LEEDS — Directors of Maine School Administrative District 52 on Thursday approved the first reading of proposed changes to the policy on selecting library materials.

Administrators are proposing extensive changes to the policy on selecting educational materials.

Changes approved in prior meetings split the policy into two: one for instructional materials and one for library materials.

While the instructional materials policy was approved in a previous meeting, board members decided to postpone discussion on the library materials policy to Thursday. The proposed changes for the latter place more stipulations around how books are selected, along with instructions on how to contest or add to selected materials.

Director Anthony Shostak of Greene proposed an amendment that advocated “materials need not meet the legal definition of obscenity to be considered inappropriate for students.”

Following a lengthy discussion on what might or might not constitute “obscene” or “sexually explicit” in library books, the amendment failed by a vote of 5-4.

“I think we’re now putting ourselves in a position as a board where we are going to have to build trust back with our teachers and our administrators,” Director Jamie Johnson of Turner said. “Our teachers are out there every day on the front lines with our students. They’re the people that we trust to take care of our students every day, in and out. I do trust them to be the ones that are also gauging what is age appropriate, what is developmentally appropriate.”

The proposed changes to the library materials policy will be tabled on June 20, as directors have previously set the date to complete work on both proposed policies.