Continual evaluation is necessary to maintain a useful and current collection. APL will conduct three types of evaluation periodically to ensure the collection remains relevant.
1. Consensus/Discrepancy Study
A collection list will be submitted annually to the Atlas School District and Private Schools 1 and 2. The school librarians and teachers will be invited to review the list and provide insight into their current curriculum needs. The purpose of these studies is to see how the APL collection compares and supports school collections. The goal is to support, not exactly duplicate, the collections at school libraries. However, it is important to note that the collection must provide adequate materials for homeschoolers as well.
2. Focus Groups
Bi-annual focus groups will be held with parents who homeschool their children to determine whether or not the collection is serving their current curriculum needs. This focus group can also be utilized to evaluate and develop other collections for homeschool use as the library sees fit. Studies have shown that homeschoolers often develop close associations with librarians and that libraries should initiate dialogue to understand the needs of these users (Kleist-Tesch 1998; Willingham 2008, 61). Homeschoolers often choose to avoid traditional school systems because they are concerned about the school environment, they want to provide religious/moral instruction not provided in schools, or they are dissatisfied with the academics in schools (Willingham 2008, 59). Therefore, homeschoolers have needs beyond or outside the curriculum provided by the school district. These focus groups will allow homeschooling parents to communicate their needs to the library.
3. Circulation Records
Circulation records will be reviewed every six months to determine patterns of use. This quantitative information will be used to determine which items to replace or weed.
Interpretation of Findings
Quantitative findings from circulation records will be combined with qualitative findings from the focus groups and consensus/discrepancy studies and will be used to evaluate the current collection, make recommendations, and plan future reviews. These evaluations will be used to ensure the collection continues to support school and homeschooling curriculum, as well as continuing to provide children, ages 7-12, with mythology materials for education and leisure reading.
The library keeps its collection vital and useful by retaining or replacing essential material and by removing, on a systematic and continuous basis, those works which are worn, damaged, outdated or superseded, or no longer in demand. Materials will be evaluated on a frequent, ongoing basis using the CREW (Continuous, Review, Evaluation, and Weeding) method. The CREW method utilizes guidelines for de-selection using the MUSTIE (Misleading/Inaccurate Information, Ugly (i.e. worn out or damaged), Superseded by a newer or better edition, Trivial, Irrelevant, and available Elsewhere) formula (Kerby 2002).
Damaged items that are of current use will be rebound and repaired within reason. Items that receive heavy use and are beyond repair and/or have lost pages will be replaced. Classic and standard retrospective materials may be retained. At the library’s discretion, de-selected items are offered to other libraries within OCLS, given to the Atlas Public Library Friends, or discarded.