Introduction
I explored the 590 section of the False Creek elementary library collection. Many of the resources to help students meet the IRPs for grade two life sciences are found here. Unfortunately, the resources are scattered through this large section since each animal has it’s own part of the 590 section. For example, the life cycle of butterflies are found in 595 while wolves are found in 599.
QUALITATIVE DATA:
I spent time looking at the 590 section of the library, pulling out books to see the copyright dates and condition of the books. My quick search on the VSB webcat directed me to this section for resources on animal life cycles. However, webcat only stated 37 resources – far fewer than the actual number of resources on the shelves! At False Creek Elementary, books are stamped so I could see how often the book was checked out. Older animal book series have high quality hard covers and newer versions are paperback. Even though these newer versions are durable and contain appropriate information, they are harder to detect on the shelf since there is no spine to read. Case in point, a horribly damaged hard cover book was taken out many times while the paperback version sat untouched beside it.
As I began to flip through the books and look at the VHS tapes, the collection is a mix of old and new. The old hardcover animal series are still kept even though replacements have been purchased. The long-serving librarian has an army of parent volunteers who cover new books as they come in so most are in surprisingly good condition. However, older hardcover books show some wear and tear with their banged up corners. Much of the older texts kept seem to deem some value. But, the VHS tapes puzzled me, there were quite a few shelved amongst the books. These tapes are over a decade old. Later, once I received the running report of the collection, a list of newer DVDs is mentioned. They must be stored in a different area of the library since I saw no head or tail of them.
This section of books is located beside the open area for deskwork. Circular tables dot the area. Fortunately, the 590s are in an accessible area – in the middle of a long wall and not too high up. The shelves are placed on top of a carpeted bench where students can safely stand or sit down on it. For this particular project on life cycles of animals, students will need to search this large selection of books since the books are not all tagged in webcat for easy retrieval. Or, the librarian will pull books out for class to use.
QUANTITATIVE DATA:
Running reports from the automated library system determined the following statistics:
• copyright date range – 1948* to 2011
• average age of copyright – 1992
• last inventory – 2007
• the number of items in the collection – 1418
• circulation statistics for the collection – check out dates ran between 1980 to 2011
• number of checkouts per item – 0 to 48
• total number of times the items circulated – 5858
• roughly 6% has not been taken out
• format – PB, BK, VID, DVD
* 1948 book is:
Bridges, William, 1901- cn.
Garden City, N.Y. : Garden City Books, c1948.
-last checked out March 2010
Running report data snapshot:
REFLECTION
The chain of events that unfolded for this assignment did not occur as it should – I did not run any reports. As I physically handled the 590 collection, I was missing some key information. The time spent in the library was an exercise in weeding and obtaining subjective qualitative data. To be honest, I did not look through the entire 590-599 section – only a part of the 599s.
In terms of the unit on life cycles for grade twos, searching through more than 1000 resources is a bit daunting. I am curious if the librarian has booklists put aside for such units. The tags in webcat only pulled a scant 37 sources. While in the library, it was very easy for me to pull out books that would be appropriate for such a unit however I am not sure if grade twos would be as confident. The new paperback resources are great but almost disappear on the shelf. Perhaps these new series should be placed in a basket?
The running report was obtained by a call and email of panic to the VSB librarian who kindly sent me an Excel file. I am familiar with the Excel program and was able to do various sorts to see the oldest or newest books or tally quantities. I could easily remove any ‘c’ in front of the dates with a quick command of ‘replace’ option.
I wish I had the Excel document when I was at the library to see which of the books have the most circulation. That knowledge of what is desirable may help the TL in her purchasing choices.
LINKS:
BC Ministry of Education
Evaluating, Selecting and Acquiring Learning Resources: A Guide
www.bcerac.ca/proLearning/documents/ERAC_WB.pdf
146 pages
• the various forms, criteria and guidelines for evaluation of several types of learning resources, including print, videos, and novels;
• the policy and related legal requirements under the BC School Act;
• a large section, intended to guide school district discussion and decisions, which describes several options for local activities related to evaluating, selecting and managing learning resources. This section also includes an analysis of the benefits and requirements for these various service approaches;
• a variety of contact information and other appendices
Youtube - Evaluative Research
WSU OLIS Program Winter 2010 Semester - LIS 7870-Evaluative Research
• a bit dry but interesting to hear about another case study
