Assignment+3

Cindy Nedo
====To begin this assignment, I first had to determine the area of study that I would like to further into. I have chosen to complete to create a Social Studies unit on the Continents for Grade Four students. Assignment 3 will allow me to evaluate what resources I have in the non-fiction 900 section of my library. I will collect data from many different sources and use qualitative and quantative data as well as collection mapping to complete my collection evaluation. The purpose of this assignment will allow me to base an informative decision on the presented data. According to Bishop, this evaluation process will determine whether my collection will meet the curricular and instructional needs of my planned unit and the library. Finally, this study will also give strong data to communicate the collection needs to my administrator.====
 * ====//**Process:**//====


 * **Quantitative Data**
 * I first began printing off reports for my library using the system called Destiny from Follett. I needed to remind myself how to this as I hadn't done this in awhile. The focus of my reports was on the Nonfiction 900 section of the library. T****he average age of the my 900 section at Miller Park is approximately 15 years old from 1996. This section consists of about 500 titles. Circulations in this section this year are at 110. The sub sections that were most circulated were (**910-919) at 54 circulations, then the (940-949) at 19 circulations,(920-929) at 16 circulations and (970-979) at 15 circulations as noted in the tables below.

After printing off the reports, I then began searching the collection for books on Continents. When I searched the catalog for books on the Continents, I recieved
====11 titles in my search. Within that search, two titles were atlases, one title was a book on Canadian Geography, seven titles were specific the Continents and the last book was a title on Archaeology. My library did not have books on all of the Continents, I am missing South America and Africa .====

====Being the TL in our library for about 4 years, I really have a good grasp for what the teachers are asking for and what the students are reading. In regards to the 900 section, this section doesn't seek frequent many circulations. However, it does create great use when there is a research project on countries, Remembrance Day and Flags. This section has quite a few titles, almost too many copies. The 910-919 section of the library has over 262 titles, I believe this section is made up of books on Countries. These books are over 15 years and I have weeded this section but I think this number is still to high. In order to complete the Qualitative section of the project, I first began making observations about library and what students were frequently taking out. Below are some general notes about this.====
 * ===Qualitative===

(Raw Data) Notes from Teacher Librarian
 * ======My students first and foremost enjoy taking out the books that are easily accessible. Book bins and book cubbies definitely are checked out most frequently. These bins and cubbies are labeled with pictures and titles and used by Grades K-5. These sections contain chapter books and picture books.======
 * ======The Easy Fiction section is always popular as well, with student recognizing authors names or books they have written in order to find them.======
 * ======Nonfiction is also popular, however, I recieve the most questions about this section. Students unsure how to locate books in this section even though it has been taught.======
 * As for the 900 section, I find boys taking out books on War, countries, and the joke books get circulated most often from this section.

Notes from Students
 * will choose books that are easy to find
 * use the internet to locate information rather than use the library books
 * library doesn't have what they are looking for
 * accessbility is limited as they only come once a week
 * unfamiliar with the 900 section and its contents
 * the teacher has already signed out the books and they don't have to

Notes from Teachers;
 * Don't often complete research projects with students
 * Large undertaking to do Continents/Countries research
 * Limited opportunities in the library with part time TL
 * enjoy using the library to support classroom topics, reading power book and strategies, speech development


 * ==Collection Mapping==

====In order to complete the collection mapping, I created a table to display the data that I collected. I travelled to each shelf in the 900 section and physically viewed the material first hand. I did notice the quality of most of the titles was good as this is a section that is not regularily accessed by most students. It is only accessed when there is an a research project occuring or when a student is looking for something specific like books on Canada's Wars, Remembrance Day, Countries, Continents and Flags of the World.====

I also collected data on other resources I had in the library that focussed on the topic of Continents.


The 900 section of my library is approximately 15 years of age from 1996. It consists of 500 titles with 110 circulations this school year (Sept 2010/ Jan 2011) Many of the circulations of the 900 section are in the 910-919 section. This section contains the most titles with 262 titles within the collection. These books consist of books such as Countries, Continents, Remembrance Day, and War History. As for the qualitative viewpoint, I did talk students and teachers about my library. I did this informally by asking a few students in grade 4/5 what they thought about the library in general and became more specific. Most of the students had issues with finding the location of books and found the nonfiction section difficult to navigate. The Collection Map shared there was many resources on the nonfiction shelves. However, there wasn't many alternative resources such as DVD's, and e-resources readily available in the library or on it's website.
 * ==Summary==

Strengths
 * recent copies for most continents with a current publication date of 2005
 * many titles in the 900 nonfiction section of the library
 * condition of the books in this section is good
 * continent books in this section are at the right interest and readability levels for students in grade 4/5

Weaknesses
 * two continents not represented in the collection (South America & Africa)
 * over 500 titles in the 900 section of the library, needs to be weeded more
 * students find the nonfiction section difficult to navigate even after lessons
 * no dvds in the collection on continents
 * some books in the 900 nonfiction section have a high readability

Improvements
 * a need to weed the 900 section over 500 copies
 * purchase titles on the continents of South America and Africa
 * seek out media such as DVD's on the Continents
 * supplement the 900 section with other e-resources
 * create a resource list for continents and place on the library webpage
 * purchase online subscriptions for movies

As I look back on this experience, I believe it has made me look deeper into my collection. I seem to have alot of books in the 900 section especially on Countries. Bishop's advice to directly examine the collection for its size, scope and depth made me think about what was really happening here. I have attempted to weed the 910-919 section in the past but I have always felt I should keep ahold of these books for one day someone might be doing research on Countries. Now that I have had this experience, I feel it is okay to let some more of these titles go. When I had the chance to physically inspect this section, it was apparent that many titles were now aging and had very few circulations. Bishop also brings up that perhaps teachers are not completing this kind of assignment anymore. Our school was once a grades K-7 school, where these books would have been needed back then. But now the teachers at my school are not completing this assignment any longer. That said, with few circulations, I am thinking that research has now broadened so students are using online resources to seek out data rather than print resources.
 * ===Reflection===

This assignment worked well for me, I had the opportunity to print out reports that I didn't even knew existed. It also built my confidence when it comes to weeding the collection. I am finally ready to let go of some books, that I was feeling obligated to keep ahold of in the past.

What didn't work for me? I found this assignment very likeable and applicable, however it was quite time consuming to complete. With that said, I am glad it is done!

What would you do differently next time? If I could do anything different, I would have liked to have completed it with my whole collection in hand. As you may be aware, half of my library is in boxes in storage at my old school due to the seismic upgrade. I felt I could have had a more focused outlook on this project with the entire 900 section on my shelves.