This is an old revision of the document!
As you know, it is important to make sure patrons receive exactly what they want in books, but sometimes what is even more important is what they DON’T want. Many books are commercially recorded. Unfortunately, they do not come with any notations of descriptions of sex, violence, strong language, or narrators with accents.
These commercial books come in with the subject of “unrated”. Many patrons are aware of this and specifically select “unrated” as one of their exclusions so they do not get these books. That leaves thousands of books in the system that might be of interest, as they might think Some strong language is okay.
To join, please email Maureen Dorosinski at Maureen.Dorosinski@dbs.fldoe.org. She will in turn contact Sue Walker for book assigning. Stay in touch with Sue at Sueellenwalker1954@gmail.com for more titles. Give her a week for returning the titles.
Read & rate the books, filling out an Excel template using the rubric from below and email it to Maureen.Dorosinski@dbs.fldoe.org. Every month the ratings get posted here and shared on the listserv so everyone can enter ratings in their catalog systems. Some libraries have detailed levels for sex, some don’t. Some just use a “H” for high, “S” for some, and “N” for none on all exclusions. We also note if a book refers to rape, incest, or other horrors.
Any questions, please email Maureen Dorosinski at Maureen.Dorosinski@dbs.fldoe.org.
EXCEL SUBMISSION TEMPLATES & RATING RUBRICS
Accessible Rating Template (FL1A 2022)
Completed Example Rating Template (FL1A 2022)
NLS Western Conference Presentation 2022 (FL1A, KS1A, NM1A, AZ1A)
Rating Unrated Books PowerPoint (CO1A 2016)
Rating Unrated Books Training (CO1A 2016)
Rating Unrated Books- Joining the Process (CO1A 2017)
RATINGS
Network Book Ratings 2014 through 2020 (KS1A)
2021 Network Book Ratings (KS1A)
2022 Network Book Ratings (KS1A)
2023 Network Book Ratings (KS1A)
2024 Network Book Ratings (KS1A)
2025 Network Book Ratings (KS1A)
Network Book Ratings for September 2025 (KS1A)