Archive of ‘Creative Commons’ category

24
Jan
2022

Collection development: resourcing, policy and futureproofing

categories: 21st century library, Collaboration, collection development, collection management, Copyright, Creative Commons, ETL503, Information landscape, Reflection, Resource selection, Resourcing the curriculum, role of the Teacher Librarian

The role of the library is to support the needs of the school community by providing a wide range of physical and digital resources (Fleishhacker, 2017; International Federation of Library Associations (IFLA), 2015). It sounds quite simple but is a daunting task that involves knowledge of the curriculum, the school community, the current collection and how to build and manage a balance of resources that best support these needs.

Prior to ETL503 I did not realise that resourcing was the responsibility of both the teacher librarian (TL) and the classroom teacher (CT).  I thought that supporting teachers involved providing resources such as pathfinders, lists of websites and piles of books (Gemell, 2021, November 4). In fact, selection of resources is set out in Standard 3.4 of the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers (2014). I now understanding that for optimum resourcing, it is vital for the TL and the CT to collaborate, with the TL providing a whole-school birds-eye view of resourcing across the curriculum, and the CT focused on their class’ needs (Gemell, 2021, November 8).

I was also initially baffled by the seemingly interchangeable terms of collection development and collection management. Through further investigation and discussion, I sifted through the terminology to discover that the two terms are, in fact, different. I was involved in a great discussion with several other students, and we nutted out that management is what happens after the collection has been developed (Gemell, 2022, January 3). This was summed-up perfectly by Kay Oddone (2022, January 10) who commented that “development is an activity that is part of the overall management of the collection.” Through this discussion I developed further understanding in the nuance between collection development and collection management.

I then came face-to-face with the concepts of copyright and creative commons. I must admit, this is an area that I have never put much thought into and I’m sure I have been in breach of copyright at some time. I was under the impression that anything could be used so long as it was properly referenced (Gemell, 2021, December 12). However, this area is hugely complex and goes far beyond appropriate referencing. I believe there is an expectation that librarians have a basic understanding of copyright and licensing of electronic resources and, as such, support the school complying with copyright requirements (Copyright laws, 2021). To assist with this, I found an invaluable resource in the website https://smartcopying.edu.au/.

I had previously heard of creative commons, but like copyright, had never given it much thought. I now understand that creative commons licenses help with the sharing and reusing of creations. Creating my own post (Gemell, 2021, December 12) about the different licenses and their uses has definitely supported my understanding of the link between copyright and creative commons. This understanding is invaluable as a TL because it helps to ensure that the library is complying with copyright, and also able to provide resources under creative commons licenses to support the school community across the curriculum. Through this knowledge of creative commons and copyright the TL is also in a strong position to advise others on copyright issues and the use of creative commons materials.

Through ETL503, I have an improved understanding of the importance of a collection development policy (CDP) as a strategic document. According to the Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA, 2017), “A collection development policy is essential to a school library as it explains why the collection exists” (p. 8). During discussions with other students, it was surprising to realise just how many schools did not have a current CDP, or even more startling was the schools that did not have one at all. I found myself in that position with a policy available for my secondary school, but no policy for the primary school (Gemell, December 27). If it is such a crucial document, then why is it seemingly not a priority?

Collection development is an incredibly complex process with a multitude of facets (Oddone, 2019, August 19). These facets increase with the development of technology and changes in information access, not only in schools, but in society as a whole. It serves as a blueprint for the overall goals, processes and overall management of the library (Abercrombie, 2018, 30 May), ensuring there are clear processes for budgets, resource selection, deselection and challenged materials (Abercrombie, 2018, 30 May; Libraries Tasmania, 2021). The policy is also explicit in its descriptions of the school profile including their specific requirements. With all these elements in mind, the CDP must be updated regularly to stay current (ALIA, 2014).

The development of a CDP is an important matter to discuss with the school leadership and demonstrate the importance of developing, reviewing, and maintaining this document. The school leadership must be part of the development of the CDP (Libraries Tasmania, 2021) so they can best support the needs of the library through budgeting, and understand that the library is not stagnant, but continually changing and evolving with users’ needs, including technology and digital resources.

The CDP policy serves an important role in the issue of self-censorship. I had previously not considered self-censorship as an issue but, through my readings, have discovered that it is very common and easy to fall into to avoid conflict situations (Jacobson, 2016).  The CDP supports the librarian by having clear selection criteria and processes (including use of selection tools) as well as outlining the process for challenged materials. This ensures confidence in the selection of potentially contentious material (Gemell, 2021, 28 December).

Through collection development and management, the library can be equipped for the future. It is important for the library to consistently update materials (including deselection) and provide digital resources (Tonini, 2020, June 24). The key to future-proofing the library collection is fluidity. Samantha Macey (2022, January 2) summed this up perfectly, stating that “the collection development policy should be continually revised (collaboratively if possible) to reflect the fluid nature of libraries, and to keep on top of any new developments.” The information landscape is ever evolving, and it is the responsibility of the library to evolve with it. Remember, a stagnant library is a redundant library (Gemell, 2022, January 8).

The number one goal of any library is to provide knowledge to the community, no matter how that knowledge is accessed and it is up to the library and librarians to “understand the community and adapt to their needs” (Gemell, 2022, January 8).

References

Abercrombie, S. (2018, May 30). Why do you need a collection development plan? Knowledge Quest. https://knowledgequest.aasl.org/why-do-you-need-a-collection-development-plan/

Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership. (2014). Australian professional standards for teachers. https://www.aitsl.edu.au/teach/standards.

Australian Library and Information Association. (2017). A manual for developing policies and procedures in Australian school library resource centres. (2nd ed.). https://read.alia.org.au/manual-developing-policies-and-procedures-australian-school-library-resource-centres-2nd-edition

Australian Library and Information Association. (2014). Future of the library and information science profession: School libraries. https://read.alia.org.au/content/future-library-and-information-science-profession-school-libraries

Copyright laws. (2021, September 30). A simple guide to copyright for librarians: 15 essential facts and tips. Copyrightlaws.com. https://www.copyrightlaws.com/simple-guide-copyright/

Fleishhacker, J. (2017). Collection development. Knowledge Quest. 45(4). 24-31.

International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions School Libraries Section Standing Committee. (2015).  IFLA school library guidelines.  https://www.ifla.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/assets/school-libraries-resource-centers/publications/ifla-school-library-guidelines.pdf

Jacobson, L. (2016). Unnatural selection. School Library Journal, 62(10), 20–24.

Libraries Tasmania, (2021). Procedures and guidelines. https://libraries.tas.gov.au/school-library/Pages/managing-procedures.aspx

Tonini, S. (2020, June 24). 7 tips for future-proofing school libraries. eSchool News. https://www.eschoolnews.com/2020/06/24/7-tips-for-future-proofing-school-libraries/2/

12
Dec
2021

Creative Commons

categories: Copyright, Creative Commons, ETL503, role of the Teacher Librarian

I have just been reading about the overwhelming area of Creative Commons (CC)and my initial thoughts are “Wow! This is huge and complicated!” In this post I would like to unpack what is meant by CC and how the different licenses are built.

When something is created, it is automatically covered by copyright. This allows the creator to say who can share and reuse their creation. However, permission from the creator needs to be sought by the sharer on each occasion for the creation to be shared or distributed and this can be tedious for the creator. So, what’s the solution?

The answer is, Creative Commons.

“Creative Commons is a world-wide non-profit organisation that provides copyright owners with free licences allowing them to share, reuse and remix their material, legally” (Creative Commons Australia). CC does not mean the creator relinquishes the copyright on their creation. It simply means that it can be reused, remixed and shared legally. This licensing allows other to use works without having a seek permission from the creator each time the work is used. CCs all have baseline permissions and then there are four elements that are used to tailor the license to create six standard CC licenses.

 

Baseline permissions:

This allows the material to be copied, distributed, displayed and performed. This applies to all CC licenses. The baseline permission can be tailored using the four elements, outlined below.

Attribution (by):

The creator must be credited when the creation is shared.

Noncommercial:

The creation can be used for education and not-for-profit events. Creations cannot be used for profit or advertising.

No Derivative Works:

The creation cannot be changed or altered in any way. It can only be shared in its original format.

Share alike:

Alterations can be made to the creation, but when it is shared it must have the same licensing terms as the original creation.

 

These baseline permissions and elements can be combined to create the six different licenses.

It must be noted that Share Alike and No Derivative Works cannot be on the same license. This is because they are opposing elements. One gives permission for the creation to be altered, while the other does not.

A great overview of the different licenses is available here

I had previously heard of Creative Commons but hadn’t delved into the details. I always just thought that anything could be shared so long as it was properly referenced. As the teacher librarian, this is something that would need to be understood to help ensure the school is not in breach of copyright.