This fastback deals with the problems and issues involved in selecting instructional materials and provides some principles and resource aids to help with the selection process. The recommended resource aids concentrate on elementary, secondary, early childhood, and special education teaching materials. Major emphasis is on textbooks, library books, and educational media--three forms of instructional materials that are interrelated in educational applications, although they are often selected in different ways. Also dealt with briefly are the use of such budget extenders as museum holdings, recyclables, and free materials. (Author/MLF)