Rebecca Beatty

Collection Development Resources

Vendor online ordering sites are not just for placing the ordersthese sites often have a wealth
of helpful publications and options to help you select and choose wisely for your collection. As
you complete the guided exercise please compare and contrast the online ordering options of the
companies below.
Go to Baker and Taylor: http://www.btol.com/
Search under the Webinars tab from the home page. Take a look at the Webinar archives.
What webinars would assist you with reference service or collection development?
The Young Adult webinar would be helpful in finding non-traditional means of collection
development that are popular with youth (online resources, e-books, etc.)the Audiobooks
webinar might also be helpful here.
Go back to the Home Page. Look Under the Whats Hot tab. Look left at the contents.
There are two categories that you should definitely browse. One is the Award Winners page (link
will be on the left of the page). The Publications category is the second you should browse
through (On the Award Winners page scroll down to find the Publications link on the left side
of the page. Look farther down the page at Publications).
What resources and information would be most beneficial to you as you provide reference
services?
The Award Winners section is a way to find the best books and materials from the past year,
which is helpful in making purchases or recommendations. There are also several publications
alerting librarians when new materials will be released, allowing them to have an up-to-date
collection.
Go to Follett: http://www.flr.follett.com/ and check out the left column of lists and description of
resources.
Which lists/category did you find most helpful?
The School Library Journal lists are published monthly and give the best books in different
categories and age ranges (helpful for both school and public librarians).
Next click on the tabs for Products and Services at the top of the page. Which products and
services do you see yourself using in your future work as a librarian and why?
The library management system looked very useful for being on top of the materials in the
collectionhaving clear facts about their use informs librarians in making decisions when
weeding the collection and making acquisitions. I would also consider outsourcing cataloging
services, depending on the library.

Go to Scholastic for librarians: http://www.scholastic.com/librarians/

Select one of the categories. Browse the collection.
Choose a topic and use the site to look for materials.
Look for Nonfiction only by limiting your search parameters or by Dewey number.
Search I tried: Science
Not enough, too many, or just right?
The category of science is very broad, even when limited to nonfictionthere were many
results.
What is the most useful searching feature on this site?
Being able to search by genre or Dewey numberthe latter, especially, as it is something I have
not seen often.
In your opinion, how could/would this site assist you in reference collection development?
This would be useful when a librarian is aware of holes in the collection and wants to see many
books on one subject.
What other searching options would you find helpful?
I tried narrowing my search by putting Outer space in the search bar. Even though it was a
keyword search, there was only one result (with the phrase in the title). I know there are other
titles on the same subject, but it was difficult to find them. I was surprised that it was so difficult
to search by keyword, but perhaps that is not as helpful when making acquisitions.
Evaluative comments:
Usefulness: All of these have useful aspects: Baker and Taylor could be helpful in being aware of
materials available, Follett has most of the resources and services a library might need all in one
place, and Scholastic has quality materials available.
Ease of use: I found the first two websites to be navigable but the Scholastic website was
somewhat confusing to me at first. In the past I have used their website for teachers and did not
have this problem, so perhaps I am not looking at it through a librarians perspective.
Relevance to your world: All are relevant, to a degree, but I can see myself using Follett and
Scholastics services in developing a library collection. Folletts services are geared toward
creating a more up-to-date and efficient library, and Scholastic is a good resource for rounding
out the collection.
Managing your Reference Collection
1. Make sure youve read Chapter 6 before you proceed.
Also, read

Francis, M. (2012). Weeding the reference collection: A case study of collection management.
The Reference Librarian, 53, 219-234. DOI: 10.1080/02763877.2011.619458
-This text will be available on Black Board
-Also available on campus or with VPN at http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02763877.2011.619458)
In your opinion why or why not is weeding essential to the collection planning process?
I find it to be essential. While there can be some value in older reference materials, the main
purpose of a library reference collection is showcasing excellent sources of credible and current
information. Because of that, it is important to remove materials that no longer fit these
standards. There are also issues of physical space in many libraries. Librarians need to keep
abreast of which materials are being regularly used by patrons and consider whether it is wiser to
make the change to digital materials.
What ideas do you have for tackling weeding of the reference and nonfiction sections?
Writing out a plan or stated goals for the weeding of the collection, considering the budget for
new materials (some older materials may be kept until it is possible to replace them), planning
for repurposing or recycling unwanted materials, tracking the use of non-circulating materials
before weeding.
What barriers do you anticipate with instituting a plan or process for keeping your reference
collection weeded? How will you address these barriers/obstacles?
Budget issuesit isnt feasible for libraries to constantly update reference materials. A long-term
plan needs to consider how often specific materials will need to be updated.
As more libraries are switching to digital reference materials, there will likely be complaints
from some patrons. This is one reason why it is so important to track the use of materials and be
aware of the factsare materials being kept because they are useful to patrons, or for
sentimental reasons?
2. Read about collection analysis in the Chapter 6.
Answer the following questions.
What ideas do you have for utilizing a collection analysis report of your reference and non
fiction collection to market the reference department and its services?
Many patrons are unaware of the materials available to them at the library. Collection analysis
allows the librarian to see which materials are being utilized and which are being overlooked.
These materials could be displayed on a poster or pathfinder within the library (e.g. the librarys
best-kept secrets), or prominently displayed on the librarys webpage.
What do you see are the potential benefits to using collection analysis to assist you determining
budget priorities?

It will become clearer which types of materials are used most often, which are in the worst
physical condition, or which are oldest/need updating most.
What could be some potential problems of using a collection analysis report in isolation?
This report gives only of an overall view of the collection, and does not generally include online
or electronic materials. Librarians must also consider the goals of the library and community
when planning, or the numbers lose meaning.
What additional reports would assist the librarian in interpreting the collection analysis report?
Comparison data allows the librarian to see how the collection aligns with lists of recommended
core materials. While the collection analysis report shows the use of the materials already in the
collection, this additional data can fill any holes in the collection or show where the collection is
weak.
1. Read the section on Selection and use of audiovisual materials in Reference Service
Non-print Evaluation
1. Reviewing Audiovisuals
Look at the following websites and answer the questions in the table below for each.
PLEASE NOTE: You do not have to register or sign up for any of the sites listed here to
complete the assignment.

Website

Question 1: What
special features does
this website offer?

http://www.learn360.com/
index.aspx
(fee-based site)

Storage and
organization of media
content, virtual
classrooms, blogs,
quizzes, assignments,
all searchable by
standard.

http://www.refseek.com/
directory/educational_vi
deos.html
(fee-based site)

Access to 25
different educational
video websites,
including college
lectures

http://www.infobasepublishing
.com/AboutStreamingSL.aspx
(fee-based site)

Searchable streaming
educational videos, can
use unlimited videos
simultaneously,
accessible through
Blackboard or other
CMS, MARC records for
each video

http://www.learner.org/
(free site)

Continuing
education and other
resources for
educators, including
videos and lessosn
plans.

Question 2: How
could you use this
website to build your
multimedia reference
collection?

Question 3:
Of the four websites
and on a scale of
1 to 4 (with 1 being
most useful or
valuable, 4 being least
useful or valuable),
give the site a number
rank in order of
usefulness/utility and
value.

Question 4:
Explain why you
chose this ranking.

Finding videos and

multimedia aligned to
academic standards,
organizing these
materials

These websites
would be especially
helpful within the
school library (for
teachers to use
within the classroom
or students looking
to further understand
a concept)

This is definitely a
useful resource in
finding materials
relevant to the
content being taught.
It took me a little
while to figure out
exactly what the
resource was, though
the website could
be clearer.

This list of websites,

while helpful, is not
necessarily
contributing
anything worth
paying for, as the
majority of the
websites are free to
access and wellknown.

This would be an
excellent edition to the
school libraryinstead
of having multiple copies
of an item, several
teachers within the
school can use the same
video at once. The
included MARC records
would make it simpler to
incorporate into the
existing collection.
4

I think reference for

teachers is too often
overlookedthese
resources could be
used to help
teachers receive
graduate credit or
plan workshops.

I think this resource is a

valuable addition to the
school library as it can be
utilized by the
librarian(s), teachers and
faculty, and students in a
wide variety of ways.

While these are

helpful resources,
they are geared
toward a very
specific audience. I
have also not seen
many educators or
school
administrators turn
to the school
library/librarian
when planning
continuing
education (although
perhaps they
should)

2. Look at the following website: http://www.commonsensemedia.org/

a) What feature of this site would be helpful to you in your job as a librarian?
The lists of best movies would be helpful in recommending family movies to patrons or
in creating displays within the library.
b) What other useful sites can you access from this site?
Common Sense Education (Media/technology resources for teachers)
Common Sense Advocacy (Advocating for childrens online privacy and roles
portrayed in media)
Common Sense Research (Provides research on childrens use of media and
technology and how it effects them)
c) How could you use this site for collection development?
Awareness of new materials for the collection, as well as seeing what age
groups/maturity level gaps are in the existing collection.
Overall evaluation:
Were you aware of these online collection development resources?
Some, I have used Scholastic as an educator and was aware of Follett and Common Sense.
How could you see yourself using these types of resources in your work as a librarian?
Keeping track of the librarys collection: what it contains, how it is used, the age and condition
of materials. In addition, seeing this information within the bigger picture: where are there gaps
in the collection? What are the recommended core resources for a reference collection? These
resources are also a great way for librarians to find new titles and types of reference materials for
expanding the collection.