Part B Reflective Practice 

Resourcing the curriculum has been an eye-opening subject. The notion of just buying some books and putting them in the library, seems like a child like interpretation of what resourcing a library is all about. The initial attempt of a selection decision making model (Powell, March 9, 2019) seems highly inadequate now. The learning path has been steep but worth the climb.

The school library collection is an evolving part of a school. Collections should be varied with print and digital resources, which are diverse and informed by learning and teaching needs (ASLA & ALIA, 2016). Collections are there to support the library’s important role of establishing lifelong learning for the students (State Library of Queensland, 2013). A school library collection is more than a few random books acquired, accessioned, covered and put on the library shelves. What do the students and staff need for their learning path? A teacher librarian needs to establish these needs and wants. A well-rounded collection takes planning. Evaluating the current collection is an important part of managing a school library. A great way to do this is through collection mapping (Lamb & Johnson, 2014). It is a process of looking at the quantity and quality of the collection and identifying the strengths and weaknesses within.  A collection map can give a visual portrayal of the breadth and depth of the library collection, a snapshot of what is presently available. In my forum post (Discussion Board, 2019) I discussed collection mapping as a way to qualitatively analyse the collection. I see evaluating as an essential part of managing the school library collection. I posted a blog post on collection evaluation (Thinkspace, April 22, 2019), outlining a basic plan on how to evaluate my collection. An important thing to keep in mind is that findings from an evaluation need to be viewed in the context of the school. The extent of material provided is only meaningful if it is connected to the goals of the library (Johnson, 2015).

Once the collection is analysed and evaluated; it is crucial to have selection principles to decide on the resources for the school. The collection development policy is an important, and some might say a strategic, document for any school library. It outlines the policies and procedures needed for library management. Implementing these policies and procedures aims to ensure fair access to resources for everyone in the school community (ALIA & VCTL, 2017. p. 4). Debowski (2001) mentions that an initial statement of the purpose of the library and its collection can be a useful part of the policy. The library collection is there to serve a school community, not just a specific user. The policy can be used as a strategic document in several ways. Firstly, the policy should have an outline regarding the importance of a well-staffed and well-resourced library, by providing links to research stating the correlation between this and student outcomes.  A link to the Softlink School Library Survey Report (2018) would be appropriate. Secondly, the financial aspect of the library collection is important. The school library’s print and electronic collection represents a substantial investment and the policy can demonstrate the accountability for this (ALIA & VCTL, 2017. p. 4). Therefore, it can also expose the need for further monetary investment in resources.

The future brings excitement and challenges. The collection development policy (CDP) can play an important role in future proofing the collection in the school. The New Media Consortium (NMC) and the Consortium for School Networking (CoSN) identified two important trends in their 2016 Horizon Report (NMC, 2016). Firstly, the need to redesign learning spaces to have students participate in immersive, hands-on. Including this as a goal in the CPD is ensuring the library stays current, and in touch with trends emerging. Secondly, there is the need to reassess how schools work, in order to keep up with the changing 21^st century workforce demands. Students will need be equipped with future- focused skills like coding in order to be workplace ready. The CDP needs to have short- and long-term goals included. The trends mentioned in the NCM & CoSN report (p. 2. 2016) need to be included in a CDP to make the policy future focused.

Currently I am working in a school with no collection development policy. I believe every library should have a collection development policy. I am keen to, with all this knowledge to guide me, develop a policy for the school.

ETL 503 References Part B

Australian Library and Information Association School & Victorian Catholic Teacher Librarians [ALIA & VCTL]. ( 2017). A manual for developing policies and procedures in Australian school library resource centres. Retrieved from http://www.asla.org.au/policy/policy-development-manual.aspx

Australian School Library Association & Australian Library and Information Association [ASLA & ALIA]. (2016). Statement on school library resource provision. Retrieved from ASLA: https://asla.org.au/school-library-resource-provision

Australian School Library Association [ASLA]. (2018). The 2018 Softlink Australian and New Zealand School Library Survey Report. Retrieved from ASLA: https://asla.org.au/research/

Debowski, S. (2001). Collection Management Policies. In K. H. Dillon, Providing more with less: collection management for school libraries (2nd ed., pp. 126-136). Retrieved from https://doms.csu.edu.au/csu/file/4e3442bb-7cd7-4090-9f50-bf88fdcc896f/1/hart-a.pdf

Johnson, P. (2015). Fundamentals of Collection Development and Management. Chicago: American Library Association. Retrieved from http://web.b.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.csu.edu.au/ehost/ebookviewer/ebook/bmxlYmtfXzE4NTY5ODNfX0FO0?sid=555e383e-efe8-4c8b-9892-c40dcefadc55@pdc-v-sessmgr06&vid=0&format=EB&rid=1

Lamb, A., & Johnson, L. (2014). Library Media Program: Collection Mapping. Retrieved from The school library media specialist: http://eduscapes.com/sms/program/mapping.html

New Media Consortium [NMC]. (2016). NMC/CoSN Horizon Report: 2016 K-12 edition. Retrieved from https://www.nmc.org/publication/nmc-cosn-horizon-report-2016-k-12-edition

Powell, C. (2019). Carolien’s blog. Retrieved from Thinkspace: https://thinkspace.csu.edu.au/carolien/category/etl-503/

Powell, C. (2019). Discussion Board, forum 5.1. Retrieved from Interact2: https://interact2.csu.edu.au/webapps/discussionboard/do/message?action=list_messages&course_id=_42383_1&nav=discussion_board_entry&conf_id=_78886_1&forum_id=_147540_1&message_id=_2251590_1

State Library of Queensland. (2013). Library Collections Standard. Retrieved from file:///C:/Users/User/AppData/Local/Microsoft/Windows/INetCache/IE/6WV7IOGW/Library_Collections_Standard_2013.pdf