Title Selection Tools and Resources: School Library

The following sample essay on “Title Selection tools and resources: School library” are reviewed here due to the necessity to fully understand its importance. In this study they will be cross analyze to determine the differences and effects to the school library program.

According to Agee, (2003) selection is the heart of good library collection building. Selection defines as “the process of deciding which materials should be added to a library collection. And selection decisions are usually made on the basis of reviews and standard collection development tools by librarians designated as selectors in specific subject areas, based on their interests and fields of specialization.

To help with the process, a number of sources are available. Involves looking for the strengths and weaknesses in an item and how it might or might not match the needs of the collection.

The librarians should ensure that the balancing act of selecting books and other literally material of different formats is judiciously made. In addition to matching the diversity of the institution and the society as a whole, librarians are charged with the responsibility of providing the patrons with resources that inform on the diversity of the nation specifically and the world in general despite limited budgets (Kiilu & Kiilum 2014).

The school library media program provides resources that reflect the linguistic pluralism of the community (ALA, 2019).

School library selection of materials criteria are dependent on the goals and objectives of the educational institution (ALA, 2019). Thus, Selection & Reconsideration Policy Toolkit for Public, School, & Academic Libraries for library professionals pointed out that to make informed choices, selection policies for all types of libraries  public libraries, academic libraries, technical school libraries, and school libraries (public and private)  should include criteria to guide in the resource selection process.

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In addition, a patron-driven acquisition (PDA) approach focusing on the needs and interests of library users is can be used. Get users or faculty involved with selection also get teachers involved with seeking new materials at conferences as discussed by Anderson, R. (2011).

Selecting materials is just one step in a process of collection development that includes many ingredients: a knowledge of the collection, the community, and the needs of the students and library users; selection of materials, acquisition, processing, and preservation of materials; circulation of materials; and the evaluation of the relevancy of materials. (Bishop, 2007, 16; Evans and Saponaro 2005, 8; Gregory 2011, 1).

According to Gardner (1981) any collection is a dynamic organism, continually changing and growing. A well-selected item added to a collection enhances other items in that collection. The great library collections developed over the ages have achieved statures because they are more that collections of individual works.  It is the bringing together of related materials, which reveals unsuspected relationships in thoughts and ideas, that makes a great collection. To the dedicated book selector and developer of collections, there is no greater thrill than seeing a collection emerge that has individual character and life.

Wolven (2013) studies found out that curriculum development resources were chosen based on the selection criteria included in the article, including: authority, accuracy, scope, appropriateness, and treatment. The function of curriculum development is to research, plan, and prepare the content and methods that will be taught during instruction to achieve the desired outcomes.

Selection aid defined as “a publication used by librarians to develop a balanced collection of materials to meet the information needs of library users. The category includes bestseller lists, best books lists, core lists, national bibliographies, and review publications intended specifically for librarians (Booklist, CHOICE, Library Journal, School Library Journal, etc.) and also choosing vendors as a resources too.” Selection aids and tools vary depending on their purpose stated by Johnson, (2009) that these sources are relevant today and school librarians need to understand the advantages and disadvantages of each and reflecting on these it helps school librarians choose the right tool for the selection process.

Electronic sources are websites that can help the librarian search by subject and grade level, as well as assist with focusing on a specific need. Amazon ( amazon.com/), Folletts Title Wave ( and Baker and Taylor ( are all examples of electronic sources that allow the school librarian to select items by specific subject area. School librarians can also access reviews from different sources through one website. Drawing from recent research done by Doiron,(2011) on the influence and penetration of e-books and e-readers, examples from several school libraries and e-mail interviews, an informal analysis revealed several key ideas that should support other teacher librarians who want to address the issues and challenges of using e-resources.

Teacher-librarians are encouraged to understand the motivational influence of these digital tools and to accept them as positive and useful in promoting reading and an important addition to the toolkits used to motivate positive reading habits. Castaldo, et.al., 2012 stresses that users want an easier way to search library resources; currently, there are many discovery tools available, that Librarians from different types of librariesan online library, a land-grant school, a law library, a private university, and a consortiumdescribe how they evaluated the available products and made decisions on which tools to implement.

A variety of platforms are discussed, including: Ebsco’s Discovery Service, IIIs Encore Synergy Discovery, Serials Solutions Summon, and even a homegrown solution. Discover what libraries are looking for in these tools, strategies for determining which one best fits your needs, and lessons learned throughout the process from the investigation phase to implementation. Clyde L, (2004) researched, in 1996, a content analysis of 50 school library Web sites from nine countries, provided an overview of the then current state of the art.

In 1999 and 2002, the remaining sites were again subjected to content analysis. This article reports on trends and changes through the six-year period. While school library Web sites have remained very diverse, there has been considerable development, though that development has been uneven both across the Web sites and through the time period.

A major change since 1996 has been the use of the school library Web site to provide access to electronic resources such as for-free online information services, the catalogues of other libraries, and the school libraries own OPAC. H. W. Wilson (EBSCO) has published a range of core collection tools to help librarians build a collection. Three hosted federated search tools, Follett One Search, Gale Power Search Plus, and Web Feat Express, were configured and implemented in a school library. The tools and technologies can be divided into a number of categories, including academic networking, audio and visual technologies, content hosting and tools for measurement.

Considerations L., et.al. (2010) studies shows that, there are several reasons for automating the library activities especially computerizing library activities. On account of Information & knowledge explosion it has become essential for librarians to provide a master key to this repository of knowledge in the service.

The main of library is to provide access to proper information explosion, due to growing demands of the user and shrinking of financial resources, library cannot able to maintain all the reading materials on demand the only way to overcome from these problem is sharing resources through consortia, and Internet. Benard & Dulle, (2014) conclude that for effective use of Schools Libraries by the secondary school students there is need for current and adequate school library information resources, provision of accommodation facilities, and provision of professional school librarians to manage libraries and conducive reading environment.

Reviewing the literatures lead back to the questions: how are those tools and resources affected the school library program? Analyzing the outcomes of e-resources to the users are essential to understand the school library collection. Selection in todays libraries involved not just the traditional factors and criteria, but a member of new technical and cost factors as well. The librarians role and judgment in the selection process remains important.