MEDT 6465 Selection

Collection Map Assignment Recording Form

Student: TWC Summer 2016

Dewey Section Assigned 800s (Literature)

Record here the copyright 2009 1999 2012 2004 2000 1996 2001 1997 1996 1994

date of every 10th item in 1993 1994 2001 1985 1993 2008 1996 2001 1995

the Dewey section 1997 2002 1998 2009 2007 2007 1992 1997 2003

2012 2003 2001 2001 2016 2003 1996 2000 2013

2008 2001 2000 2012 2002 2000 1997 2003 1998

Average copyright date of 2001

the items recorded above

Average copyright date of 2000

all items in this section

(from OPAC report)

Oldest copyright date of 1958

this section
Newest copyright date of 2016

this section
Notes of conversation Is section current enough?
MEDT 6465 Selection
with media specialist The librarian noted because of the topic, it is generally

current. New materials representing new poets could

possibly be added, however most of the collection in this

range are from the early 2000s.

Are there requests for materials from this area often?

Not usually. If there are requests in this area it is for a

particular school assignment/book or for the sub-collection

of joke books in this section.

Are these the best resources for this Dewey range?

The books in this section include literature from famous

poets, joke books, and culturally diverse literature. The

librarian felt like their collection present well for a variety of

interests in this area.

Are there plans to update this section of the collection?

Since the librarian is new to this library, she sees no

immediate need to update this section, save for the inclusion

of a few more joke books, per overall interest in this area,

and more current poetry collections from emerging notable

poets.

Are there other formats that are more desirable for this

section (e-books, online databases, etc.)?

Not for this section. Juvenile fiction is the most requested

request for alternative/digitized formats.

MEDT 6465 Selection
Collection Analysis Report

The 800s literature section of the Fayette County public library juvenile section was

selected for this review. This collection includes poetry, plays, speeches, and Shakespeare. There

are currently a little over 460 books in this section. Publication dates range from 1958 to 2016,

which encompass a wide span within this range. The average copyright date for this complete

section is 2001, meaning the estimated average time of publication of these books in the

collection would be about 15 years ago. For this particular section, this dating does not

necessarily equate to an out-of-date section, as literature is primarily based on human perception

and observations.

The librarian, Joy Vallandingham, was available to provide information on the literature

collection. Having previous experience in another county and having only been at this current

library for a total of four weeks, Ms. Joy was able to provide sufficient and historical information

regarding the literature collection. During the collection mapping, a book of poetry from 2016

was already on the shelves, indicating that the previous librarian maintained the collection with

at least some additions, and periodically sought to maintain the section, however not as

extensively as other larger sections that require more up-to-date fact-based information (e.g.

500s -Math & Science).

Although there is a listing of the Dewey system categories provided online and within the

library search system, book and materials search is completely restricted to key word, title and

author searches. The current librarian was not able to access information via the OPAC system as

the search system at this public library is based on the indicated search method even when a

patron searches on a dedicated computer in the library. Nevertheless, Ms. Joy was able to

research some information such as the oldest book in this collection (1958) compared to the

oldest one I found during the collection mapping (1985).

MEDT 6465 Selection
If one were to consider the mode of the collection mapped, which had to be completed by

hand, based on the data collected one would find that most books in this section had a copyright

date of 2001 (see figure 1), which could indicate a significant amount of additions to the

collection around the turn of the century. This emphasis on replenishing this section appears to

have dwindled, however, not completely neglected as books and materials were noted in later

years as well (e.g. 2002, 2003, 2004, 2009, 2012, 2016). These latter publications also indicate a

consistent yet smaller stream of collection updates in comparison to the turn of the century.

Because there was no way of discussing the development of the collection with the

previous librarians, sampling from this collection reveals a variety of literature-based media.

These include culturally-based works as well as comedic style works and historical works such

as that of Shakespeare. The librarian did note that additional collections from more current and

emerging authors/poets might necessitate a need to add to the collection as well as providing

additions based on the limited interests for comedic-style literature expressed by the community

population, however the librarian felt the collection is representative of the needs of the

community overall, and supplies an array of content for the inquirer.

The librarian also noted that the collection was developed over time. As she has been at

this public library, she was not sure of the specific details as to how the collection was

developed. She has observed that most children look for joke and pun-like books in this section

and there is otherwise not a lot of interest, save for a few specific books search needs. The

librarian feels like the collection at the local public library is sufficient for the needs of the

community, save a few additions of joke books and emerging new authors, and feels like a

collection in a school-based setting is essential to have as this section supports students

development of literary styles and more abstract learning.

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Figure 1