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Tahoma,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"> Job Description: Media Specialist . Liberty County School System.
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Tahoma,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"> Media Assistant Interview Rubric. Lawrence High School.

<span style="color: #650022; font-family: Tahoma,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">COLLECTION DEVELOPMENT AND ACQUISITIONS
<span style="font-family: Tahoma,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;">The purchase of resources and technology for the library requires access to information about producers and jobbers.

<span style="color: #6c8fc9; font-family: Tahoma,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">USEFUL WEBSITES:

 * <span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Tahoma,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"> Acquisitions, Collection Maintenance and Electronic Access . Norwood School.
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Tahoma,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"> AcqWEB. Publisher and vendor information.
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #0000ff; font-family: Tahoma,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small; text-decoration: none;">Book Jobbers Book jobbers links.
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Tahoma,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"> School Library Collection Development. Begins on page 20.
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Tahoma,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;">[|Weeding] Liberty County School System
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Tahoma,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;">[|Selection Procedures] Liberty County School System

<span style="color: #650022; font-family: Tahoma,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">FORMS
<span style="font-family: Tahoma,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;">Examples can help school library media specialists develop the forms for use in the library media center. This is a section that can be developed over time.

<span style="color: #6c8fc9; font-family: Tahoma,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">EXAMPLES OF FORMS:

 * <span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Tahoma,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"> Audio Visual Review Committee Report . Charlotte County Public Schools.
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Tahoma,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"> Collaborative Planning . Greenville School District. PDF. A form to enable collaboration between classroom teachers and school library media specialists.
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Tahoma,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"> Gifts LCCS' form regarding receiving and scrutinizing possible gifts given to the library.
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Tahoma,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"> Full-length Feature Films to be Used for Classroom Instruction . Classbrain
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Tahoma,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"> Faculty Recommendation for Library Materials . Quinniapiac University
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Tahoma,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"> Information Literacy Checklist . PDF. LCSS.
 * [|Disaster Prevention] Texas State

<span style="color: #650022; font-family: Tahoma,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">DISTRICT PORTAL AS MANUALS
<span style="font-family: Tahoma,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;">School library media services in larger school districts have developed excellent portal pages. These portals provide school library media specialists with both instructional and management resources and tools.

<span style="color: #6c8fc9; font-family: Tahoma,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">EXAMPLES OF PORTALS:
<span style="font-family: Tahoma,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;">These virtual manuals and portals enable parents, community members, and other school library professionals to view how school library media specialists manage media centers and teach students to gather and use information. Now all we need is a portal page to the portals.
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Tahoma,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"> Resources for School Librarians This website provides guidelines for writing school library procedures.
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Tahoma,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"> LSCC Media Handbook Guidelines for managing a school library media center.