“At that point, you are the creator of the known world. If it cannot be found in your collection, it simply doesn’t exist…would you have your LGBT students believe that they do not exist? Would you allow victims of sexual abuse to believe that they are the only people to ever have that experience?”
- Jamie LaRue, in Unnatural Selection by Linda Jacobson
The above quote from an article in the 2016 School Library Journal was possibly the most impactful and profound thing I have read since beginning this degree in March last year. I read this and LaRue’s other comments over and over. I have learnt over the last 12 months how important the role of the teacher librarian is within a school; I have learnt over the course of this subject the importance of policies and procedures that protect and enforce our professionalism; and I have learnt about the ways in which teacher librarians self-censor for fear of being challenged (Dawkins, 2018). What I had never really considered, and what struck me about Jacobson’s articles and LaRue’s comments, was the power which we hold when it comes to what sits on the shelves and on the screens of our school libraries. The power to truly affect a child, shedding light on topics that they normally would not get to read about, challenging their way of thinking, opening their minds to others’ perspectives.
Of course alongside that is the much more routine, yet equally as important, aspect of the TL role – writing collection development policies, acquiring resources appropriate for a myriad of clientele, de-selection of unwanted/outdated materials, accessing the curriculum in ways other teachers don’t have to – all while trying to make sure we are moving with the times and incorporating the continuous wave of technological advances that make us re-examine resources in a different light.
Myself and many other student contributors to Discussion Forum 2 quickly realised how difficult it was to find clear collection development policies. Much of those available were for public libraries, or US based schools. It also very quickly became apparent that the language around these policies was a challenge, particularly what the difference was between “collection development” and “collection management”, or even locating a clear definition of these! With little to compare to in Australian schools, I became very grateful for people like Barabara Braxton for creating “templates”, similar to the guidance given by ALIA and even the National Library of New Zealand’s advice on how to assess your collection. Guidance in this way is simply invaluable to a TL who lands at a school with no collection development policy in place.
It was also evident how incredibly important managing digital resources have become in the world of collection development. School librarians are not just responsible for collecting resources in a variety of media types, but also making them available and promoting them to the school community (Newsum, 2016). Admittedly this makes me a little nervous and take pause – one of the reasons many TLs, myself included, become TLs in the first place is because of our love of books and literature. It was comforting to learn that many students still prefer print books and read regularly for a variety of reasons (Copyright Agency, 2017). What that means is that the role of the TL involves delicately balancing our collection choices, making sure we are catering to a massive range of people. The use of effective selection aids and criteria can greatly support us with this. This task appears overwhelming and onerous, and it is – which is why the collection development policy is so necessary!
Rather than something to fear or put off, the collection development policy gives us something to lean on. By creating a collection policy for our own libraries, we are giving ourselves and our profession a solid foundation to refer to when we are questioned or challenged. It is a document that provides selection criteria allowing us to feel confident in our collection building, and one that allows our principals to trust our decision-making process, despite many not even being aware that selection policies exist (Dawkins, 2018). Anyone who has ever worked in a school knows how the valuable the support of your principal can be (plus how much they love policies doesn’t hurt either!)
Which brings me back to my opening statement around TLs being the “creator of worlds” – what a beautiful way to say “collection development”! The role of choosing how to resource a library is a great responsibility, and often with that responsibility comes the risk of being challenged. I found it fascinating to read about how prevalent censorship issues are in different parts of the world and how lucky we are to be in Australia and have the freedom of choice in our resources (for the most part). The key takeaways shared in Forum 6.2 were often around not being afraid to make choices we worry will be controversial, and how the collection development policy (particularly the procedures in place for if/when we are challenged on our choices) protects us and gives us leverage. I really liked how one student said that this is why it is so important for the collection development policy to be easy to read for all members of the community – if it is easily accessible, then it is easy to justify our choices. If a school library does not have clear policies – and often this is because they no longer have teacher librarians (Jacobson, 2016) – then they are leaving themselves open to being challenged and the possibility that some students will never get access to texts that could quite possibly change their lives.
References:
Australian Library and Information Association Schools, & Victorian Catholic Teacher Librarians. (2017). A manual for developing policies and procedures in Australian school library resource centres. Retrieved from https://www.alia.org.au/sites/default/files/ALIA%20Schools%20policies%20and%20procedures%20manual_FINAL.pdf
Braxton, B. (2016). Sample collection policy. Retrieved from http://500hats.edublogs.org/policies/sample-collection-policy
Copyright Agency. (2017, February 28). Most teens prefer print books [Blog post]. https://www.copyright.com.au/2017/02/teens-prefer-print-books/
Dawkins, A.M. (2018). The decision by school librarians to self-censor: The impact of perceived administrative discomfort. Teacher Librarian, 45(3),8-12
Jacobson, L. (2016). Unnatural selection: More librarians are self-censoring. School Library Journal, 62 (10), 20-24 CSU Library
National Library of New Zealand, Services to Schools. (n.d.). Assessing your school library collection. http ://schools.natlib .govt.nz /school-libraries/building-and-managing-collection/assessing-your-school-library-collection