COMPETENCY F

“GLORY IS ACQUIRED BY VIRTUE BUT PRESERVED BY LETTERS.” –Petrarch

F.
Use the basic concepts and principles related to the creation, evaluation, selection, acquisition, preservation and organization of specific items or collections of information.

      Every library is organized differently, from the layout to the selections on the shelves. Most patrons do not realize the effort that goes behind each and every book placed on the shelf and the items available when they use the libraries database. It may be frustrating at times when a new book is checked out or has not been purchased yet. How the library collection is created can be a very challenging job for the librarian.
     In Library 266, Collection Management, we learned about the creation and preservation of library collections. A collection development policy is important to keep all members of the library staff and the public working together to maintain the vision and goals of the library. The opinions and needs of the patrons are very important when selecting material to add to their library collection, however it is up to the librarian to determine the necessity and potential use of the item. Popularity of books can change from day to day and keeping up on enough copies to satisfy the public can be daunting and when the fad changes you are left with multiple copies of books that now need to be weeded out of the collection.
     For Library 266, Collection Management, we had an assignment where we needed to visit a library and find a section that was lacking in books and information. In the Castro Valley Public Library the travel section was the area I chose because it had books that were outdated. There were several books on locations such as Hawaii and Europe but not many other locations. I felt this section needed to be updated and more inclusive to other travel destinations. No book was newer than three years old.
     From my experience there is another collection at most libraries that is lacking, the large print. I have been using the large print section to provide books for an elderly reading program that selects and delivers books to patrons who cannot access the library. I very quickly realized that the book selections available would only last me a few months. With the large population of baby boomers, I see the need to grow sections that include more mystery, fiction and non-fiction books. I also would make the bookcases shorter, like in the children’s area, and have the bottom shelf higher off the ground. I have heard complaints from my grandparents about how difficult it is to reach the books on top and on the bottom of the bookcase. By having access difficult to the patron they can only reach the books in the middle cutting off the collection even more.
     Another assignment that I did was in Library 256, Archives and Manuscripts. For the assignment I created a finding aid for a collection of papers (Library 256 Finding Aid). The finding aid would allow the papers to be stored and preserved with quick access for the patron who required the information. I divided up papers into categories and dates I felt fit together and then created a list of the information in the collection.
     For Library 260a, Programming and Services for Children, I evaluated children’s online resources (Library 260a Online Resources). I reviewed ten websites and gave a brief explanation of what each website contained and then my opinion on how useful the website actually was and what the ease of use was for librarians and for children. For Library 263, Materials for Children 5-8, I helped create a wiki with information from digital resources and current children’s books. Each items was summarized and provided for a specific age group to allow parents a quick reference guide on the children’s collections available.
     Another assignment I had for Library 260a, Programming and Services for Children, was to create a collection of books similar to each other (Library 260a Book Collection). I choose one book and created a programming plan around that book. For follow-up reading I provided four other books that were similar to the first book and that could be added to the program as well.
     I have had first hand experience in acquisitions and organization at my job working in a high school library. I helped rearrange the library collection to incorporate second language books into the collection, we chose to do this instead of providing an individual section. We were having difficulty teaching those with English as a second language how to find books in the library. They knew where the second language books were, but became overwhelmed when they needed a book in English. We hoped having the English and Spanish versions side by side, they might read the Spanish version first and progress to the English version.
     I helped purchase new books for the library with the limited budget that we had accessible. When a student asked for a particular book we would write it down and if we had multiple requests we would purchase the book for the collection.


References

Library of Congress (2006). On These Walls. Retrieved July 20, 2011 from http://www.loc.gov/loc/walls/

 Evidence:
Libr 256: Finding Aid 
Libr 260a: Online Resources
Libr 260a: Book Talk/ Book Collections