Library Use Form
December 20, 2021
Dear Parents,
When your child returns to school for the second semester on Wednesday, January 5, 2022, Kearney Public Schools will implement a district-wide process for determining students’ permissions to check out library and classroom reading materials. The basis of this new effort stems from a national conversation on books that are in school libraries and the effort and desire to ban or censor those books.
Library material selection policies require our libraries to provide materials that stimulate growth and knowledge, literary appreciation, support the curriculum, and provide materials on both sides of opposing issues. Our school libraries have a responsibility to serve all of the readers in our care. Students are not only of different ages; they arrive at school with different reading levels, different backgrounds, and different experiences that have shaped their lives. We have a responsibility to offer a wide range of book choices that meet all of their diverse needs. Some of the materials in our media center would have content some individuals or families find offensive or outside of their families’ moral values and philosophies.
We respect your right to help your student choose reading material. Your student’s ability to check out library materials or access their classroom teacher’s personal library can be provided freely with your consent or only after you are consulted on what your child is checking out. We hope that you see this as a proactive effort to enlist our parents in determining what they would like for their children while not limiting the learning opportunities or reading enjoyment of others.
The KPS School or Classroom Library Materials Check-Out Policy can be found on the district website at www.kearneypublicschools.org and we will distribute hard copies for your children to take home, obtain a signature, and return back to their school. We are asking for all permission forms to be signed and returned by Friday, January 14, 2022. Children without signed permission forms will be unable to check out books until we have a form on file.
Again, thank you for partnering with us to make your child’s learning experience the one you’d like them to enjoy!
Have a great holiday season!
Dr. Kent Edwards
Superintendent