Selection and Acquisition - A reflection on ETL503 Assessment 1

To be completely honest, prior to starting this assessment task and related Modules for Resourcing the Curriculum, I had little to no understanding of the needs assessment, selection and acquisition processes undertaken by librarians in resourcing curriculum areas for the school libraries. However, it has been made apparent that proper management and consideration of these three areas is fundamental to a successful and useful library. A needs assessment must be completed in collaboration with the teachers involved to ensure that resources eventually acquired will actually be used and help meet the goals of the curriculum. A selection criteria must then be decided upon. Although a general criteria will be suitable in most cases a specific selection criteria might be called for in subject specific cases and perhaps instances of electronic resourcing. Finally, the acquisition process, where suppliers must be decided upon using a set criteria and issues relating to online acquisitions, for example licensing, copyright and subscription rights must be clarified.

This assessment task has made it clear that I need to develop my skills in acquisition as I believe too much time was spent looking for potential suppliers of the resources. As a teacher librarian I would hopefully develop a greater knowledge and understanding of and an appreciation of the acquisition process. This could potentially be achieved through developing a list of regular, reliable and useful suppliers rather than starting from scratch each time and also through becoming knowledgeable and practiced in the areas of licence, subscription and copyright particulars and negotiations.

In researching this assessment task, it has become apparent that electronic resources are the way of the future for school library collections and as such, as a beginning teacher librarian, I must be at the forefront of changes in access and trends in technology. For example, adopting and making easy access to electronic resources including e-books, e-journals, websites and digital learning objects. This is particularly important if the library is to remain relevant, engaging and useful. As Doug Johnson (2010) argued, many people now communicate, learn and play using non-print media and these people must be catered for in school libraries.

Therefore, I intend to extend my understanding and knowledge of electronic resources and how to best select and acquire them. This would be done through engaging in professional dialogue, perhaps through the OZTL_NET listserv, attending professional development days relevant to information technology and libraries and, of course, I will continue on the job learning on how to best use and make available resources.