3.2 Collection Evaluation

Collection evaluation is a good way to make sure that the needs of the students and staff of the school are being met and resources are being kept up-to-date. The purpose of collection evaluation is to ensure that the collection reflects the reasons it was established and maintained.

This process should be ongoing and it should take into account the following:

• Capacity of the collection to meet the school's needs
• Need to maintain up-to-date resources
• Age and condition of the resources
• Resources which are no longer relevant to the school's needs
• Resources are in a variety of formats
• Technological developments
• Online subscriptions versus hard copy
• Access to computers versus access to hard copy materials
• Library staffing, space and funding levels
• Licence and access conditions for online resources

By continually monitoring the collection it is ensured that:

• An up-to-date physical collection with an average age of less than 10 years is maintained
• Relevance of resources is reconsidered after approximately six years. The rate of change of knowledge in some specific areas may determine that a resource is obsolete before 10 years
• Worn and inappropriate material is discarded, with at least 10 % of the items being replaced annually
• Journal and electronic resource subscriptions are relevant and cost effective

In Learning for the future : developing information services in schools (ASLA, 2nd ed. 2001, p. 30) recommended standards for the size of the collection compared with student numbers are given. For example, in a school of 450 enrolled students there should be a school library collection of approximately 10,454 resources (including all formats) which are up-to-date and less than 10 years old.

Figures for additional access to electronic resources such as CD ROMS, electronic subscription services and the Internet are also included and must be considered when evaluating the collection.

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