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Collection Development and Management

Collection Development and Management

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At first glance, it can appear as if the terms ‘collection development’ and ‘collection management’ are interchangeable. Once I was able to tease out the differences between the two, I was able to see that both processes, while intertwined, have the teacher librarian using their knowledge and expertise in different ways. In this blog post, I explore my current understanding of collection development through the creation of my own process diagram and reflect upon what I believe are the differences between collection development and collection management.

 

Collection Development

To commence my understanding of collection development, I examined Kay Oddone’s Collection Development: Process diagram (Oddone, 2019). I used this as a basis to create my own version, as seen below. As I am not currently working in a library setting, it will be interesting to revisit this post in the future to see how I may change or adapt this version of the collection development process.

Amanda Wilson's interpretation of the Collection Development Process
My personal interpretation of the Collection Development Process.

Identify: Identify the needs of the school community in which your library serves.

Locate: Locate potential resources that could meet the needs of library stakeholders. This could be through purchasing new resources, using local library networks or inter-library loans.

Select: Select the resources accordingly. If purchasing new resources, the budget may need to be referred to. Otherwise, inter-library loans could be organised at this stage.

Catalogue: Once the resources have been received by the library, they will need to be catalogued in a way that makes them accessible to library users.

Promote: Teacher Librarians will need to actively promote the resources in their library. This is especially important for “invisible” resources, such as the digital collection.

Evaluate: Stocktake resources and evaluate if the resources are still of value to the library community.

Weed: Weed out those resources that are no longer of value to the library community.

 

Where to start?

I believe it is crucial to begin with ‘identify’ when developing the library collection. The needs of students, teachers and the wider school community should underpin all decisions made when it comes to the development of the collection. The school library serves the community in which it is located, and its collection needs to be reflective of this.

 

One step that I felt was missing…

One step that I felt was missing from Oddone’s diagram was ‘promote’. Resources that are not actively promoted within the school community could be deemed irrelevant and subsequently weeded from the collection, when the main issue is it was not easily accessible or obscured from students and teachers. This is especially important for the digital collection, as digital resources don’t take up space like a physical book, therefore they can be easily overlooked and underutilised by the library users. Finding creative ways, such as using QR codes and thematic displays, to promote these resources is an essential task for the Teacher Librarian to mitigate any unnecessary weeding or double-up in resourcing.

 

Collection Development vs. Collection Management

From my understanding, collection development is a collaborative process between all members within the learning community. The Teacher Librarian takes on the role of leader in the collection development process, but the process involves the input of teachers, students, executive staff, families, and any other stakeholders in the learning community. On the other hand, collection management is at the core of the Teacher Librarian’s role. It involves them using their skill and expert knowledge to make nuanced decisions around what is included in the collection, ensuring that the collection as a whole is unbiased, reflects the school community and is accessible to all. Collection management also involves understanding the school’s mission and vision and aligning the library’s collection development policy with these priorities.

 

References:

Oddone, K. (2019). School library collection development: It’s not as simple as you might think. Linking Learning. https://www.linkinglearning.com.au/school-library-collection-development-its-not-as-simple-as-you-might-think/

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Engagement with the School Library Collection

Engagement with the School Library Collection

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When reading the key findings from the 2021 Softlink Australian School Library Report (Softlink, 2022), one emerging theme that stood out for me was the difference between teacher and student engagement with the school library collection. The key finding that focused on teacher engagement stated the following:

“When asked about the level of teacher engagement with the library, 32% of respondents reported a high to very high level of engagement, 47% reported a moderate level of engagement, and 21% reported a low to very low level of support” (Softlink, 2022, p.4).

Compare this with the data collated on student engagement:

“When asked about the level of student engagement with the library, 59% of respondents reported a high to very high level of engagement, 32% reported a moderate level of engagement, and 9% reported a low to very low level of support” (Softlink, 2022, p.4).

A clear disparity exists between these two groups of school library users. The below graph visually shows this disparity clearly:

Data on teacher and student engagement, according to the Softlink Australian School Library Survey Report 2021 (Softlink, 2022, p.4)

It is intriguing that students are finding more value and are subsequently engaging with the school library more than their teachers, the very people guiding them on their learning journey. While this emerging theme leaves me questioning why this is happening, I also recognise that these findings mirror my own personal experiences engaging with my previous school library as a classroom teacher.

 

When I was a Year 1/2 teacher, I always promoted the library collection to my students. I would use the space to cultivate a love of reading and teach beginner information skills. But when it came to my own planning, the library was never my first port of call. The room with teacher resources was un-inviting; it was cluttered, outdated and always locked. Time is of the essence as a teacher, so I would always opt for the most efficient ways to collate ideas and resources which, evidently, did not involve the library.

 

At the beginning of Module 1 in ETL503, we were introduced to Ranganathan’s Five Laws of Library Science (as cited in Opara, 2017, p.5). Applying these laws to my own experience, it is clear that the teacher resource collection at my previous school had a lot of room for improvement in order to become more engaging to the teachers for which it served. Being solutions focused, I have briefly listed ideas in which engagement with the teacher collection could be improved:

My previous library A simple way the teacher collection could be improved to enhance engagement
1. Books are for use The teacher resource room being locked meant that it was not serving the needs of the teaching staff. Implement a system which gives teachers more flexibility in accessing the teacher collection.
2. Every reader their book The cluttered nature of the teacher resource room means it was not designed with the user in mind. Organise the space according to how the teachers would find it more useful (curriculum area, year level, etc.)
3. Every book its reader The limited and unskilled staffing of the school library meant that classroom teacher needs were unable to be met. Employ a qualified teacher librarian who can work alongside teachers to curate the collection.
4. Save the time of the reader Time being a scarce resource as a classroom teacher, the way that the teacher resource room was set up was not easy to access and hence was more time consuming to find resources than other methods, such as online resource sites. Creating subject resource guides for teachers to refer to when planning units of work.
5. A library is a growing organism The resources contained within the teacher resource room were quite dated and needed weeding and updating. Perform regular stock takes on the teacher resource collection to ensure resources are being used and meeting the needs of the teaching staff.

 

Underutilisation of the school library by teachers appears to be a commonplace among many Australian school libraries, according to the key findings within the 2021 Softlink Australian School Library Report (Softlink, 2022). My own personal experiences seem to align with this sentiment as well. As a future teacher librarian, I hope to utilise Ranganathan’s Five Laws of Library Science to help curate a space in which both students and teachers value and subsequently engage with in a meaningful and impactful way.

 

References:

Opara, U. N. (2017). Empowering Library Users through the Five Laws of Library Science. Library Philosophy & Practice, 1–14.

 

Softlink. (2022). Australian School Library Survey Report 2021. https://www.softlinkint.com/downloads/2021_Softlink_School_Library_Survey_-_Australian_Report.pdf

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