6.1 Policy and procedures
The Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA) provides a useful handbook for developing a Library Collection Policy: ALIA schools developing policies and procedures manual (2017).
Most useful, I found, is the School Library Collection Rubric. TLs can use this rubric to check up on the ‘health’ of their collection overall. It is encouraged that this rubric be reviewed regularly to ensure ongoing development and improvement of the collection policies and procedures.
I will be using this upon return to school to assess the current collection, policy and procedures. I suspect we will sit in the ‘developing’ category for a lot of the elements.
In Discussion forum 6.1, discuss new areas needing coverage in your collection development policy, in view of the digital content of your collection.
My small school has no written policy or procedure document and so I am starting from scratch using examples from here and there and adjusting as I go. The examples I have found mention, very broadly eBooks and audio visual resources. I have a very limited physical collection of AV resources in the library and eBook programs have been determined by individual class teachers over time, rather than the whole staff. I would like to get the staff together to determine the usefulness of these individual digital programs and settle on a whole-school determined program to save us some money.
This year, I encouraged my Principal to purchase an online non-fiction subscription with brilliant images, up-to-date information, interactive videos, links to lesson plans and programming. She went ahead and did so. Unfortunately, due to COVID and other factors, the staff training did not go ahead and so, aside from myself in the library, staff did not utilise this resource and it fell to the wayside. Unfortunately, we do not have the funding to trial this product again and so, as much as I saw the value in it, without engaging with it, the staff have decided to forgo the subscription this year.
I think if you are going to subscribe to digital collections, it needs to be a priority to provide staff training and feedback opportunities to ensure you are getting value for money.
6.2 Collection management and censorship
Inspired by the idea of a collaborative effort, I have already contacted fellow staff members to determine what digital reading programs they are already using to support literacy skills. By collecting this data and eventually resolving to keep one or two specific programs, rather than multiple different platforms, the ultimate goal is to build a case toward having the school pay for these programs, rather than the individual teachers and increase whole-school consistency in literacy. By documenting use of these programs in the Library Policy, I am hoping to collect data to support the purchase of these programs in the limited school budget.
In a sentence or two share an idea and/or discuss a key takeaway from your reading on censorship in this module. Discuss your key takeaways in Discussion Forum 6.2.
Open communication with all stake holders, and trust in the TL to uphold the values and policies of the school, can support the development of a collection that is sensitive to social and community taboos, while also allowing students access to resources that expand their understanding of sensitive topics. It is important to have a clear understanding of what is and is not acceptable for certain ages, demographics and communities without restricting student access to topics of interest or relatable topics.
While it is important to consider the opinion of all stakeholders, including parents and carers, it is equally important to balance the perceived ‘appropriateness’ of resources with the reality of the world today. Of course, murder and mayhem are not appropriate for kindergarten students, however, depending on the context and writing style, some YA dystopian novels are highly desired by students in Year 5 or 6.
Each resource must be considered in isolation and in context to determine whether or not it is appropriate for the student and school context.
