03-Assignment+Three+(Collection+Evaluation+and+Report)


 * ** QUANTITATIVE DATA ** ||

Sentinel Secondary School’s library uses Follett Software Company’s [|“Destiny Library Manager”] program. While the program appears to run a number of different types of reports, I did not get the chance to sit down myself and use the program to become familiar with it. Rather, the TL herself was glad to assist me in running reports. Even so, her knowledge of the different types of reports available and different ways in which it might be possible to filter, arrange, and display data seemed limited; this is likely due to the fact that she has her “bread and butter” reports that she finds useful and effective for running the library the way she wants to run it, and she has no motivation or occasion to spend time learning to run other types of reports.

What follows is the hard data that I uncovered from the two reports that the TL ran for me concerning the 800s.


 * CIRCULATION DATA REPORT: “NF 800 AAA – 899 ZZZ” **


 * There are 1,234 total copies of books in the 800s.
 * The total circulation number currently is 879, though I am not entirely certain what time frame or context that number exists within—and neither was the TL.




 * CIRCULATION DATA REPORT: “NF 810 – 828” **

As this particular range of call numbers includes the items most commonly used by English 11 teachers, a separate report was created and analyzed more closely later in this report in the “Collection Mapping” section.


 * There are 972 total copies of books in the 810-828s.
 * The total circulation number currently is 738.






 * ** QUALITATIVE DATA ** ||

The following sections represent the different ways in which I explored acquiring qualitative data.


 * // COLLECTION MANAGEMENT FOR YOUTH //**

In their book //Collection Management for Youth: Responding to the Needs of Learners//, authors Sandra Hughes-Hassell and Jacqueline C. Mancall sketch out a more user-centric vision of school library collection management. The following questions—excerpted directly from //Vista//—offer a nice set of ideas with which to start a general conversation regarding Sentinel’s collection in the 800s.
 * How well do the items support the learning styles of my learners (visual, auditory, bodily-kinesthetic)?
 * While the 800s themselves do not include any videos, there is a fairly robust collection of literature-based videos (most often in the form of DVDs with some old VHS tapes thrown in) in stacks nearby nearby.
 * Additionally, the West Vancouver School District recently purchased a subscription to the online video resource [|Learn360], which offers streaming video services focusing on educational content. While the subscription is teacher-only (not available to students), it does offer a wider array of video options for teachers using the 800s.
 * Auditory? Certainly the available videos also cover audio.
 * As the 800’s deal with literature, and as literature tends to be—well, a //literary//, often text-based medium—there is not much offered with regards to bodily-kinesthetic learning. Certainly, any of the content pieces available //could// potentially be used with a focus on bodily-kinesthetic interaction, but the nature of the material itself does not automatically lend itself to such use.
 * How well do the items support the reading levels of my learners?
 * For English 11 learners, the reading level is great. In fact, for most regular English 11 students (as opposed to Advanced Placement English 11), many of the titles would be healthy “stretches.”
 * How well do the items support the learning differences of my learners?
 * As most of the texts are in the form of traditional types of literature (poetry, books on authors, criticism, etc.), most of the books are text-based. As such, most visual learners would likely be at a disadvantage when accessing works from the 800s. There are, however, some titles that include—or that lean a little bit more toward—images.
 * How well do the items support attainment of curricular standards or benchmarks?
 * Since English curricular standards are based on concept and skills-development in general (as opposed to fact/content knowledge specifically), the works found in the 800s—along with the fiction works found throughout other parts of the library—go far in terms of allowing English teachers to design units and lessons around curricular requirements. A common notion amongst English teachers is that //you can teach the curriculum with nearly any content, really//—what is important is the development of skills and concepts along the way.
 * How well do the items support large-group, small-group, and individual work?
 * Similar to the comment on bodily-kinesthetic learning above, the items found in the 800s can be used to meet all large-group, small-group, and individual work possibilities—the material simply must be used in that way.
 * How well do the items help students create the expected student product (e.g. a Powerpoint slide show with video clips)?
 * While the content in the 800s itself does not //do// the work—or provide instructions on doing the work—for creating expected student products, certainly the material available is amply capable of provide grist for the student work mill in English class.


 * EXTENSIVE WEEDING OF THE 800’S EARLIER THIS YEAR **

In the winter of 2012, the school TL underwent a major weeding of the 800’s section. She removed in total over 300 book titles that, according to her, featured a number of books that had not been checked out since the 1990’s. (Note: At least one English teacher told me that, though the quantitative information retrieved from Destiny by the TL is “accurate,” it is not entirely accurate: the English teacher claims that her students have used a number of the books in question, but simply have used them in the context of researching only //in// the library without checking out the books. So there has been some use without official, quantitative recording of that use).



The weeded books have, happily—for this English teacher, at least—landed on the shelves of my classroom. As such, my classroom has now become a de facto 800’s mini-library. As mentioned in an earlier assignment, This solved the immediate problem—and also provided me with a great-looking wall of shelves tidily stocked with an attractive collection of subject-relevant titles. However, the more general and larger problem is unanswered for the time being and can be summarized as something like this: we are standing at the crossroads of physical and digital ages in libraries; we are accessing both older and very new technologies in order to power the teaching and learning engine; a result of this reality is that, sometimes, TLs don’t know what to do with a veritable gold mine of fine books that have not been utilized for years—and the thought of removing these books from the collection is a thought that often sends chills up the spines of both TLs and English teachers alike.





All things considered, the 800’s—though now much more streamlined—still do remain as an attractive collection that is now perhaps—as was, of course, the TL’s goal—a more attractive and effective collection.

**//ACHIEVING INFORMATION LITERACY// CHECKLIST**

Completing sample evaluation checklist number 4 on page 75 of //Achieving Information Literacy// was perhaps the most awkward task in this project becuase at the same time that I could recognize the importance of each item a-l, I could also recognize my relative inexperience with teacher-librarianship and the limiting factor that had on my ability to complete the checklist with any sense of confidence--or even any real sense of meaningfulness. In this roundabout way, however, the task was worthwhile: it forced me to see that it while it //could// and //should// be a worthwhile task, it was at present not a very worthwhile task for me. As such, the implication is that I need to continue to push forward and become familar enough with the workings of school libraries in general and Sentinel's school library specifically that I can breeze through such a checklist and glean actionable meaning out of it.




 * DIRECT EXAMINATION **

The following direct examination is based on answering questions posed by Bishop on pages 145 and 146.

// Are some shelves consistently empty? //

Since undergoing an extensive round of weeding by the current TL earlier this year, the 800’s is a sleek collection of works old and new. I use “sleek” here as a euphemism, primarily for these reasons: Since I am not an official TL yet—and have never worked as one—I am not entirely certain if the collection is too slim or just right. I am not certain if the weeding that has been done is appropriate or if it is the result of a TL who was trying to clean up for the sake of cleaning up.
 * The collection is now rather slim at least as far as physical appearance on //some// of the shelves housing the 800s is concerned—appearing minimalist.
 * At the same time that the above is true, I also know it is true that a well-weeded collection is an important step to maintaining resources that patrons actually use and need (and that a library overflowing with books on its shelves certainly doesn’t go very far with regards to convincing administrators or school boards that the library needs additional funding for resources (“Look at the shelves right now,” the principal might say. “They are overflowing with books!”). Let us not forget Hamlet’s similar warnings in the play by the same name: let us not allow our collection to become “an unweeded garden.”

// Are teachers giving assignments that call for those materials? //

Informal polling suggests little use of the 800s on a regular basis by English teachers. The types of use that the section //does// get tend to center around the following: Both of these uses often see students using the books only //in// the library in more of a reference book fashion. Sometimes students will make Xerox copies of pages in these books, and sometimes—if the study occurring is part of a unit that has been done before by the teacher and the TL—the TL will have pre-copied pertinent material for students to analyze and take notes on.
 * Students researching a particular author for a biography study.
 * Students researching some aspect of Shakespearean history or theatre criticism in conjunction with reading a play.

// Does the collection development policy provide for adequate coverage in this area? //

The only official collection development policy I could find on paper dates from the 1995-1996 academic year and is sufficiently broad and general enough in its scope to allow for adequate coverage in this area. As such, the state of the 800s quickly boils down to a chicken-and-egg conundrum (no pun intended): Is the collection slim (at least in its physical appearance on the shelves) because it is not meeting the needs of the users? Or are the needs of the users such that the collection is absolutely meeting the needs of the users—it is simply the case that the physical collection is less and less used nowadays, and as such, the physical collection is dwindling?

It should be noted that author studies and Shakespeare-related research are often first started online. Many projects focusing on author studies and/or Shakespeare //could// be entirely completed using solely online material. However, it is also often the case—predictably—that the information accessed online is also often of a questionable validity or originates from a source of similarly questionable reliability.

See the collection development policy listed in item number four on page two of this document:



// Have students turned to electronic forms? //

As noted above—yes. When undergoing poetry studies, students often use the Internet for access to poetry (on both more “formal” sites [maintained by organizations or educational institutions] and more “informal” websites [maintained by apparent individuals]).

The //Gale Biography// database is a particularly notable online resource when it comes to students researching individual authors.


 * CONVERSATION WITH THE SENTINEL SECONDARY SCHOOL TL **

In speaking with Sentinel’s TL specifically regarding this assignment, she shared some insights regarding collection development in general (noting things that first come to her mind when considering the topic):


 * Actually seeing and feeling material is the most important step to take when looking to build a collection.
 * Though this comment has more to do, of course, with collection development than collection evaluation, the TL came back to it so often as a conversation point I thought it worth noting. She specifically notes that vendor displays—such as the “BC Media Showcase” at the Italian Cultural Centre (particularly useful for DVDs and online streaming), the BCTLA conference (for a “mishmash” of items), and an unnamed multi-vendor display for BC’s Lower Mainland that focuses mostly on nonfiction curricular materials—are one of the best ways to get to know material and how to wisely spend money on quality, relevant resources.
 * Collection development comments:
 * The Collection itself today is comprised of
 * Books
 * Databases
 * Ebooks
 * Database subscriptions represent one of the largest chunks of annual library spending and easily is the area that has increased most quickly in recent times. As such, the TL intends to more aggressively focus on pushing for database awareness and use next year; her first plan of attack is to create large, colorful posters to hang behind the most commonly-used bank of computers that state something like “The world beyond Google and Wikipedia”—the posters would then give a simple overview of available databases, their ideal uses, and how to use them.
 * Popular fiction development comments:
 * Ask users which books they want.
 * Go frequently to bookstores.
 * Read the Saturday newspapers’ “book sections” to stay abreast of current titles.
 * Nonfiction titles:
 * Watch out for a surplus of titles form publishers on topics like “The Roman Empire” or “Shakespeare”—there are thousands of titles out there on these topics, and any “new” publications are likely simply rehashing of information the library already has.
 * Collection evaluation comments:
 * Checking the collection against lists:
 * The TL said, flatly, that there is simply no time to do things like check the collection against lists.


 * ** COLLECTION MAPPING ** ||


 * 810-829: AMERICAN LITERATURE **


 * ** Category ** || ** # of books ** || ** Average age of books (median) ** ||
 * 810: American literature in English || 30 || 1990 ||
 * 811: Poetry || 176 || 1988 ||
 * 812: Drama || 66 || 1976 ||
 * 813: Fiction || 48 || 1989 ||
 * 814: Essays || 2 || 1983 ||
 * 815: Speeches || 3 || 2004 ||
 * 816: Letters || 0 || 0 ||
 * 817: Satire & humor || 5 || 1978 ||
 * 818: Miscellaneous writings || 18 || 1981 ||
 * 819: Optional number || 5 || 1986 ||
 * ** TOTAL: ** || ** 373 ** || ** 1986 ** ||

Number of books in a colorful clustered column:



Average age of books, once again in a colorful clustered column:




 * 820-829: ENGLISH LITERATURE **


 * ** Category ** || ** # of books ** ||
 * 820: English and old English literatures || 38 ||
 * 821: English poetry || 216 ||
 * 822: English drama || 247 ||
 * 823: English fiction || 83 ||
 * 824: English essays || 2 ||
 * 825: English speeches || 0 ||
 * 826: English letters || 0 ||
 * 827: English satire & humor || 19 ||
 * 828: English miscellaneous writings || 15 ||
 * 829: Old English (Anglo-Saxon) || 0 ||
 * ** TOTAL: ** || ** 701 ** ||

Number of books in a colorful clustered column:




 * ** SUMMARY REPORT OF FINDINGS ** ||


 * DISCOVERIES: WHAT DO THE DATA TELL US? **

The 800s actually features fantastic titles along with an impressive array of high quality, very “literary” works. My opinion in this area is, of course, biased: as an English teacher, I was delighted to see numerous individual collections of poetry by Canadian poets like Dave Bouchard, Al Purdy, Earle Birney, and Bill Bissett. In real time, I was surprised to see the quantity of poetry titles on the shelves; now, upon reflection, I see that the data reveals that it was not my poetic eyes that fixated on the poetry volumes: there is, in fact, more poetry in the 810-819 section than any other category by more than a 3 to 1 margin.

This fact, however, is not wholly celebratory. The number of circulations are very low (we think—the TL and I are, again, not certain of the time context in which the circulation data exists). Even if the circulation numbers are uncertain with regards to reliability, I feel confident in simply anecdotally surmising that the 800s section is little-used.

This lack of use is attributable to a number of reasons. First, many poetry- and author-based projects that students do are done more and more online. This online use, of course, has the potential of negating the usefulness of the physical collection. Secondly, in these same projects, students may in fact be using physical books from the 800s, but they may not be signing them out; as such, this use is not recorded in Destiny. Thirdly, English teachers at Sentinel simply do not assign a lot of extended research or extended essay types of assignments. English teachers here do not assign a lot of inquiry-based projects that require active use of the library. For reasons that I am not entirely aware of, this is simply the culture of the English department.

The data also tell us that the drama and fiction sections of both the 810s and the 820s include high numbers of titles. These titles largely reveal the same trends as the poetry titles: not much circulation despite their high numbers, and not many English-related assignments requiring their use.


 * RECOMMENDATIONS **

Based on what I have learned in this process, I recommend the following:


 * Maintain the 800s collection and add to it as suitable: the titles that are there are quality and relevant, but the titles are merely facing the challenge of competing against digital access.
 * Find ways to tactfully encourage English teachers to embrace inquiry-based projects and, by extension, coming to more frequently use the library.
 * Continue to keep in mind that a successful collection today features a blend of many media—notably print resources, online databases, and ebooks—and to continue to push myself to discover what the appropriate balance of resources is for the Sentinel library. What is the appropriate print-database-ebook split for our library in terms of budget allocation? 20-60-20? 30-40-30? Something else?
 * Because of the relatively little traffic that the 800s see, and because of the increased traffic that online resources see, a general, overarching, but important recommendation is to actively work to increase digital literacy skills.
 * A further insight into the digital literacy skills conversation that I have lately come to see, however, is the importance of an additional conversation around not only the importance of effectively analyzing online sources of information, but also recognizing that in some cases print resources are still superior to online resources. Ironically, this is one of the “digital literacy” takeaways that I am coming to realize. I would like to share that insight with students.


 * ** REFLECTION ** ||

It is worth mentioning that a study of the 800s does not tell the whole tale of what is important with regards to English 11 and library use. The fiction section represents perhaps the most popular and most well-circulated collection of titles in the library—and the fiction section, of course, features titles that are at the heart of what is read in English classes. In future, when evaluating an entire library collection through an English class lens, I certainly would not limit myself to only the 800s.

I need to get to know the Destiny library program better—ideally, it would be great to have a basic understanding of and familiarity with an array of commonly-used library software.

The actual process of this project unfolded more like the spiraling grid of Paris’s //arrondissements//—in contrast to my typically more planned, chunked, and methodically completed work. This stemmed from a number of reasons. First, while the scope of the project was never overwhelming, it did involve new-to-me tasks that required a second moment of reflection before jumping into beginning. Secondly, there were enough different ways to approach the evaluation—enough different possible quantitative and qualitative methods—that I found myself pausing, and on occasion awkwardly starting and stopping, before I every really gained momentum in a particular direction. There was no immediate blossoming of what Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi would call “flow” that led me toward the obvious meeting-place of my ideas and the topic of the project itself. Seeing that there was no prescriptive roadmap to completing the project, I finally settled on starting with what seemed like the most rudimentary and obvious data collection method: the direct examination. From there, slowly but surely, the project //did// start to unfold, but still in a rather spiralling, haphazard manner. I am not convinced that this fact made it a bad experience; rather, I feel like the project offered much food for thought and, as such, encouraged my mind to make constant connections, back and forth between right and left brain, delaying a sense of linear synthesis that would generally signal to me, “Go—begin the work...you are ready.” And, frankly, I found these mental gymnastics amusing and enjoyable.

As is often the case with academic courses that focus on a professional skill, this project offered an insight into the not-always perfect marriage of theory and practice: I understand the benefits of and reasons for carrying out each of the methods noted in Bishop with regards to collection evaluation, but this mere understanding does not ensure that each method will be carried out. Though we may //know// something, it does not mean we have time to //do// that thing. There is a split between the ideal and the real: ideally, collection evaluation would be a regular part of a TL’s duties. However, my conversations with Sentinel’s TL suggested that such evaluation does not often happen on much of a formal level due largely to general busyness and time constraints. At the same time, however, I understand that “formal” evaluation may not be so necessary for a TL who has years of knowledge and expertise and who understands his or her collection quite well.

On manual labor: I assume that there are sorting and filtering options on Destiny that I was not made aware of by my rather brief time using it with the TL. At least I //hope// that there are because I am not interested in counting numbers of titles and averaging dates by hand again (on second thought, though, there is something attractively nostalgic about bending over paper with pen and feeling like I am channeling the efforts of pre-computer technology librarians).


 * ** REFERENCES ** ||

Asselin, Marlene, Jennifer L. Branch, and Dianne Oberg. //Achieving Information Literacy: Standards for School Library Programs in Canada//. Ottawa: Canadian School Library Association, 2003. Print.

Bishop, Kay, and Orden Phyllis. Van. //The Collection Program in Schools: Concepts, Practices, and Information Sources //. Westport, CT: Libraries Unlimited, 2007. Print.

Csikszentmihalyi, Mihaly. //Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience//. New York: Harper & Row, 1990. Print.

Hughes-Hassell, Sandra, and Jacqueline C. Mancall. //Collection Management for Youth: Responding to the Needs of Learners//. Chicago: American Library Association, 2005. Print.