Details about building the library collection
Collection development involves not only adding to a collection, but also maintaining a collection, which includes discarding resources, reorganizing, etc. A collection is a living entity, shifting and responding to changes in curriculum, interests, and at Connect, the fact that our students do much of their research online. A school library is not an archive, and as such, does not store or maintain resources which are out of date, no longer useful, or in poor condition.
Evaluation and selection is a key mandate of the teacher-librarian. At our school, the collection is built in a collaborative manner- that is, the collection reflects staff, students, and parents recommendation and requests, as well as new resources purchased to fulfill an identified deficiency or update.
Choosing fiction for grades 4-9 is a complex, collaborative and thoughtful process. Standard evaluation and selection criteria are used from professional reviewing journals (see below), as well as the selection criteria guidelines from the Calgary Board of Education.
We choose literary quality over popular and trendy, although some publications, happily, are popular and have literary quality. As a school library, our mandate is to champion good quality fiction and nurture a culture of readers, although there is definitely a place for the popular and entertaining in our collection.
Literary quality, reflection of mainstream Canadian values and society, and well-rounded character development are key considerations.
Our collection features a large proportion of Canadian publications, as well as award-winners from United States and the United Kingdom, and reflects a wide range of reading levels, and interests.
Some reviewing sources we consult:
Resource Links: Connecting Classrooms, Libraries & Canadian Learning Resources
Our Choice: The Canadian Children’s Book Centre
The Globe & Mail Books and Calgary Herald book reviews
Teacher-Librarian: The Journal for School Library Professionals
Evaluation and selection is a key mandate of the teacher-librarian. At our school, the collection is built in a collaborative manner- that is, the collection reflects staff, students, and parents recommendation and requests, as well as new resources purchased to fulfill an identified deficiency or update.
Choosing fiction for grades 4-9 is a complex, collaborative and thoughtful process. Standard evaluation and selection criteria are used from professional reviewing journals (see below), as well as the selection criteria guidelines from the Calgary Board of Education.
We choose literary quality over popular and trendy, although some publications, happily, are popular and have literary quality. As a school library, our mandate is to champion good quality fiction and nurture a culture of readers, although there is definitely a place for the popular and entertaining in our collection.
Literary quality, reflection of mainstream Canadian values and society, and well-rounded character development are key considerations.
Our collection features a large proportion of Canadian publications, as well as award-winners from United States and the United Kingdom, and reflects a wide range of reading levels, and interests.
Some reviewing sources we consult:
Resource Links: Connecting Classrooms, Libraries & Canadian Learning Resources
Our Choice: The Canadian Children’s Book Centre
The Globe & Mail Books and Calgary Herald book reviews
Teacher-Librarian: The Journal for School Library Professionals