As I reflect on my journey in ETL503 – Resourcing the Curriculum, I can vividly recall a conversation I had with an assistant principal at my school. During the Sydney lockdown of 2021 this teacher saw my personal, extensive picture book collection in the background of the many Zoom meetings which occurred. She approached me asking if I knew of any quality picture books which would be of benefit to the school. My response was one of excitement explaining to her that I was about to embark on a subject which I had not doubt would lead me to sourcing many fabulous picture story books and novels for a primary school collection. While I have certainly been able to extend my knowledge of where to source physical items, this subject has opened my eyes to so many more facets of a library collection.

Who knew that this Zoom background would be such a thought provoker?

When initially researching what my state’s Department of Education (DoE) stated the role of the school library was, I came across a statement that indicated the libraries were there to provide resources to teach the curriculum and enhance individual learning and recreational reading (NSW Department of Education, 2019). This was not a surprise, however, delving deeper the DoE encouraged social and recreational development with the provision of resources in many and varying formats as well as the focusing of assisting discernment and critical thinking among students and teachers alike among many other goals(NSW Department of Education, 2015). To do this a school library collection must be one which is inviting and accessible for the users, which in 2022, cannot just focus on physical resources.

The concept of patron driven acquisition and the bundled sets which can be offered by suppliers to a school library were foreign to me (Marreiros, 2021, November 29). On further exploration since discovering these acquisition methods it has become clear to me the importance of value within a school library collection. Value for their content, value for money and what occurs when a resource is no longer valued (Debowski, 2001; Dillon, 2001) come into play in library collections. For example, the selection of digital resources whether in a subscription service or in a pay-per-use arrangement must meet the needs of the community which the library serves and should involve a complex thought process in their acquisition (Braxton, 2021). These concepts will certainly be in the forefront of my mind as I head into a new school year where I am now responsible for much of the acquisition processes for my school. As value is expected from a library collection, and procuring an infinite budget is dreamlike, wasting of precious funds like I mentioned in a forum post (Marreiros, 2022, January 16) could be alleviated with a collection development policy in place.

My understanding of the importance of a collection development policy as a strategic document has increased throughout this subject. As discussed in a forum post (Marreiros, 2022, January 16) my school has only a draft form of a collection development policy and when I reviewed it in the capacity of a parent within the community, the significance of all the sections was not apparent. While the idea of bias was one which can be seen throughout community, the concept of self-censorship by a teacher librarian in selection and deselection of a collection. As the Australian School Library Association (2018) mention library users must have materials provided from both sides of controversial issues so that critical reading and thought processes are encouraged. A collection development policy should not only have a statement of this fact in its mission statement, but within the document it clarifies with addressed areas such as selection criteria and challenged materials so that a collection is not held ransom by one person’s agenda (Braxton, 2021).

As someone who in the past has erred on the side of ‘keep rather than throw’ when it comes to resources the concept of weeding a collection has been an area of growth for me. Dare I say it, until recently I was probably that teacher who would rummage through a pile of discarded resources because there might be treasure in there! As examined in my blog post “Weed It!” (Marreiros, 2022, January 29) the importance of criteria for deselection of resources becomes a reality when there is disagreement in decision making. Keeling (2019) indicates that teacher librarians know the measures for collection development, however, unless there is a document which puts these measures into policy, there is grounds for conflict. The idiom of ‘shutting the stable door after a horse has bolted’ comes to mind if selection is disputed without a policy in place. I know I would like to have the library collection ‘stable door’ shut before this occurs.

Image sourced: https://pxhere.com/en/photo/495855

The futureproofing of a library collection is greatly aided by a collection development policy. For example, as was raised in my blog post (Marreiros, 2022, January 27), the school community which a collection serves must be provided with a wide variety of resources. The local and contextual knowledge of the community allows for changing needs to be specifically catered for. Where I initially only looked at the relationship a teacher librarian has with their school community (Marreiros, 2022, January 19) I have come to understand that they not only have to look at maintaining their connection, but anticipating future needs. Having a collection development policy in place with statements of evaluation and assessment (Johnson, 2018) for the collection allows for a mirroring of the cyclical nature of teaching. As I reflect on what has become a second nature to me as a teacher is not necessarily known in the wider community. A policy document, which in nature should be public, allows for this cycle to be made aware to those in the wider community.

Wade (2005) aptly places a challenge for me as a teacher librarian, [who in their very nature are an integral part of a collection development policy, both in creating and implementing]: am I going to be part a phoenix or a dodo in creating the best possible collection for information access for my school community?

…I know which one I wish to be…

References

Australian School Library Association. (2018). Policy statement – school library bill of rights.  https://asla.org.au/resources/Documents/Website%20Documents/Policies/Bill%20of%20Rights_2018.pdf

Braxton, B. (2021, 1 October). Sample collection policy. 500 hats the teacher librarian in the 21st century. https://500hats.edublogs.org/policies/sample-collection-policy/

Debowski, S. (2001). Collection management policies. In K. Dillon, J. Henri, & J. H. McGregor (Eds.), Providing more with less : collection management for school libraries (2nd ed., pp. 126-136). Centre for Information Studies, Charles Sturt University.

Dillon, K. (2001). Maintaining collection viability. In K. Dillon, J. Henri, & J. H. McGregor (Eds.), Providing more with less : collection management for school libraries (2nd ed., pp. 241-254). Centre for Information Studies, Charles Sturt University.

Johnson, P. (2018). Fundamentals of collection development and management (4th ed.). ALA Editions.

Keeling, M. (2019). What’s new in collection development? Knowledge Quest, 48(2), 4-5.

NSW Department of Education. (2015). Handbook for school libraries. https://education.nsw.gov.au/content/dam/main-education/teaching-and-learning/curriculum/media/documents/schoollibrarieshandbook2015.pdf

NSW Department of Education. (2019, October 2). Policy library. https://education.nsw.gov.au/policy-library/policies/pd-2005-0221

Wade, C. (2005). The school library: phoenix or dodo bird? Educational Horizons, 8(5), 12-14.

This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-NC

Besides a parody of a famous song by Michael Jackson starting to form in my mind, the topic of weeding a library collection has been a contemplation of mine as I step into the TL shoes at my school library for 2022.

First day back and I am checking with staff if there are specific resources or topics which they would like me to source for their programming. The school is looking at history as a key learning area for the first semester and the Colonial Australia and First Contact are part of the Years 3-6 curriculum. Upon the non-fiction shelves I came across a limited selection of texts which did not inspire me as a teacher… imagine what the students think of them! A number were published in the early 1990s and while the information is mostly factual for that time it does not reflect the increase in historical knowledge and the perspective of indigenous Australians in the information. I know that teachers will not just present the physical books as sources of information, however, with what I pulled of the shelves am I sending a message that history is just old and musty with faded images?

Reading literature about deselection it has become apparent that I need to view a collection with critical eyes as ‘out of date materials can be dangerous… out of date materials are often text feature poor… readers DO judge a book by its cover… books reflect the times in which they were written’ (LaGarde, 2013). As a TL, I need to ask, can it be accessed in another more attractive way? (McKenzie, 2013). I do want to keep the collection fresh – which is where the acronym of F.R.E.S.H comes into play. When in the selection or deselection process I need to remember to have this is in mind.

Some rights reserved by LibraryGirlCC

Back in my school library, to me it is obvious what the best course of action for the current collection is, to remove some of the books from the shelves, unfortunately my library does not have a policy around the deselection of resources. As Braxton (2021) reports, deselection is a contentious issue and without a policy in place it allows both my decisions as a teacher librarian to come into question, as there is no clear authority and standard placed in writing.

I wonder what one of the policies I will be organising for the library will be this year…

References

Braxton, B. (2021, 1 October). Sample collection policy. 500 hats the teacher librarian in the 21st century. https://500hats.edublogs.org/policies/sample-collection-policy/

LaGarde, J. (2013, October 1). Keeping your library collection smelling F.R.E.S.H! [blog post]. The adventures of Library Girl. https://www.librarygirl.net/post/keeping-your-library-collection-smelling-f-r-e-s-h

McKenzie, D. (2013, November 2). Weeding inspired creativity. Library grits. http://librarygrits.blogspot.com/2013/11/weeding-inspired-creativity.html

After watching the following YouTube clip in Module One of this subject I have been challenging my own perceptions and preferences.

The overarching theme of ‘Don’t Believe Everything You Think’ is one which I need reminding of.

If people can have perceptions that there is a preference or predisposition for a particular style of learning, will they get caught up in just believing, or challenge the status quo? Preferences don’t enhance your learning, though do they help you start the learning in the first place. In order to retain information we have to organise it in a way that is meaningful. Most of what we learn is related to connections or to prior knowledge/meaning (Tedx Talks, 2015, April 3). The content of what is being taught often showcases the best way to teach it. However, this does not limit information being only presented in one way.

With this understanding, it now means that I need to organise my connections and relate it to a school library collection. So I posed a question – with the traditional bibliocentric library model gone, how can a school library provide a collection that allows students and teachers to acheive success in their learning? Many factors are involved in this which I am sure to continue unpack for my career.

In NSW, the Department of Education has a policy regarding Library (NSW Department of Education, 2019) where it states that a teacher librarian has responsibilities like being involved in the provision of information related resources or managing and evaluating systems and procedures in the library (budgeting, selection and culling, ordering and acquisitions, cataloguing and classifying using SCIS, processing materials, circulation and stock control). NSW DoE also provides additional information about the concepts in a handbook for libraries where it unpacks concepts of teaching and learning, provision and management of resources, social and recreational development, and environment and atmosphere (NSW Department of Education, 2015, pp. 2-3). With this policy foremost in my thoughts, a library must provide a wide variety of resources to the school community. It must also be a collaborative process, with clear guidelines in place for responsibilities. Which brings up the important discussion, where do you find these guidelines within individual schools?

For many schools, a collection management policy would help address this, but my current school does not have one… it looks like this will be a project for me for the coming year!

References

NSW Department of Education. (2015). Handbook for school libraries. https://education.nsw.gov.au/content/dam/main-education/teaching-and-learning/curriculum/media/documents/schoollibrarieshandbook2015.pdf

NSW Department of Education. (2019, October 2). Policy library. https://education.nsw.gov.au/policy-library/policies/pd-2005-0221

TEDx Talks. (2015, April 3). Learning styles & the importance of critical self-reflection – Tesia Marshik – TEDxUWLaCrosse [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=855Now8h5Rs