Reflection Ch. 9, "Reflections on Creating Information Service Collections," G. Edward Evans

One of the most prominent issues to consider when developing an information service collection is to have a variety of resources. This is especially true in a school setting. The teacher librarian must access the curricular needs of teachers and students and be familiar with the community of learners he or she serves. Resources acquired must support classroom instruction and research needs. Students' interests must also be considered in order to engage students and entice them to pursue knowledge and delve deeper. Another consideration that should be in the forefront of a teacher librarian's mind when selecting materials is differentiation. Students at many different cognitive and literacy levels must have their needs met.

Keeping all the previous factors in mind, the collection developer must also keep budget restraints in mind. This is a considerable issue that is essentially on administrators' minds. Selection criteria developed by a district needs to be at the forefront of the collection developer's mind. Use of data such as needs surveys completed by staff is crucial in order to understand the community being served. It should also be noted that while donations may add to the sheer number of volumes in the collection, these items may not fulfill curricular needs or be of interest to the student population.

Overall, a balance needs to be maintained between normative needs, expressed needs, felt needs and comparative needs. Items selected by experts (normative needs) might not actually fit into a particular school's curriculum or meet students' interests. In addition, if a collection developer relied solely of felt needs such as trendy, faddish items or current community interests, much money might be wasted on items only used for a short duration. Comparative needs should be weighed as well. Looking at similar collections gives the librarian an idea of what items to consider. Along with this, if inter library loan is prominent is an area, the librarian might be able to fill gaps in his/her collection via this avenue.

In conclusion, understanding the library community served takes time. Meeting the needs of patrons served involves asking many questions and using data and surveys to make the best collection development decisions. Especially when serving a school community, curricular needs as well as students' interests must be weighed in order to provide a collection that meets the needs of all. Knowing the community you serve is of utmost importance.