Week 5- Weeding & Selection of Reference Materials

Interesting discussion among classmates on the weeding and selection policies.  I think Riedling offers good advice, at least as a starting point, especially for those who don't have a specific policy for their library.  I know our library has a library handbook (which in the process of being updated from 1997) so I pulled it to see what the policy for our library is.  While the library handbook does discuss the responsibility and criteria in the selection process (it gives 10 criteria to consider when purchasing resources), it does not have a weeding policy.  Since I am on the committee that is reviewing the handbook, the lack of a weeding policy is something I will certainly be mentioning to the committee.
The criteria used in the selection process can, in many ways, also be used in the weeding process.  Ensuring that resources are up-to-date, at a variety of reading levels, and support all areas of the curriculum, is an on-going process. 
Professional reading, like so many professions, is a part of our job.  It's what keeps us current and informed in our field.  I take reading home to peruse, because it is impossible to get any reading done while at school! (And we certainly don't want to add to the stereotype that all we do is sit and read all day!)  In our school, we have three campuses, elementary, middle, and high school, so each campus has a subscription to one of these magazines, SLJ, LMC and ResourceLinks (for Canadian literature).  We share the reading and distribute the cost. They are a wealth of information and I like the book recommendations as well. I also try to visit Vancouver Kidsbooks once a year to get their professional opinion of what are the bestsellers in children's literature, and will also drop in to Chapters or Coles for the same reasons.  I also enjoy doing our Red Cedar book club at school, discussing what is "good" literature.  In this book club, there are over 25 fiction and non-fiction titles by Canadian authors, and it is fun to debate whether certain books should even have been nominated!
Much of what we do doesn't have explicit rules and policies, but is dependant on the wisdom and experience of the teacher librarian. (I guess "authority" comes to play here).  We need to know our students to recommend books.  We need to know our books (and read them, when we can) to recommend them to our studetns.  We need to know our libraries to know what information is available and where to find it. We need to know how to communicate what is available to our students, recognizing the different abilities and styles of learning.  We need to celebrate the things we are good at, and recognize that there are things we have to work at.  Striving for one goal a year might be a good place to start, without feeling overwhelmed or overworked.  And we need to share our joys and sorrows with others in our field who understand our job. (I'll get off my soapbox now :)