Collection+Development

2.3 provide exemplary library and information services consistent with national standards  Within a school context it is critical that the teacher librarian can access or resource appropriate resources to cater to the curriculum needs of the school. In their statement on school library resource provision the A **ustralian Library and Information Association (ALIA) and Australian School Library Association (ASLA) stated “ **The achievement of many of the common and agreed goals of schooling is dependent on the schools' ability to deliver a curriculum supported by a relevant, dynamic and responsive collection of information resources”( **2009, para. 5). **
 * Collection Development **


 * Collection development at site one is driven by the curriculum requirements and Christian ethos of the school. It is managed by a somewhat out of date policy document **** (link below). While the intent behind the document has not changed the middle school has changed somewhat to include year five, with year eight moving to the junior high school. This means some of the wording in the document is outdated. The teacher librarian, however, has made sure the collection itself is not outdated, she has made sure the new National Curriculum requirements will be able to be met by the fiction, non-fiction and teacher reference collections. **




 * The responsibility for the collection development, maintenance and budgeting rests with the teacher librarian, however, staff, students and parents can make requests for resources which will then be reviewed by the teacher librarian and the decision to purchase made on budget and collection management guidelines. Some of the regular purchases the library makes are to ensure all appropriate books on “The children’s book council” short list are part of the library collection. **


 * The site one collection has been developed specifically with the pre-adolescent student body in mind, being aware that this is a time when many students may stop reading altogether or begin looking for more engaging fiction, a “Mature Readers” collection of fiction titles has been developed. This collection is made up of books from the 'young adult' fiction market with content that may be considered inappropriate for students who are not as physically or emotionally aware as others. Within the Christian context of the school, family values also play a part in reserving some titles within the “Mature Readers” collection rather than in the general collection. Parental permission is required for students in grades six and seven to access these books. **


 * The online collection of databases and encyclopaedias are provided to all students in the school but are managed by the head teacher librarian who works out of the high school library. Audio visual material is not available for borrowing by students and can only be accessed by the teaching staff through the high school library. **

**The site one teacher librarian has been able to develop a wonderful collection of approximately 11,000 books. The collection is wide ranging and encompasses all curriculum requirements (including teacher reference) for the middle school programs. The only real downfall in the overall collection is the lack of control within the audio visual and online parts of the collection. Hay (2006, p.27) found that “The development of digital collections with remote access to a school's intranet, along with quality online digital resources are also becoming increasingly important services provided by teacher-librarians.” Through budget restraints the control of this 'digital collection' has been left solely in the hands of the high school librarian. The result is a range of online databases and encyclopaedias that really are more suited to high school student requirements. To combat this I would suggest the installation of a 'blackboard' type of platform, such as Moodle, for the middle school students to use. This platform could be loaded with unit and year specific websites and search tools which would better suit the target age group. This virtual collection of web tools would be developed collaboratively with heads of curriculum and teaching staff to ensure its relevance and authenticity of context to the curriculum. **