Standard 5.1 Collections: Candidates evaluate and select print, non-print, and digital resources using professional selection tools and evaluation criteria to develop and manage a quality collection designed to meet the diverse curricular, personal, and professional needs of students, teachers, and administrators.
“The ideal library is meant for one particular reader. Every reader must feel that he or she is the chosen one,” –Alberto Manguel. I believe that Manguel is insinuating that the library should be filled with quality materials such as exciting books and powerful digital resources that make students and teachers feel as though those materials were picked just for him or her. To do this, the school librarian must be familiar with a wide range of selection tools and evaluation criteria in order to develop a quality collection. The collection should be designed to meet the diverse curricular, personal and professional needs of the school community.
During my Selection and Use course, I had the opportunity to create a seventy-five piece simulated book order. To meet the diverse needs of students, I aimed to include books with characters of multicultural backgrounds. African American and Hispanic residents are the second and third largest population groups where I teach. It is important for children to read books with characters who are like them to relate to and model after. The Hispanic population has continued to grow every year for the last five years. I intended to include biographies with an emphasis on sport figures since sports are very popular at my school. I specifically chose sports figures who not only made a difference in the sport they played, but who also made great strides in breaking down barriers for their gender or race. In addition to nonfiction, I wanted to include fiction titles with characters students could relate to and connect with. It was critical to include characters of a mixed race, like Alvin Ho who is Chinese/American. I chose to include In Our Mothers’ House by Patricia Polacco, which is about two moms raising adopted children of various races. Patricia Polacco is a reputable author and, after teaching a child with two mothers, I felt this book would be a great asset to show the various types of families. I realize that in Carroll County, a book like that would most likely be challenged. Ironically, this book was pulled from all the school libraries last year. This just makes me realize some of the challenges of ordering diverse materials for an elementary school. When I am a school librarian I will need to select books carefully using reputable selection criteria in order to choose and defend quality literature for students.
To meet the curricular needs of teachers and students, I used a curriculum chart. Earlier in my course I created a table illustrating the topics of study in reading, writing, mathematics, social studies, science, music, art, health and physical education. The chart was organized by grade level. When creating my materials order, I had to stay focused on my curriculum chart. The most difficult part of creating the material order was overcoming my own bias of what I would like to see in the library vs. what fit the curriculum. I am a huge fan of NASA and space flight. During the creation of my materials order, NASA was celebrating the 40th anniversary of Apollo 11. There were many fabulous books published on the Apollo missions for young readers. Grades four and five study the planets and briefly touch on space flight. I had to be more even-handed when ordering between subject matters. While searching through my selection sources I came across Django, an award-winning book about musician Django Reinhardt. Honestly, I wouldn’t have given this book a second glance had it not met a curricular need for fourth grade music. Therefore it was critical for me to use my curriculum chart together with selection tools in order to purchase the best of the best for the library.
To meet the professional needs for teachers, I used selection tools such as Curriculum Connections to make sure the collection was rich with resources for teachers to choose from. As I review my materials order, I realize it lacks professional resources that would be housed on professional resource shelves. For the future, I will be sure to search my selection sources for texts referencing new teaching pedagogy. Some texts I would like to purchase include, The Daily Five and The Café Book. Both of these texts have become valuable resources in Carroll County and are even referenced in the county curriculum.
In order to create an ideal library, it must be filled with quality materials that meet the curricular, personal and professional needs of the school community. This includes multicultural books, professional resources and quality teaching materials. It is essential that the school library be the central learning hub of the school. Therefore, each patron entering should leave with the feeling that those materials were purchased exclusively with him or her in mind.
During my Selection and Use course, I had the opportunity to create a seventy-five piece simulated book order. To meet the diverse needs of students, I aimed to include books with characters of multicultural backgrounds. African American and Hispanic residents are the second and third largest population groups where I teach. It is important for children to read books with characters who are like them to relate to and model after. The Hispanic population has continued to grow every year for the last five years. I intended to include biographies with an emphasis on sport figures since sports are very popular at my school. I specifically chose sports figures who not only made a difference in the sport they played, but who also made great strides in breaking down barriers for their gender or race. In addition to nonfiction, I wanted to include fiction titles with characters students could relate to and connect with. It was critical to include characters of a mixed race, like Alvin Ho who is Chinese/American. I chose to include In Our Mothers’ House by Patricia Polacco, which is about two moms raising adopted children of various races. Patricia Polacco is a reputable author and, after teaching a child with two mothers, I felt this book would be a great asset to show the various types of families. I realize that in Carroll County, a book like that would most likely be challenged. Ironically, this book was pulled from all the school libraries last year. This just makes me realize some of the challenges of ordering diverse materials for an elementary school. When I am a school librarian I will need to select books carefully using reputable selection criteria in order to choose and defend quality literature for students.
To meet the curricular needs of teachers and students, I used a curriculum chart. Earlier in my course I created a table illustrating the topics of study in reading, writing, mathematics, social studies, science, music, art, health and physical education. The chart was organized by grade level. When creating my materials order, I had to stay focused on my curriculum chart. The most difficult part of creating the material order was overcoming my own bias of what I would like to see in the library vs. what fit the curriculum. I am a huge fan of NASA and space flight. During the creation of my materials order, NASA was celebrating the 40th anniversary of Apollo 11. There were many fabulous books published on the Apollo missions for young readers. Grades four and five study the planets and briefly touch on space flight. I had to be more even-handed when ordering between subject matters. While searching through my selection sources I came across Django, an award-winning book about musician Django Reinhardt. Honestly, I wouldn’t have given this book a second glance had it not met a curricular need for fourth grade music. Therefore it was critical for me to use my curriculum chart together with selection tools in order to purchase the best of the best for the library.
To meet the professional needs for teachers, I used selection tools such as Curriculum Connections to make sure the collection was rich with resources for teachers to choose from. As I review my materials order, I realize it lacks professional resources that would be housed on professional resource shelves. For the future, I will be sure to search my selection sources for texts referencing new teaching pedagogy. Some texts I would like to purchase include, The Daily Five and The Café Book. Both of these texts have become valuable resources in Carroll County and are even referenced in the county curriculum.
In order to create an ideal library, it must be filled with quality materials that meet the curricular, personal and professional needs of the school community. This includes multicultural books, professional resources and quality teaching materials. It is essential that the school library be the central learning hub of the school. Therefore, each patron entering should leave with the feeling that those materials were purchased exclusively with him or her in mind.