1.1 Introducing the School Library Collection

Changing needs

Recognising that what Teacher Librarians do in response to change can significantly impact how their school engages with the school library and its collection

The hybrid collection

School library collections contain both physical and digital resources – fiction and non-fiction.

Challenges

Technology: Collections aim to provide access to various resources and create user experiences. It develops opportunities for them to acquire and develop skills that can be used beyond school.

Learning styles: Interestingly, we often discuss learning styles when, in fact, research suggests this is not a thing that exists. Ted Talk Dr. Tesia Marshik.

Teaching approaches: As a teacher librarian, I need to consider how teachers teach, including a discrete teacher collection, which we have separately in the staff room but is registered through the Resource Management system as part of the Library Management system.

Evolving curriculum: Keep an eye on the curriculum changes taking place.

Changing publishing industry: Publishing across multiple formats is now a general rule.

New Resources: Keep on top of changes occurring in education and publishing by:

• belonging to the school library OZTLNet
• establishing local solid networks (which we do through ISLN Singapore)
• sharing of resources
• attending conferences
• trading displays

 

1.2 Collection Development and Management

The role of the TL

Activity

It is insightful to read the reports published by Softlink Education annually. When looking at the UK survey, the focus was on identifying elements of the library which contribute to the impact on learning:

• A qualified, full-time librarian who has managerial status.
• Support staff who undertake routine tasks, enabling the librarian to initiate collection development and instructional, collaborative and promotional activities.
• Physical and virtual access to resources at all times.
• An adequate physical and virtual collection that is current and diverse and supports the curriculum and students’ needs.
• Collaboration with racing colleagues, SLT, librarian colleagues and outside agencies, e.g. library services.
• Found that the student engagement levels matched the engagement levels from SLT.

When looking at the Australian results:

• Research shows access to well-equipped libraries positively impacts students’ mental health and emotional development.
• 52% commented on libraries not being adequately staffed.
• Research also links to we–being.
• Relevant data is used to identify changes and new challenges. Again, the reduction in FTE could have impacted student academics linked to NAPLAN results.
• Highlights the time spent on curating information and resources for curriculum support and incorporating a teaching role with timetabled lessons.
• Importance of promotion of the library and resources.

The report offers suggestions and highlights key tasks – practical for TLs to compare and as a support tool for line managers

I loved that results highlighted student engagement being matched closely to SLT – I have seen this in practice!

Activity

Online platforms accessible to DCIS:

• Follett and Destiny Discover
• DCIS Libraries website
• The Day, The Week, The Economist, Britannica School, Epic!

Potential issues:

• Epic! on restricted hours
• The cost increase of subscriptions vs. budget (school-size based)
• Essentially run and managed by the Teacher Librarian – no backup if I leave.
• Lots of subscriptions and platforms for students to try and access

Collection Development

Kimmell (2014) addressed the history of this language and how this impacted the school library’s mission. When referring directly to school libraries, the term ‘collection development’ referred to:

• identification of resources
• selection of resources
• acquisition of resources
• evaluation of resources
• deselection of resources

Queensland DoE (2012) commented on schools having:

• an inclusive approach
• collaboration between the Teacher Librarian, staff and, where appropriate, students and parents.

The article: Information Power: Building Partnerships for Learning (ALA, 1998) discussed collection development, with both sources emphasising teaching and learning and the needs of the user playing a vital role in the collection development in a school context.

Collection Development Policy

This identified the school community’s needs and how the collection process can create and manage a collection that continues to meet the users’ needs. It should be considered as continuously evolving. It does require collaboration, with all members of the community having some role to play in the resourcing of the school library collections, but ultimately, it is the responsibility of the teacher-librarian.

Activity

1. When I moved into the role, there were multiple librarians (none qualified) over many years, and none stayed in the position longer than a year. The collection had grown but was never weeded or evaluated. I began with weeding – removing outdated books with irrelevant topics, damaged and not borrowed in over a year.
2. This was necessary to stocktake, evaluate, and analyse our users’ needs. Even now, we tend to go back and forth between evaluation, weeding and analysis – it isn’t a simple cycle!

Ultimately, through collaboration, TLs do influence the whole school community and need adequate time to ensure the collections are representative of the users. The management of the collections should constantly evolve and link back to the Collection Development Process diagram to ensure it meets the users’ needs and is relevant and up-to-date.

Collection Development and Management in Schools

School collections must reflect the teaching and learning taking place and other contenders, such as cohort diversity and needs. Additional policies and documents may be needed to facilitate day-to-day management, with school libraries needing both of these to support and advocate the library as the hub.

1.3 Links to other sectors

Consider developing relationships further with public libraries, museums, and other institutes that can provide resources and opportunities. GLAM: Galleries, Libraries, Archives and Museums. TLs should be creating links with other collections to extend their own

Further Reading 

• Carr, P.L. (2014) Reimagining the library as a Technology
• Corrall, S. (2018) The concept of collection development in the digital world.
• Students need school libraries (2020)