Important Resources:
Regulation: Selection of Library Instructional Materials (Updated March 1st, 2024)
Electronic Library Resource Guide
Library Re-Evaluation Form
The Camden Central School District subscribes to providing students with the appropriate materials necessary for a well-rounded education, including library books, that support the educational program and develop an enjoyment of reading.
At the same time, we also acknowledge that providing a rich content library comes with the responsibility to protect our students from inappropriate content. With that understanding, our Librarians continue to identify, reclassify, or remove books for the appropriate grade level that exist within our current collections.
In the interest of promoting open communication and enhanced oversight of the nearly 40,000 books in our libraries, the District has added enhancements to its Book Selection and Book Re-Evaluation procedures as outlined in the Administrative Regulation entitled “Selection of Library Instructional Materials.”
The enhancements have been authorized through a canvassing of the Board of Education effective March 1st, 2024. The enhancements occurred after extensive collaboration between the Board, District Administrators, Building Administrators, Teachers, Librarians, Library Staff and the District’s Legal Counsel.
Updates to the Regulation are summarized below. If you wish to read the Regulation in full, you may do so here.
Selection of Books
The Board of Education holds final decision-making authority on new acquisitions for library collections.
Books will be recommended to the Board of Education by the District’s New Book Purchase Committee. The committee will now include the Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum and Instruction, the Director of Technology and Data, Building Principals, Library Media Specialists, Library Staff, and a Camden Central School District Parent. This committee will meet to discuss and review new book purchases. Their meetings will result in a final list of purchase recommendations to the Board of Education for approval.
The committee will follow the criteria outlined in the Regulation. Gifts, donated books, or unassigned classroom library selections will be evaluated by the same standards as purchased books before being added to the collection, or upon a request for re-evaluation.
Re-Evaluation of Materials
The re-evaluation committee includes the Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction, Director of Instructional Technology and Data, Building Principals, Library Media Specialists, two faculty members, one member of the Board of Education, and a Camden Central School District parent.
If a book contains depictions of sexual intercourse as defined by the regulation, a Camden Central School District parent/guardian or District resident can request a re-evaluation of the book by the committee using a District-provided re-evaluation form to be submitted to the attention of the respective building principal.
That form can be accessed on each library’s web page at camdenschools.org, and paper copies can be made available from each building’s main office. Forms can be returned to the main office of your child’s school, or to the District office. The form is also available at this link.
Books will be re-evaluated within 30 school days from the time the request was received, using the same criteria for new purchases. While the re-evaluation is in progress, the book will be removed from circulation.
Based on its findings, the committee has the latitude to make recommendations about a book’s circulation status. Those recommendations include:
The book will remain in circulation.
The book will be removed from circulation.
The book is identified as one that requires parent permission.
The book is moved up to the next building level.
The recommendations of the re-evaluation committee will be forwarded to the Board of Education, which will have final authority to determine a course of action on each book. The decision of the Board will be implemented by the building principal, faculty, and the school librarian. A copy of the decision will be available for review in the Office of the Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction.
What You Need to Know About Library Check-Out Procedures
As in the past, parents will maintain the latitude to request that their student refrain from accessing specific titles or content areas. Those requests should be communicated to your child’s building librarian. Parent permission for flagged books will now be sought using ParentSquare. In the event internet access is not readily available, a phone call will be made.