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Board hears staff concerns about proposed book‑fair materials policy; draft to return May 13
Summary
Librarians and staff told the Shenandoah County School Board on April 9 that a proposed policy to regulate school book‑fair materials could unintentionally hinder fundraising and parental access; the board scheduled further discussion and a vote at its May 13 meeting.
The Shenandoah County School Board heard several staff and community speakers on April 9 about a draft policy (KB‑BF) that would apply library‑level selection standards to school‑sponsored book fairs.
Librarian Linda Urbach told the board that book fairs are fundraisers run by school groups and provide revenue that libraries use to buy circulating materials and occasionally bring authors to campuses. "Adding layers of bureaucracy to the ability to hold a bookfair will result in unnecessary extra work... Adding red tape will result in book fairs not occurring," she said, urging the board not to single out book‑fair fundraisers.
Jana Jenkins, another librarian, demonstrated Scholastic’s preview tools and said the company’s online preview and age‑appropriateness markers already provide administrators and parents with detailed information about materials that will appear at a fair.
Dr. Shepard summarized the draft policy’s stated intent: to ensure all materials offered for sale or distribution during school‑sponsored book fairs align with educational goals, community standards and legal requirements and to apply the same standards used for library selections (age appropriateness, curriculum relevance, absence of sexually explicit content).
The policy is scheduled for discussion at a later informational session and will come forward for consideration on May 13. Board members asked staff to prepare clarifying language and to report on how book fairs are currently administered across the division so the board can weigh fundraising value against content‑selection standards.
Quotes and context: "Bookfairs do not provide learning resources... Money we raise goes to providing free new... books that are of current interest to the children," said Linda Urbach. Dr. Shepard told the board that under the draft policy, book fair items would "meet the same standards that are applied to library books."
