This week’s module asks whether our school library has a balanced collection. A balanced collection means that there are sufficient items in the catalogue that cover all curriculum levels and offer a variety of types. For example, it needs maps, posters, kits, professional resources, fiction, non-fiction, junior fiction (all sufficiently diverse), web-based resources and AV resources, but could also include games and toys, construction equipment and such. In terms of fiction, our library has a relatively large collection that is slowly being updated and diversified. The junior fiction section houses picture books and simple chapter books. Many of the simple chapter books do need updating and diversifying. It is a challenge to find such resources that feature diverse characters without being “preachy” or overly contrived. I would not say that it is balanced at the moment, but it is a work in progress and is certainly closer to being so than it was 2 years ago. The fiction section contains a good number of print items, mostly realistic fiction and fantasy. I am working to build our collection of other genres, especially graphic novels. Until 2020 our school library did not hold any graphic novels or manga at all. Now it is easily the most popular collection, but it is never on the shelf so I think it still needs augmenting. The challenge with manga and graphic novels is the inclusion of socially appropriate content. Many hold story lines that are appropriate, but artwork that is not or vice versa. Again, this is a work in progress.The non-fiction section needs a lot of work at the moment. Many resources are out of date or uninspiring and unattractive. It is more difficult to sources resources on some subjects than others because they are outdated so quickly – subjects like technology and geography are quickly out of date. This subject has reminded me of the value of almanacs for this purpose. I think this is an area I would like to explore more fully in the fullness of time. It is also an area in which I think a digital collection could be very useful. It is much easier and cheaper to update websites and links than it is to update the print collection.

Our digital collection is almost non-existent at this point, though I have recently been successful in gaining approval for an ebook subscription trial through Wheelers. The next stage of this trial is to recruit some students to evaluate it. I like that it is accessible from any device – iOS, Android or browser based. I like that there are collections that have been curated already to start us off and that we can add other titles over time as we have a chance to review them. Another method of enhancing the digital collection is by including in Oliver web-based resources. I will begin by looking through the SCIS database as there is a plethora of resources and suggestions available there. I must create some method of regularly checking that the links are still active. I will include this as a task in the annual stocktake but perhaps more regular checking will be important, as I alluded to in my post about Scootle recently. Perhaps I can teach the students how to use the “send resource” function to alert me to any issues they discover, thus harnessing the people power of our 900 students, and hopefully offering another way of interacting with the library.

The collection of items such as kits is fairly small in the school library at the moment as this has been under the perview of subject coordinators at my school. Science resources are kept in the science store, for example and are not part of the library collection. I think this needs to change as it is not very effective. Nothing is catalogued, the storeroom is a bombsite and noone knows what is there or how to find it. In the fullness of time, this is a project I would like to take on, but at the moment it is a longer term plan. Visual items, such as maps, posters and AV resources, has, in my opinion become less vital in recent years with the advent of technology that can access these items on an as-needed basis and the items are more likely to be up-to-date. This is always supposing that the digital collection is up to scratch to assist teachers and students to find such quality resources. This is not the case at the moment.