Whitefish High School Library Collection Development
Policy
Revised June, 2004
A.
Introduction
1.
Mission Statement:
The Whitefish High School Library’s mission is to enable its students and faculty to:
v Effectively use instructional materials
v Enrich and support all areas of the curriculum
v Provide the necessary materials and instruction to enable students to learn effective ways to find information to meet his/her unique need
v Use the library as the information center of the school
Our mission is to teach library media skills within a defined 9-12 library media curriculum so that students can successfully organize, analyze and interpret information for class work. These skills are for a student’s preparation for higher education and/or as a future member of the workforce.
Finally, our mission is to involve students in, and be advocates of, the art of literature, reading, writing, and lifelong learning.
Library’s Role in the Community
The Library’s role in the community is to provide its high school students with the finest library media services possible. The library seeks to work with the Whitefish branch of the Flathead County Library system to provide students with resources they cannot get within the school district. The library also serves local community patrons at their request. These patrons typically are spouses of teachers, former students, or parents of students.
2.
Purpose of the Policy
The purpose of this policy is to analyze the collection and assess areas of its strengths and weaknesses. It will be used as a tool to define future areas of the collection that should be addressed in terms of subject area and format. With this tool, the library can continue to be responsive to our patrons.
3.
Community and User Groups Defined
Whitefish, Montana is located in northwestern Montana and has a population in the city limits of 5,032 according to the 2000census. Located in Flathead County, it is located sixteen miles north of the county seat of Kalispell. The economic base of Whitefish is mainly in tourism, timber and service industries.
The Whitefish High School currently has a population of 670 students and serves grades 9-12. Approximately 2000 students go to the Whitefish School District, grades K-12. High School students generally range in age from 14-18. The school is considered a Class A school within the parameters of MSBA schools. It, therefore, can be described as a medium-sized school district. There are 44 members of the faculty.
Primary users: Students
a) Ages: 14-18
b) Education levels: grades 9-12
c) Occupations: Students (some part/time workers)
d) Numbers: 670
e) Frequency of use: 25,000/year or about 200/day
f) Reasons for use: Class units, class research, recreation
Secondary users: Faculty
a) Ages: 23-67 (approximately)
b) Education levels: B.A. to Ed. D.
c) Occupations: Teachers: Special Ed., Guidance, Librarians, Student teachers
d) Number: 44 Faculty
e) Frequency of use: Two-thirds of the faculty use the library with their classes every year.
Occasional users:
Administration, support staff, public, library volunteers, meeting place
a) Ages: 25-75 (approximately)
b) Education levels: High School to Ed. D.
c) Occupations: Administration, clerical, janitorial, general work force, retirees
d) Number: 11 (in school), 6 (public)
e) Frequency of use: occasional
f) Reasons: Reference, recreational, community meetings, equipment loans
4. Patrons Needs and Services/Programs Defined
Primary
user needs: Students
Educational: Book chat/appreciation of literature, library citizenship, media literacy. (Montana Library Standards)
Recreational: Students, grades 9-12 have recreational needs, primarily in the area of fiction (40% of circulation) and periodicals (5% of circulation), recreational non-fiction (health, sports).
Research: Research needs is for class units in collaboration with teachers. Total class units were 111 in 2003-2004 school year. Total classes were 623 during the same school year.
Internet Access: Internet access in two labs, automated catalog to the collection, software and hardware to present research. Access to online databases. Librarians help students to meet Montana education standards.
Secondary
users: Faculty
Educational: Library is a media center that supports teachers with computer lab, instructional media equipment and bibliographic and curricular support for classroom units.
1. Bibliographic Instruction (Information Skills)
Formal sessions with 9th graders, included with their English or History class work or in isolation. Pretest given to ninth graders and exit testing to 12th graders based on the Montana Office of Public Instruction standards for library/ media.
2. Research units (Approximately 100 per year)
Units focus on English, Social Studies, and Science, and extend to Foreign Language, Business, Mathematics, Home Economics, and Health.
3. Book Chats
The librarians conduct one-on-one “book chats” with students in 9th and 11th grades in English and History classes. These talks are based on the students’ understanding of plot, theme, character, setting and how the book relates to them personally. These personal dialogues help us in the following ways:
v Learn what books the students are interested in
v Learn second-hand about the books. We can then order the books based on their recommendations
v Get to know the students through their reading
4. Readers’ Club
The Library sponsors a Readers’ Club, which meets once per month. The club usually attracts fifteen members at each meeting. We use the Pacific Northwest Library Association’s recommended senior list of books for members to read. We also incorporate “Book One” from the Montana Center for the Book. The Club hosts local authors when available. The Club has open membership and includes students, librarians, and faculty members. Pins are awarded to active members at the close of each year. The local PTA and concession sales support the funding of the program.
5. Database Searching
The Library provides database searching for the following products:
v CountryWatch for information on countries
v CQ Researcher for information on current political and social issues
v Infotrac for an index and full-text to periodicals
v World Book Online encyclopedia
v Opposing Viewpoints for political, social and environmental issues.
6. General Public
Library materials such as books and videos may be checked out to residents of the District. Audio/visual equipment may be checked out upon written request for community functions.
7. Technical Assistance for teachers and students
We provide assistance for teachers and students in the following ways:
1. Teach students in the use of :
a. software programs
b. electronic catalog.
c. newspaper and magazine online indexes
d. online database programs.
e. ESRI/GIS research
f. internet etiquette
g. image scanning technology
h. file management
i. printer maintenance
j. general troubleshooting
2. Montana Heritage Project:
a. Create PowerPoint presentations for the Whitefish community
b. Burn CD’s
c. Provide recording equipment and space for personal interviews
8. Technology Access
We provide access to two computer labs and a min-lab in the library as well as a station to scan photographs. The library is equipped with cable and satellite television. Teachers may check out digital cameras, camcorders, laptops and video projectors for their classroom use.
1. The Library would like to increase collaboration with teachers in order to meet the Montana library/media standards.
2. Students and teachers need to have more access to audio CDs, especially for special education students and recreational uses.
3. Our Inter-library loan process could be improved by adopting the Web ILL product.
4. Community does not have access to the high school’s collection via the WWW.
5. The library’s Web page needs to be updated by linking to local newspapers and the Flathead County Library more easily.
6. Students should have access to adequate presentation, photo and sound editing software, for example, Photoshop Elements.
7. Students need to be taught media literacy skills, especially copyright issues, as per the Montana OPI standards.
5. Brief Statement Describing the Collection:
Our Collection has approximately 13,700 volumes. We usually purchase about 600- 700 titles per school year. This year we purchased approximately 700 items or 5% of our collection. We primarily collect print materials for reading levels, grades 6 to 12, concentrating on grades 8-12. We also collect fiction for adults that advanced young adult readers would enjoy and use for research.
6. Cooperative Collection Management
and Inter-library Loan
Inter-library loan accounts for less than 1% of circulation. The Library had 19 transactions of which 5 requests were from other libraries and 14 requests were from our library patrons. Inter-library loan is considered a very valuable supplement to the collection, not a substitute for the collection.
Currently, we borrow books using the OCLC’s LaserCat. With LaserCat ending next year we will plan to use Web-ILL in the future as soon as a librarian is trained.
We have no deposit collection arrangements with other libraries. Purchases are made in relation to perceived need of students to obtain materials within our library. Our purpose is to have materials readily available for students in our library. Subscription databases that are too expensive are not considered. We do not rely on ILL for support of patrons’ primary needs.
I would estimate that one-half of our collection is on LaserCat (6000 titles).
1. Chronological Coverage
Currency: According to the attached figures, the library contains, according to published date, the following:
Section Ave. Age
000-099 1991
100-199 1988
200-299 1983
300-399 1990
400-499 1980
500-599 1987
600-699 1988
700-799 1985
800-899 1977
900-999 1985
Biography 1984
Faculty 1997
Fiction 1987
Non-Print 1991
Reference 1987
Older publications are sometimes kept for research
purposes, especially in history and literature. This year we have weeded some of the 700s and all of the
900s. We are in the process of weeding
the Fiction section.
2. Formats
The library collects books, periodicals, newspapers (for approximately one month), audio cassettes, videotapes, computer software, audio and digital CD-ROMs and DVDs. We are currently buying both VHS and DVD formats with the thought that we are moving toward DVD. Paperbacks are collected as well as textbooks from teachers.
We also use five online databases: CountryWatch,Congressional Quarterly Online, World Book, Opposing Viewpoints and Infotrac. We also provide access to satellite (analog and digital) and cable television. Cable television programs are recorded for teachers upon request. Monthly listings of recommended shows are circulated for the teachers for their information. All copyright guidelines are observed. Most videos are purchased for teacher-guided units and are purchased for the high school level of interest and knowledge base.
Large print or microforms are not purchased.
3. Multiple Copies
We generally do not purchase duplicates. We only purchase items that are heavily used such as the Shakespeare Made Easy series or inexpensive videotapes that multiple teachers request for the same time period. We also purchase dupliates of titles where theft or wear and tear is a concern such as the school’s yearbook or popular fiction.
4. Languages
We teach both Spanish and French at the high
school. We purchase three foreign
language magazines: C’est Facile,
Mome, and Paris Match. We
have purchased videotapes for French and Spanish classes as well as fiction
that is in a foreign language.
5. Funding Considerations
Librarians are responsible for presenting a proposed
budget to the administration at the beginning of the budget cycle (February of
the previous fiscal year). Funding for
the school is tied to enrollment, but library funding is not tied to a per
pupil expenditure formula, per OPI standards.
Our budget has approximately doubled in the past seventeen years. Our current budget is $26,000. We do not receive Title IV monies.
We have received a grant from the Montana Heritage
Project for $1500 for the purchase of print reference books. This funding is expected for 2004-05 as
well.
The local PTA donated $800 toward
the purchase of paperbacks for our Reader’s Club program in 2003-04.
6. Collection Responsibilities and Selection Procedures:
The two full-time librarians select materials. (OPI requires one and a half librarians for
a school of our size.) We take recommendations
from faculty and students. We spend
almost all of our school non-print allocation on video requests from the
teachers.
The process for selection is provided in the attached
school board policy which was revised and approved by the Board of Trustees in
1999-2000.
The procedure for ordering books involves reviewing
journals: School Library Journal, Booklist, Library Media
Connection, etc. and adding titles through online book catalogs. We also consider teacher and student
requests. We order books in the fall and buy a smaller amount, 20% or so, in
the spring.
We primarily rely on journals and Amazon.com’s website to support our
purchases due to concern regarding censorship.
The criteria we use for purchase is to support the standards-based curriculum
of the Whitefish High School. We document the curricular units supported by the
library and purchase materials to support those units. (See addendum) We purchase fiction to support the curriculum as well as to
appeal to the recreational needs of the students, and to a lesser extent, the
teachers.
We purchase some books from the local bookstore as
well as from Baker and Taylor.
7. Gifts Policy
We will accept anything offered by the public but we
stress that according to board policy we are not obligated to keep it. We
would add material if it had historical importance. If gifts are not usable they are retained for a short period and
then given to the public library.
Both librarians make a decision regarding the
suitability regarding gifts in regards to age of material, its attractiveness,
and suitability to the collection. We
do not appraise gifts and therefore only send confirmation of the titles and
number of items, not the value.
We have received small donations from townspeople and
former teachers. A program of donating
a book to the library in a retiree’s name has been a tradition for several
years.
8. Collection Maintenance
We generally “weed” books on rotational basis each
year. We have weeded in the 700s, 900s
and fiction sections this year. We need
to because studies have shown that weeding actually increases the circulation
of the collection. We generally weed when we feel that some materials are
outdated and we go by subject area.
We use the following criteria for weeding:
· if the book has not circulated in five years and is ten years old
· has outdated material, or
· lost its attractiveness
We hope to complete the weeding of the fiction area
this year.
We then show the weeded books to teachers who may want them in their
areas and/or take them to the public library for their annual sale.
We discard magazines after five years, newspapers after one or two
months due to space limitations and lack of interest. We keep a section of bound Newsweek and Time magazines for a
“decades” unit in history.
We keep Montana books that may be somewhat out of date due to local importance and as per the request of the state library.
We rebind and repair materials that are of current use
and replace items that get heavy use and are beyond repair and/or have lost
pages.
9. Complaints and
Censorship
One of the challenges of being a librarian in our town
is that it is so diverse in its viewpoint.
We have both the extreme liberals as well as the extreme
conservatives. We have current board
policy that I am in the process of trying to get revised. It does not adequately provide for the input
necessary for a good reconsideration process.
I am in touch with the superintendent to revise it. Actually, our old school board policy was
better, but with the advent of a “standardized” board policy revision, the
policy was removed.
We have not had any informal or formal complaints from
staff, parents, or townspeople in about ten years. I believe the Internet is responsible for this to a certain
extent.
We have an Acceptable Use Policy at the district level
that controls, to a certain extent, student use of non-school related
information. (See addendum)
C. Subject Areas Collected
1. Subjects: Defined by Dewey “hundreds.”
After consideration of the different approaches to
define the needs of this collection, we have decided to categorize the broad
classification number categories by Dewey “hundreds.”
We have “catalogued” the 111 units presented in the
library within the past year and a half so that we can project our collection
needs to the curricular needs of the school.
2. Present Collection Levels
|
000’s |
% of collection |
Strength |
Weakness |
|
AV |
1 |
Various formats World Book Online |
Promote remote access Encarta 1999 CD Outdated Reader’s Guide Video Need Goldwave or sound editing software |
|
Per. |
14 |
Heavily used |
None |
|
Ref. |
17 |
Montana Heritage Project grant additional materials |
Perhaps update ’83 print Britannica Update ’02 World Book Discard Academic Americana |
|
Books |
<1% |
Relatively up-to-date |
Update Collection |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Description: Basic |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
100’s |
|
|
|
|
AV |
2 |
Recently acquired titles |
None |
|
Per. |
0 |
|
Plan to order “Psychology Today” |
|
Ref. |
1 |
Three new title purchases |
Update philosophy |
|
Books |
1.2% |
Good range of materials |
Slightly out of date |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Description: Basic |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
200’s |
|
|
|
|
AV |
3 |
Supports Comparative Religion section |
None |
|
Per. |
<1 |
Christian Science Monitor |
No other titles |
|
Ref. |
1 |
Comprehensive collection |
Update “Religions of the World” series |
|
Books |
1 |
Reasonably comprehensive |
Replace older titles |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Description: Basic |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
300’s |
|
|
|
|
AV |
12 |
Reasonably up-to-date |
Update “Power Game” series |
|
Per. |
7 |
Includes CQ Researcher online and professional journals |
None |
|
Ref. |
18 |
Opposing Viewpoints Online |
Weeding and updating, esp re new SAT tests |
|
Books |
10.4 |
Reasonably comprehensive |
Update “Opposing Viewpoints” Print series |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Description: Basic |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
400’s |
|
|
|
|
AV |
1 |
Recent titles |
Need to communicate w/teachers re “Destinos”, pop. videos, books on tape |
|
Per. |
3 |
Good support for French |
Need Spanish |
|
Ref. |
11 |
New Am. Heritage dictionaries |
None |
|
Books |
<1 |
Supports demand, textbooks on reserve |
Better communication w/teachers re their needs |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Description: Minimal |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
500’s |
|
|
|
|
AV |
7 |
Recent titles added |
Needs weeding |
|
Per. |
2 |
Good cross section of titles |
None |
|
Ref. |
7 |
Basic collection |
Needs weeding and updating |
|
Books |
4.1 |
Updated collection |
Needs weeding |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Description: Basic |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
600’s |
|
|
|
|
AV |
9 |
Good collection |
Some need re-cataloging |
|
Per. |
18 |
Good collection |
None |
|
Ref. |
5 |
Meets needs |
Needs weeding: New Drug set and technology titles |
|
Books |
4.5 |
Good cross section |
Needs updating |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Description: Basic |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
700’s |
|
|
|
|
AV |
6 |
Basic Collection |
Communicate w/drama teacher re updating |
|
Per. |
30 |
Strong circulation |
Update |
|
Ref. |
3 |
Basic sources |
Update Sports Almanac |
|
Books |
4.6 |
Good coverage |
Needs updating |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Description: Basic |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
800’s |
|
|
|
|
AV |
14 |
Strong Shakespeare collection |
Update |
|
Per. |
5 |
Basic list; acquired English Journal |
None |
|
Ref. |
8 |
Basic |
Needs updating |
|
Books |
8 |
Strong Collection |
Needs weeding and updating |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Description: Basic |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
900’s |
|
|
|
|
AV |
23 |
Strong collection |
None |
|
Per. |
10 |
Good collection |
None |
|
Ref. |
28 |
Strong collection |
None |
|
Books |
14.3 |
Strong, basic collection; weeded this year |
None |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Description: Basic |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
BIO |
|
|
|
|
AV |
6 |
Strong, basic |
Needs diversity |
|
Per. |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
|
Ref. |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
|
Books |
6.1 |
Strong collection |
Need popular subjects |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Description: Basic |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
FIC |
|
|
|
|
AV |
16 |
Strong, basic collection |
More student oriented |
|
Per. |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
|
Ref. |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
|
Books |
24.5 |
Basic Collection |
Needs new titles and weeding |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Description: Basic |
|
3. Future acquisitions levels or goals
|
|
Changes |
Priority |
Time
Frame |
Action |
|
000’s |
Update
’83 print Britannica |
1 |
04-05 |
Purchase |
|
|
Update
World Book |
3 |
06-07 |
Purchase |
|
|
Discard
’98 Americana |
1 |
04-05 |
Replace |
|
|
Add
sound-editing software |
1 |
04-05 |
Purchase |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
100’s |
Order
Psychology Today |
1 |
04-05 |
Purchase |
|
|
Update
philosophy titles in reference |
2 |
05-06 |
Purchase |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
200’s |
“Religions
of the World” series |
1 |
04-05 |
Purchase |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
300’s |
New
government videos |
1 |
04-05 |
Purchase |
|
|
Update
CQ Press Books |
1 |
04-05 |
Purchase |
|
|
Update
College Prep materials |
1 |
04-05 |
Purchase |
|
|
Update
Opposing Viewpoints series |
1
|
04-05 |
Purchase |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
400’s |
Talk
w/foreign language teachers re “Destinos” series, popular movies, books on
tapes and Spanish magazine |
1 |
04-05 |
|
|
|
Pictorial
dictionaries |
1 |
04-05 |
Purchase |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
500’s |
No
action |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
600’s |
Update
drug reference set |
1 |
04-05 |
Purchase |
|
|
Update
and weed technology reference |
½ |
04-06 |
Purchase |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
700’s |
Update
AV drama/tech area |
1 |
04-05 |
Purchase |
|
|
Add
updated Sports Almanac |
1 |
04-05 |
Purchase |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
800’s |
Update
drama books |
1 |
04-05 |
Purchase |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
900’s |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
BIO |
1 |
04-05 |
Purchase
and weed |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
FIC |
Continue
to add popular fiction |
1 |
04-05 |
Purchase |
4.
Special Collections:
We discourage the use of non-circulating materials in our library. We do keep a set of Whitefish High School annuals dating from the 50s that circulate upon request. We have a set of scrapbooks documenting student life from local newspapers from 1988 to the present. We also have copies of the student newspaper from the 1930s to the present.
The librarians will evaluate this policy every three
years. We anticipate going through the
same process: collecting data from our Follett software program in regards to
currency, reviewing circulation statistics and collection percentages. Other sources of information are available
in annual reports and with students. We
plan to revise this document in March, 2007.
Librarian ________________________________________ Date________
Librarian ________________________________________ Date________
Principal ________________________________________ Date________
Superintendent ___________________________________ Date________
Chair, Board of Trustees ____________________________ Date________
1. Collection Age by Call Number
2. Category Statistics
3. Collection Statistics
4. Whitefish High School Library Units 2003-04
5. Whitefish High School Library Units related to Corresponding Dewey # and the percentage of those areas of study in relation to entire library unit curriculum.
6. Whitefish School District Board Policy on Selection
7. Whitefish School District Board Policy on Reconsideration
8. Whitefish High School Acceptable Use Policy
9. Worksheet for statistical analysis