Collection Development Basics
Course
Communication Is the Key [7:22]
Once your materials are on the shelves, your job is to promote these resources so that your patrons can use them. What good does it do to have great new books and eBooks and DVDs and websites to share when no one's looking at them?
So let's talk a little bit about communication and PR. I just did a really big weed of my library and I was disappointed to find books that no one had ever checked out. I'm not sure why. Maybe they were bought in the initial new school purchase 15 years ago of my school and they don't have anything to do with the curriculum right now or maybe I just didn't promote them well enough. Maybe they were poorly written and kids weren't interested in them. Whatever the reason, it's really disappointing. We are the caretakers of funds that purchase those books so that was really a wasted purchase and you know it's our taxpayer money too so we personally care. Selecting wisely is an art and it's not always perfect but we have to keep trying to entice users to look at all of our purchases.
So the question is, how do we make sure our end-users know that we have new items for them to peruse? Many of our resources have been requested by teachers and students so those are no problem. The teachers and students are like anxiously waiting for those items. I have a suggestion box for students to ask for new books and I often email teachers to ask if they need any resources so that's part of my collection development.
But when your orders come in that you've ordered, patrons need to be notified, they need to know that that new shipment of eBooks just came in or that new database is now active. There are many ways you can inform your patrons. It'd be great to have emails for all parents and students but that's not always easy or practical. Kids don't really look at email anymore. Does your library have a website? That's a great idea, but again you are counting on patrons going to that site. Do you have a section of the school website? If you have the rights to keep that updated, you can add news items to that often.
Social media is also a great way to get news of your new resources out to patrons. You can use Facebook or Twitter or Instagram to get the news out and you can even link with those to like authors or critiques of your resources but all of those ways expect the user to search out what you have. And we know teachers are super busy and we know students have other priorities than what the library just got new in so I'm not saying you have to force yourself into their lives, but you have to have good PR and you need to make sure you are promoting resources in a way that will get through to them.
All of those are really good ways but does your school have a newsletter? I know that's old school but always write an article for that newsletter. In our most recent newsletter, I had an article about some new eBooks that just came in and another article about that author that I said came to our school. These newsletters go to each student's home so they don't have to go out and look for the information, it comes right to their mailbox. I'm not saying that that ensures they've read the article but at least it's right in front of their noses.
To let teachers know when we have new items, I often use email to let them know as soon as we have items processed and once a year I have a lunch-in for my teachers called a "spring book previeW" and when I taught middle school I had breakfast and teachers would come in and have coffee and donuts and bagels and they'd browse all the new books and the resources that I set out on tables.
Now we do lunch because I'm in high school and high school starts really early. I ask my principal to help with the lunch expenses and I even ask PTSA for some help. Teachers love getting a free meal and they also like to gather in a central place with their colleagues. I give raffle tickets and I give out prizes, nothing big, just maybe some coupons I've received or maybe some classroom supplies. I get up with my microphone and I tell them about a few of our new purchases and I have new books and other resources around for them to look at. It just kind of reminds them that the library is a really cool place to hangout.
Now to let students know about our new resources, I get on a closed circuit TV. That two minutes on TV goes out to the entire school and so everyone is aware of what we've just received. I often have a free books cart in the library and that includes weeded books and donated books and that draws attention too. That brings kids in. I also have a new book display that I rotate every time I get new books. I use Remind, that is a text messaging service and the kids have to call in and sign up for it. I don't go to them, they come up to me and that way they get a text message whenever I send one. I can guarantee you kids read their text messages.
To let parents know what's going on, I use that newsletter I was talking about as well as attending the PTSA meeting and we have a SAC, a school advisory council, I go to those meetings and in this way parents remember to think of the library when they have need. I also host parent nights with our reading coach. That's a great night where your parents learn about how important reading is and I also try to let them leave with books for their children. If you are a title one school, there's lots of money there just for this sort of thing.
I always make sure I thank my administration and parents for supporting my library. My PTSA president just used their Facebook page to advertise a book fare I was having and that increased my sales, they doubled. Now I can get new items for my collection. About a month ago, the PTSA had a used book sale and all the money at that book sale, they gave to my library so I'm just really lucky. They listen to what I say and they promote what I do.
I try to reach out to teachers often to make sure they know about the resources I have. I ask them to bring their entire class to my library as often as they can. For some students, our collection is their only access to information and quality literature. I just want to thank teachers and I want to make sure students get what they need. Teachers are really our conduit to get to students.
To maximize use of the materials you've carefully selected and maintained through your collection development work, you must communicate with stakeholders through a variety of channels. Reach out to students, teachers, and parents with updates of new books, highlighted themes or topics, or materials related to events or projects. Depending on your school's communication options, you might utilize social media, newsletters, closed circuit TV, text message services, school or library websites, displays, and parent events, such as PTA meetings.
1. Gather information linking a current happening with your library collection, such as a new titles update, the availability of a digital tool, or a display pertaining to a school event.
2. Craft multiple messages on this topic for sharing across different communication channels. Try to use an approach that you haven't utilized yet!
MLA Citation
Morris, Rebecca J. "Collection Development Basics: Get the Word Out." School Library Connection, September 2017, schoollibraryconnection.com/Content/Course/2081082?learningModuleId=2081075&topicCenterId=2247902.
Entry ID: 2128228
Additional Resources
MLA Citation
Franklin, Patricia. "Collection Development Basics. Communication Is the Key [7:22]." School Library Connection, ABC-CLIO, August 2017, schoollibraryconnection.com/Content/Course/2081082?learningModuleId=2081075&topicCenterId=2247902.
https://schoollibraryconnection.com/Content/Course/2081082?learningModuleId=2081075&topicCenterId=2247902
Entry ID: 2081082