Outlines American Library Association recommendations for writing policies and procedures covering the selection of instructional materials. (JM)

A national survey reveals increasing attempts to challenge or restrict the books available to students. Schools need to establish a book selection policy, a method for dealing with complaints, and better communication with the public. (Author/JM)

Directed at the novice selector of Latin American literature in Spanish, this article suggests a strategy and tools for collecting these titles. Sources consulted for selecting this literature; book dealers, vendors, and publishers with a strong literary focus, and useful World Wide Web sites are appended. (AEF)

Discussion of a proposal to establish educational media selection centers, which would be depositories of materials which educators, librarians, and others could examine for selection purposes. (LS)

Presents a 1992 study which discovered and investigated collection development bias in academic and public libraries in California. The investigation was carried out in five stages: (1) selected a controversial topic; (2) identified representative works; (3) ranked works by qualified judges; (4) measured holdings via library online computer…

The four basic criteria for the selection of library materials--quality, library relevancy, aesthetic and technical aspects, and cost--remain the same in the electronic era of information. What they mean and how they are used has changed. But even quality and cost, the two most controversial criteria, carry great importance for the responsible…

Provides various definitions of censorship; describes a case of censorship in New Brunswick, Canada; explains what happens to materials that have been challenged; and provides a challenged materials policy and a list of books that have been challenged in Canada. (SRT)

Librarians at Harvard University have written the most comprehensive guide to selecting research collections for digitization. This article applies the Harvard Model to a digitization project at Indiana University in order to evaluate the appropriateness of the model for use at another institution and to adapt the model to local needs. (Contains 7…

Describes the types of books on tape available for children and young adults, the problems and advantages of different recording styles, and how librarians can evaluate books on tape. Critical reviews of a number of recordings for various age groups are provided and a list of distributors is appended. (EM)

Explains how offering children "library time" during the first 15 minutes of the school day can provide the teacher time to take care of other class management tasks. (HOD)

This essay on library book selection critiques Nora Rawlinson's article on practices at the Baltimore County Public Library which appeared in Library Journal, November 15, 1981, p. 2188, and discusses library circulation statistics in relation to book selection. (EJS)

Library literature from the late 19th century to the present offers numerous guides to materials selection. Yet, collection development policies and lists of selection criteria are inadequate for humanities electronic texts. Libraries, humanities disciplines, and electronic texts are too complex for any rigid approach to acquisition. To meet goals…

The Fry Graph is used to get the right book to the right person. (20 references) (SJ)

A school librarian and book reviewer argues that buyers, reviewers, editors, and publishers need to look more carefully at series books. Discusses series and reviewing tools and ways reviewers can help colleagues make the best choices for students. Recommends two social studies series, and suggests questions to ask when buying series books. (PEN)

Describes an author's surprise at finding her children's book in a banned books collection in a bookstore window. Argues against certain types of censorship. (RAE)