Amanda Butler, FISD’s coordinator of library and media services, presented the website’s new features to the school board at its April 11 meeting. There are a little more than 1 million books across FISD’s 72 campuses, Butler said. This school year, four books have been through the formal reconsideration process. Two books have been removed so far, Butler said.
Along with the complaint process, additions to the site consist of tabs called “Selection of Library Materials” and “Library Materials FAQ.”
Most of the changes were in an effort to give as much information to the FISD community as possible about how the district’s library system works, officials said.
“[Campus libraries] actually have a very rigorous set of guidelines that they have to go by in order to be able to purchase library material[s],” Butler said.
The “Selection of Library Materials” tab outlines the district’s process for selecting library resources, which includes the consideration of professional review journals and publisher ratings. A full outline of the selection process can be found here.
This process is updated yearly to account for FISD’s fast growth, Butler said. In addition to following policies set by the Texas State Library Standards and the American Library Association, the library services department collects community feedback and any new ideas from the department and presents those to the District Advisory Council for review.
The District Advisory Council is made up of parents and teachers. The library department presents to the council each time it would like to make an update to the materials selection process, said Melissa Fouche, the district’s chief technology officer. The library department then presents to the school board for further feedback.
Those looking to file a grievance about a resource in the library should visit the “Reconsideration Information” tab, which has information about the district’s timeline for examining library materials. The page also includes a link to the district’s complaint process.
Before parents or community members can file a formal complaint, they must follow what the district calls its “informal” process, a series of three steps designed to find a resolution through conversation, according to the website.
The first step is contacting the campus librarian. Afterward, complainants should meet with a campus administrator, such as an assistant principal or principal, if the concern has not been resolved.
The last step before filing a formal complaint is contacting the School Leadership Department. At the end of this process, if the complainant’s concern has not been resolved, they may file a formal complaint. That form is available on the district website.
“We’ve really struggled this year with some of our parent groups,” Fouche said. “Instead of kicking off that reconsideration process with us, it’s happening in other places, ... so our hope is that this is going to help.”
