Assignment+3+-+Collection+Evaluation

To gather quantitative data I used the Title Wise Collection Analysis tool. The library contains 14, 069 items with an average publication date of 1998. The fiction section comprises 43.98% of the collection, while the non-fiction items (including most non-circulating reference materials) make up nearly 56%. Although the fiction percentage is more than twice that suggested by Title Wise, this is without question the most utilized section of the library and there fore justifiable. A miniscule portion of the collection has been classified as professional resources, although this is not representative of the actual number since many professional resources have not been catalogued. Our library holds an average of 28 items per student, which calculates to approximately 4000 items more than the 20 items per student recommended by Title Wise. The average year of publication in the non-fiction section is 1997, which is somewhat surprising considering the school only opened in September of 1996. Although some topics covered in Science 9 (eg. cell division, atoms, and elements) are covered generally and can be suitably covered with older materials, other topics such as space exploration and reproductive technologies have experienced significant developments in the last fourteen years. **  Collection Summary in Relation to Science 9 Topics   ** ** Section  **  || ** Subject  **  || ** # of items  **  ||  **  % of total collection  **  || ** Mean Age  **  || 610-619  ||  Medical Sciences & Medicine  || 417 ||       2.97  ||       1999  ||  By way of an explanation, I have not included any circulation statistics in this assignment as the operating system would not allow me to print circulation statistics for specific sections of the collection. As the non-fiction section is my focus for this assignment, I did not wish to include a report that would reflect, for the most part, data about the fiction collection. I've included the Title Wise analysis, but my wicked wiki would not allow me to include it HERE. Please see the "Assignment 3 - Collection Mapping" page :)  ** __  Qualitative Data  __ **   To gather my qualitative data I conducted a thorough ‘shelf-scan’ of the science sections relating to the Science 9 curriculum, I spoke informally with two of the three Science 9 teachers, and I used my own observations in regards to how the teachers and students make use of the collection.    It has been my observation that, if given a choice, students will choose to use the internet for the majority of their research needs. Students seem to feel more at ease navigating search engines than checking an index and skim-reading a page. While most of the books in our collection still contain useful information, the older volumes tend to be text-heavy and are not visually appealing to the student. More recently published informational books have been designed to catch the readers’ attention with plenty of pictures, diagrams, and small chunks of information. Students frequenting my library generally do not check out non-fiction books out of general interest. The majority of usage in the non-fiction section is directly related to projects assigned by the classroom teachers. Since I began at this school in September 2009, only one of the three Science 9 teachers has assigned a research project to his students that required library resources. In part, this was a result of decreasing library availability. Another factor in the low usage by the Science department is the recent changes to the curriculum. When I asked the trio which topic(s) they would most likely assign a research project to cover, the unanimous answer was Astronomy/Space Exploration. Ironically, this is one of the two oldest sections within the science collection. Not surprisingly, although very disappointing, I found that most books in both the circulating Science collection and the reference section had a visible layer of dust on the tops. **  Shelf-scanning Notes   ** ** Section  **  || ** Videos  **  || ** Reference Books*  **  || ** Duplicate Titles  **  ||  **  Books w/ significant wear  **  || ** Other Notes  **  || 12 vol. “Outer Space” set (1998)** || 10 vol. “Inventions” set (2000)** Single volume missing from the reference set. || 1 duplicate volume in reference set 1 triplicate title || * Reference books are non-circulating ** Multi-volume set in circulating collection ** __ Collection Mapping:  __ ** The wicked wiki strikes again. Please see the "Assignment 3 - Collection Mapping" page. Sorry for the inconvenience. ** __ Summary of Findings:  __ ** Although the school and its library are relatively new, the average age of the library collection is thirteen years. From the information I have gathered it is clearly apparent that, in particular, the Science sections within the non-fiction and reference collection could use a thorough weeding and significant updating. From the dust gathering on top of the specialized encyclopedia sets as well as the books in the circulating Science collection, it is also obvious that these areas of the library are largely ignored. This is a perfect opportunity for me as a Teacher-Librarian to initiate collaboration with the Science department in order to create and implement resource based learning projects for the students. Nearly 97% of the Astronomy section is beyond the ‘Acceptable Age’ as suggested by Title Wise. Although it would be difficult to maintain a Science collection within the acceptable five year range on a school library budget, there is certainly room for improvement within this section as the average age of the books is fifteen years. As the students prefer to use technology wherever possible and topics such as Space Exploration need to be updated frequently, I will likely investigate on-line resources when considering new purchases for this collection. ** __ Reflection:  __ ** I found this assignment to be quite valuable in that it prompted me to closely examine a section of the collection that I have been avoiding. As the Science teachers in my school do not visit the library for purposes beyond snagging a Bill Nye video or attending staff meetings, there has not been much impetus to venture into the Science section and see what’s what. What was surprising were the clear indicators that my successor, who had run the library since its opening in 1996, had spent little time weeding and updating the science collection during her last few years. Once I began, gathering the quantitative data was fairly straight forward. The only difficulty I experienced was trying to create a circulation report for specific sections of the collection. Accessing the quantitative data, however, was a completely different situation. Following close on the heels of the report card cycle, my attempts to gather information from the Science teachers were frustrating. I began by putting a short, three question survey in their mailboxes and then followed up with a quick e-mail when there was no response. When my e-mail went unanswered, I had to invade their Science labs and ask in person. In addition, trying to find some uninterrupted time to scan the shelves was also a challenge. The next time I undertake an evaluation of a particular section I’ll be sure to give myself an abundance of time and will skip the notes and the e-mails and just go straight to the teachers for their input.
 * __ Quantitative Data:  __ **
 * 500-509  ||  Natural Sciences  ||  111  ||  0.79  ||  1996  ||
 * 520-529  ||  Astronomy  ||  158  ||  1.13  ||  1996  ||
 * 530-539  ||  Physics  ||  100  ||  0.71  ||  1997  ||
 * 540-549  ||  Chemistry  ||  89  ||  0.63  ||  2000  ||
 * 570-579  ||  Life Sciences & Biology  ||  223  ||  1.59  ||  1999  ||
 * 600-609  ||  Technology  ||  87  ||  0.62  ||  1997  ||
 * 620-629  ||  Engineering  ||  227  ||  1.62  ||  1997  ||
 * 500-509 ||   7   ||   41   ||   11   ||   0   ||  20 vol. “Young Scientist” set (1997)**  ||
 * 520-529 ||   8   ||   0   ||   11   ||   3   ||  7 vol. “Planet Guide” set (1992) x2**
 * 530-539 ||   20   ||   0   ||   8   ||   1   ||   ||
 * 540-549 ||   3   ||   1   ||   3   ||   1   ||  50 individual books on specific elements or element families  ||
 * 570-579 ||   36   ||   11   ||   12   ||   3   ||  1 triplicate title  ||
 * 600-609 ||   5   ||   13   ||   2   ||   4   ||  1 triplicate title
 * 610-619 ||   38   ||   51   ||   16   ||   0   ||  8 vol. “Under the Microscope” set (1998)** showing wear on corners
 * 620-629 ||   10   ||   0   ||   19   ||   10   ||  1 title with FOUR copies, none look worn  ||