LIB505 Collection Policy Project

Collection Policy Project

Andrea Bravin
Azusa Pacific University
LIB 505

LIB505 Collection Policy Project

This essay covers the examination and evaluation of two collection development policies. The
school where I work does not have a collection policy nor is there a local school district with one.
As I work in the middle of Mexico I have decided to base my essay on two U.S. schools. The first
being the Avon Grove School District in West Grove, Pennsylvania and the second being the
Brearley School in New York.

Why is a policy needed?

The first point to cover when looking at or creating a collection development policy is to
ask the question; why is a policy needed? Once we understand why a policy is needed then we can
see whether the policy we are looking at actually does what it is meant to do. Every school
system should have a comprehensive policy on the selection of instructional materialshaphazard
patterns of acquisition will result in waste because someperhaps manymaterials will overlap
in content, or will be unrelated to changing patterns of instruction. (ALA, 2012). Collection
development policies also enable school librarians to explain the school program to parents and
staff. When there are complaints, anything that is seen as being objectionable can be defended
through a good selection policy. A good policy on the selection of instructional materials will be
relevant to your particular system and include basic sections on objectives, responsibility, criteria,
procedures for selection, reconsideration of materials, and policies on controversial materials
(ALA, 2012).

Statement of Philosophy

Bishop argues that one of the first things needed to be included in a selection policy is a
Statement of Philosophy which presents the schools districts values and beliefsshould also
address how the educational resources help the school achieve its goals (2007). The Brearley
School Library covers these points in three sections rather than a specific Philosophy. In their
Introduction and Purpose and their Library Mission and Priorities, they state that The goals of
the Collection Development Policy are: to communicate information about the collections and
their development; to provide information fundamental to the planning of the use of funds; to
document where cooperative programs exist; to insure consistency in the librarys collection.to
provide informational, cultural, and recreational materials, allowing for the presentation of many
different points of view. Materials with a diversity of appeal are purchased in a variety of formats
(Aakre, 2011). They go on to briefly cover how the library supports curriculum in their Library
Program where they mention fixed schedule classes, research support assigned research, personal
research, and pleasure reading. Bishop states that links to documents that support principles such
as students rights to access information to read, listen, view, and evaluate is important to
include (2007) She also states that Selection policies articulate the media programs
commitment to the right of intellectual freedom (Bishop, 2007). The Brearley School Library
Collection Development Policy quotes the entire Freedom to Read Statement - a very powerful
joint statement by the American Library Association and the Association of American Publishers
which states The freedom to read is essential to our democracy. It is continuously under attack.
Private groups and public authorities in various parts of the country are working to remove or
limit access to reading materials, to censor content in schools, to label "controversial" views, to
distribute lists of "objectionable" books or authors, and to purge libraries. These actions
apparently rise from a view that our national tradition of free expression is no longer valid; that
censorship and suppression are needed to counter threats to safety or national security, as well as

to avoid the subversion of politics and the corruption of morals (ALA, 1953). After reading that
any parent wanting to make a complaint would definitely question the validity of their argument
before making it official. Avon Grove School chose to not include any form of statement of
Philosophy which would have made a good start to their policy.

Selection Objectives
Objectives identify the materials that will be in the collection, present a rationale for using
a variety of resources in the school, and describe the basis for judging the educational suitability
for the materials for use by students and teachers (Bishop, 2007). Brearley School Library and
Avon do cover this requirement but not in the form of statements which would have been much
easier to understand. Where statements do appear is in Brearleys introduction where they have
three brief statements mentioning to communicate information about the collections and their
development; to provide information fundamental to the planning of the use of funds; to
document where cooperative programs exist; to insure consistency in the librarys collection
(Aakre, 2011). These could have and I believe should have been extended as part of a Selection
Objectives section.
Responsibility for Selection
Brearley School do very clearly state responsibility for the selection of library materials
rests with the librarians but also states that suggestions, reviews, and recommendations from
faculty and staff are welcome. However, many questions go unanswered. Such as, does a
committee make selection decisions? Do media specialists work independently? How is
responsibility delegated? How is input for selection gathered from teachers and students? (Bishop,
2007) Strangely Avon Grove school places the responsibility with the SchoolDistrict.

Selection Criteria
Brearley do give a list of criteria although I believe they could have been better defined
and more profound as many sound very weak compared to Bishops recommendations and even
come across as bad copies.
Avon Grove on the other hand have a strong selection criteria with examples such as
Library materials shall be appropriate for the subject area and for the age, emotional
development, ability level, learning styles, and social development of students for whom materials
are selectedLibrary materials shall be selected to help students gain an awareness of our diverse
society (2008).These are the perfect examples of well rounded, clear criteria.

Gifts
Both have criteria for gifts but again Avon Grove takes this a step further by giving clear
statements about the aesthetic and informational standards that gifts must meet to be accepted
into the library. Again this could be an important defense when a donor complains that the
librarian will not accept their National Geographic magazines from the nineteen-sixties. Brearley
hardly mentions gifts at all and has none of these important statements.

Policies on Controversial Materials

Brearley covers everything Bishop argues as being important to include such as the library
supporting intellectual freedom and the importance of the First Amendment to the United States
Constitution. Brearley also goes on to state the process by which complaints are handled. Avon
Grove does the same but again breaks it down into digestible steps. One thing that Avon Grove
does differently is when giving out the Request for Reconsideration of Library Materials form
they also state they will give out a packet of materials including the District's goals and objectives

and the materials selection policy statement. This is like a two edged sword as not only would the
formality of it put many lighthearted complainers off but it also gives the librarian some weight
when defending their collection.
Weeding
Weeding policy is covered in both Policies although Avon Grove uses the M.U.S.T.Y
method to explain reasons for weeding whereas Brearley uses their own language which is good
but could have been more concise.
Conclusion

Overall they were both very clear and covered many of the points that the American Library
Association (2012) and Bishop (2007) argue are important elements on a Selection Policy. I
appreciated that Brearley included the very powerful ALA Freedom to Read Statement but the
clarity and wording of statements that Avon Grove School Library included in their Policy made it
much easier to follow for all the community.References
Avon Grove School District, (2008) Selection Policy for School Library
Materials, Retrieved November 4, 2012 from
http://www.avongrove.org/district/images/pdfs/policies/109AR%20Selection%20Policy
%20for%20School%20Library%20Materials.pdf
American Library Association (2012) Workbook for Selection Policy Writing
Retrieved November 4, 2012 from http://www.ala.org/Template.cfm?
Section=dealing&Template=/ContentManagement/ContentDisplay.cfm&ContentID=1117
3
Bishop,K. (2007). The Collection Program in Schools. 41 - 57
Chow A & A. (2011) The Brearley School Library Collection Development
Policy Retrieved November 4, 2012 from
http://www.brearley.org/library/CollectionDevelopmentPolicy2011.pdf