Month: July 2023

The percentage of ownership of resources compared to accessing resources is a matter of policy and depends on the needs of the individual school community. The demographic and socio-economic level of the school community will determine this percentage (International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions School Libraries Section Standing Committee, 2015).

In the context of one of my casual schools, since it is a relatively small-sized school with 90 students situated in a lower socio-economic area where funding is limited, hence there are only 25 laptops and 25 iPads in the whole school. Therefore, ownership of resources is crucial for my school, however, students will be disadvantaged in accessing online resources due to shared devices, funding, and limited time to access the resources either for enjoyment, reading or assessment. Although there are subscriptions like Britannica Kids and ClickView, they are far too expensive for our school.

There are many issues regarding school library decisions on access to digital resources for a period or purchase outright, and the reliability of the platform including the ease of use. The question also asks if it is sustainable. Knowing that ownership has limits and exposure to a wide range of current material will become redundant in time, it may not be a sustainable option (Bellanti, 2019).

The balance between ownership and access will be dependent on the needs of the individual school community and rely on hierarchical leadership decisions.

References:

Bellanti, C. Q. (2019). Access to library materials in remote storage. In Access Services in Libraries (pp. 93-104). Routledge. https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9780429352034-6/access-library-materials-remote-storage-claire-bellanti

International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions School Libraries Section Standing Committee. (2015).  IFLA school library guidelines. https://www.ifla.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/assets/school-libraries-resource-centers/publications/ifla-school-library-guidelines.pdf

Collection Development and Collection Management are closely related to each other but function separately in their own rights. According to Kerby (2019), Saponaro & Evans (2019), Collection Development is related to policy guidelines including the identification and acquisition of information materials, and it is a practical approach with essential steps to manage a school library collection. Saponaro & Evans (2019) argues that the budgetary component should be part of the policy guidelines.

Kerby (2019) listed the steps for a guideline as:

“(1) Policies, practices, and selection sources to evaluate, weed, and build dynamic and diverse school library collections.

(2) Methods and examples for analysing collection, curriculum, and community needs.

(3) Strategies for showcasing the school library collection to learners and stakeholders.

(4) Charts, checklists, worksheets, discussion questions, and tips from practicing school librarians.”

Saponaro & Evans (2019) state that Collection Management is the process for staff members to maintain and determine what resources will be available in school libraries. Collection Management includes managing the budget, information transfers and preservation of resources. Collection Management is a major component of school libraries and managing to access information.

There are many challenges for collection development and collection management that we face as librarians in the digital age. We are living in a fast-paced environment, rapidly changing in information technology and abundant in new digital resources and emerging areas of interdisciplinary research. Not to mention we have budget constraints, changes in teaching and learning practices and expectations from various stakeholders. We have to remember our core values and apply innovative ways to manage this space.

References:

Kerby, M. (2019). An introduction to collection development for school librarians (Second edition.). ALA Editions. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED596141

Saponaro, M. Z., & Evans, G. E. (2019). Collection management basics. Bloomsbury Publishing USA. https://books.google.com.au/books?hl=en&lr=&id=9o3DEAAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PP1&dq=Collection+management+basics.+ABC-CLIO