Collection+Development+and+Access

6. Collection Development and Access

Understanding best practice for collection development and access will ensure that I run a library that truly meets the needs of its users. Intimate knowledge of the teaching and learning community (Hughes-Hassell & Mancall, 2005. P. 32)and the curriculum will ensure a collection that meets the needs of that community. Equitable access for all and a library resourced with a balanced collection that is available 24/7 will take its users into the 21st century learning environment. Reflecting on all I have learned has helped me explore the knowledge I have gained, strengthened my understanding of that knowledge and increased my awareness of improving my professional practice.

I understands that the digital revolution and changing educational practices means that our school libraries as we know them are changing (Crotty, 2011). This understanding will ensure that I keep abreast with these changes and make sure that resources selected for my library are relevant to the curriculum, the school and the learning needs of the library users.

In order to provide the best possible resources to support the teaching and learning needs of the school community, I will ensure that I have an excellent knowledge of the joint policy statements of ALIA and ASLA (2011) and make sure that I am “providing equitable access to excellent services” (Wall and Ryan, 2010 p. 8). It is vital that the TL has supporting documentation to combat any efforts of biased censorship from outsiders and to ensure that there is no discrimination (ALIA, 2011) against any of the users.

I now understand the importance of and the purpose (Kennedy, 2006, p. 12) for having a collection policy. This understanding will ensure that a personalized collection policy that focuses on the needs of the users will be developed for any library in which I may work.

My collection policy will have clear guidelines and outline best practice. If you know what you want the collection to achieve and the direction that you would like the collection to take in order to achieve those goals, you are well on your way to developing a collection that is considered, structured and achieves what it is supposed to achieve; successfully catering to the specific needs of the learning community and taking them into the 21st century.

I believe that the selection of material should be the responsibility of the TL (Hughes-Hassell and Mancall, 2005, p.48) but other members of the learning community should be consulted. Working collaboratively with others will ensure that the best, most relevant, high quality resources are being sought to meet the needs of the learning community.

I also understand the importance of evaluating the collection periodically. As the needs of the learning community are constantly evolving, evaluating the collection will inform the TL as to how well the collection is meeting the goals of the library and the demands of the users. Armed with such knowledge the TL is able to make improvements and tweak the policy if necessary to further enhance the acquisition of resources for the collection.

A knowledge and understanding of the learning community, educational pedagogy and the curriculum, combined with excellent knowledge of collection development with a clear collection policy, will ensure that Like Loertscher (2002), I will be the sort of TL that can “provide the right information, to the right user, at the right time, in the right format, in the needed language, at the right reading level”.

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 * References **

Australian Library and Information Association. (2011). Statement on free access to information. Retrieved April 2012, from []

Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA) and Australian School Library Association (ASLA) (2011) School library policy and statements, []

Crotty, R. (2011) Selecting resources to support teaching and learning Selection aids (ETL503 Module 2.5) Retrieved December 3rd 2011 from Charles Sturt University website: http://interact.csu.edu.au/portal/site/ETL503_201190_W_D/page/100eba8c-85b4-45d5-8036-88d000fe8c71

Hughes-Hassell, S., & Mancall, J.C. (2005). Collection management for youth: Responding to the needs of learners. Chicago, IL: American Library Association. Retrieved CSU data base.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">Kennedy, J. (2006). Collection Management: a concise introduction (Rev. edn). Wagga Wagga, New South Wales: Centre for Information Studies, Charles Sturt University.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">Loertscher, D.V. (2002). Digital and elastic collections in school libraries: A challenge for school library media centres. School libraries in Canada, 21(4), 3. Retrieved CSU data base.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">Wall, J., Ryan, S. (2010) Resourcing for curriculum innovation. ACER, Melbourne.