During my first semester in the Masters of Education (Teacher Librarianship) course, I have been a part of ETL503: Resourcing the Curriculum. My learning in this subject has primarily focused on developing and evaluating school library collections, collection development policies and legal and ethical issues surrounding collections. Through interacting with the learning modules, academic readings and student forum and blog posts, my knowledge and understanding of the role and nature of school library collections has greatly expanded.
It is evident through one of my initial discussion forum posts (Vitnell, 2021, March 14) that during module 1 and 2, I only had a limited understanding of collection development and collection management. Truly, I remember initially thinking they both pertain to the same concept, and they are not any different. Both the Australian School Library Association’s ([ASLA], 2017) manual and the NSW Department of Education’s ([NSW DoE], 2017) library handbook opened my eyes to the fact that both terms/concepts are vital in understanding the nature of a school library collection. I learned collection development refers to consulting all stakeholders to target what resources are available, needed, and why (ASLA, 2017). In contrast, collection management refers more generally to the procedures on how the nature of the library is managed day-to-day (NSW DoE, 2017).
ETL503 has further expanded my knowledge and understanding of the role and nature of a school library through modules 2 and 3, where my learning was centred around collection development, accession and acquisition. Being new to the TL role this year, I found these two modules directly applicable to my school environment and context. It discussed the basics of budgeting, accessing and evaluating library suppliers, balancing a collection and using eResources. There were two standout points for me during these modules. Firstly, the concept of patron-driven acquisition was introduced. My forum 2.1 discussion post (Vitnell, 2021, March 14) links to a reading by Min & Casselden (2021) and discusses the patron-driven acquisition concept when evaluating a collection. I found this notion challenging to understand at first, having no experience encountering it before, but I have come to grasp the idea that it centres around student demand and the requirement for resources (Min & Casselden, 2021). At this point in my TL career, I would find it challenging to implement a patron-driven acquisition policy, but I am interested in learning more about it through my degree.
Licensing and licensing requirements were the second standout points for me when engaging in modules 2 and 3. Through the Johnson, Evensen, Gelfand, Lammers, Sipe & Zilper’s (2012) reading, I came to fully understand the idea and challenges licensing presents to the nature of the school collection. Due to the rapid growth of digital resources in my school library’s collection, licensing will be an area I will need to address. Through the module work and Johnson et al.’s (2012) article, I have learned that licensing agreements and policies should always be in place and easy to understand to ensure method of access, authorised users and authorised resources are clearly acknowledged, defined and understood.
Module 4’s content of legal and ethical issues when resourcing the curriculum was highly informative. Through this module, I was introduced to the National Copyright Unit’s (2016) Smartcopying website. The Smartcopying (2016) website and the module have been beneficial in my understanding of the role of the TL when it comes to copyright legalities in schools. In forum discussion 4.1 (Vitnell, 2021, May 18), my post highlights basic copyright facts and clarifies misunderstandings, such as why films are not to be played during non-educational times. One stand out point for me was that it is not the TL’s role to ‘police’ copyright in school, but it is expected the TL be an expert in the copyright field and be able to readily provide information to staff and the community when the need arises.
Two of my blog posts, titled ‘Collection Analysis – A snapshot’ (Vitnell, 2021, May 18) and ‘To weed or not to weed?” (Vitnell, 2021, May 18), both detail my learning experiences regarding evaluating collections and the creation of a collection development policy to future proof a library collection. It was through modules five and six, as well as academic readings by Johnson (2018), Braxton (2018) and Morrisey (2008), I came to learn the purpose of a collection development policy, how one is created, what needs to be included and how it is implemented across a school community. In discussion forum post 6.1 (Vitnell, 2021, May 18), I highlight that I am yet to come across a collection development policy in my career as both a classroom teacher and TL. Through this subject and this assessment, I have become deeply familiar with collection development policies and their purpose in ensuring what is done, how it is done, and why it is done is consistently and concisely communicated and applied. I have learned that having a collection development policy that is clearly written, accessible to the public, and easily navigated will result in a future-proofed collection (Gregory, 2011). This is because what is written in the policy will ensure that questioned actions will have step by step guidelines to follow to ensure they are readily and effectively answered (Gregory, 2011; ASLA, 2017).
When critically reflecting on my learning journey in ETL503, it is evident through my discussion forum and blog posts that I have developed an understanding of the nature and role of library collections. I believe I still have a long way to go to becoming an expert in areas such as copyright, licensing, patron-driven acquisitions and collection development policies, but I know I have developed a solid foundational understanding this semester. The learning in ETL503 has been immediately applicable to the role of the TL, and I have very much enjoyed engaging in this subject!
References
Australian School Library Association. (2017). A manual for developing policies and procedures in Australian school library resources centres. https://asla.org.au/resources/Documents/Website%20Documents/Policies/policies-procedures-manual_ed2.pdf
Braxton, B. (2018, February 7). 500 hats. The teacher librarian in the 21st century. https://500hats.edublogs.org/policies/sample-collection-policy/
Greogry, V. L. (2011). Collection development and management for 21st century library collections: an introduction. American Library Association.
Johnson, P. (2018). Fundamentals of collection development and management (4th ed.). ALA Editions.
Johnson, S., Evensen, O.G., Gelfand, J., Lammers, G., Sipe, L., & Zilper, N. (2012). Key issues for e-resource collection development: a guide for libraries, IFLA Acquisition and Collection Development Committee.
Min, S. L. L. & Casselden, B. (2021). A case study of Singapore Management University Libraries: Adopting a mixed methods approach towards collection evaluation. The Journal of Academic Librarianship, 47(3), 1-13. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.acalib.2021.102330
Morrisey, L. J. (2008). Ethical issues in collection development. Journal of Library Administration, 47(3-4), 163-171.
National Copyright Unit. (2016). Smartcopying – copyright guidelines. https://smartcopying.edu.au/copyright-guidelines/
NSW Department of Education. (2017). School libraries handbook. https://education.nsw.gov.au/content/dam/main-education/teaching-and-learning/curriculum/media/documents/schoollibrarieshandbook2015.pdf