Collection
Evaluation Tools
Compiled by Amy
Brownlee
COLLECTION STANDARDS
There are no official national standards, but the 1988 edition of Information
Power (ALA/AECT) includes some guidelines in an appendix.
Some good state guidelines:
Standards for Missouri School Library Media Centers
Missouri Dept. of Elementary and Secondary Education
July 2002
Other resources:
You might find a few older things by searching ERIC – I think
I found some documents from IL or IN several years ago.
Check out the School Library Journal October issues for the Miller
studies – these can be helpful in other ways as well as collection
size.
COLLECTION ANALYSIS TOOLS
TitleWise
An online collection analysis tool from Follett (available from Follett’s
Titlewave page). I haven’t tried it yet, but it looks
like a fabulous tool for collection analysis. Import your MARC
records into TitleWise and you can print reports complete with charts
and
graphs. (I have tried it. Excellent. MHouse)
BenchMARC
An online collection analysis tool from Sagebrush. You can get
a free trial, and then it is a subscription service.
See this article for
more info.
Doll, Carol A. and Pamela Petrick Barron. Managing and Analyzing
Your Collection: a Practical Guide for Small Libraries and School
Media Centers. Chicago: American
Library Association, 2002.
A great resource that tells you several different ways to gather
and analyze collection data in order to evaluate your library collection. A
great resource for estimating what it would take to update your collection. This
resource is highly useful for grant writers.
Literacy
Partners: a Principal’s Guide for an Effective Library
Media Program for the 21st Century
An online document from the Alabama Dept. of Education. The
appendix includes some collection analysis worksheets.
