January 2023 – Siana’s Teacher Librarian Musings

Reflective Practice

The CDP is an essential document that guides TLs to curate a collection that will best serve the curriculum and recreational needs of the school. Every decision about the collection should stem from the principles and policies outlined in the CDP, and because of this, the document must be collaboratively created with teachers (across departments) and ratified by the Senior Leadership Team (SLT). Following are some of the key issues.

Patron Driven Acquisition (PDA)

It is vital that students are given the opportunity to contribute to selecting resources for the collection. I plan to take my keen readers on an excursion to a children’s bookshop to select books (Einfeld, 2022, November 2022). The TL must assess the selections against the criteria outlined in the CDP before purchase to ensure the titles contribute to the goals of the library. Jorm (2022) describes how implementing PDA at Melba Copland Secondary School has amplified the reading culture at the school. Building a culture of reading is core business for a school library, so this method of acquisition must be written into our CDP.

Censorship

The library profession is underpinned by the value of intellectual freedom and access to information (ALIA, 2018). These principles must be written into the CDP to future proof the collection from being skewed by personal biases and censorship. The Hoffman and Wood (2007) reading reminded me that some students cannot get to a public library, nor have internet access. Therefore, we must ensure that all our students feel represented in our collection (Einfeld, December 4, 2022) and promote resources with controversial ideas (Dawkins, 2018). Simultaneously, TLs must balance our duty-of-care with the right to read (Einfeld, January 14, 2023).

Annual Report, Budgets and Collection Mapping

I have learned that creating an annual school library report is an essential task. This report is also an advocacy document, showcasing how the library supports and develops the reading culture, academic honesty and information literacy goals of the school (Einfeld, January 1, 2023). Further, the annual report makes the management of the library budget transparent. In the report, TLs must connect the dots and show how the acquisitions have augmented student outcomes (McKenzie, 2009). This might make the library budget less susceptible to budget cuts (Einfeld, January 5, 2023).

Mapping the collection according to curriculum areas and year levels is an excellent way to review and document areas for focus (Einfeld, January 8, 2023). This transparent analysis promotes accountability and demonstrates to stakeholders that the TL has a sound understanding of the school’s resource needs (Einfeld, January 7, 2023). A collection evaluation is essential to ensure the collection is evolving to meet the changing needs of our school (Grigg, 2012). The evaluation must be carried out using a combination of research methods: qualitative and quantitative data must be garnered to identify strengths and weaknesses (Hart, 2003).

Weeding the Collection

As TLs, we must get the best and most appealing resources into the hands of our students and teachers to match their research and recreational needs. Shelves that have been given attention and care are inviting, therefore the task of weeding must be regularly prioritised (Larson, 2012, pp15-22). Previously I was a reluctant weeder, however now I know that we do damage to our students’ learning journeys if we undermine their research by hoarding irrelevant and outdated resources (Einfeld, January 10, 2023). Baumbach and Miller (2006) and Vnuk (2015) both explain how to weed according to subject area, and I will use these guides when weeding nonfiction. E-resources also must be evaluated for deselection: holding onto resources with misleading information in any format damages our library’s reputation and is potentially harmful to the democratic process (Einfeld, January 10, 2023).

These issues demonstrate why a CDP is an essential document, as decisions can be made and justified now and, in the future, according to the values and policies outlined within. With the CDP in hand, the TL knows that the collection should be safe from bias, irrelevance, censorship and budget cuts.

References:

Australian Library and Information Association. (2018), ALIA core values policy statement, https://read.alia.org.au/alia-core-values-policy-statement

Baumbach, D.J., & Miller, L.L. (2006). Weeding criteria by topic and Dewey number. In Less is more: A practical guide to weeding school library collections, (pp. 24-167).

Dawkins, A.M. (2018). The decision by school librarians to self-censor: The impact of perceived administrative discomfort. Teacher Librarian, 45(3), 8-12.

Grigg, K. (2012). Assessment and evaluation of e-book collections. In R. Kaplan (Ed.), Building and managing e-book collections (pp. 127-137). American Library Association.

Hoffman, F.W., & Wood, R.J. (2007). Intellectual freedom. In Library collection development policies: school libraries and learning resource centres, (pp.63-80). Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press.

Jorm, M. (2022) Photo Story: Student-led library collection development. Teacher Magazine, https://www.teachermagazine.com/au_en/articles/photo-story-student-led-library-collection-development

Larson, J. (2012). CREWing children’s materials. In CREW: a weeding manual for modern libraries, (pp. 33-36), Austin, TX: Texas State Library and Archives Commission.

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

McKenzie, D. (2009). Importance of creating an annual report. [blog]. Library Grits. http://librarygrits.blogspot.com.au/2009/06/importance-of-creating-annual-report.html.

Vnuk, R. (2015). The weeding handbook: A shelf-by-shelf guide. Chicago: ALA Editions.

Approach to Collection development Procedures and Policies

School library collections are an ever-growing organism; the collection must be consistently and continuously evaluated to cater to the teaching and learning needs of the school. New and relevant materials must be selected, while out-of-date and irrelevant materials must be deselected on an ongoing basis. Policies and procedures for developing the collection must be created and shared with stakeholders to ensure the collection is managed in a way that is well-thought-out and consistent between library staff.

With digital resources making up a substantial part of the library’s collection, policies and procedures must cater to these resources. The collection must also cater not only for students but also for teachers – providing resources on topics such as best practice and education research.

The collection management policy should be ratified by the senior leadership team, but in my context, it would be the TL or Head of Library (HoL) who creates the original document. To create the document the HoL must consult the curriculum and the particular needs of the school – in my current context a faith-based school that has a special collection devoted to Judaica. The Collection Development Policy (CDP) must be created with certain elements embedded within, including the mission of the school library, statements about library values including freedom of information and the collection goals.

The policy should outline that collection development involves collaboration with teachers so that all feel that they have agency and voice in the collection, and will therefore be more likely to interact and engage with the collection. In regards to the principles of intellectual freedom and freedom of information, the policy should outline the method for ensuring these library (and democratic) values are guaranteed within the collection management process.

The procedures should be included as an appendix so that all future staff, no matter their experience, will have a method to follow when selecting and deselecting materials. Providing a standards for processing and organising resources is a must, as I have definitely seen huge variation in the standards of workpersonship!

The procedures must include guidance on how to create balanced collection to ensure that into the future, whoever the HoL is, the collection will include culturally and linguistically diverse resources. There must also be clear guidelines for contested materials.

I really like the idea of using a rubric to evaluate the collection according to standardised measures. The rubric provided would need some work as it is already eight years old, however once engaging with a team of teachers and leaders to evaluate the collection according to the rubric, the results would provide the perfect point from which to identify areas that need strengthening. This can be built into the collection development plan.

The CDP must be revised every two years to ensure that it is a tool that best serves the school community. Also by recognising areas that are strong and recognising progress, the connections between staff and the library would be strengthened.

Oberg, D., & Schultz-Jones, B. (eds.). (2015). 4.3.1 Collection management policies and procedures. In IFLA School Library Guidelines, (2nd ed.), (pp. 33-34). IFLA.

Mitchell, P. (2018). How does your collection measure up?: Using the school collection rubric. Journal for the School Information Professional, Autumn 2018, Vol.22(2), pp.18-19,2.

Newsum, J. M. (2016). School collection development and resource management in digitally rich environments: An Initial Literature Review. School Libraries Worldwide, 22(1), 97–109.

Ethics and Collection Development

Teacher Librarians (TLs) must have Library Ethics at the forefront of their minds when managing and developing collections. With a clearly developed collection development policy, TLs are equipped with their tools for accountability and transparency when complaints and disgruntles arise. TLs should record decisions made so that their practice method is open for stakeholders to review, and can see how the TL applies the collection development policy to ensure a collection has been carefully curated to serve the teaching and learning needs of the school community.

The saying “the squeaky wheel gets the grease” should not apply to collection development when multiple faculties are involved. Often there are faculty members who send in many requests for purchases, while teachers from other faculties for whatever reason are reticent to do so. TLs must collaborate with all of the teaching faculty when developing the honing the collection for our patrons. This reading was a good reminder that faculty budgets cannot be mixed; this could lead to serious yet completely avoidable issues.

When reading that we must “protect each library user’s right to privacy and confidentiality …” I thought of many beautiful students who have come to the circulation desk, ensuring that none of their peers were present, to borrow a book that they needed for their own personal health or development such as a book about consent, puberty, LGBTQI+ identities etc. Students have the right to maintain confidentiality surrounding their borrowing choices. When a student made a suggestion for a book and we purchased it, a TL placed a special sticker inside the book inscribed with “This book was purchased with the recommendation of [name of student]”. The student was uncomfortable about this and we have since made these stickers anonymous – which is much more appropriate.

Recognising and respecting intellectual property (IP) rights is part of a TL’s raison d’être. This reading was an important reminder that although we are passionate about IP rights, our students and colleagues may not be aware of its intricacies and we must remind students of their academic honesty obligations.

Not advancing private interests at the expense of library users is a guideline I would personally need to be conscious of. I do get excited by some topics, while bored to tears by others, but I must remember all the students and teachers in the school when developing collections.

Distinguishing between personal convictions and professional duties is very important and perhaps one of the hardest guidelines to uphold. Some resources may seem to be promoting dangerous and extremist perspectives but there are several questions we can ask when curating a balanced collection. We must analyse whether the resource is well-researched by an authoritative source, and from by a reputable publisher? These kinds of questions makes sure acquisitions decisions are not based on emotions but rather on our professional duties to provide free access to information.

Reference:

Morrisey, L. J. (2008). Ethical issues in collection development. Journal of Library Administration, 47(3-4), 163-171.

Weeding the Collection

I have to admit that before undertaking these readings, I was a reluctant weeder; whereas now I feel armed with the knowledge and criteria to be an effective weeder. The important thing to remember when weeding is that school libraries are not archival centres, our purpose is to get the best most appealing resources into the hands of our students and teachers to match their research and recreational needs. If our shelves are stuffed with dusty, raggedy old books, our students might just avoid the library altogether. Shelves that have been given some tender loving care are much more inviting, so weeding must be regularly prioritised in the TLs schedule.

If students cannot find resources easily because they are rummaging through crowded shelves stuffed with old and unappealing resources, they could likely be turned off the whole process. We TLs need to stay ahead of the trends and current attitudes to make sure our collection does not contain information that is out-of-date or attitudes that are hurtful, offensive and harmful. We would do great damage to our student’s learning journey if we undermine the value of their research by holding onto irrelevant and outdated resources.

It was validating to read about the excuses many librarians make as to why not to weed as I now know that I am not alone. The Baumbach and Miller (2006) guide to weeding school library collections, outlined why some of my concerns “don’t hold water” (5). Such as my concern around someone requesting an item as soon as I have weeded and disposed it. This, of course, is highly unlikely as if I have weeded it, it is because it has not been borrowed for a number of years and likely contains misleading information. Or it is in poor condition, in which case we will be purchasing a new and improved copy.

Baumbach and Miller (2006) also outlined how to weed according to subject area, as the publication date that we use to guide our weeding practice will vary according to the subject area. Some subjects (such as computers, science and technology) require much more frequent weeding than other areas (art, history and philosophy). So when I am weeding the non-fiction collection, I would actually print off these pages and use them as a guide. I enjoyed the acronyms M.U.S.T.Y., M.U.S.T.I.E. and F.R.E.S.H. which I may stick up somewhere in our office as a reminder of this vital task of weeding in collection management.

I realised just how fresh we need to keep our fiction collection, so that our students are actually drawn to pick up books. Our Fantasy collection, for example, is bursting at the shelves. What student is going to want to even peruse these shelves? Items need to be taken off. Popular interest waxes and wanes, so adding and culling regularly is vital to keep the collection appealing, thereby fulfilling one of our most important missions: building the reading culture of the school.

In the past, I have been nervous that the principal will “catch” me weeding, and will be unhappy about this, however now I feel ready to provide a rationale for why weeding is a necessary component of collection management. In my current context, we do not have a collection development policy but once I have created one, I could share this with the principal – which would include the criteria for weeding. This would help the principal understand that weeding ensures that the collection continuously evolves to meet the teaching and learning needs of our school. The weeding policy would outline the purpose of weeding and the professional tools implemented when evaluating the collection.

It was also validating to read that it is common that librarians and TLs do make mistakes in purchasing. I am always wracked with guilt when I make a dud purchase! After these readings, I now feel I have “permission” from removing these mistakes from the collection. It is better to have a smaller selection of high quality books than a tonne of books that hold little interest for our students.

In terms of disposal, there are many ideas with what to do with discarded books. Of course, anything with mould must be chucked straight in the bin. I have donated old books to my school. They were great titles but old so not for the school library, but great for classroom libraries – which tend to be consumables in any case! I run a book club at school that meets weekly. Obviously we can’t read a book each week, more like each month. So in between discussing books, we do literary activities like play Scrabble and create bookmarks. With the weeded nonfiction books, we cut them up and create collages on our bookmarks. This is a really great way to repurpose weeded books.

There are many approaches to weeding, and I would use a combination of them to suit our needs. I would begin with areas of the collection that get heavier use, looking ahead to what is being taught across the curriculum particularly in Humanities, Jewish Studies and Science (the classes that tend to book research sessions in the library the most). Then I would use the shelf-by-shelf criteria outlined in the Baumbach and Miller (2006) guide or the Vnuk, R. (2015). The weeding handbook : A shelf-by-shelf guide. Then I would proceed to areas of current interest before just going through shelf by shelf.

With regards to fiction, I would go through genre by genre until I have weeded the entire collection and then start again a year later. If weeding is scheduled into my timetable, much like shelving, then I could make solid progress throughout the year. I would consult teachers in the process, especially when I am unsure about a resource, that way the teachers involved would feel more connected with the collection and be more likely to interact with it.

When it comes to weeding eResources, some different criteria might need to be applied. Obviously finding shabby, worn and torn books will not be an issue. However ensuring that the content in the collection is current and relevant. Ebooks still take up space, even though it is not physically on a library shelf, it is there sitting on a server and on our catalogue. Having out-of-date books with misleading information damages our library’s reputation.

Currently, we subscribe to the Wheelers’ consortium so we have very little power to weed, except for the titles that we purchase in addition to the consortium. However where we do have the power to weed, we must be evaluating each item according to the criteria to ensure that the digital collection does not contain items that are irrelevant or factually inaccurate.

Remembering what not to weed is also really important. I can imagine myself getting a little ruthless in my mission to create a vibrant collection, but just as I have made mistakes in acquisitions (sigh), it is important to remember not to weed resources containing local history and authors, well known artists, annuals and yearbooks, and books that are out-of-print but still useful.

References:

Baumbach, D.J., & Miller, L.L. (2006). Weeding criteria by topic and Dewey number. In Less is more: A practical guide to weeding school library collections, (pp. 24-167).

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

Larson, J. (2012). CREWing children’s materials. In CREW: a weeding manual for modern libraries, (pp. 33-36), Austin, TX: Texas State Library and Archives Commission.

Larson, J. (2012) Addendum on ebooks

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

Vnuk, R. (2015). The weeding handbook : A shelf-by-shelf guide

Methods for Collection Evaluation

A collection evaluation within a school library is essential for accountability, transparency and to ensure that the library is serving the teaching and learning needs of the school. It must be carried out thoroughly, using various means, to ensure that the data obtained is useful to evaluate goals set and devise new goals.

Collection evaluation would ideally involve a combination of methods. Each method has its pitfalls, which is why a combination is necessary, so a balanced and accurate picture of the collection is ascertained. Usage data, for example is probably the method that most librarians and Teacher Librarians (TLs) are most familiar with. These statistics are very useful for determining the books and types of books that are circulated. This quantitative data, however, must be combined with qualitative data as there is definitely essential information missing from user statistics, such as whether the title the user has accessed was relevant or useful for their research or recreational purposes.

I cannot see how the Overlap Analysis would be useful in my context. Perhaps titles are duplicated but I am unaware of this issue. Perhaps in a larger or public library this would be a useful to ensure every dollar is spent wisely. In my context, surveys would be useful to gain a deeper understanding of where there are gaps in the collection. Definitely we would need to incentivise the engagement with the surveys to avoid skewing the data. Amongst the students, we have many library devotees, and unfortunately we also have book-avoiders as well (sigh), however these students’ input into the library’s collection is invaluable – how can we engage these students with the collection?

Benchmarking is an interesting method that I had never thought to do previously. I am always interested in going into other school’s libraries and checking out what they do and the state of their collection. It would be fantastic to team up with schools of similar size and budget to compare catalogues, websites and specialised collections.

I had also not previously thought to conduct focus groups before this reading, but think this is also a really worthwhile idea. The data garnered from Focus Groups would complement user data as it would give the TL the chance to dig deep into how the collection could evolve to better serve the teaching and learning needs of the school community. Participants would have the chance to offer their ideas and give feedback on the collection – both strengths and weaknesses. Focus groups do provide helpful qualitative data but must be part many methodologies of the collection assessment project as there are several pitfalls to this method on its own.

I had never previously heard about the balanced scorecard. I am not sure how our Head of Libraries would feel about determining performance measures on the collection – are these measures relevant and realistic, or simply arbitrary?

The current priority area for collection evaluation in my school is to ensure that we have enough print and e:resources to support the research requirements for assessment tasks. I have run a number of library classes from topics such as “Modern Israel” to “Renaissance” where the resources are looking tired and tatty. In the case for Modern Israel, the resources need a much-needed update. Certainly a variety of research methods must be employed to successfully evaluate the collection, set powerful future goals and create greater impact. The excellent thing about many of these assessment methods is that they would promote the existing collection, and the whole purpose of the evaluation is to augment usage of the collection whilst attaining the most relevant titles.

Reference:

Grigg, K. (2012). Assessment and evaluation of e-book collections. In R. Kaplan (Ed.), Building and managing e-book collections (pp. 127-137). American Library Association.

Approach to collection mapping in the school library

The readings about collection mapping, and how these can be used to most effectively develop out library collection gave much food for thought. There were many different ideas in the Johnson (2018) reading, including using collection mapping, user observation and user surveys (amongst many others).

I don’t know how often an assessment of the collection is currently conducted in my current context (I have only been in my current context for eight months), it seems to be an intuitive process that is ongoing throughout the year, rather than a focused project. I think there is a great benefit on focusing on the assessment to ensure that the collection is truly meeting the needs of the students and supporting the teaching and learning programs, including curriculum developments. Collaborating with teachers to assess the collection would be helpful in developing stronger relationships between the library and teaching staff.

My plan for when we return to school is to ask the Humanities, Science and Jewish Studies teachers for their assessment tasks for the year and then we can go through the resources we have to support the students to research these topics. I know some of the collections we have to support the tasks I have been personally embarrassed about as so many resources are in poor condition and out-of-date. So we should think about upgrading these collections, with input from classroom teachers, so that we have augmented library use. The library is currently under-utilised, but now I understand that perhaps teachers have been deterred from booking in library sessions due to the state of some of our resources!

Once all the assessment tasks have been collected, the TL team could prioritise specific sections to ensure those tasks will receive the attention they deserve. Teachers could be consulted as to the kinds of resources they would ideally be looking for, and when looking through the current resources – which ones could be weeded. Together with teachers, gaps in the collection could be identified before the TL can research the resources that could fill these gaps.

In terms of assessing fiction, we would need to survey the students to gauge what genres, authors and formats they are most interested in reading to ensure that we have new and exciting titles in those areas. We already tend to weed anything that was published 10 years ago, unless it is a resource on high circulation (such as Hunger Game and Harry Potter). Sometimes we order in a title, read it and realise we could not actually recommend it to anyone, and books like these can do damage to a culture of reading because they can turn students off reading. Especially if they have a fabulous cover!

TLs must be also researchers, to ensure the collections we manage are evolving to meet the changing needs of our school communities. We must meaningfully engage with our communities to ensure we can meet these needs by surveying our communities, forming focus groups, analysing circulation data. We must employ a range of analysis techniques to ensure that we gain an in-depth understanding of the school’s library collection and how it is used. The results of these findings can be evaluated through the lens of the library’s mission statement and collection goals.

Developing Collections and Budgeting

In my previous context as Library Manager and TL, the budget I was given was woefully insufficient. The school had a tight budget, but also, I felt, misplaced priorities. I acquired a wonderful, experienced, generous and knowledgeable mentor through School Library Association Victoria (SLAV) and she suggested I put forward a three year plan, including what funds are needed to develop the collection. Through submitting this three-year plan to the principal, the library budget did double – which was still insufficient – but obviously an excellent start towards creating an effective collection that could support the teaching and learning needs of the school community.

The original budget really was unworkable, but before these readings, I had just assumed that the Senior Leadership Team (SLT) determines the budget according to funds available and the departments and TLs just had to work with what was given to them. Now I understand that it is a much better idea to submit a budget proposal based on a thorough analysis of the collection along with a plan as to how to develop the collection to best serve the needs of the school community. The SLT must know that the TL is evaluating the collection to support the school’s curriculum goals and this transparent analysis keeps the TL accountable to continuously improve the collection for the attainment of these goals. Principals are busy and are not always across the resource needs of the school and the budget that is required to provide a powerful collection that supports teaching and learning. That is why it is important that a TL creates a budget submission that is based on a sound analysis of the collection and a collection development plan.

Having a collection development plan showcases to key stakeholders, especially the SLT that the library is guided by the values of intellectual freedom, equity and access as well as the school’s mission statements. It is important that SLT see that a thorough and authentic evaluation of the budget allocation has been conducted from the previous year against the collection development goals; the stakeholders can then see how the areas of need have been strengthened with other areas identified to be further developed. In this way the TL will build more clout and the library will be further recognised as being professionally managed and directed. When the TL puts forward the next budget submission, the SLT may well be more inclined to channel required funds towards the library.

I have never been at a school where there is school library committee but I do like the idea. I imagine it would help to build the profile of the library and encourage richer collaboration between the library team and classroom teachers. I think TLs must write the budget proposal according to a collection development plan, but that this could be reviewed and then submitted by the library committee, if there is one available. In my current context, teachers are flat-out so I am unsure whether we would be able to garner a school library committee … especially as our library team is well-staffed. However, inviting staff members to be involved in the library and its collection in this way would encourage more staff to feel that they have a voice in the collection and therefore feel a stronger connection with the library at large. The collection development plan more definitely is a vital public relations tool.

The TL should know and understand the collection deeply and getting to know the collection is not just about ordering and checking circulation statistics; it can mean doing lots of shelving! The idea of mapping the collection according to curriculum areas and year levels is an excellent way to review and document the real needs of the collection requirements. Going through this process demonstrates to stakeholders that the TL has a sound understanding of the resource needs of the school community and would therefore have more faith in the TL’s plan for developing the collection.

From collaborating with students and staff and constantly evaluating which areas of the collection need attention and boosting, with the guiding principles and school’s goals in front of mind, the TL can develop a solid collection development plan that can garner the support of SLT and stakeholders.

References:

Debowski, S. (2001). Collection program funding management. In K. Dillon, J. Henri & J.McGregor (Eds.). Providing more with less: collection management for school libraries (2nd ed.) (pp. 299-326). Wagga Wagga, NSW : Centre for Information Studies, Charles Sturt University. (e-reserve)

Kimmel, S. C. (2014). Developing collections to empower learners. http://ebookcentral.proquest.com.ezproxy.csu.edu.au/lib/csuau/detail.action?docID=1687658

On the importance of annual budget reporting for school libraries and TLs

After reading several articles about creating an annual school library report, I am completely sold that this is an essential task at the end of the year. Starting off in 2023, I will be keeping a folder specifically for the annual report where I will pop in anything and everything I think will be important to highlight in the report. It probably will not all make it into the final document, however at least I will have plenty of items to choose from at the end of the year.

Our library is well-funded as it is a priority at the school, however I do not for a moment take this for granted as funds are consistently shifting. Financial situations are fluid, so the library team must be informing the leadership team and even the wider community of the value that we bring.

We are also under-utilised, so showcasing the work that we do in classrooms to support and develop the reading culture, academic honesty and information literacy goals of the school can inspire other teachers to take up our offerings and services. By focusing on the contributions the library has made to teaching and learning, setting SMART goals for the following year, the library can build a positive picture in the minds of school community. In this way, the annual report is also an advocacy document. So often staff and leadership do not understand what the library team does (aside from circulation and shelving!), so creating and presenting the annual report is the perfect opportunity to showcase how the collection has been managed, the details of how the library has worked to develop readers and a reading culture, and pinpointed exactly how the library has supported inquiry learning and digital literacy.

It is vital that the senior leadership team know exactly how the library budget is being spent, and the annual budget report makes the management of the library budget allocation transparent. It is here that we can connect the dots and show how the acquisitions have augmented student outcomes. The next time there is a budget cut, the library might not be first on the chopping block as leadership has been made aware of the direct positive correlation between the library’s budget and student outcomes.

Creating an annual report also ensures that we are accountable to ourselves. In creating an annual report, we can identify not only where we have succeeded, but also where we have fallen short and where we can put more focus and emphasis. This can help us identify goals for the following year and helps create a path to the successful attainment of these goals. Over the years, the documents can be put together to tell a longer-term story of the library’s impact.

I read some excellent (and some less excellent) examples up of annual reports provided through the module and which I can use to guide me when I create my annual report at the end of this year. The important thing is to be aware of this document all throughout the year so that come November, I will be armed and ready to create my own.

Reference:

McKenzie, D. (2009). Importance of creating an annual report. [blog]. Library Grits. http://librarygrits.blogspot.com.au/2009/06/importance-of-creating-annual-report.html.

Budgets: The Role of TL as Collaborator, Steward and Thinker

The Lamb and Johnson (2012) article made me think about Library budgets through a different lens.

Collaborator: To manage the budget it is important to collaborate with students and staff, as the library must serve the teaching and learning needs of the school community. In order to build and maintain a culture of reading, it is important that students have a voice in their library’s collection, and must create opportunities to collaborate with students to build the collection. We must also actively create opportunities to speak with fellow teachers about their curriculum resource needs to ensure that students have access to the best quality resources with which to research and complete their assessments. We have teachers and heads of department often requesting books and digital subscriptions so that must be factored into the budget as well. We also have staff members from all departments (including accounts) requesting fiction books for our ‘adult’ collection. This is an important collection as it encourages a culture of reading.

Steward: In my previous context I managed the Library budget, which was new to me. Thankfully I had the incredible support of the previous Library Manager who showed me how she accounted for every cent. The budget was incredibly tight so we needed to be extremely organised and ensure that all monies were spent by the term 4. We also had to raise more money through Book Fairs and Scholastic Book Club. Every purchase had to be thoroughly researched beforehand, as we could not to afford to purchase any ‘duds’. As a team, we needed to show that we were competent budget managers by ensuring that we did not go over budget, spent our budget down to the last dollar, and were able to provide excellent and useful resources for year levels P-12. This was a major challenge!

Thinker: This is an interesting one! In my previous context, I was initially given a budget that was woefully insufficient. I wrote a Three Year Plan for a budget that I would expect for the size of the school and how the budget would be spent, including on digital resources. This was successful as the budget was increased significantly. In my current context, the library is a priority so the budget is sufficient. It can be crucial to show the Senior Leadership Team the research demonstrating the correlation between library budgets and learning outcomes, NAPLAN results etc.

Sometimes we need to think outside the box to channel more monies. In my previous context, just before budgets closed I contacted heads of departments and asked if they had money left over that they could channel towards the Library. We could easily justify the expenditure – for example the English budget had leftover money so we purchased fiction books for the Wide Reading Program. The Academic Support team had money left over in their budget so we purchased Dyslexic font texts. In this way we were collaborators, stewards and thinkers all rolled into one!

Reference:

Lamb, A. & Johnson, H.L. (2012). Program administration: Budget management. The School Library Media Specialist. http://eduscapes.com/sms/administration/budget.html.

What are the possible implications of internet filtering?

The Batch (2014) report Fencing out knowledge: Impacts of the Children’s Internet Protection Act 10 years later, is a very interesting read and brings up relevant and critical issues for our Australian context about internet filtering. The report begins by describing the origins of the Children’s Internet Protection Act (CIPA) that was passed in 2000 in the USA as a means to block internet users from accessing child pornography and for minors accessing images that are deemed “harmful to minors” by installing internet filters in public libraries and schools. Schools and public libraries that did not abide by these rules would lose their public funding. While this sounds reasonable in theory, actually the ramifications of the internet filtering have caused much damage and widened the opportunity gap between those who have access to mobile data/broadband internet at home and those who rely on schools and public libraries for internet access.

I am unaware of similar laws or acts in Australia, and am keen to find out as soon as time allows. However I do have a reference point: in my previous context, we had quite severe internet filtering. At the time I thought it was a little strange that I had to ask for permission to unblock sites including Kids Lit Quiz and other educationally relevant websites. This is a perfect example of over-filtering – if these sites are blocked then many sites students would need to find out more about themselves (e.g. LGBTQI support networks, mental health, physical health) would also most likely be blocked. I had no qualms in requesting the sites I needed be unblocked and I am embarrassed to admit that I did not consider that there would be many students who would not feel comfortable asking for sites about the aforementioned topics to be unblocked. I did not think consider that this type of extreme filtering would widen the class divide between the “haves” and the “have nots”.

What a complex world we live in with the rise of the internet. While I do sincerely wish to protect children from viewing inappropriate images and shudder to think how early our children are exposed to such images, libraries must provide free and open access to information and with algorithm-generated filters, library users can lose access to information including safe sex, health, and genocide. It is widely recognised that if we do not learn about the events that have led to genocide, we are doomed to repeat these harrowing mistakes. The overreach of filtering negatively affects access to learning opportunities and of course this disproportionally impacts those already living with economic disadvantage.

Another vitally important skill students and library-users (who do not have mobile data/home broadband) will miss out on with the over-implementation of filtering is the acquisition of information literacy skills. Teacher Librarians play a vitally important role in ensuring students acquire information literacy skills – a set of skills that underpins not only the entire educational frame, but is also widely recognised as fundamental to participate fully in our globally competitive democratic 21st-century society.

Students with the advantage of unfiltered access at home have the opportunity to practice their information literacy skills while students who only have filtered access at school become further disadvantaged and do not have a chance to truly build this vital set of skills. Information literacy is complex and not only involves literacy, but also critical thinking and ethical understanding. By limiting exposure to complex and challenging websites, we hinder their opportunities to develop the skills they need to function in our rapidly changing world. Through missing these critical opportunities, students can finish school and be unprepared when faced with unfiltered internet. How can we then expect them to be responsible users, consumers and producers of online content?

I am not sure if my previous context was aware of the negative impacts of over-filtering. If I was still there, I would definitely create awareness as to the harmful flow-on effects of over-filtering. I am unaware of the filtering status of my current school but have not come upon any sites that have been blocked.

The water safety analogy described in the report was very appropriate in the case of internet safety: we can give our children floaties, pool gates and lifeguards, but actually the best way to protect them is to teach them how to swim. Savvy students can work out how to bypass the filters, and filters may create even more curiosity around topics that are harmful and inappropriate for them. We need to have the opportunity to teach students digital safety and creating a wholesome digital footprint in an environment where they can practice their skills to reinforce their learning.

Public libraries in Australia are a place where digital skills are taught to migrants and those living with disadvantage, so over filtering poses major challenges to intellectual freedom. Filtering can constitute censorship as those creating the filters are not aware of the values that librarians are committed to uphold to protect democracy. Filter based decisions may be created by algorithms but those algorithms are created by humans who may not be aware or committed to the professional standards librarians must uphold during the selection process.

If I am in a situation again where I sense that over-filtering is a concern, I definitely feel much more well-equipped and knowledgable about how to approach this with leadership. The negative impacts are far too great to ignore.

Reference:

Batch, K. R. (2014). Fencing out knowledge: Impacts of the Children’s Internet Protection Act 10 years later. Office for Information Technology Policy, American Library Association.