Learning Objectives
- Learn best practices for building and maintaining a library collection.
Developing, Maintaining, and Updating Your Collection Development Policy
A balanced and relevant school library collection is an essential component of a school. Knowing the collection of materials you have and having a plan for that collection in the future is essential in providing students and staff with the information they need to be successful and to become life-long readers. Before delving into what a collection development policy is and what it should contain, it is important to understand the definition of a collection and how it relates to the materials housed in the school library.
Check out the following presentation What is a Library Collection? Consider the following:
- How do materials in the library create a unique collection?
- Why is a a development policy needed?
What is a collection development policy?
The American Library Association defines collection development policies (CDP) as "documents which define the scope of a library's existing collections, plan for the continuing development of resources, identify collection strengths, and outline the relationship between selection philosophy and the institution's goals, general selection criteria, and intellectual freedom". This class will help you to create and refine a collection development policy if one is not already in place. If you do have a collection development policy, take some time to review it as you move through the lessons in this class. Check out this KnowledgeQuest article, "Why Collection Development is Important" to learn about the importance of having a collection development policy.
What does a collection development policy need to have?
Developing an effective library collection starts with assessing the needs of your students. Library Girl, Jennifer LaGarde, has created this infographic to help break down this plan:
If you are looking for a more detailed outline of information to include in a collection development policy, the following resources are especially helpful:
- Collection Development Policies and Procedures in School Libraries: The Resources for School Librarians site includes information on collection development policies, selection policies, social media policies, collection evaluation, book repair, and preservation, as well as yearly average book prices to help with budgeting. The section on Collection Development Policies is especially helpful including examples of actual policies and tips on how to write your own policy if you do not have one.
- National Library of New Zealand: The library's page devoted to working out your library's collection requirements includes gathering information about the vision, school community, and existing collection as well as documenting the collection requirements, and combining it all together.
- The New York City School Library System: This includes the district's libraries' collection development policies. Click the drop-down in the Collection Development box to access all of their policies.
- Looking at the School Library- Evaluation Tool: This PDF provides a self-evaluation of the library to help determine where to start and what is missing.
Reflecting on Your Learning
- Using the National Library of New Zealand's topics for writing a collection development plan linked above, determine if your current collection development policies need any additions or modifications. If you do not have a collection development policy, take a few moments to think about how you would address the following:
- Your rationale and purpose, or vision
- Guidelines and processes for selecting school library resources, including selection criteria
- How you manage donations or gifts
- Procedures for processing, mending, and weeding items
- How you handle complaints about a specific library item, sometimes called a 'challenged resource'
- Your commitment to respecting copyright
- Reviewing and maintaining the collection management plan
- Post any questions you have after looking at some of the policy examples from this lesson in the INFOhio School Library Basics group in Open Space. Look for the Collection Development Policy post in the Discussions tab and respond to others' questions as well.
