ETL 503 -Resourcing the Curriculum has extended my knowledge and understanding of the role and nature of school library collections. Prior to commencing this course, I had very little awareness of how involved this aspect of the role could be for a Teacher Librarian. The key aspects that I have come to understand about this role include:
· The significance and importance of the Teacher Librarian to work across the whole school to help procure the library collection
· The importance of collaboration and communication between the Teacher Librarian, school staff, students and executive that is necessary to curate this.
· The amount of considerations the Teacher Librarian must take into account including copyright, censorship, ethical, moral, philosophical ideologies of the school and its community, Australian Curriculum General Capabilities, the balance between digital and physical resources (Olmos, 2018).
· The breadth of selection aids available to help Teacher Librarians access the best quality resources for students. (Olmos, 2018).
· The Professional Learning they must undertake and provide to staff to better help them understand the role of the library and therefore more effectively engage in its use.
· The necessary documents: policy and procedure to ensure the effective running of the school library.
Whilst I did not regularly write on my blog, instead I engaged in professional dialogue with colleagues at my school and at various times in the discussion forums as part of the exercises in the modules. When I am new to something I struggle to discuss things with people when I am unfamiliar with what I am learning. I prefer to engage more passively. Oftentimes I find too many voices overwhelm me and I want to try to navigate this new role with as much confidence as I can. That being said, they have helped me to gain a better understanding of some of the issues and considerations relating to collection policy development and collection management and how I would then try to apply it if I were in the Teacher Librarian role.
The collection development policy is important as a strategic document as it provides the overarching vision and mission statement of the library. It provides benchmarks with which to assess the success of the library’s day to day operations. It is written to align with the school’s values. It is designed as a reference document for all collection development decisions and issues in particular selection, deselection and challenged items. It should be written in a way that is accessible for all staff and community members as well as by new staff. This is because it can be influential in discussions with executive and when making budget decisions. It is a platform for open dialogue with the entire school staff (ALA, 1998).
The collection development policy assists in future proofing the collection because it provides a basis from which to consider the current collection and how it will evolve in the face of change. This is both in relation to technological change as well as the school’s evolving needs. It is necessary for Teacher Librarians to know their school community and collaborate with them to ensure the collection reflects these. Some considerations include what do in the face of budget cuts, changing literacy demands, the promotion of the library as a place of value as seen by the school community, easy access to ebooks and searching online catalogues both at school and at home (ALIA, 2014) If Teacher Librarians make these considerations carefully they have the opportunity to ensure quality control of resources (Olmos, 2018) Regardless, there will still be competition from social media and consumerism to influence reading decisions and the role of the library as part of a student’s learning.
Because of this unit, I have a greater understanding of the value of this role and the awareness and potential to develop the role within a school that is perhaps not operating as effectively as it could. In establishing policies, processes and procedures that are effective, considerate and involving of the entire school community, it benefits and strengthens both the community and the quality of outcome achievement for students and ensures the longevity of the library well into the future.
Part B References
Australian Library and Information Association. (2014). ALIA futures: future of the library and information science profession. Retrieved from https://www.alia.org.au/futureoftheprofession
American Library Association. (1998). Workbook for Selection Policy Writing. In American Library Association. Retrieved from https://bit.ly/2Gzt76C
Olmos, K.(2018, February 26). RE: Forum 1.1 Group 3 (Surnames N-Z) [Online discussion comment] Retrieved from https://bit.ly/2IAsknN
Olmos, K. (2018, April 22). RE: Forum 2.5 [Online discussion comment] Retrieved from https://bit.ly/2KDTGtG
Olmos, K (2018, April 22). RE: Forum 2.4 [Online discussion comment] Retrieved from https://bit.ly/2rTF7vk
