According to Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA) and Victorian Catholic Teacher Librarians (VCTL) the Collection Development policy is relatively brief and general, containing key statements and guiding principles (ALIA & VCTL, 2017, p. 8).
ALIA and VCTL (2017, p. 9) make a clear distinction between a Collection Development policy and a collection development procedures. It states (ALIA & VCTL, 2017, p. 8) a well defined Collection Development policy should include:
- Rationale – Joining the school vision statement with the collection development policy. How do the two link? They should, as the collection development policy is guiding the resourcing for the school.
- Policy statement – Should include goals and priorities of the collection, scope of resources, maintenance (purchasing, repairs, weeding, etc.), funding, reference to international library benchmarks, resource management and personal responsible.
- Audience
- Authorship
- Related documents
- Ratification date
- Review date
Barbra Braxton’s (2018) post on collection development policies is far more than a concise document, and I believe she includes many of the collection development procedures in her policy. She agrees with the collection development policy by ALIA & VCTL, including, rationale, mission statement (policy statement), and policy review, however she also includes several elements that are more procedural in nature, such as; the selection of the collection (this is specific to the school and the nature of the learners), selection criteria, development of the collection, acquisition, promotion, evaluation, deselection (weeding) and challenged materials. All of these inclusions are more specific to the procedures of the library. For instance, How do we select one book over another? How is weeding and challenged materials handled? The difference between Braxton’s collection development policy and ALIA & VCTL’s boil down to Braxton’s title, Collection Policy. By excluding development, in the title, she has allowed for a broader scope in the policy and included several procedures.
ALIA & VCTL suggest the Collection Development procedures should include:
- Profile of the school community – students, staff, parents, etc. served by the library. “Including social, cultural and academic aspects and any special features of the school” (ALIA & VCTL, 2017, p. 9).
- Profile of existing collection – analysed, how is it developing, at what stage is it in?
- Access to resources
- Formats
- Collection goals
- Budget
- Selection principles
- Resource selection tools
- Scope
- Donations
- Cooperative relationships with other libraries
- Maintenance and preservation of the collection
- Principles of weeding
- Replacement & renewal
- Challenged materials
As you can see, the collection development policy is far more broad, it is the big picture; the WHY? Collection development procedures are more specific and focused; it is the HOW?
Before undertaking this, I understood the difference between a policy and procedures, however I’ve often come across them together in the same document. This is apparent in my current school. One of the first steps in the new academic year will be to rewrite the collection development policy into two documents; policy, and procedures.
References
Australian Library and Information Association School, & Victorian Catholic Teacher Librarians. (2017). A manual for developing policies and procedures in Australian school library resource centres (2nd ed). http://www.asla.org.au/policy/policy-development-manual.aspx
Braxton, B. (2018). Sample collection policy. 500 Hats: The teacher librarian in the 21st century. https://500hats.edublogs.org/policies/sample-collection-policy/