Brist, Frazier, Pugh, Shoemaker

Part Three

The following are excerpts from the schools media center/district policies which address the following areas of the media center;
circulation, scheduling, services, and legal/ethical principles. On the right there is an analysis of each section that discusses how in-depth they
are within various 21st Century learning principles.

Circulation Policies
Group
Max Check Outs
Pre K & K
1
st
1 Grade
1
2nd 5th Grade
2
Community
5
Faculty & Staff
999
Student Responsibility

Loan Period
14 Days
14 Days
14 Days
14 Days
14 Days

Max Holds
0
0
0
5
5

Student Accountability for Board of Education Owned Materials and Equipment

I. School Accountability
The individual school administration and staff shall be responsible for establishing an
accounting system for keeping accurate records of textbook, library media material, and
equipment inventories.
A. In the elementary and secondary schools, textbooks are issued to the teachers with a
record kept by the textbook coordinator. These records must be updated as books are
returned and additional books checked out. Teachers shall be held accountable for each
book issued.
B. Teachers must maintain accurate records of books issued to students. The forms used
for this purpose must be kept up to date since they will be used to clear teachers' records.
C. Elementary consumable materials may be transferred within the system with the
student.
D. Semester scheduling in the secondary schools requires that textbooks be collected at
the end of each semester. A book check and a locker check should precede the ending of a
semester. A list of students failing to pay for lost or damaged books must be compiled and
forwarded (by department) to the next semester teachers.
E. At the end of a school year, all textbooks are to be returned to central locations within
the school. Teachers' records shall be cleared when the receipt of all textbooks and forms

There are different check-out guidelines for each group

of people (grade level students, teachers,
parents/community, staff) clearly set. Privileges,
responsibilities, and consequences are described in
great detail. The policy clearly explains who is
responsible for what, and how debts for lost/damaged
books or equipment will be handled, detailing who will
be given what fees, and how students/parents will still
be able to access materials with stipulations when fees
are due. However, according to the GA DOE rules on
fees, while the school can withhold report cards for nonpayment of fees they cannot withhold transcripts from
going to a receiving school, as the policy states, because
transcripts fall under the umbrella of student record,
which the DOE says may not be withheld for fees.
Therefore this part of the policy needs to be removed or
revised to fit within GA DOE policy.
The policy discusses the checkout terms for all media
materials, not just books. Later in the policy it lists all
those materials and what is available to students and
faculty, and offers a wide variety of 21st century media
tools. Parents and community members are allowed to
check out books from the media center, but may only
use other materials within the school building itself.
The policy does not contain any information regarding
BYOT, because it follows the district policies on such
issues. The following link shows the district policy on
BYOT, and states that students are allowed to bring their
personal devices for instructional use, to access school
networks, but must do so within the restrictions of the
policy and are personally responsible for the care of

Brist, Frazier, Pugh, Shoemaker

indicating the names of students who lost books corresponds to the records of textbooks
issued.
F. Library media center materials and equipment shall be controlled by standard
circulation procedures.
II. Student Responsibility
When textbooks, library media materials, and equipment are issued to students, the
return of these materials to the school for further use shall be the sole responsibility of the
students and their parents or guardians. When materials or equipment are not returned to
the school in useable condition, it shall be the responsibility of the students and their
parents/ guardians to reimburse the Savannah-Chatham County Board of Education for the
cost of replacement or repairs.
Replacement cost for library books and materials shall be the price listed in Books in Print
or producers' catalogs prorated by age and condition of lost book/material. Replacement
cost for textbooks shall be the price listed in the Georgia Textbook List prorated by age and
condition of lost text. Repair or replacement cost for equipment shall be determined by
the principal with assistance from personnel in the Purchasing Department.
III. Compensation Notice
Since it is imperative that students and parents be made aware of the Board policy and
procedures, a notice of student/parent responsibilities will be printed on report cards and
on student letters of placement.
New students and their parents/guardians shall be introduced to the policy and procedures
at the time the students enroll. A notice shall be sent to parents/guardians when students
owe for lost or damaged textbooks, library media materials, or equipment. (See Exhibit 1)
IV. Student Accountability
Students who owe for lost or damaged textbooks, library media materials, and equipment
shall have their report cards withheld by the school administration. Another textbook of
the same subject area will not be issued until the school system has been compensated,
although textbooks in the same subject area may be made available for use in the
classroom.
Additional library media materials and equipment shall not be checked out to the student
until the school system has been compensated. Students may continue to use the learning
resource within the confines of the library media center.
V. Promotions, Transfers, and Withdrawals
Students who are promoted to another school and have not compensated the school
system for materials will have a record of their obligations forwarded to the receiving

Part Three
their devices. Additionally, it states consequences for
failure to follow stated procedures and rules.
SCCPSS BYOT POLICY
The only part of the circulation policy really dealing
with Web 2.0 tools is that web technologies will be
available for use on the various equipment within the
library. Also, according to the BYOT policy, students may
use the school network to access instructional tools as
well.
The school does not have any e-books available for
student or community checkout, with the exception of
e-books that have unlimited access. At this time, only
teachers can check out e-books. This is an area where
further sampling should be done to find its efficacy to
the media center.

Brist, Frazier, Pugh, Shoemaker

Part Three

school. Appropriate staff members will be notified of their obligations.

Students who transfer within or out of the Savannah-Chatham County School System and
have failed to compensate the Board of Education for lost or damaged textbooks, library
media materials, and/or equipment shall have their report cards and transcripts delayed
until their financial obligations are settled.
At the time of withdrawal from a Savannah-Chatham County school, the principal or
his/her designee shall check to see if the transfer and withdrawal form indicates that all
records have been cleared. If compensation is due, the transfer and withdrawal form,
report card, and transcript shall be retained by the school until payment is made.
VI. Graduation
Students shall not be eligible to participate in graduation exercises and activities of the
Savannah-Chatham County School System if debts related to lost or damaged textbooks,
library media materials, or equipment remain unpaid. Students who meet graduation
requirements but are ineligible for graduation exercises because of unpaid debts related to
textbooks, library media materials, or equipment shall receive their official high school
diploma by mail along with an official transcript; however, no request for the forwarding of
transcripts to any other source shall be honored.
VII. Refunds
If submitted prior to the closing of the local school's financial records, a student shall be
refunded the full amount paid for lost textbooks, library media materials, or equipment
upon return of the items in acceptable condition together with the receipt of payment.
VIII. Waiver Option
After a thorough investigation has been completed by the principal or designee, fines, fees,
and charges may be waived if circumstances do not support negligence on the part of the
student.
Scheduling:
The Media Center is open to students and the community from 8:30 am 3:30 pm, M-F.
The building is open to faculty and staff from 7:00 am 7:00 pm, M-F. The circulation desk
is open to staff from 8:15 am 4:15 pm, M-F.
A. Media centers will operate according to flexible schedules in accordance with State
Rule 160-4-4-.01, and classes will not be assigned to media specialist or media
centers in order to provide planning/free periods for teachers or for the purpose of
regular class instruction.

The library clearly has flexible/open access and

explains how the teacher-librarian will collaborate with
teachers in this process to make the schedule best suit
the needs of the learners.
In explaining how the teacher-librarian and classroom
teacher will work together, it can be seen that many 21st
century skills will be the focus. Many of the points listed
under section B of the scheduling policy address a wide

Brist, Frazier, Pugh, Shoemaker

1. The media specialist will set the media center schedule in collaboration
with classroom teachers to meet the curricular demands of students at the
point of need.
2. Each school will offer flexible scheduling that provides accessibility for
individual students, teachers, or groups simultaneously throughout the
school day. Accessibility refers to the facility, media staff, and media
resources.

B. Media specialists and teachers will plan collaboratively to ensure the use of media
center resources and services that support the curriculum.
1. Classroom teachers and library media specialists will work together to help
students learn to:
a. Use the information problem-solving process.
b. Develop complex-thinking skills.
c. Apply effective reading, questioning, listening, writing, and other
communication skills.
d. Acquire, process, store, and present information using current
technologies.
e. Recognize and use a variety of information resources and formats.
f. Appreciate reading for information, enrichment, and recreation.
2. Classroom teachers and library media specialists also will collaborate to:
a. Create partnerships throughout the school for planning, teaching,
and assessing integrated curriculum.
b. Support a variety of learning styles and teach students to identify
and pursue their own style.
c. Allow for personal interest in information problem-solving tasks.
3. Collaborative planning includes providing assistance with instructional
lesson plan development, resources and equipment, professional
instruction/staff development, and assistance with instructional materials
development.
4. Class visits to the media center will follow plans developed cooperatively
between the teacher and the media specialist.
5. The classroom teacher will maintain responsibility for the entire class
during visits to the media center and will participate in delivery of
instruction to meet the purpose of the visit as needed.

Part Three
variety of skills that a 21st Century learner would need to
be successful.
Now, while the district has a set of rules for BYOT,
teachers have to be certified by the Instructional
Technology Department before allowing students to
BYOT/BYOD. This information was gathered from the
media specialist, but was not listed in the policy,
therefore, it should be added as a written element in the
policy.
Access to all the librarys resources, print and digital,
will be available during open hours. Several online
resources, of course, would be accessible from home
through the librarys website.

Brist, Frazier, Pugh, Shoemaker

Equipment and Services:
Equipment for use in the Media Center (for Faculty F or Students S)
o Full time Library Media Specialist 40hrs per week (F/S)
o Part time Media Clerk 20hrs per week (F/S)
o Interactive white board area (F/S)
o Four desktops, three laptops, and a cart of Chromebooks (F/S)
o Six digital cameras with tripods (F/S)
o Copier/scanner with paper (F)
o Networked BW laserjet printer (F/S)
o Green screen (F/S)
o Poster Printer (F)
o Large format color printer (F)
o Ellison machines and dies (F)
Services
o Poster printing
o Laminating
o Pull holds for teachers to pick up
o Reading time for Pre K K
o Collaborative planning
o Small and large group instruction
o Technology helpdesk
o Schedule computer lab time
o Borrow materials from other LMC for staff
o Place Helpdesk requests for teachers
o Gather resources for lessons

Part Three

There is a variety of 21st century technology available

for student check-out and use. Books, cameras,
Chromebooks, copiers, and even a green screen are
some of the technological tools available to the school.
The school also has a variety of services to help both
students and teachers such as poster making, resource
assistance, computer lab time, and a help desk. The
policy does not, however, state specifically how it will
address the needs of the special needs population,
though through the variety of options available, there
appear to be enough resources to accommodate for that
group of patrons. There needs to be an addition to the
policy though, that is more clear on this area.
This is where available Web 2.0 tools should be listed,
but are not. What subscriptions the school has,
resources that are free and appropriate to students and
staff, etc. This needs to be added to the policy, and then
posted throughout the library and school and made
available to students, staff, and parents through multiple
means.
While we know that there are a few e-books available
for staff, they are not listed as part of the resources
available to the library. While every title would not be
listed here, a brief description of the types of e-books
available should be added to this section.
This part of the policy does not address how projects
created using media equipment can be protected with
creative commons, nor does it address proper use of
materials with creative commons. It does point out that
there is a helpdesk, which could be available for
addressing creative commons issues.

Brist, Frazier, Pugh, Shoemaker

Part Three

Ethical and Legal Principles

The district policies are listed below. There is also bulletin board in the teacher workroom
which provides copyright and fair use guidelines.
18.1 Board Policy IFBD
The SCCPSS District adheres to Copyright Law of the United States of America and Related
Laws Contained in Title 17 of the United States Code. The media specialist is responsible
for distributing current copyright information to all building employees. The book,
Copyright for Schools, by Carol Simpson is the definitive guide. This source provides
excellent handouts and recommended reading on the subject.

18.2 Copyright Links

American Library Association. Copyright and Fair Use. www.ala.org
U. S. Copyright Office. Copyright Law of the United States and Related Law Contained in
Title 17 of the U. S. Code. www.copyright.gov/title17/

18.3 Copyright Book Titles

Bielefield, Arlene, and Lawrence Cheeseman. Technology and copyright law. 2nd. New
York: Neal-Schuman, 2007. Print.
Russell, Carrie. Complete copyright; An everyday guide for librariians. Washington, D.C.:
American Library Associatioin, 2004. Print
Simpson, Carol. Copyright Catechism; Practical answers to everyday school dilemmas.
Worthington, Ohio: Linworth Books, 2005. Print.
Simpson, Carol. Copyright for schools; a practical guide. 4th. Worthington, Ohio: Linworth,
2005. Print.

This policy explains that the library will adhere to

district guidelines, which then states that copyright law
will guide all decision-making, and that the media
specialist is responsible for distributing information to
staff. There is a bulletin board with information about
copyright and fair use available for the teachers, and
there are several resources offered for more
information.
This policy does not mention an annual procedure for
reminding teachers of their copyright responsibilities, as
a bulletin board is not sufficient in accomplishing this,
though it is a valuable tool. An addition to the policy
needs to include how this will be done, and information
about creative commons should be added to the
information that is given out at this time.
This policy does not specifically mention ethical
behavior expected of students, nor how ethical behavior
will be taught to students. All media specialists in the
district have to teach a cyber safety course each year to
all students, where the teachers are also present. Digital
ethics are a part of this lesson. This information is not
listed within the policy, and should have a place within
detailing this lesson and the topics that are covered. This
is an essential element given the amount of time
students are spending online and creating information.
An addition to the policy needs to include an
explanation of ethical behavior and education of
students.