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5.1.10.p.1. Procedure: Southeastern Technical College Library Materials Selection

Philosophy

Southeastern Technical College shall maintain a library of educational materials that, within its budget, best supports the academic mission of the College.

Its books, videos, phonographs, periodicals, and other materials shall be selected solely on this academic basis.

Southeastern Technical College, as a public institution, is bound by the First Amendment of the United States Constitution and the analogous guarantees found in Article I of the Georgia Constitution. Southeastern Technical College also endorses the following standards contained in the American Library Association's Library Bill of Rights.

1) Books and other library resources should be provided for the interest, information, and enlightenment of all people of the community the library serves. Materials should not be excluded because of the origin, background, or views of those contributing to their creation.

2) Libraries should provide materials and information presenting all points of view on current and historical issues. Materials should not be proscribed or removed because of partisan or doctrinal disapproval.

3) Libraries should challenge censorship in the fulfillment of their responsibility to provide information and enlightenment.

4) Libraries should cooperate with all persons and groups concerned with resisting abridgment of free expression and free access to ideas.

5) A person's right to use a library should not be denied or abridged because of origin, age, background, or views.

6) Libraries which make exhibit spaces and meeting rooms available to the public they serve should make such facilities available on an equitable basis, regardless of the beliefs or affiliations of individuals or groups requesting their use.

Southeastern Technical College does not make exhibit spaces or meeting rooms within the Learning Resources Area available to the public.

Persons who object to the presence of any materials in the Southeastern Technical College libraries are encouraged to discuss their concerns with the Director of Library Services.

The Director of Library Services, in consultation with the Vice President for Academic Affairs, shall promulgate a procedure for formally addressing those objections to library materials that can not be satisfactorily addressed through informal discussion.

Consideration of Objections to Library Materials

1) Inquiries regarding library material will first be reviewed in an informal discussion with the Director of Library Services.

2) In the event informal discussion does not satisfactorily answer a complainant's questions or resolve differing points of view, the complainant may complete and submit an "Objection to Library Material" form.

3) Absent extraordinary circumstances, the Director of Library Services shall reply in writing to the complainant within thirty calendar days of the Director's receipt of the form. A copy of the reply and all accompanying documentation will be forwarded to the Vice President for Academic Affairs. Such documentation may include, but not be limited to:

i) Published reviews and opinions relating to the material

ii) History of use of the item in question

iii) Anticipated shelf-life of the item in question

iv) Alternative access to the material (i.e., electronic or other local holdings)

In the event that the complainant, who is a member of the Southeastern Technical College community, remains unsatisfied, they may avail themselves of Southeastern Technical College's Complaint Resolution Procedure.

References
Link: Southeastern Technical College Library
Exhibit: Objection to Library Material

Adopted: June 25, 2009
Reviewed: July 16, 2018; July 15, 2019; July 22, 2020; July 24, 2023;
Revised: