Professional Development: Part 3, Collection Development
Leah Langby
March 31, 2020
Keeping Up With Kids
a woman with glasses sits in front of a laptop, chewing on a pencil

Collection Development!  This is a perennial topic and I’m excited to share some great resources.

Top Thirteen Tips for How to Be a BAD Selector. 2019.  Recording.  Slides.  Resources. Marge Loch Wouters joined IFLS for a webinar that focuses on collections for youth but is absolutely relevant to everyone else.

In 2017, IFLS collaborated with several other systems to provide a 5-part series about collection development.  One had some significant technical difficulties, but the other four are solid and useful, I recommend checking them out:

  1. Making Your Collection Count with Mary Kelly and Holly Hibner Recording.
  2. Tips for Developing a Well-Rounded Collection for Youth with Shelly Collins Fuerbringer.  Recording.  Slides.
  3. Data-Informed Collection Development with Shanneon Grant.  Recording.  Slides.
  4. Promoting the Collection:  Merchandizing and More with Kathy Dempsey.  Recording.  Slides.

Don’t forget about the CCBC Shorts, which introduce you to excellent current books the Cooperative Children’s Book Center recommend, as well as 2 new webinars hosted by the South Central Library System coming up in April:

April 8 from 9 – 10 a.m.: Great New Books for Birth – Grade 5
April 15 from 9 – 10 a.m. Great New Books for Older Children & Teens

Other resources:

The Texas State Library has made CREW:  A Weeding Manual for Public Libraries available, along with some supporting information and resources.

Awful Library Books has some great tips on weeding, as well as some funny commentary on awful books that have been submitted to them by libraries finding them on the shelf.

We Need Diverse Books has some great information, resources, ideas, and inspiration for collection development

Library Journal Article about Diversity Audits (link is to Badgerlink full-text article) is great food for thought if you want to carefully consider your library’s collection and how well it represents everyone.

Of course, there’s more!  This is a start, and in the interest of getting it out there I’m going to hit PUBLISH.

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