Reflecting on Module 1 Lesson 3: Reference Selection and Collection

Part I – Building a Reference Collection

Lesson three presented information on how to build a reference collection.  As a non-TL, I found there to be a lot of steps in building a reference collection.  I never took into consideration all of the steps that go into building a collection.  Selecting materials seems like a daunting task.  TL’s are responsible for ensuring that they stock the library with materials which meet the curriculum, diverse needs of students, and answer the enquiries all potential users.  However, the evaluative process presented by Riedling does make the task of evaluating and selecting materials a lot more manageable.  By evaluating the content, presentation, timelessness and cost a TL should be able to select materials which will meet the needs of the curriculum and most students.  BUT, this would take a lot of time!  In order to do it right it would also take a lot of practice.  In order to do it right (and maybe even quicker), the selection and evaluation of materials should be done cooperatively with other TL’s, teachers, support workers or possibly even parents!  I also never really took into consideration all of the maintenance steps which a TL must take to ensure the collection is accessible and useful.  TL’s are constantly weeding out resources that are no longer useful or appropriate.  They also have to constantly add new resources to ensure that the collection meets the needs of the library users.

Obviously the process of building a reference collection takes a great deal of time and effort (most of which is contributed by the TL’s).

Part II – The Evaluation Process

The steps in the evaluation process for reference materials, outlined by Riedling, vary depending on the type of material.  However, the common areas of evaluation are with regard to the accuracy of the content, currency or the content, authority of the source as well as the format/organization.  I think this indicates that regardless of the type of reference work, in order for it to be of value its content must be accurate and up to date.  While there are other aspects of a source which should be evaluated as well (timelessness, relation to similar works, etc.) I believe that by focusing one’s evaluation on these four would ensure that only appropriate reference materials make it on the shelves of our libraries.

Part III – Standards

This lesson also discussed library collection standards.  I agree that libraries should have standards and guidelines for selecting reference materials.  By following guidelines, a library ensures that its collection meets the current and future needs of its users.  While standards/guidelines are good, they may not always be fair.  Due to budgetary issues, some school libraries may not be able to select certain resources.  As a result, their collection may never be able to meet the “exemplary” standards.  However, even if cost is an issue, using steps outlined by Riedling, a TL should be able to create a library collection which meets acceptable standards.

Conclusion:

This lesson has definitely helped me better appreciate all of the work that TL’s have to do in order to create an “acceptable” reference collection.  It is a time consuming process that many individuals (including myself) really can not appreciate until they experience it firsthand.  It really makes me question whether I would want to give up my teaching position to take on these tricky TL responsibilities.