Hello Information Springboard Readers:
Last semester I had a fieldwork assignment with an elementary school. One of my tasks was to perform a collection development of the classic fairy tale collection. I was ready to embrace change on this dated collection. Nonetheless, I wish I'd read Chapter 9 of The Portable MLIS written by G. Edward Evans prior to the project.
As I reflect on the process, I found myself hanging in the balance between executive decisions and thinking - who am I to tell these people what to order? I knew Cinderella and the like would be popular to many of the young girls, but thought it would be nice to have an Eastern European and Indian version to include the growing diversity of the district. For that matter, what would appeal to young boys? In addition, I wanted to know what the teachers needed. What materials were they using in class? What did their curriculum call for? Lastly, what did the other schools in the district offer in terms of depth and breadth and were they being circulated? G.E. Evans clearly summarized my sentiments in the four needs assessment areas; “normative, felt, expressed, and comparative needs” (2008, 88).
Scanning was critical to not only determine who was using this collection, but it also played into my process of scanning reviews to determine what would meet their needs. Ultimately, Evans’ regard for relationship building is, in my mind, a key component. While I didn’t deal with the vendor directly due to budget freezes, I found my communication with the LMS, teachers, and children was integral to develop a suggested list of wants through Titlewave.
Spring,
Kate
References
Haycock, K., & Sheldon, B. E. (2008). The portable MLIS : Insights from the experts. Westport, Conn.: Libraries Unlimited.
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