3+Collection+Evaluation+and+Report

=**Collection Evaluation & Report** =

According to Bishop (2007) the library collection, including the school library collection, should be based upon how well the collection serves the needs of its users. It should also reflect the philosophy and vision of the Library Media Program. This will ensure the goals and objectives of the library program is being met for administrators, teachers, students, parents, and the larger community. A evaluation of the library collection can help a new teacher librarian become familiar with collection and to notice any circulation patterns. For a senior librarian, it could provide the foundation for developing a plan for evaluating the media center collection and provide facts on which to base funding decisions about collections and for communicating collection needs to administrators.

Several different of evaluating a library collection has been developed that include quantitative and qualitative measures. Bishop (2007) reminds us that no one correct method of collection evaluation is available to be used in all libraries; however, three general types of measures can help media specialists evaluate school library collections. One important reason why at least two different methods should be used is because each provides a different perspective on the library collection.

Quantitative measures are good for budget requests when the rationale is based on statistical data that clearly demonstrates areas of need for collection development along with understanding of how libraries contribute to student achievement.

For this assignment, I decided to concentrate on the 150, 360, 570, 610, and 640 sections of the collection that were resources that would be used for Health and Career Education - Grade 6. I used the end of the year library reports for 2010-2011 school year that contained the New Items, Missing Items, and Items Circulated by borrower and category. The Items Circulated report just gave a list of materials that were checked out, but not the amount if times.

=QUANTITATIVE DATA: =

The Vancouver School Board Uses The Horizon 7.5.1 system. I am not too familiar with the system, but the teacher-librarian at the school was willing to let me explore the system to try and generate certain reports. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to become proficient enough to generate specific reports suitable for my collection evaluation. The school also is able to connect remotely to ReportWise that generates reports about overdues, circulation, new items, lost items, and fines. The teacher-librarian and her colleagues also did not know if this was possible. She was going to call the school board to see if the reports I wanted could be generated. Unfortunately, I would know the results of this after this assignment was due. I was able to generate several circulation reports and used the New Items, Missing Items, and Circulated Items reports already printed by the librarian for her records. I didn't reprint these reports because they filled a 1.5 inch binder.

=** Circulation Data **=




 * Bstat ||  || TOTAL || 18292 ||
 * Elem Teacher || 2201 ||  ||   ||
 * Inter Student || 3226 ||  ||   ||
 * Prim Student || 12795 ||  ||   ||
 * VSB School || 43 ||  ||   ||
 * School Staff || 27 ||  ||   ||

The first chart shows the percentage of materials circulated by category. As you can see, 70% of the materials were taken out by primary students. This would seem appropriate as most of these are picture books and can be read in one week. The table at the right shows the total number of items circulated and the number circulated for each category.

=**New Items in the Collection** =


 * CallNumber || Number ||
 * 150's || 0 ||
 * 300's || 2 ||
 * 360's || 2 ||
 * 570 || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">7 ||
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">610's || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">4 ||
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">616 || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">2 ||
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">640's || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">10 ||
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">641 || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">9 ||

<span style="color: #000080; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;">**Circulation From the Non-Fiction Collection**


 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">CallNumber || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">Circulated ||
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">150's || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">0 ||
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">300's || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">1 ||
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">360's || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">14 ||
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">570 || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">1 ||
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">610's || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">2 ||
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">616 ||  ||
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">640's || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">19 ||
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">641 || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">19 ||

=**<span style="color: #000080; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Missing Items as of 2005 **=


 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">CallNumber || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">Missing ||
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">150 || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">0 ||
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">300's || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">1 ||
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">360's || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">0 ||
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">570 || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">1 ||
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">610's || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">3 ||
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">613 || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">1 ||
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">640's || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">3 ||
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">641 || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">3 ||

= **<span style="color: #000080; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">General Keyword Search ** =


 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">**Keyword** || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">**Hits** ||
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">Health || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">31 ||
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">Careers || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">0 ||
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">Decision Making || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">13 ||
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">Time Mangement || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">0 ||
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">Skills || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">31 ||
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">Teamwork (Sports) || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">4 ||
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">Health || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">31 ||
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">Relationships || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">33 ||
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">Safety || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">64 ||
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">Substance Abuse || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">17 ||
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">Prevention || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">39 ||

=**<span style="color: #000080; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 200%;">Collection Map **=


 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">Call Number || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">No. of Titles || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">Avg. Publication Year ||
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">150's || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">158 || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">n/a ||
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">152 || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">11 || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">1988 ||
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">158 || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">7 || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">1991 ||
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">360's ||  ||   ||
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">361 || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">7 || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">2003 ||
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">362 || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">21 || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">1990 ||
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">570s || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">158 || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">n/a ||
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">600's || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">158 ||  ||
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">613 || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">14 books/ 3 videos || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">2000 ||
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">614 || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">1 book || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">2005 ||
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">616 || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">12 books/ 2 videos || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">1998 ||
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">640's || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">77 || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">n/a ||
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">641 || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">62 books/ 1 video || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">1991 ||
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">642 || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">0 items ||  ||
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">646 || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">10 || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">1992 ||
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">649 || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">2 books || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">1987 ||
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">No. Per Pupil || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;"> 8.6 ||  ||
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">No. Per Pupil || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;"> 8.6 ||  ||

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">A evaluation of the resources that are recommended for Health and Career Education - Grade 6 came up with some interesting results. The library itself does not have many of these resources, but the district does. The collection map and a review of the availability of resources for teaching this part of the curriculum demonstrates the lack of attention in this area.

BC Life Skills K to 7 - Professional - Not Available at this Location Available online at []

bc.tobaccofacts: A Tobacco Prevention Resource for Teachers (Grade 6) - Professional Resource - Only Grade 4 and 5 available at this location

Destination 2020 - Professional Resource - Not Available at this location

Focus on Bullying: A Prevention Program for Elementary School Communitites - Professional Resource - Not Available at this Location Available online at []

Going Places: A Road Safety Teacher's Guide (Grades 4 to 7) - Professional Resource - Available

HeartSmart Kids (4-6) - Professional - Not Available at this Location

Making Decisions Grade 6 - Professional/Non-Fiction - Not Available at this Location

Silent on the Sidelines - Not Available in the District

Sticks and Stones - Easy Paperback - Not the Video Resource

Sticks and Stones: Let's Talk about Teasing - Video - NOt Available at this Location

What Kids Want to Know About Sex and Growing Up - Video - Not Available at this Location

Kids in the Know - Not Available in the District

The Make it Real Game - Not Available in the District

Student Worksafe 6 - Professional - Not Available in this Location

= **<span style="color: #000080; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 36px;">Summary ** =

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">It is clear that section of the library needs some attention. Many of these areas have books that are older than 1980 or have videos cassette tapes from the late 1980's. After weeding these sections, it is clear that the number of good resources to support the Health and Career Education curriculum for grade 6. From the collection evaluation, it is clear that there is a large discrepancy in the age of the books and how many there are in each section. Also, many of the recommended resources outlined by the Health and Career Education curriculum documents are not available in the school. In order for this part of the curriculum to be taught more effective, it is imperative that the teachers and students have the resources to support learning and teaching.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">__//**Strengths**//__ <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">- The library has a full computer lab that could be utilized to find resources on the Internet to support the curriculum. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">- The books that are available are in relatively decent shape, probably as a result of not being circulated. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">- Several of the sections are being used by the teachers as reference materials for students, but most likely not for the Health and Career Curriculum

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">__//**Weaknesses**//__

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">- This process has identified a lack of resources that support areas such as time management, Career Development, and Teamwork other than in sports. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">- Some of the books have been categorized incorrectly, which could lead to confusion when searching for materials on the topic <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">- There is a lack of up-to-date audiovisual materials and non-print resources <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">- The lack of professional resources and weeding in these sections shows a low priority in this area. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">- The collection shows there isn't much instruction or learning going on in this area.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">//__**Recommendations:**__// <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">- Ensure that the library has the appropriate professional teaching resources for this area. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">- Weed out old books and VHS tapes to make room for up-to-date audiovisual and print resources. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">- Use the recommended resources for the professional teaching resources to find materials that will help supplement and support the curriculum. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">- Inform teachers how these units can be integrated into their Science, Social Studies, Mathematics, Language Arts, etc programs. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">- Offer to use the library time to teach some of these skills.

= **<span style="color: #000080; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 36px;">Reflection ** =

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">I found the process of conducting a collection evaluation a valuable one. The reports generated by the automated system gives a quick overview of how the collection is being use or not being used. As a new librarian this could be very helpful because it can give you an idea of where to begin conducting a more thorough collection evaluation. The reports, and using the curriculum documents, can also guide a librarian as to which sections to start with to help ensure resources are current and up-to-date.

The collection map gave a hands-on analysis of the collection that a statistical analysis cannot give. Some of the older books that might get weeded just because of their publication date may actually still be relevant and engaging, but this would never be known unless someone actually does a physical handing of the resource. Also, I realized how much space that old VHS video tapes are taking up in some of the sections that could probably be weeded and replaced with more relevant DVDs or books. Also, some of the titles of books can be misleading and are catalogued incorrectly. As a result, these titles may never found for the intended curriculum connection or interest.

Looking at some of the automated reports, I realized that some of the abbreviations and codes being used were not famliar to me. Also, I felt inadequate in my knowledge when I read other students doing Follett Titlewise reports and creating colorful graphic representations of their data. On the other hand, a simple automated system report analysis and collection mapping can provide a brief overview of the areas that need more attention than others.

According to Bishop, before beginning an evaluation project, one must identify what information to collect, how to record it, how to analyze it, how to use it, and with whom to share it and why. I found that this was very difficult as I didn’t know what reports could be generated, how to collect and display data, what the percentages or circulation numbers mean, what FOLLETT or TITLEWISE were, and what was important to include to share with the stakeholders.

Bishop (1997) describes sever barriers to evaluation. I found that it took a lot of time to to figure out how to obtain circulation figures and to analyze use of the collection. Also, some of the reports that I wanted generated were not available and couldn’t figure out how to create new reports. Also, I didn’t know how to use online public access catalogs to help analyze aspects of the collection including the number of books in a specific category and the average copyright date of materials.