Standard 5: Program Management and Administration
5.4.2. Strategic Planning and Assessment: Candidates make effective use of data and information to assess how the library program addresses the needs of their diverse communities.
Artifacts:
Collection Evaluation Letter to Principal
I stole two books from a library. Well, I actually weeded them. They are sitting on my bookshelves at home right now: Lonesome Road: the Story of the Negro’s Part in America by Saunders Redding (printed in 1958) and Amy Vanderbilt’s New Complete Book of Etiquette: The Guide to Gracious Living (printed in 1967). When I happened upon them in a school library during my Collection Evaluation Report for my Selection and Use class, I felt ethically dirty leaving them behind; so, I yanked them. These two books along with others were the cornerstone for the Collection Evaluation Report I compiled with another student. Our completed assessment and subsequent letter and recommended materials list all made effective use of the data we gathered in order to assess the school library and identify where the librarian must make changes in order to address the needs of its community.
Our professor asked us to choose a school library and evaluate one section of its nonfiction collection. The purpose behind this evaluation was to identify the average copyright year of the items within the section. We chose the 300s section (the social sciences) which includes political and cultural history, careers, and college preparation. In order to evaluate the section, we first had to systematically check the average copyright dates of a random sampling of the section. Using a computation program set up through Microsoft Excel, we methodically worked through the 300s, pulling every 10th book and entering its copyright year into the program. The 300s at this particular school library include approximately 2,000 titles, so we entered data on 200 titles. We determined the average of this particular section to be 1993, sixteen years behind the current date. Using the inventory program in Excel, we were then able to take the current average copyright year of the social sciences section and gauge the approximate cost of increasing the average copyright year of the entire collection to 1996, 2000, and 2006, while maintaining the appropriate books to student ratio (10:1).
At this point in our project, I grew! I had no idea that current school librarians would allow a book from 1953 to remain on their shelves, let alone a book titled Holidays Around the World. Holidays evolve! And so do the customs and ways in which people celebrate these holidays. One cannot deny the fact that this book most likely examined WASP traditions without providing much insight into multicultural, lesser-known holidays. This lapse in multicultural awareness is especially alarming because this high school is one of the most culturally-diverse schools in the county due to its rapidly growing Latino population. Prior to taking Selection and Use, I had not even heard of the term “weeding,” and during our first discussion about weeding, I was a bit uncomfortable. Throw away books?! Believe me, when I pulled Holidays Around the World from the shelf and saw its copyright date, I was suddenly at one with weeding.
However, the amount of money that my partner and I calculated the librarian would need in order to raise the average copyright date also upset me. According to our calculations, in order for the school librarian to maintain the books to student ratio, she would need 102,370.66 dollars to replace the 5,337 books that do not meet the 2006 copyright average. The first half of this project introduced me to an entirely new perspective in regards to older, more established libraries. If books aren’t weeded, inappropriate material is left available to 21st century students. But, the maintenance of a healthy collection consisting of up-to-date reading material costs a small fortune.
This assignment did not directly assess how the librarian addresses the needs of her library community. Instead, we were asked to explain in a letter to the principal how the librarian needs to enhance her collection in order to work towards meeting the needs of her patrons and their community. In our letter, we highlighted key points including average age of the library collection, various titles that no longer have any business being a part of a high school library, the projected price of enhancing the copyright years, and an acceptable request for extra funding. The body of the letter does not, however, highlight content areas within the collection that need updating in order to address the needs of a diverse community. So, in addition to the letter, we chose ten titles from the section that were in desperate need of weeding and replacement and identified ten titles that have been published within the last few years to replace these texts. We included this information in a supplemental document to the letter.
Among our ten suggested replacements are titles that address multicultural customs (Traditional Festivals: A Multicultural Encyclopedia), the growing Latino population of the school’s community (The Latino Student’s Guide to College Success), and a number of college and career readiness resources since currently the library has very few resources for seniors in regards to college and beyond (Countdown to College: 21 “to-do” lists for high school and But What If I Don’t Want to Go to College? A Guide to Success Through Alternative Education). We also included Children of War: Voices of Iraqi Refugees because we found the 300s section severely lacking in titles about current international military disputes. At present, the countries of the Middle East are the ones most cited in the news; they are the students’ here and now, and there should be many texts available on the subjects of Iraq, Iran, Palestine, Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan, and others.
I know that it is easy for a librarian to lose track of what he or she has in her collection, especially a large one such as the one we evaluated. However, having completed some inventory in my internship, I have also learned that through solid librarianship and an awareness of the library collection’s age (TLC’s reports system is a great way to stay on top of this!), it is also pretty easy for a librarian to evaluate the data and use the data to ensure that his or her collection meets to evolving needs of the library’s patrons and thus, the library’s school community.
Our professor asked us to choose a school library and evaluate one section of its nonfiction collection. The purpose behind this evaluation was to identify the average copyright year of the items within the section. We chose the 300s section (the social sciences) which includes political and cultural history, careers, and college preparation. In order to evaluate the section, we first had to systematically check the average copyright dates of a random sampling of the section. Using a computation program set up through Microsoft Excel, we methodically worked through the 300s, pulling every 10th book and entering its copyright year into the program. The 300s at this particular school library include approximately 2,000 titles, so we entered data on 200 titles. We determined the average of this particular section to be 1993, sixteen years behind the current date. Using the inventory program in Excel, we were then able to take the current average copyright year of the social sciences section and gauge the approximate cost of increasing the average copyright year of the entire collection to 1996, 2000, and 2006, while maintaining the appropriate books to student ratio (10:1).
At this point in our project, I grew! I had no idea that current school librarians would allow a book from 1953 to remain on their shelves, let alone a book titled Holidays Around the World. Holidays evolve! And so do the customs and ways in which people celebrate these holidays. One cannot deny the fact that this book most likely examined WASP traditions without providing much insight into multicultural, lesser-known holidays. This lapse in multicultural awareness is especially alarming because this high school is one of the most culturally-diverse schools in the county due to its rapidly growing Latino population. Prior to taking Selection and Use, I had not even heard of the term “weeding,” and during our first discussion about weeding, I was a bit uncomfortable. Throw away books?! Believe me, when I pulled Holidays Around the World from the shelf and saw its copyright date, I was suddenly at one with weeding.
However, the amount of money that my partner and I calculated the librarian would need in order to raise the average copyright date also upset me. According to our calculations, in order for the school librarian to maintain the books to student ratio, she would need 102,370.66 dollars to replace the 5,337 books that do not meet the 2006 copyright average. The first half of this project introduced me to an entirely new perspective in regards to older, more established libraries. If books aren’t weeded, inappropriate material is left available to 21st century students. But, the maintenance of a healthy collection consisting of up-to-date reading material costs a small fortune.
This assignment did not directly assess how the librarian addresses the needs of her library community. Instead, we were asked to explain in a letter to the principal how the librarian needs to enhance her collection in order to work towards meeting the needs of her patrons and their community. In our letter, we highlighted key points including average age of the library collection, various titles that no longer have any business being a part of a high school library, the projected price of enhancing the copyright years, and an acceptable request for extra funding. The body of the letter does not, however, highlight content areas within the collection that need updating in order to address the needs of a diverse community. So, in addition to the letter, we chose ten titles from the section that were in desperate need of weeding and replacement and identified ten titles that have been published within the last few years to replace these texts. We included this information in a supplemental document to the letter.
Among our ten suggested replacements are titles that address multicultural customs (Traditional Festivals: A Multicultural Encyclopedia), the growing Latino population of the school’s community (The Latino Student’s Guide to College Success), and a number of college and career readiness resources since currently the library has very few resources for seniors in regards to college and beyond (Countdown to College: 21 “to-do” lists for high school and But What If I Don’t Want to Go to College? A Guide to Success Through Alternative Education). We also included Children of War: Voices of Iraqi Refugees because we found the 300s section severely lacking in titles about current international military disputes. At present, the countries of the Middle East are the ones most cited in the news; they are the students’ here and now, and there should be many texts available on the subjects of Iraq, Iran, Palestine, Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan, and others.
I know that it is easy for a librarian to lose track of what he or she has in her collection, especially a large one such as the one we evaluated. However, having completed some inventory in my internship, I have also learned that through solid librarianship and an awareness of the library collection’s age (TLC’s reports system is a great way to stay on top of this!), it is also pretty easy for a librarian to evaluate the data and use the data to ensure that his or her collection meets to evolving needs of the library’s patrons and thus, the library’s school community.