Day: May 12, 2020

The COVID-19 Pandemic has been very eye-opening and life changing for everybody. In particular it has raised questions regarding the accessing of library resources. It has brought to the forefront the issue of being able to access resources remotely. Furthermore, it has created the need for libraries to have a clear direction regarding their acquisition of e-resources and the technology and skills needed for this. As a TL in training it has highlighted to me the need to move well beyond student reliance on paper based library resources into the embracing of the library collection’s e-resources. To ensure this occurs successfully it must be carefully supported by the library staff.

What I have learnt through reading through the information about collection development policies (CDP) is that a  CDP should include the mission of the library and the goals of the school library collection. These goals can work to ensure that the library collection is current and best suits the today and tomorrow of its community. These goals should reflect the following:

• That the library plays a prime role in the school-wide curriculum delivery process through the resourcing of the curriculum (Chadwick, 2016). Therefore as the curriculum changes the resources to support the curriculum change.
• ensuring that the school community is well served by resources that are relevant to their specific needs (Mitchell, 2011). What works for one community might not work for another. An example of this might be that a school that has BYOD might have a collection that includes more e-resources than one that doesn’t have BYOD.
• The movement towards the increasing use of technologies within the library such as e-books (O’Connell et al, 2015). This can be seen as beneficial as library spaces and their usage is changing. It also of relevance in our changing world where we can find ourselves exposed to things like Pandemics where our access to resources is restricted to e-resources.

 

 

 

References

Chadwick, B. (2016). Curriculum-engaged school libraries and teacher librarians value curriculum-alignment of resources. International Association of School Librarianship.Selected Papers from the …Annual Conference, 1-30.

Mitchell, P. (2011). Resourcing 21st century online Australian curriculum: The role of school libraries.  FYI : the Journal for the School Information Professional, 15(2), 10-15.

O’Connell, J., Bales, J., & Mitchell, P. (2015). [R]Evolution in reading cultures: 2020 vision for school libraries. The Australian Library Journal, 64(3), 194-208, DOI:10.1080/00049670.2015.1048043