The school library collection is vast and ever-changing and should be developed with a collaborative approach. This may mean letting go of traditional approaches to teaching and learning and making compromises for collaboration to be effective (McNee & Radmer, 2017). Children should be the centre of learning and teaching, though in my first assessment for ETL401 my viewpoint of the teacher librarian (TL) role was somewhat fanciful (Foyel, 2021, March 8). Ideas of the TL flitting about the library, surrounded by books and children, and orchestrating special events to the amazement of the school community.
When I began my role as TL in 2020, I was committed to ensuring that learning experiences were engaging and resulted in deeper learning. I also aimed to stock the library with the latest titles and agreed to a 50-book-a-term program with a local book publisher. A variety of fiction books were sent and no matter how I promoted them, there were always several titles that remained unborrowed. I began to realise that this was probably not the best way to enhance the fiction collection. ETL503, Resourcing the Curriculum, challenged me to reflect on collection development and evaluate the ways in which our school library needed to be managed. In an earlier post (Foyel, 2021, November 26) I examined the pros and cons of bundled sets. I continue to take the stance that bundled sets are not the best option for general fiction books in my school community. There is, I have learnt, a place for bundled sets. Decodable readers supporting the latest NSW English syllabus, and non-fiction sets on a specific topic can be a great way to update the collection. Although this can be an expensive endeavour, having a professional discussion with the assistant principal, this is usually the most cost-effective way to enhance these areas of the primary library collection (M. Perry, personal communication, January 2022).
Through these experiences, I reflected on what the selection criteria might be for our school library and the many considerations that determine resource selection. I explored the concept of engaging library users in the selection process and cultivating a collaborative approach to sourcing library resources (Foyel, 2021, November 21). Hughes-Hassell and Mancall (2005) expanded my knowledge about a learner-centred collection, selection criteria, and assessing the strengths and weaknesses of the current collection. Their views helped to shape my decision-making process for resource selection in response to the learners’ unique needs.
Developing and managing a school library collection is a thoughtful, ongoing, and crucial process that should be in line with the school’s strategic plan (Johnson, 2018). Although I had begun this process in my own primary school library, I did not fully grasp the enormity of the tasks involved, nor did I consider a formal policy for doing so. I lacked processes to ensure that collection development and management were successful with all library operations (Johnson, 2018). ETL503 helped form my understanding of these processes and I felt better equipped to deal with challenged texts, provide information to the community, and effectively evaluate the collection.
I realised the value and need of developing a collection development policy (CDP), and Module 5 of ETL503, Evaluating Collections, provided important learning for my new role. I discovered that data plays an important part in collection evaluation (Johnson, 2018) and I began to gather this over the next twelve months. I also evaluated the teacher resource room and the disused or outdated syllabus documents, textbooks, and audiobooks (and the lack of CD players to use them). My future goals included creating a CDP and weeding, a necessary and long overdue process (Foyel, 2022, January 7). I used the school’s library management system (LMS), to establish lists of books that had not been borrowed in the last five years and collaborated with teachers and students when deselecting resources (Foyel, 2022, January 7). I considered the viewpoints of LaGarde (2013), that school libraries are not archives, but aim to connect their users to good quality, relevant, and up-to-date texts. Concurrently, I developed a document outlining specific deselection criteria, based on Baumbach and Miller’s (2006) suggestions for weeding and Larson’s (2012) CREW Manual. This was the beginning of our Collection Management Policy, necessary for outlining the criteria for weeding (Larson, 2012).
During my placement at Central Coast Public Libraries, I also gained valuable insights into their monthly weeding processes and gained knowledge about their policy and procedures. Deselection ensures that its library collection is current and appealing to its patrons (Central Coast Library Service, 2022). I found renewed vigour in weeding my own school library collection, involving students, by creating a Last Chance Trolley. Removing books from the collection ensures our school collection remains fresh and not a museum of musty, yellowing books (LaGarde, 2013). I am committed to completing a collection development/management policy aligned with the school’s vision; equipped with the knowledge I have gained throughout my degree, my placement, and talking with other TLs.
