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TexQuest Collection Development Policy

Introduction and Scope

TexQuest is a voluntary statewide digital resources program that provides anytime, anywhere access to high-quality, authoritative digital resources to educators, students, and students’ immediate family members in Texas K-12 public schools and open enrollment charter schools. The TexQuest program enables participating and eligible Texas K-12 public school libraries to broaden the range of materials and services they choose to make available to their students, teachers, and community to supplement the school curriculum. The program provides a flexible and robust means for school districts to support their learning objectives.

The program’s digital resources provide access to broad multi-topic, authoritative, full-text content for all levels of K-12 students. The individual learning objects (journals, articles, reports, maps, videos, etc.) number in the millions. The vast resources are organized by broad subject areas and vendor resource bundling according to grade levels. While TSLAC does not endorse any particular resource, the suite of resources is intended to offer quality options from which districts may select.

Program Administration

The TexQuest resources are made available through appropriations from the Texas State Legislature, federal funds, and the collection of a membership fee from Local Education Agencies (LEA) that choose to join the program.  TSLAC licenses all TexQuest resources so students, educators, and parents may access the materials selected by the LEA to support the information needs of the LEA’s learning community and families.

Responsibility for Selection

TexQuest program resources are reviewed by the members of the K-12 Program Advisory Group and TSLAC with input from the broad learning community. The K-12 Program Advisory Group is composed of professional school librarians from around the state of Texas and is representative of TexQuest member libraries. TSLAC staff manage the acquisition and licensing of selected content.

Selection of TexQuest resources at the district level are solely the responsibility of participating districts.

Selection Criteria

TexQuest digital resources are selected and purchased through a competitive bid process. The materials are identified and prioritized by recommendations of the K-12 Program Advisory Group, which reviews products for the TexQuest program and solicits and reviews input from member libraries and other members of the learning community.

The TexQuest program includes quality, age-appropriate, and reliable content curated by education professionals and subject matter experts, prioritizing content developed by publishers and providers with experience working with educational, specifically K-12, institutions. The Advisory Group also considers the following criteria when making decisions:

  • Membership surveys
  • Individual school and district input (see details below)
  • Usage statistics
  • Subject content
  • Vendor reliability and past performance
  • Feedback from the community during trial periods
  • Content curations tools available for local use

Individual schools and districts can participate in the TexQuest digital resources review and selection process by:

  • Sending comments and recommendations to the K-12 Program Advisory Group
  • Sending comments and recommendations to TexQuest staff
    (all comments are reviewed by the K-12 Program Advisory Group)
  • Sending comments and recommendations to Education Service Center, Region 20
    (ESC- 20 serves as the TexQuest Support Center: all comments sent to ESC-20 are forwarded to TexQuest staff)
  • Filling out and submitting digital resource surveys
  • Sending comments during the statewide digital resources trial periods to the K-12 Program Advisory Group and TexQuest staff

The licensing of digital resources and e-books by TSLAC does not constitute an endorsement of the ideas or opinions expressed in the content. Local library and school policies and procedures govern the use of all TexQuest digital resources and e-books. Districts are responsible for selecting resources that benefit local use and may further customize services by adding, suppressing, or limiting access to resources.

Additionally, selecting any TexQuest resources for local use must comply with any locally established collections development policy.

Accessibility

All content available through the TexQuest Program must be accessible to users with a wide range of disabilities, including blindness and low vision, deafness and hearing loss, learning disabilities, and cognitive limitations.

TSLAC is required by Texas Administrative Code, Title 1, Part 10, Chapter 213, and Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, to collect and review a Voluntary Product Accessibility Template (VPAT) for selected resources. Once received, TSLAC reviews VPATs for compliance with the State of Texas accessibility requirements. Resources with VPATs that are not in compliance must provide a timeline for correction.

Intellectual Freedom

TexQuest enhances student learning and success in schools by providing digital resources to meet various information needs through a program available to students statewide. The primary objective of TexQuest’s digital resources is to assist, enrich, and support instruction and independent learning in Texas’ K-12 public and open enrollment charter schools. Given finite resources and the variety of Texas’ numerous schools, the program may not meet the digital resource needs of all students, nor will all materials be relevant or appropriate for all audiences. Districts are responsible for selecting resources for their communities and establishing access guidelines that are appropriate for the local district.

Reconsideration of Materials

TexQuest provides resources that include differing points of view on controversial or debatable topics. TexQuest does not promote a specific belief or viewpoint, and selection of an item or resource does not express or imply agreement or endorsement of an author’s opinion or perspective.

TSLAC welcomes feedback from members of the public, who may request the reconsideration of a selection decision by completing the “Request for Reconsideration of Library Resources” form located at https://www.tsl.texas.gov/texquest/texquestreconsideration. The form must be completed in its entirety and returned to the program coordinator at TSLAC. An acknowledgement of receipt will be sent within five business days.

Upon receipt of the completed reconsideration form, the item in question will be reviewed by the TexQuest K-12 Program Advisory Group, TSLAC staff, and additional reviewers if particular expertise is needed. The resource will continue to be available throughout the review. Reviewers will make recommendations based on the scope (Section I) and selection criteria (Section IV) outlined in this policy. TSLAC will provide a status update to the requestor during the review. After review, a recommendation to retain or remove will be presented to Director and State Librarian for approval and will be communicated to the requestor. The requestor may appeal the decision to the full Commission.



Page last modified: February 24, 2025