Overview of Elementary

Media Center Collection

DevelopmentStacy Darwin

LSIS 5505-OL1

Dr. Cogdell

October 22, 2010

“WITH A BROAD VIEW OF THE CURRICULUM, EXTENSIVE KNOWLEDGE OF

BOTH TRADITIONAL AND ELECTRONIC RESOURCES, AND COMMITMENT TO SERVE

THE FULL RANGE OF STUDENTS AND OTHER USERS OF THE LEARNING COMMUNITY, THE

SCHOOL LIBRARY MEDIA SPECIALIST [COORDINATOR] CAN DIRECT THE DESIGN

AND MAINTENANCE OF CURRENT, COMPREHENSIVE, HIGH-QUALITY

COLLECTIONS”

--Information Power, 1998, 90

Know Your Current Collection

The first step to collection development is taking inventory and assessing what is present and how it is or is not meeting the needs of the school.

Is the collection responsive to changes in the school’s program?

Is the collection integral to curricular and instructional needs?

Does the collection meet the users’ needs?

Does the collection provide access to materials from outside the school?

Does the collection include formats that users prefer?

Does the collection hinder or facilitate the media and technology program?

-- IMPACT: Guidelines for Media and Technology Programs January 2008

Know Your Students and School Community

What level are your readers?

What interests your students?

What do they do for entertainment?

What is their ethnic makeup?

What is their socioeconomic makeup?

What languages are spoken in the homes of your students?

Do you have students with special needs?

Collecting information like this (via a survey/observations) is valuable in making future purchasing plans for the media center.

--Library 101: A Handbook for the School Library Media Specialist

Know Your Curriculum Become familiar with the MISSION, GOALS, and

OBJECTIVES of the school.

Be familiar with state standards.

Know the benchmarks that teachers must meet.

Be aware of teachers’ passions and special interests in their lesson planning to support these goals.

Survey teachers for their individual and grade level needs.

Find both fiction and nonfiction resources to support curriculum.

Understand how technology integration supports curriculum.

Collaborate and plan with teachers.

--Library 101: A Handbook for the School Library Media Specialist

Know Your Budget It is helpful to have past budget numbers.

It is also important to know the current budget amount for the year and the projected amount for upcoming years if available.

Be aware of fundraiser funding (book fairs, PTA) that are available to the media center.

Inquire about possible shared funds in the school (perhaps with technology) that might be available in the near future.

Plan for the big picture keeping in mind expensive book sets, online resource subscriptions, audiovisual equipment, and other technology maintenance and upgrades.

--Administering the School Library Media Center

Selection Considerations

Does the material have literary merit?

Will it add value to the collection?

Is it well made (sturdy binding, quality paper)?

Is the reading level age appropriate?

Does it treat the topic in a fair and balanced manner?

Does the material exhibit all viewpoints?

Is it in the best format for your population (paper, electronic, etc.)?

From: Library 101: A Handbook for the School Library Media Specialist

WeedingCRITERIA FOR WEEDING/SELECTING SCHOOL LIBRARY MEDIA RESOURCES

Relevance to the curriculum

Copyright date

Condition of the material

Date last circulated

Enduring value (classics, rare books, etc.)

Reading/interest level

Authoritative writing

Bias/stereotypes

Recommended in current selection tool and/or other review sources

Local interest/community needs (Lowe, 2001)

From IMPACT: Guidelines for Media and Technology Programs January 2008

IMPACT Collection GuidelinesThe following recommendations are intended to guide the development of high quality

school library media collections in North Carolina schools. The average copyright age

of the collection represents both fiction and non-fiction. Certain areas of the non-fiction

collection should have even more recent average copyright dates than indicated below,

such as Reference and Science.

OUTSTANDING GUIDELINES Minimum Quantity Standard - 20 Books Per Student

Minimum Quality Standard - 10 Years from Current Calendar Date

DEVELOPING GUIDELINES Minimum Quantity Standard - 15 Books Per Student

Minimum Quality Standard - 12 Years from Current Calendar Date

MINIMUM GUIDELINES Minimum Quantity Standard - 10 Books Per Student

Minimum Quality Standard - 16 Years from Current Calendar Date

BELOW MINIMUM Less than 10 Books Per Student

Average copyright greater than 16 years from Current Calendar Date

See also IMPACT Guidelines for North Carolina Media and Technology Programs –

Rubrics: http://www.ncwiseowl.org/Impact/Research&eval.htm#mediaandtech

Materials Selection Policy

A written selection policy supports and outlines the collection development process by providing approaches for:

Developing a collection that supports teaching and learning.

Maintaining the collection.

Dealing with challenges to materials in the total instructional program.

From IMPACT: Guidelines for Media and Technology Programs January 2008 p.220

Materials Selection PolicySelection Criteria

authority

format

potential use

price

scope

reputation of publisher

subject interest

readability

timeliness

treatment of subject

From IMPACT: Guidelines for Media and Technology Programs January 2008 p.220

Photo by Stacy Darwin

“ALTHOUGH ANSWERS TO STUDENTS’ QUESTIONS WERE TRADITIONALLY FOUND IN

THE COLLECTION HOUSED IN THE SCHOOL MEDIA CENTER, THE ANSWERS TODAY MAY OR MAY NOT BE FOUND WITHIN THE ITEMS ON THE

SHELVES OF THE MEDIA CENTER. THE COLLECTION GOES BEYOND THE WALLS OF THE

IMMEDIATE MEDIA CENTER AND CONTAINS MANY SOURCES THAT CAN BE ACCESSED

THROUGH ONLINE SERVICES. THUS, THE MEDIA CENTER IS CONNECTED ELECTRONICALLY TO A

FAR-REACHING WORLD OF SOURCES AND INFORMATION”

(Van Orden and Bishop, 2001, 6) from IMPACT

References

Morris, B. (2004). Administering the school library media

center. Westport, Connecticut: Libraries Unlimited.

North Carolina State Dept. of Public Instruction. (2009).

IMPACT: Guidelines for Media and Technology

Programs. Raleigh: Instructional Technologies Div.

Stephens, C. F. (2007). Library 101: A handbook for the

school library media specialist. Westport,

Connecticut: Libraries Unlimited.