LIBRARY MEDIA SERVICES
REVIEW & EVALUATION CENTER
Bonnie
Thompson, Library Media Specialist - 410-721-8467
Stacy
Ciampo, Lead Secretary, Materials of Instruction -
410-721-8468
Tammy Haigis, Lead Secretary, Library Books - 410-721-8469
All instructional materials
used in Anne Arundel County Public Schools must be evaluated prior to
purchase or instructional use in keeping with procedures set forth in the publication titled, “Procedures
for the Evaluation and Selection of Instructional Materials.”
County-level committees review and evaluate instructional materials
including textbooks, periodicals, videotapes, computer software, CD-ROM
programs, online resources and library books in order to identify high
quality materials to support the curricula of Anne Arundel County Public
Schools.
Single Textbook Adoption Program
Anne Arundel County Public Schools established the Single Textbook Adoption Program beginning with the 2003/2004 school year. The Program is currently modeled on a six-year adoption cycle for selecting basic texts and their ancillaries. An announcement is issued annually by the Purchasing Division that includes the specific courses, PreK-12, scheduled for adoption under the Program for that particular school year. All purchases are subject to funding availability.
Basic Textbooks
Basic textbooks for all
curricular areas, Kindergarten through twelfth-grade, are housed in the
Review & Evaluation Center. Teachers,
administrators, parents, and students may visit the Review Center to
examine the basic textbooks approved for use in the county school system.
Appointments to visit the Center should be scheduled in advance. With the
exception of Basic textbooks, all evaluated materials are returned to the companies.
Library Books
Examination copies of
library books are received throughout the year for committee evaluation.
For a library book to be approved and added to the database, it must have
a minimum of two (2) favorable reviews which may include commercial
reviews. Each year
approximately 5,000 library books are evaluated, approved and added to the
database representing titles from over 200 major children’s, young
adult, and professional resource publishers.
The Recommended
Source List
The Review & Evaluation
Center maintains the “Recommended Source List.”
Included as part of the “Procedures for the Evaluation and
Selection of Instructional Materials,” the “Recommended Source
List” has been provided to help library media specialists address the
multicultural, as well as the individual needs of their schools. In
addition, it helps address the needs of the curriculum areas in a timely
fashion. The “Recommended Source List” includes reference, high
quality nonfiction, small, and specialty publishers from whom library
media specialists can order without having an approval number. The
“Recommended Source List” is updated periodically to reflect changes
in publisher information and includes web addresses to publisher catalogs,
when available.
Library Media
Collection Development Program
The Anne Arundel County
Public Schools’ Library Media Collection Development Program
is a systematic plan to assess, select, and purchase quality print and
nonprint materials to meet the individual and curricular needs of the
schools. Based on guidelines from the Maryland State Department of
Education (MSDE) in Standards for School Library Media Programs in
Maryland, the plan addresses the needs of schools with aging
collections and directs efforts to maintaining an up-to-date,
comprehensive and high quality collection. Each year for five years schools are asked to assess their collection in
specified Dewey ranges and earmark a portion of their per pupil allocation
to improvement of those areas. The Center produces a reporting packet,
which consists of four parts: an analysis of the school community, an
assessment of the library media collection, guidelines for weeding library
media materials, and a guide to the selection and acquisition of
materials. The results are compiled and used for reporting and budget
purposes as well as a tool for self-assessment on the part of the school
library media centers.
Materials
Databases
The Review & Evaluation Center staff maintains two databases of evaluated materials. Library Media materials are located in the Library.Acquire database. This database is accessible online in each school library media center. Information on classroom materials is located in the Textbook and Instructional Materials Management System (TAIMMS) database. This database is accessible online through Minerva, our AACPS Intranet.
HOURS OF SERVICE
Monday through Friday – 8:00 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.