How has the subject has extended your knowledge and understanding of the role and nature of school library collections?
Engaging with the module content, resources and assessment tasks associated with this unit has led to some significant developments in my knowledge and understanding of the dynamic nature of school library collections and their role in meeting user needs. Early blog posts published during the beginning of the semester reveal preliminary understandings of the role of library collections in resourcing the curriculum – that the collection should contain relevant, current and accurate resources that support student and teacher needs and access to the curriculum, and that they should know how to access collections so that these needs can be met (Coddington, 2022a).
A later blog post (Coddington, 2022g) and my work in assessment one reveal that this knowledge has developed to include the awareness about the nature of collections – that whilst they indeed should cater to and reflect the needs of the users and the curriculum, this does not happen automatically. It shows that I learned that collections are evolving and dynamic, requiring constant evaluation by the TL to identify strengths and areas for improvements based on collected data and knowledge of the diversity of student needs to ensure they continue to be met by a balanced collection (ASLA & ALISA, 2001; Lamb & Johnson, 2007; Patte, 2013).
What is the importance of a collection development policy as a strategic document?
During this unit I learned that collection development policies (CDP) are highly important as they not only guide collection development, but also inform individuals new to the library about best practice in collection development to ensure the collection remains balanced and of a high quality (ASLA & ALIA, 2001; Braxton, n.d.; Hibner & Kelly, 2013). Prior to engaging in this unit, a CDP would have been highly useful, as when responding to how I would go about developing a collection to resource a curriculum topic in an early blog post, it became clear that I had only a foundational understanding of the CDPs and the strategies available to identify resources, citing only text lists and online catalogues as tools to assist identification of resources (Coddington, 2022b). In this post I failed to mention the diverse range of selection aids available to identify resources, which I identified and evaluated in later discussion forum posts (Coddington, 2022c; Coddington, 2022d; Coddington, 2022e) and assessment one. This demonstrates my increased knowledge of the evaluation processes necessary to make effective choices. Overall, I learned that CDPs are invaluable strategic documents, as they ensure consistent choices are made to achieve the library’s goals in meeting user needs (Hibner & Kelly, 2013).
How might a collection development policy assist in future proofing the collection?
Throughout this unit I learned that CDPs have the potential to achieve the library’s goals in meeting user needs as the processes outlined within them will remain consistent (ASLA & ALIA, 2001; Hibner & Kelly, 2013; Punshon, 2006), and will allow the TL to engage in evaluations of the collection, which leads to the development of short- and long-term goals (ASLA & ALIA, 2001; Lamb & Johnson, 2007). These goals work to future proof the collection as they ensure all decisions work to meet these goals to enhance the quality of the collection, regardless of who is fulfilling the role of TL. This need for consistent and quality collection evaluation is a fundamental component of collection management that I learned throughout this unit. In a blog post I identified that at present, I evaluate collections using visual cues (i.e. the condition of the resources) (Coddington, 2022f). My new knowledge of the benefits of consistent, data-driven evaluations to establish short- and long-term goals and future proof the collection that I demonstrated in later blog posts means I must work to improve my collection evaluation, as I reflected on at the start of the unit that there are “currently no priority areas” identified for this in my library (Coddington, 2022h, para. 5).
What are priorities for your own practice, and how could you promote awareness of collection development issues with school leaders?
This unit became overwhelming at times because the content I learned was so highly applicable, practical and relevant to my practice that I did not know where to begin to implement my learning to improve my practice in my own K-12 library. A review of my blog posts and discussion forum posts throughout the unit however reveals that as I progressed through the unit I reflected on my learning and began to identify clear priorities for my future practice.
Collection mapping is one such priority identified to improve the relevancy and quality of my collection, as evident in my discussion forum post where I reflected on my desire to learn more about the strategy to enrich the collection and meet user needs, which I had been “pondering how to achieve […] for a year or so” (Coddington, 2022f, para.3). This knowledge was enriched further by my engagement with relevant literature which highlighted the processes involved in curriculum mapping, and why it should be enacted to support student achievement (ASCD, 2006; Lamb & Johnson, 2007).
Another priority for my future practice is the development and implementation of a collection management policy (CMP) in my library. For some time, I’ve been mentioning the need for a “How to and Why” guide in the library so that procedures and goals can be maintained across frequent staffing changes. Clearly what I meant was a CMP, and so perhaps my biggest take away from this unit is not only the existence and importance of such documents, but also how to write and implement them to improve my own practice. Braxton’s works (2022; n.d), Hibner & Kelly’s and Johnson’s (2018) works, which I engaged with thoroughly during the second assessment, were highly useful resources and significantly developed my knowledge of what such policies should contain, and why, and will benefit me greatly in the creation of a CMP for my own library.
The creation of CMP, made possible by this unit, will assist me to promote the issues of collection development that I learned about such as weeding, lost item processes, copyright, and selection with school leaders. I learned that in the CMP these issues, which are often contentious (Braxton, 2019; Dillon et al. 2001), will need to be explained and outlined in light of the library’s stipulated goals. The learned necessity of frequent review (Dillon et al., 2001; Hibner & Kelly, 2013) and approval of this document by school leaders will present ongoing opportunities to highlight these issues, and provide the broader school community with information about how the library is working to meet their needs (Braxton 2022; Hibner & Kelly, 2013; Punshon, 2006).
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Reference List
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Braxton, B. (n.d.) Policies and Procedures. 500 Hats. The teacher librarian in the 21st century. https://500hats.edublogs.org/policies/
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