Board committee reviews draft library‑materials rubric and questions vendor ebook process after an inappropriate title was briefly activated

Dr. Russell (role not specified) presented proposed administrative regulations implementing policy 109, including a draft rubric (AR‑1) intended to guide selection of library materials. Librarians and board members warned a single scoring rubric may not work for individual library books and that separate rubrics or a checklist could be more appropriate; one board member suggested including a clear definition of “rubric” in the AR to distinguish scoring rubrics used for curriculum adoptions from evaluative checklists for library collections.

Committee members also raised a recent incident involving a third‑party ebook vendor (referred to in the meeting as McEnvia or similar). Administration explained the vendor provides periodic 'spring batch' lists of ebooks; a title that a librarian judged inappropriate was made active in the district catalog and then turned off after review. As administration described it, "it was made active before it was realized and then it was turned off as soon as it was realized that the librarian wouldn't recommend that book." Board members pressed for clearer vendor filtering, more checks before activation, and confirmation of the activation/deactivation workflow.

Administration said librarians typically review vendor lists and that recommendations pass through central office and humanities supervisors before purchase. The committee asked administration to clarify whether items are activated automatically upon receipt or require librarian action and to explore vendors and filtering mechanisms that better fit the district’s review process. Administration also committed to refining the rubric language and considering a separate rubric/checklist for library materials so librarians are not required to score hundreds of individual titles.