In this unit, I have learnt many areas are involved in providing curriculum resources, and one cannot be an expert by completing seven modules. Reading journal articles, books, and blogs, I recognised how a Collection Development Policy (CDP) and Collection Management Policy (CMP) are crucial to the success of the teaching environment and students’ learning, and reference each other but function separately in their own rights (Kerby, 2019; Saponaro & Evans, 2019). As mentioned in my post, a CDP is a practical component of how a teacher librarian should build a collection, informing selection, deselection, and evaluation, with consideration of copyrights and licensing laws. On the other hand, the CMP informs the management of these collections. These documents need to be flexible and able to adjust to changing school environments and industry trends, especially in the ever-changing 21st century (Ho, 2023, July 26).
As I read into the next module, I found other areas to consider as a future teacher librarian (TL). I was unaware that ownership and access have a huge impact on schools and are closely related to a school’s context and budget constraints (Bellanti, 2019). In my post, I reference the school where I casually teach and describe how developing a balanced collection becomes difficult due to the school’s limited funding. Accessing resources digitally is challenging as the school is situated in a low socioeconomic area, so devices available to students are limited (Ho, 2023, July 27). The reality is that the ability to develop a well-rounded collection is largely impacted by the demographic area you live in. Overall, I am still reflecting on how to balance a collection and what a good mix of resources looks like. I suppose I won’t know until I relate it to my future school context and become a practice teacher-librarian.
The challenging of materials and censorship discussed in Module 4 furthered my understanding of the role of a TL. Ethical issues arise not only from the school community but also from self-censorship (Ho, 2023, August 29). How do you make clear guidelines to consciously ensure the absence of bias and favouritism during selection and deselection (Australian School Library Association [ALIA], 2018)? This highlights the need for TLs to receive support from staff and principals. Although CDPs should have complaint policies to support TLs when challenging issues arise, I agree with Jenkinson (2002) that challenges will always exist for TLs.
In this technology centred 21st century, I believe collecting data to analyse, such as the number of students borrowing and the types of materials being loaned, can result in better outcomes through the tailoring of collections to meet students’ needs. Despite this, Goertzen (2017) makes an interesting point in her journal article, demonstrating how data is only a quantitative measure, and inferences can be made from generated reports that do not match the actual needs of the readers. From this, I realised that reports only provide an indicator for how students value a resource, and there are no mechanisms to determine whether an item has been read or a reader has found value in the resource. I have to be mindful and take this into account when assessing collections. To overcome this challenge, at this stage, there is no faster reporting method than seeking students’ responses through surveys (Ho, 2023, September 26).
Recalling one of the early discussion forums, I was surprised to find that the Association of Independent Schools of NSW Ltd (n.d.) does not have any recommendations for library policies or collection management (Gerber, 2023). Despite this only being my second unit, I find that advocating for the importance of TLs is increasingly challenging. There is so much more that TLs can offer. In conclusion, to understand the profession of the TL in depth, and to advocate appropriately for the role, I must practise in the profession and emerge in the field to accurately represent the voice of a TL.
References
Association of Independent Schools of NSW Ltd. (n.d.). Policy and Compliance Support. https://www.aisnsw.edu.au/school-leaders/policy-and-compliance
Australian School Library Association. (2018). ALIA-ASLA policy on school library resource provision. https://read.alia.org.au/alia-asla-policy-school-library-resource-provision
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
Goertzen, M. J. (2017). Introduction to quantitative research and data. Library Technology Reports, 53(4), 12-18. https://journals.ala.org/index.php/ltr/article/view/6325/8274
Jenkinson, D. (2002). Selection & censorship: It’s simple arithmetic. School Libraries in Canada, 21(4), 22. https://www.proquest.com/docview/222536019/fulltextPDF/C58F00A11F61437APQ/1?accountid=8194
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
I believe all librarians face the same challenges as Jenkinson (2002) describes how silent self-censorship leads to the deselection of books. The book by Sylvia Olsen, No Time To Say Goodbye: Children’s Stories of Kemper Island Residential School, depicts scenes of sexual abuse, and Jenkinson (2002) uses this text as an example to show how librarians may be challenged by the community on decisions such as the purchase of books containing (graphic scenes/ethical or controversial issues). As a future librarian, this challenge of determining how we go about selection or deselection, the policies employed, and the guidelines that we should follow is inevitable. In accordance with Shupala (2006), I agree that schools should adopt a complaint policy to protect librarians and schools when faced with complaints or challenges from parents or the wider community, and without support from the staff and principal, finding ways to respond to the challenge of selection and censorship is not possible. In most cases, complaints can be resolved through clear messaging and explanations to parents regarding why certain books in contention have been purchased. However, some schools choose to restrict access to controversial books or require parental consent, which is counterintuitive to “the concept of intellectual freedom” (Australian School Library Association, 2018). Jenkinson (2002) provides no answer to this challenge at the end of the article. Challenges in any shape or form will always exist for all librarians.
