Category: ETL503

Completing the subject ‘Resourcing the Curriculum’ has opened my eyes to many aspects impacting and critical to resourcing a school’s curriculum. Not currently being in a teacher librarian role I thought that as a teacher who relied on library resources, in my day-to-day teaching, I had a good understanding of how the library is organised and resourced. I can see now how unprepared I was for the criticality of the teacher librarian to lead the processes involved in selecting and providing relevant resources that support the school curriculum and community. I have learned that with technological developments, libraries are moving from holdings (‘just in case’) to access (‘just in time’) strategies (International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions, 2001) where collection policies are constantly changing. The development of the collection goes beyond print materials with a basic requirement of a school library being to provide access to emerging technologies as well as print and electronic resources (Australian School Library Association, 2020) which need to be specified in any collection development policy (CDP).

From the beginning of this subject the confusion about the new terms I encountered was immense. This was especially so for the terms of ‘collection development’ and ‘collection management’. I found it to be particularly difficult to differentiate between the two when they are used interchangeably by many within the library sector. It became even harder to distinguish the terms when looking at practical examples of CDPs that all have various names including collection development policy, collection management policy and collection guidelines amongst others. Based on my research, I eventually determined that a CDP provides the guidance and framework for the selection, acquisition, processing, housing, weeding, retention, preservation (archiving in case of electronic resources), relegation and discard of all types of library material (International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions, 2001).  One thing that has been clear from the beginning of the unit is that school library collections should meet the needs of its users (Crombie, 2022, March 1) and suit the context of the school. Johnson (2018) agrees that needs of the users have always been at the heart of a library collection.

To ensure that school library collections meet the needs of their users it is important for a school to understand the value a teacher librarian brings to the school community, particularly in guiding the development and implementation of an agreed and approved CDP. CDPs are strategic ‘living’ documents that guide the selection of resources to provide a balanced collection that supports the curriculum and its users now and into the future. The Australian School Library Association (2020) believes that a basic requirement of a school library is to provide access to emerging technologies as well as print and electronic resources. A CDP provides guidelines around selecting these types of resources. It ensures that staff are all on the same page as to how and what resources are selected for the library. The CDP also ensures that selection (and deselection) criteria along with collection goals are formalised so that if staff change this information doesn’t become lost (Crombie, 2022, April 22). Along with providing a plan for the development of a collection CDPs can help mitigate any issues that arise.

One issue that a CDP helps to mitigate is that of censorship when building the collection. Censorship in school library collections can come from both the school community and from the teacher librarian themselves. When reflecting on the SLJ Controversial books survey (SJL Staff, 2016), I found that most of the respondents were concerned about choosing age appropriate material which is a relevant concern in primary schools that I find myself responding to in my current classroom teacher role (Crombie, 2022, April 25). The value of the CDP is that it contains clear selection criteria and preferred selection aids that can help to minimise self-censorship from the teacher librarian.

Another form of censorship comes from challenges in the school community. It is important to have clear guidelines in place that describe how challenges from the community are handled which helps form a consistent approach to responding to resource challenges. Most examples of CDPs I found during my research included a form for community members to fill out if they have objections to a resource. A CDP provides clear guidelines on challenges and helps to uphold the idea that is the responsibility of the school library to provide resources that show multiple perspectives on controversial topics (Australian School Library Association, 2020).

As the information landscape evolves and formats become increasingly digital, school libraries need to ensure that they are providing resources that are relevant to their school’s vision and goals (Anderson, 2008). Just as a collection needs to be individualised to the school context so does the CDP (Levenson, 2019). Another way to ensure that the collection is appropriate for its users is to involve the teacher librarian in curriculum decisions. Hutchinson (2017) believes that teacher librarians need to be involved in curriculum decisions in order to be able to ensure that appropriate quality resources that match the teaching and learning are provided in the school library. Being involved in curriculum decisions helps teacher librarians to future proof the library as they are aware of what direction the school is headed in and can align their collection goals accordingly.

A CDP helps future proof the collection by allowing for the inclusion of only carefully considered resources that meet selection criteria which include relevance to the learners and the curriculum. Future proofing the library collection involves planning to accommodate and implement change (McCarthy, 2018). To adequately future proof a library it is important to know where the library collection is now. A collection development policy provides a good space for this as it includes the nature of the collection as well as goals for the future collection (Braxton, 2022).

After completing this subject I have a greater appreciation and understanding of the strategic part a CDP plays in guiding the currency and relevance of a library collection. It has also consolidated my view that a teacher librarian is critical to not only the successful implementation of the policy but in also applying the procedures and processes to support the policy and it longer term sustainability as a living and evolving document. My next steps are to begin the conversation at my own school about creating a collection development policy so that the collection in the library continues to be relevant to and used by the school community.

References

Anderson, R. (2008). Future-Proofing the Library: Strategies for Acquisitions, Cataloguing, and Collection Development. The Serials librarian, 55(4), 560-567.

Australian School Library Association. (2020). Joint Statement on School Libraries. Australian School Library Association. https://asla.org.au/school-libraries

Braxton, B. (2022, January 26). Sample Collection Development Policy. 500 hats; the teacher librarian in the 21^st century. https://500hats.edublogs.org/policies/sample-collection-policy/#deselection

International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions. (2001). Guidelines for a Collection Development Policy using the Conspectus Model. International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions. https://repository.ifla.org/handle/123456789/52

Hutchinson, E. (2017). Navigating the information landscape through collaboration. Issues, (101), 8-9. https://www.scisdata.com/media/1484/connections101.pdf

Johnson, P. (2018). Fundamentals of collection development and management, 4^th edition. ALA Editions.

Levenson, H.N. (2019). Nimble collection development policies: An achievable goal. Library resources & technical services, 63(4), 206-215. https://doi.org/10.5860/lrts.63n4.206

McCarthy, R.C. (2018). Future proofing your public library. Public library quarterly, 37(3), 248-262. https://doi.org/10.1080/01616846.2018.1498705

SLJ Staff (2016, September 26). SLJ controversial books survey responses: Weighing subject matter. School Library Journal. https://www.slj.com/story/slj-controversial-books-survey-responses-weighing-subject-matter

As part of a module on collection development policies I was encouraged to find school library collection development policies online. My readings indicated that collection development policies are publicly available documents. I began searching the websites of schools in my local area. Not one had any kind of reference to their library, let alone their collection development policy. I then tried my old high school that was listed in “The Great School Libraries Report” (Freedom of Access to information and Resources, 2016). Its website was also missing any reference to its library.  After much searching I was finally able to locate some from my state within Australia. It was interesting to note that they are all labelled as ‘collection management policies’ rather than collection development policies.

The collection management policy I viewed had a short but clear purpose as well as aims and objectives of the collection. It contained the selection criteria used and a clear stance on donations. The policy stated criteria of weeding of the collection. It also said that the collection would be evaluated and gave reasons for why the collection would be evaluated but did not indicate how this would occur. The purpose of this document is to guide the collection development of this school’s library and provide clear information about how items are selected, managed and ‘weeded’. The policy also contains a form for reconsideration of a resource to be filled out when a resource is challenged.

I think the collection management policy is for a number of different stakeholders. I believe it is for leadership of the school so they have a clear idea of how the library develops and manages the collection. The policy is for the library staff and helps continuity. If staff change, then the knowledge of the library collection’s purpose and selection criteria are not lost. It is also for the general community to understand how items for the selection are chosen, particularly if there has been a challenge to a resource.

A collection development policy is a fundamental document for a school library that should be easily available for the school community to access. Not having an electronic version available on the school website (or any mention of the library at all) is doing a disservice to that community.

References

Freedom of Access to information and Resources. (2016). The impact of the Great School Libraries: Report 2016. Reading, digital literacy, critical thinking and research. https://read.alia.org.au/great-school-libraries-special-report