LIBE+463+Assignment+6

=LIBE 463 Assignment 6: Final Reflection=

Of all the course titles in the Teacher Librarian diploma program, this course, Resource Selection, was the most appealing to me. My interest in Teacher-Librarianship was first peaked by having to sort through catalogs of French resources for purchase in our school library and my classroom, I liked the challenge of finding resources that would be a good curricular fit or that would peak the reading interest of my students. This course has widened my view of what I considered to be part of the selection process. I understand now that selection is not just the searching out and buying of resources, but that it should also be connected to the bigger picture of who the library users are and what their needs are.

Course Take aways:
The first aspect of this class that will stick with me is the importance of conducting a community analysis and a user needs assessment. Bishop (2007) states good reasoning for doing this by noting that "effective collection development must be based on reliable knowledge about the collection's users (p.19)" and their needs (p.24). I agree with her that, with school budgets so tight, it is important to ensure that what the collection offers to students isn't already being offered elsewhere and, is something that they are actually going to access based on academic need or personal reading interest. Understanding community and school demographics helps to better understand the interests and potential borrowing habits of the library's users.
 * Importance of Community and School Analysis**

At first I was a bit frustrated at the prospect of having to do a weeding assignment as I didn't feel that it was all that relevant to the selection process itself. However, after doing some more reflection it does make sense that weeding would be part of the selection process in that if we don't weed there won't be room for new selections. If we don't weed, new resources also risk being underused because library patrons can't find them among the older material. During my collection evaluation assignment I found a lot of older books in the science section, I think that a significant number of resources need to be weeded. However, our librarian believes that getting rid of material would leave gaps in the collection. I liked Dickinson's response to this argument with her comment that "We will be cited either way. We can either be praised for having a well-developed and well maintained collection of resources but cited for it being too small, or we can be cited for having an old, outdated collection that does not meet the learning needs of students (2005, p.26)." I believe our library to be an example of a situation where, as Moore puts it, "students have become tired of the hunt (p.1)." I can see from the analysis of my school library that weeding could help rejuvenate enthusiasm for the library by making room for newer, more interesting resources that are easier to access.
 * The interconnectedness of Weeding and Selection**

Challenges, Yikes! It struck me during this course how important it is to have clear written policy in place to deal with the potential of a challenge. As those who have selected the materials in the collection we must also be prepared to defend those selections. I like the idea suggested by Degroot (2012) during our course discussions to save our spreadsheets as evidence of our justification for making the selection and as a record of any supporting reviews that we may have used in the selection process. I think that keeping this information on hand to refer back to in case of need will help to keep my mind at ease about any potential challenges.
 * Written policy for challenges**

Prior to this course, much like weeding, I wouldn't have given collection analysis much attention. It didn't intuitively feel like part of the selection process but rather something that might be undertaken after selections had been made and the items had been part of the collection for awhile. However, upon more reflection I actually think this might be the most important part of the process. I found out a lot of information when I started to look closely at our school collection. It allowed me to see that many of of the science books in our collection are quite old, I could also clearly see that some areas of the curriculum areas are supported better than others, and that there is a disparity between the size of the English collection versus the French collection. This knowlege allows for a better selection of resources because areas of need can be targeted for improvement (Agee, 2005, p.92). I liked the collection mapping approach to presenting the findings of my evaluation as I am a visual learner myself (Franklin & Gatrell Stephens, 2009, p.44). In addition, I think that presenting the data in a visually consise manner allows it to be easily used to promote the library in year end reports, and in budget proposals with administrators (Bishop, 2007, p.157).
 * The importance of collection evaluation**

I think that the potential to get influenced by pushers and their marketing is a concern that I have. I know that the advertising they send can make a resource look and sound amazing, but without having seen it yourself how can you be sure of the quality and curricular fit? Refering to reviews can really help to counteract the push from large companies. By first searching for information about resources in reviews it puts the Librarian in a position of control within the selection process. Instead of companies approaching you, you are approaching them with the idea of them meeting your needs. Having reviews available to point librarians in the direction of good selections helps them to back up their decision making process and is a good tool to draw back on in case of any challenges that might arise (Bishop, 2007). I also appreciate that this course has introduced me to some of the common selection tools that exist; having some experience using them will make the task of selecting resources easier.
 * The usefulness of reviews in aiding the selection process.**

Connection to practice
Having been able to walk through the selection process, at least for a small section of the collection, has allowed me to makes some observations in terms of how I worked through the process. The following are some practices that I would put in place for myself to make the selection process more effective and efficient:

-I found the task of actualy selecting resources to be a bit overwhelming and it was only one small portion of the collection that I was looking at. In order to ensure that I don't get too overwhelmed I would try to break the collection up into categories and select specific ones to focus on per term. The end result over the course of a year, or two, would be that the entire collection would get looked at, but just in smaller chunks at time. I think that selecting for the enitre library all at once might prevent me from looking in depth at a specific area of the collection that needs attention. Also, setting the end of term as a deadline for selection would ensure that there isn't a mad rush to spend before the year end budget deadline because roughly two thirds of the year's budget should have already been spent already.

-I think that maintaining a spreadsheet to keep track of resourses that you are considering and as well as a list of resources that you have ordered is good practice (Bishop, 2007, p.49). The spreadsheet helps ensure that you make efficient use of your time by not having to wonder if you have already considered that item and it keeps all the information organized and saved for when you do decide to order an item. I also see that there would be value in maintaining a spreadsheet of ordered items for a longer period of time after the item is ordered as it may be useful to go back and reevaluate why you ordered something or, as mentioned above, as a link back to the reviews that were considered if a selection were to be challenged.

-I would order hard copies of the review journals that I develop as my preferences. I found it frustrating having to sort through the digital reviews one by one based on the name of the resource. I would much prefer to jump to the relevant seciton of the hardcopy journal and browse the different columns of reviews. I think that having a hard copy would be worth the expense as it would save me more time than trying to track a review down online. The online journals just seemed less browsable as you needed to know what specific title or author you were looking for, which isn't effective when you are looking for selection suggestions in the first place.

Throughout this course I have learned a great deal about the selection process. Our small look into one curricular area has demonstrated how complex a task it will be to seIect resources for every academic subject over all the grades in a school. Despite this complexity I feel that I am now more equiped to deal with the task though it is one I am sure that I will improve at with practice. As I work out an evaluation and tracking system that works for me I'm confident the process will gradually become more effective and efficient. Selection tools and practice are also subjects that I will need to continue to stay up-to-date on because digital resources are becoming more prominent in collections and the process of ordering, storing, and lending these resources is something that will constantly be changing.

References:

Agee, J. (2005). Collection Evaluation: a Foundation for Collection Development. //Collection Building, 24 (3), 92-95.//

Bishop, K. (2007). The Collection Program in Schools: Concepts, Practices, and Information Sources. Westport. Libraries Unlimited.

Degroot, J. (2012, July 18). When is selecting resources that haven't been reviewed allowed? [Msg 2]. Message posted to https://www.vista.ubc.ca/webct/urw/tp0.lc5116011/cobaltMainFrame.dowebct

Dickinson, G. (2005). Crying Over Spilled Milk. //Library Media Connection, April/May, 24-26.//

Franklin, P. and Gatrell Stephens, C. (2009). Use Standards to Draw Curriculum Maps. //School Library Media Activities Monthly, XXV(9), 44-45.//

Moore, J. Guidelines for Collection Evaluation and Weeding. Texas Education Agency. Retrieved from: []