Irvine Unified School District

TEXTBOOK

PROCEDURES GUIDE

Librarian Copy

Revised: July 29th, 2011 (v12)

Written by Michael Civalleri & Amanda Cramer.

Table of Contents

I.Textbook Acquisition and Distribution 1

A.TextbookSelection 1

B.Textbook Cataloging & Circulation 1

II.Textbook Responsibilities 2

A.Textbook/library Staff 2

B.Teachers 2

C.Students, Parents, and/or Guardians 2

D.Site Administration 2

III.Textbook Circulation 3

A.Patrons 3

1. Students

a. Number of copies

b. Library copies

c. Special populations

2. Teachers

B.Loan Periods 3

C.Check in / Checkout Process 4

D.Condition of Textbooks 4

E.Late Charges 6

FRefunds 6

G.Expired Adoptions 6

H.Damaged/Lost Textbooks

IV.Appendices 7

A.1.Damaged Textbook Charges...... 7

A. 2.Textbook Condition Flowchart...... 7

B. Obsolete Instructional Materials...... 8

C. Alternative Uniform Complaint Procedures...... 9

I. Textbook Acquisition and Distribution

A.Textbook Selection

See IUSD’s Administrative Procedures (6161.1), which can be found at:

for the adoption and selection process for all textbooks.

B.Textbook Cataloging & Circulation

Textbook titles that are in a school’s Destiny catalog shall be bar-coded and checked out directly to students under the coordination of library personnel. When the book is returned to the library, it will be scanned in and marked as returned. If the condition of the book is different than when it was checked out, the student may be responsible for paying for the damage…see section III, D for complete details about damages.

II.Textbook Responsibilities (including, but not limited to…)

  1. Textbook/Library Staff
  1. Coordinates circulation of the textbooksin the Textbook Management System. Checks out, and checks back in,those textbooks to the appropriate students.

2. Shall make information on District textbook policy available to students and parents.

3. Notify the student or parent/guardian when a student’s textbook is lost or damaged.

  1. Teachers
  1. Encourage students to cover their textbooks at all times.
  1. Notify the library when a textbook is known to be lost or damaged.
  1. For those schools with semester classes, the second semester teachers bring their classes to the library to check out textbooks.
  1. Keepteacher copy textbooks and class set textbooks secure and in good condition.

C.Students, Parents, and/orGuardians

  1. Are responsible for each textbook issued to the student. If a textbook is not returned or paid for, the district or school may withhold the student's privileges, transcripts, and/or ultimately his or her diploma until the obligation is satisfied.
  1. Are encouraged to write the student's name inside the front cover of the textbook in ink, only in the official space provided, and in the next available space.
  1. Are encouraged to keep textbooks covered at all times and to keep in good condition.
  1. Are responsible to return textbooks at the end of the class or if the student withdraws from school.

D.Site Administration (Principal)

  1. Arrange for funding or delivery of additional textbook copiesif there are not enough of a specific title.

III.Textbook Circulation

  1. Patrons
  1. Students

Eligibility for checkout is determined by school enrollment status. The textbooks that a student is permitted to checkout depend on which classes they are enrolled in for the current semester.

  1. Number of copies
  1. Each student shall be provided only one copy of each textbook. For any special situations, a student who wants to checkout extra copies of textbooks, must have an IEP stating the need, or prior approval from an administrator or library staff. This would rarely be granted, and would require a serious and specific need.

b.Special Populations

  1. Special needs
  1. Students with visual handicaps are eligible for special textbooks from the Adaptive Technology departmentat the District Office.
  1. Tutors
  1. Textbooks are not checked out for use by private tutors.

2.Teachers

Eligibility for checkout is determined by schoolemployment and teaching status. Credentialed teachers and instructional assistants are permitted to checkout texts as related to student need. The teacher checking out the book shall be responsible for the care of the book(s) until returned.

B.Loan Periods

Students may keep textbooks until the end of the session/course, or when the student withdraws from the class or withdraws from school. Teachers may keep textbooks until the class that they are teaching is over, subject to the book’s availability in the inventory.

  1. When students withdraw from a class, or from school, they must bring their withdrawal sheet to the library to get a stamp/signature, stating that all textbooks circulated through the library were returned. If a student leaves without completing the withdrawal procedure and/or turning in their textbooks, then fines for those textbooks will be posted in the student information system and textbook management system.
  1. Check Out / Check In Process

The condition of all books is noted prior to checkout, according to the rubric of Appendix A.

1. Checking OUT textbooks

  1. At the beginning of the year and at a change of semester, parent and student volunteers may be utilized for the check in and checkout of books.
  1. All students are expected to present a picture ID before checking out a textbook. If they do not have an ID, then the library staff, at their discretion, may ask for alternate proof of current class schedule (present a current schedule with an administrator’s signature, or library staff doing their own check on the school’s information system, etc.).
  1. The textbook copy barcodes are scanned to associate with the student record in the textbook management system. This allows the textbook to associate with the student.

2. Checking IN textbooks

  1. Textbooks shall be returned and checked in at the stated times to the designated textbook collection area.
  1. Special Circumstances such as finals will have specific return procedures and times.
  1. Textbooks will be returned to library staff and/or authorized volunteers. Textbooks will be assessed for any change of condition using the textbook condition rubric. Please refer to Appendix A for condition scale and chargesfor damaged books.
  1. Each school shall establish a process for textbook returns during the summer.

D.Lost/Damaged Textbooks

1.Damaged Textbooks:

The condition of each textbookhas beenassessed, graded and documented prior to checkout. Students must return textbooks in the same condition that they were issued. If a book is returned in worse condition than it was issued, the student may be held responsible for the damage.

Charges for damaged textbooks are assessed at the time the damage is discovered. See Appendix A for the policies regarding charges for damaged books.

Important note: Manufacturing defects may occur in new uncirculated textbooks. If a student sees a possible defect in a brand new (uncirculated) book, they shall bring it to the attention of the library staff as soon as possible and will be issued another textbook. This only applies if the defects are clearly identified as a manufacturer defect.

2.Lost Textbooks

Note to librarians: When a book is found, be sure to view the “Copy Status” first. If you “Check In” an unknown book, it may generate a REFUND, when there may be no justification for a refund. If a book is accidentally Checked In, and a REFUND is automatically generated that isn’t appropriate, DELETE THE REFUND IMMEDIATELY!!

  1. Students will be encouraged to pay for a lost book immediately, or as soon as possible. Students will be allowed to check out another textbook regardless of the payment status of a lost book.
  1. If the book is declared “lost” by a student, or the book has not been returned after three weeks, it will be marked as “lost”. Once a book is marked “lost”, the student is responsible to pay 100% of the replacement cost of the book. However, if a book is returned after being marked lost, before June 30th of the school year it was marked lost, a refund may be given to the responsible party, less any late charges that may be due. (see Section III F for more details)

Note to librarians: Reasons for not allowing replacement books include, but are not limited to:

  1. There is no way to know if a book is one that was supposed to be returned to another school.
  2. Claims of “good” condition given online are often incorrect.
  3. A book that looks “just like” the one checked out may be a slightly different edition, printing, version, etc.
  4. The library staff doesn’t have time to evaluate the replacement book to the degree necessary to ensure that the book will be entirely usable, and doesn’t want the responsible party to waste time and money on books that won’t be accepted. We just cannot allow this type of replacement.

3.Consequences

It is the goal of the district to minimize textbook damage and losses. Students are held accountable for all issued textbooks.

  1. Students or parents/guardians are not allowed to return a different book (even of the same title, copyright date, edition, ISBN, etc.) in order to satisfy the responsibility of a lost or damaged book, regardless of the condition of the original book when checked out. This includes any book acquired through any source, whether online or in person, even if the book is in great condition.
  1. Each school’s library and administration shall determine consequences for students who fail to pay for lost or damaged books. These may include, but are not limited to:
  1. Letters and/or emails being sent to parents whose child has lost or damaged textbooks, and an “amount owed” designation on the student’s record.
  2. Transcripts and diplomas withheld. Graduating seniors should clear all fines before graduation.
  1. Astudentwho pays the “replacement price” for a damaged book shall be allowed to keep the book. Because the school sites cannot warehouse books for students, a book will be discarded after 30 days of being assessed ‘unusable’, unless the student pays for the book and asks for it, or makes other arrangements with the library staff, within those thirty days.

E. Late Charges

It is critical that books be returned in a timely manner, to ensure that the school has sufficient books for other students. Therefore, sufficient incentives must be established to ensure this. A late charge of up to $15.00 may be charged for each textbook returned after the designated due date by each school’s library staff, unless it is marked “lost”. This may be done in a method determined by each school’s library staff. For example, it may be done as a $5.00 late charge per week, or as a $1.00 per day charge, or as a $5.00 immediate charge plus $1.00 per day thereafter, or by any other configuration the library staff determines.

F.Refunds

If a lost book is paid for, and the book is found within the same school year as it was reported lost (received by the library staff before June 30th), a refund will be generated for the responsible party, less any late charges that may apply. Because the money may already have been spent to buy a replacement book, and to maintain reasonable records, no refund will be generated for a lost book received by the library staff after June 30th.

All refunds due for books reported lost, or determined to be lost, during any school year will be processed all at the same time, on or soon after June 30th.

Note to librarians: If a lost book is found after June 30th, it MUST receive a NEW BARCODE, as if it were a newly purchased book needing cataloging. The original barcode cannot be used because we need to establish a new history for the found book that is not dependent on the original barcode or patron.

G. Expired Adoptions

Expired adoptions will result in a discard of all copies of a textbook title. For high schools this will result in library staff either selling all of the title’s copies to a used book buyer (if buyers are interested), or sending all of the titles for recycling.For K-8 schools, the books must be sent back to the warehouse, where they will be processed according to the district’s needs. Before sending out, a notice shall be put inside the front cover or on the title page, which notes that the books are being removed from the collection. Typically this is a rubber stamped word like “Discard” or “Withdrawn”.

Appendix A

Damaged Textbook Fines

Missing Bar-code / Minor Damage$5.00

Bar-codes do not fall off by themselves. If a book is missing its bar-code, a charge of $5.00 will be charged. Other very small damages which we can easily & quickly repair (approximately equivalent to the time to print and apply a bar-code) may also be assessed this cost.

Rebinding$20.00

If a book was issued in “new” condition and is returned with a page or the entire text block pulling away, or has pulled completely away during the student’s use of the book, then a rebinding charge may be assessed.

Downgrading a book to Unusable50-100% cost of the book*

Making a book practically unusable, by virtue of its physical integrity OR extreme cosmetic damage (not fixable by rebinding).

[Note: A studentmay keepa textbook after paying for it…but schools cannot warehouse unusable texts, so a student must request to keep the book within 30 days or it will be destroyed]

* Unless from ‘poor’ condition through wear & tear]

Textbook Condition

If ANY of the following occur, in the assessment of library staff, the book is in that category

New=

  • Cover:No abrasions
  • Corners: Not dented
  • Pages:Nomarks
  • Notears

Normal (Listed in Destiny as “Good”OR “Fair”) =

  • Cover:Mild - Heavyabrasions
  • Corners: Dented
  • Pages:Marks (but no profanity)
  • Hastears(that do not interfere with book content)

Poor =

  • Severe structural instability, that would lead one to believe that the book has a reasonable chance of falling apart or becoming unusable during the next circulation
  • Moderate cosmetic damage alone would not place a book in this category.

Unusable =

  • Any page with content on it is missing.
  • Water damage that has a reasonable chance of leading to mold.
  • Lost the physical integrity necessary to be issued, in the assessment of library staff
  • Has such extreme cosmetic and/or structural damage as to make it unusable or extremely undesirable to use.
  • Any profane language or marks will also put a book into this category.

** Water damage can cause mold to grow in bookscan ruin other books in the collection. Therefore, any water damage deemed severe enough by library staff shall be classified as‘unusable’ & the student held accountable accordingly. Just because a book ‘might’ be readable for the moment does not exclude a book from this case.

Appendix B

B. Obsolete Instructional Materials

According to:

the Board of Education is required to adopt rules, regulations, and procedures for prescribing standards for determining when instructional materials, including textbooks, are obsolete. To assure careful and timely discard of obsolete instructional materials, these guidelines shall be followed:

1)Instructional materials

  1. Instructional materials, including textbooks, approved by the State or adopted by the Board and placed in use, shall be retained in use for a period of not less than three years after the date of its adoption.

2)Textbooks

  1. Textbooks may be declared obsolete upon their approved replacement. Other instructional materials may be declared obsolete by the Assistant Superintendent of Instruction.

3)Obsolete instructional materials

  1. Obsolete instructional materials, including textbooks, may be disposed of in accordance with Provisions outlined in the Education Code. All money received from the sale of obsolete instructional materials, including textbooks, shall be deposited in a textbook or instructional fund of the school or division making the sale.

Appendix C

C. Alternative Uniform Complaint Procedures

As found at:

1. Section I – Types of Complaints

The district shall use the following procedures to investigate and resolve complaints when the complainant alleges that any of the following has occurred: (Education Code 35186; 5 CCR 4681, 4682)

  1. Textbooks and instructional materials
  1. A student, including an English learner, does not have standards-aligned textbooks or instructional materials or state- or district-adopted textbooks or other required instructional materials to use in class.
  1. A student does not have access to textbooks or instructional materials to use at home or afterschool in order to complete required homework assignments.
  1. Textbooks or instructional materials are in poor or unusable condition, have missing pages, orare unreadable due to damage.

2. Section II – Filing of Complaint

A complaint alleging any condition(s) specified above shall be filed with the principal/program administrator or designee at the school/program in which the complaint arises. The principal/program administrator or designee shall forward a complaint about problems beyond his/her authority to the Superintendent or designee within ten working days. (Education Code 35186; 5 CCR 4680)

A complaint alleging any deficiency specified in item #4 above shall be filed with a district official designated by the Superintendent. Such complaints may be field at the district office or at a school site and shall be immediately forwarded to the Superintendent or designee. (Education Code 35186)

Investigation and Response

The principal/program administrator or designee shall make all reasonable efforts to investigate any problem within his/her authority. He/she shall remedy a valid complaint within a reasonable time period not to exceed 30 working days from the date the complaint was received. (Education Code 35186)

Complaints may be filed anonymously. If the complainant has indicated on the complaint form that he/she would like a response to his/her complaint, the principal/program administrator or designee shall report the resolution of the complaint to him/her within 45 working days of the initial filing of the complaint. If a response is requested, the response shall be made to the mailing address of the complainant as indicated on the complaint form. At the same time, the principal/program administrator or designee shall report the same information to the Superintendent or designee. (Education Code 355186; 5 CCR 4680)

When Education Code 48985 is applicable and the complainant has requested a response, the response shall be written in English and in the primary language in which the complaint was field. (Education Code 35186)

If a complainant is not satisfied with the resolution of the complaint, he/she has the right to describe the complaint to the Governing Board at a regularly scheduled hearing. (Education Code 35186; 5 CCR 4686)