LIS 5443 – Collection Development, Dr. Buffy Edwards, Fall 2019
Course Goals:
- Develop knowledge and skills of identifying, evaluating, selecting, and managing collection materials
- Understand how to provide onsite and remote access to materials
- Understand current issues and trends in collection development and management
Learning and Skill Objectives:
- Understand the significance of collections within different types of libraries
- Explain issues relating to the importance of cultural diversity and intellectual freedom in the development and management of different types of collections
- Describe the purposes and the essential elements of a collection development policy
- Identify key components of a budget concerning collections
- Describe selection criteria and acquisition options for developing collections
- Be familiar with major vendors in a specific collections area
- Describe important issues relevant to collections management including deselection, preservation, and storage
- Evaluate a collection using a variety of collection-centered and user-centered techniques
- Interpret the influences of current legal, social, and technological changes on collection development and management
LIS 5443 provided a lot of information over the various facets of library collections. This included information concerning organization, policies, vendors, marketing, analysis, and more. The course was very beneficial in presenting practical information, ideas, and tools. It also provided ethical situations, scenarios, and questions (i.e. censorship and challenges) that help future LIS professionals create a strong foundation when building a collection (Goal 1.6, 1.7, 3.4, 4.1).
The Collection Development Policy assignment provided me with knowledge and examples that I will apply in creating or updating a library’s collection development policy in the future. The assignment allowed for collaboration (Goal 1.8) with course peers in researching different policies. This comparison allowed me to recognize important parts of policies such as guiding mission and vision statements, selection guidelines, deselection guidelines, challenge processes and forms, and more. The assignment helped me to realize the importance of policies in guiding decisions, basing decisions, assisting staff in operations, and informing stakeholders (Goal 1.6, 1.7, 2.2, 3.2, 3.5).
Collection Development Policy Analysis
Another pivotal assignment presented in LIS 5443 was the Collection Analysis Project. My main gains from this assignment were the practice of locating books that need to be weeded, basing these decisions on policy, and selecting appropriate books to add to the collection (Goal 3.1). I was able to focus on demographics of users as well as their needs and wants (Goal 1.1, 1.2, 1.5, 2.1). I also gained practice in utilizing book awards lists and book reviews to select high quality books (Goal 1.6, 3.4).
Lastly, the Reflection Essay provided an opportunity to analyze a library’s collection and collection practices. This allowed for practice in identifying demographics, physical space, and a library’s organization (Goal 1.2). My main observations and analysis focused on the library’s collection development and management. I was able to speak with a practicing school librarian who assisted me in gaining knowledge about vendors, award lists, review resources, turnaround times, challenging aspects, and more. I was able to reflect on successful practices that reflected LIS 5443 course materials (i.e. focus on users and implementing a policy) as well as identify aspects that could use improvement (i.e. censorship and budget and staff increase) (Goal 1.1, 1.4, 1.6, 1.8, 2.1, 2.2, 3.1, 3.3, 3.4, 3.5).
Maegan Heath 