Assignment+6

LIBE 463 – Assignment #6 With the text, lecture notes, online discussions and recommended readings participating in this course has first and foremost prepared me to develop and manage an accessible collection which is comprehensive, dynamic and responsive. Engaging in the themes and various assignments has equipped me with the fundamental skills and firsthand knowledge to begin to develop policy for implementation to address the major components of managing a collection. There are numerous things which I have learned in this course which have had a significant impact on my vision of, and my practise as a TL. Most importantly, has been my understanding of the **//importance of policy and procedure development around major activities integral to collection development//**. Having informed guidelines for yourself and others helps ensure best practice is being followed in a consistent manner as well as serve as a professional “voice” or standard for others to understand what your decisions are based upon. In many respects, having policy and procedures developed relays the professional experience and wealth of knowledge that a TL utilizes in their role. The practical references, templates, criteria, lists and guidelines that were given to help complete the various assignments all will serve well as a starting foundation for a working model **//as I intend to develop policy manual and working procedures around//** performing a community analysis, doing an collection evaluation, carrying out the various steps of weeding and being able to discuss professionally the need for the deselection of resources and reviewing and selecting new resources in a comprehensive, responsive, justifiable and organized fashion. These components, community and collection analysis, selection and deselection, I now view as not only cyclic but interdependent and on-going and I will plan for these **//components to take place at regular intervals throughout the school year as part of my procedure protocol.//** All the assignments have informed my practice greatly. **Performing a community analysis and needs assessment was new to me**. Collecting the data was informative, the analysis of the data yielded surprising and concerning results, yet the process gave an opportunity to discuss issues and concerns with administration as well as their priorities to meet the inherent needs of our students, and gave a foundation for prioritizing and planning for new purchases. I found that I had a broader perspective of our school community; perhaps it can also be described as having my hand on the pulse of the community as a living identity which is ever-changing yet having needs that should be responded to. Gathering an analyzing data was interesting and serves to inform my practice especially in the area of selection of resources and deciding upon the format that would best benefit our students and teachers. I will **//plan to conduct a survey with students, staff and administration in the upcoming school year in order to gather more information about our needs and level of access users feel they have,//** in order to inform my practice and make decisions on how the library program can better serve it users. As a result of conducting a community analysis and collection evaluation the **importance of regular weeding and identifying gaps** in the collection became evident. Readings such as Dickinson’s (2005) //Crying Over Spilled Milk,// I now see weeding (deselection) as a //continuous and a natural professional responsibility// and **//will incorporate Baumbach & Miller (2006) CREW and MUSTIE criteria into procedure and template to guide my weeding process in the coming September.//** I also found that the trepidation I felt about weeding was not unique to me, but were common among TL. Dickinson’s article validated these feelings and then gave the rational voice and practical criteria and logic to base one’s decisions about items for deselection and the rationale to discuss this necessity and value of this process with others. Another component of managing a collection is deciding what to add to the collection and in what format. The fifth assignment and theme five provided me with the opportunity to peruse and become familiar with **//recommended resources and various reviewing sites some of which are mentioned in the appendix in our text as well as in the readings.//** //Using such things as Kirkus and school library journal reviews and modifying the template provided were practical// ways I used the course materials to locate data about resources, articulate justification for the resources – all leading to one having more confidence in one’s decisions and having data to support these decisions to administration or other funding sources. As well it provided a means to set short and long term goals for the collection. **//I will be using the table that I modified for assignment #5 in my policy manual for further purchases and planning for the 2012 – 2013 school year and will continue to use the review sites as a means to familiarize myself with the strengths and relevancy of resources for my students and the curriculum.//** As a result of this course **//I have developed a new appreciation of concept of multicultural literature and the importance it has even in a fairly homogeneous culture//**. The broad definition of multicultural literature and the discussion around cultural authenticity and the ongoing debate on should there be restrictions and who can write with cultural authenticity was extremely interesting to me. But it was in the article Mirrors, Windows, and Sliding Glass Doors by Bishop when it is stated “Children from dominant social groups have always found their mirrors in books, but they, too, have suffered from the lack of davailability of books about others. They need the books as windows onto reality, not just on imaginary worlds. They need books that will help them understand the multicultural nature of the world they live in, and their place as a member of just one group, as well as their connections to all other humans. In this country, where racism is still one of the major unresolved social problems, books may be one of the few places where children who are socially isolated and insulated from the larger world may meet people unlike themselves. If they see only reflections of themselves, they will grow up with an exaggerated sense of their own importance and value in the world-a dangerous ethnocentrism” that a conspicuous truth resonated with me – one that I had dismissed before as not applicable to my situation. Living in Newfoundland our population is very homogenous and the issue of diversity with respect to racial multiculturalism could naively be thought of as a non-issue – when really it is an issue that deserves a fair bit of attention, in my role as a TL, **//I will start to actively seek out resources and opportunities that can act as windows, or sliding glass doors to broadened the experiences and perspectives of my students who often are unaware of their insular context//**. It really is an issue of providing resources and opportunities which will deconstruct their experience of culture in order to rebuild it with a broader appreciation of multicultural diversity in its broadest sense. In summary, the activities and readings throughout this course has had a HUGE impact in my understanding of the importance of and how to begin to develop policy where one has not existed before and discuss this with administration for implementation for this September. I plan to :
 * to conduct another community analysis to update data and collect survey information from students and teachers,
 * broaden my collection analysis to other subject areas,
 * set a schedule for ongoing weeding,
 * being an organized spreadsheet to document materials for selection consideration
 * develop a brochure for staff explaining the importance of weeding and the criteria that will be used. (This brochure will also be made available to parents and school council members as well).
 * compile a binder with these policies and expect this to be a starting point, one which will be added to and modified throughout the year(s).
 * to develop a departmental “agenda” to address with the various department in one of their department meetings at least once a year – where “questionable” books for deselection related to a particular department are discussed, gaps in resources to meet specific curriculum objectives are identified and resources for possible purchase are discussed. This will be in addition, to getting feedback in September from all of the departments (Math, Science, Social Studies, English, Special Education, and the speciality areas such as Art, Music, Technology, Phyiscal Education) as to an overall time line as it relates to broad themes in curriculum so that I can gained a bird’s eye view early on into the year as to general curriculum needs and plan for it.
 * make a conscious effort to purchase multicultural material whenever possible.

Participating in this course and working through the assignments have served as a “safe” means to approach some of the more challenging aspects of managing and developing a dynamic, responsive and effective collection while being supported with current literature and best practice.

Baumbach, D.J. & Miller, L. L., (2006). Less is more: A practical guide to weeding school library collections. Chicago, IL: American Library Association.

Bishop, Rudine Sims. (1990). Mirrors, windows, and sliding glass doors. //Perspectives//, //6//(3), Retrieved from []

Dickinson, Gail (2005). Crying over spilled milk. //Library Media Connection, April/May,// pp. 24-26//.// Retrieved from Academic Search Premier database.

Quotes from Rudine Sims Bishop which I liked: “When children cannot find themselves reflected in the books they read, or when the images they see are distorted, negative, or laughable, they learn a powerful lesson about how they are devalued in the society of which they are a part”. “Literature transforms human experience and reflects it back to us, & in that reflection we can see our own lives and experiences as a part of the larger human experience.” ==================================================================