Through participation in Resourcing the Curriculum my knowledge and understanding of the role and nature of school library collections has developed from the initial belief that a teacher librarian’s (TL) main role was teaching. This is reflected in blog post Teacher Librarian’s role as an expert where it was obvious I had a very limited (and naïve) understanding of collection development and management within the school library.
Module 1 presented a challenge that TL’s are facing major changes in technology and therefore a change in our roles. I am only beginning my career as a TL so it is not a change but an opportunity for me to learn as changes occur.
Due to my inexperience in my role as a TL, the terms ‘collection development’ and ‘collection management’ initially had no specific meaning, other than what I could infer. Often the literature uses these terms interchangeably. Through my readings and term searches, my understanding of the difference has been evidenced in forum post 1.2. Simply put, management is an extension of the development of a collection.
The definition that made clear to me the key focus of developing a library collection, was that of Kimmell:
Collection development is anchored in the historical and cultural roles of libraries as providing a community of users with access to information and ideas (2014, p.16).
As a teacher, I ask students to develop an ongoing glossary during their subjects. I took a page out of my own teaching practice and did the same for this course. Terms such as circulation, selection, acquisition, deselection/weeding were introduced to me. I continue to keep a list with definitions as part of my reflections.
Forum posts 2.1 and 2.2 made me look deeper into some of these terms and ideas to gain a deeper understanding of what an experienced TL takes as given knowledge through experience.
Once I had an understanding of the role and nature of library collections, the course content introduced me to the challenges associated with the development and management of them. Some of these were technology, evolving curriculum, changing teaching methods, new resource types and learning styles. The discussion around learning styles was of interest to me and I enjoyed watching the TEDX video of Dr Tesia Marshik (2015) presenting reasons and research as to learning styles being a myth.
Assessment 1 provided the use of tools in modules 2 & 3 to critically analyse resources. It has become evident throughout the course that the role of the school library collection focuses on continual critical evaluation and providing resources that support, not only the curriculum, but the whole school community’s needs.
The role of the TL in developing and managing a school library collection must support the context of the school in terms of curriculum, the learning and teaching needs of the school community.
Through this course I have developed a further understanding of how this can be done effectively through a comprehensive collection development policy.
Surprisingly, not all schools have these policies and often they are not aligned with the learning needs or the school context. The policy needs to amalgamate complexities such as legal and ethical issues and censorship considerations.
I gained a deeper knowledge of these issues through reading and blog posts such as Legalities and Ethics and Censorship. My forum post 4.2, Creative Commons demonstrated my surprise at the limited understanding and awareness of the terms of this licensing agreement for myself as well as my colleagues.
Having a collection policy as a strategic document, not only provides a clear understanding of why a resource should or shouldn’t be added, but also provides boundaries and a policy document to defend choices if a situation such as this arises.
Procedures provide the practical steps in which to be able to implement the policy and is an essential supporting document.
Commonly used structures for writing a library collection policy were suggested throughout the course content and supporting resources such Barbara Braxton’s Sample Collection Policy (2014) and St Andrew’s Cathedral School Collection Management policy (2016). The course content supplied manuals and guidelines such as ‘a manual for developing policies and procedures in school library resources centres’ (2017) from The Victorian Catholic Teacher Librarians and the Australian Library and Information Association (VCL & ALIA), useful when considering what should be contained within the policy as well as a great resource in critically analysing PART A of assessment 2. Many schools will have different needs and therefore there is no “one size fits all”. However, there are areas that are essential in providing a comprehensive and clear document. Concerns were presented, such as who collaborates on the writing of it, as well as what professional literature will be considered when writing it.
The IFLA Trends report (2013) and the updated version (2018) suggest what direction libraries may take in the future. Some of these trends become relevant to the school library sector, such as access due to new technologies and libraries having the ability to make the Internet more useful by being more accountable and more inclusive. By having a document that allows understanding of needs, selection, acquisition, de-selection, and collection evaluation and the prediction of the evolving nature of learning, in the context of the school, it is future proofing the library collection.
It is important for the TL to continue exploring and engaging in literature relevant to the emerging technologies and literacies to ensure the library collection stays relevantly engaging for students. This needs to be in terms of both the information, in addition to having appropriate digital and hardcopy resources. Changes in learner behaviours is also a current issue that requires updating of knowledge and awareness of trends. Many suggestions to support this were providing within the course content such as TED talks.
I conclude by saying that, I am not the TL in my library and I am only vaguely familiar with the specific context of my school in relation to all of the guidance from this course that relate to resourcing the curriculum, however, there will always be a need for the school library and it will always need to be managed. The best practice for this is definitely an effective library collection policy. The physical space or the format of resources may not be the same as it is today, but if the policy is written in a way that is future proofing the collection, it should be a seamless evolution.
References
Braxton, B. (2014). 500 hats. Retrieved from http://500hats.edublogs.org/policies/sample-collection-policy/
International Federation of Library Associations. (2013). IFLA Trends report. Retrieved from: https://trends.ifla.org/
International Federation of Library Associations. (2018). IFLA Trends report updated. Retrieved from: https://trends.ifla.org/
Marshik, T. (2015). Learning Styles and the importance of critical self-reflection. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=855Now8h5Rs&feature=youtu.be
Kimmel, S, C. (2014). Developing collections to empower learners. American Library Association. ProQuest Ebook Central. Retrieved from: http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/csuau/detail.action?docID=168658
St Andrew’s Cathedral School. (2016). St Andrew’s Cathedral School Collection Management policy. Retrieved from: http://library.sacs.nsw.edu.au/files/The_Collection_Management_Policy_2016.pdf
Victorian Catholic Teacher Librarians and the Australian Library and Information Association. (2017). A manual for developing policies and procedures in Australian school library resources centres. Retrieved from: https://www.alia.org.au/sites/default/files/ALIA%20Schools%20policies%20and%20procedures%20manual_FINAL.pdf