Studying ETL 503 Resourcing the Curriculum helped me develop a better understanding of what a school library collection is and how it is developed.

My investigation started from a forum activity in Module 1 where I searched for the definitions of Collection Development, compared the found definitions with those proposed in the module resources, and discussed what Collection Development involved (Kaigorodovs, 2022, Nov 26). As I was learning about the nature of the collection, I started analysing the library collection of my school in terms of the number, types, formats, and quality of resources, which led me to write a reflective blog post where I described my current school library collection and outlined the key challenges our library collection faces (Kaigorodova, 2022, Dec 17). The challenges included the lack of digital resources, censorship and bias, and lack of space. 

In Module 2 of this subject, I learned about the Balanced Collection and wrote a reflective post to share my thought on how important it is to keep the right balance of the school library collection (Kaigorodova, 2022, Dec 26). In that blog post, I discussed the needs of my school in balancing our library collection considering such aspects as budget constraints, issues with digital resources, and ways to engage reluctant readers and accommodate our ESL learners.  That activity helped me look at the collection from various perspectives to cover all learning and recreational needs of our school community. 

My understanding of the role and nature of the school library collection expanded when I was working on Assessment 1 for this subject. I investigated the key priorities of the collection development which helped me understand the elements that drive the collection development process, such as collection evaluation and needs assessment. This task also helped me look at some practical implications of the collection development process when I worked on the Annotated Bibliography. I learned to identify the criteria for selection and choose selection tools. Later, I reflected on my experience with the acquisition process in my school context and shared the challenges we face in our school regarding the acquisition of resources in the discussion forum (Kaigorodova, 2022, Dec 31). 

When I was learning about the evaluation of the library collection in Module 4, I started thinking of the Collection Development Policy as a strategic document that will guide our library’s day-to-day operations. I shared my thought about the school library collection evaluation in a blog post where I outlined why it is important to evaluate the collection and what methods of evaluation can be used (Kaigorodova, 2023, Jan 3). 

Working on this assignment I consolidated my understanding of the nature of CDP and its value as a strategic document. I understand that the CDP helps the library communicate with the wider community and stay transparent.  It helps the librarians deal with difficult situations such as censorship, challenged materials, gifts and donations etc. The CDP provides the vision for future collection development and maintenance. Thinking about the future of the collection development, I posted a short comment in a discussion forum where I outlined that it will be important for school libraries to become ambassadors of technological changes while keeping the right balance of digital and print materials (Kaigorodova, 2023, Jan 20).