School library collection rubric

1. POLICY

Question Title

* 1a Collection policy

No collection policy in development, or policy is out-of-date

Basic collection policy is in development

Collection policy is current, and guides practice

Current collection policy is endorsed and published with official school policies. The policy guides practice and is regularly reviewed

Comment

2. USER FOCUS

Question Title

* 2a Collection is responsive to the needs of the school community

No consultation with school community

Limited or ad hoc consultation

Anecdotal verbal feedback and monitoring of requests from individuals

Formal consultation and surveys conducted regularly with school community stakeholder groups, and used to inform practice

Comment

Question Title

* 2b Use of the collection

Minimal use or no use statistics available

Collection use is ad hoc. Anecdotal usage information and feedback only

Parts of the collection are well-used. Statistics are not used in planning or promotion

Physical and networked collection used extensively. Analysis of usage statistics guides collection development and promotion

Comment

Question Title

* 2c Accommodating the range of users’ literacy capacity

No accommodation for the range of literacy capacity, and English as an Additional Language (EAL) needs

Basic accommodation for EAL, readers with low literacy and advanced readers

Adequate accommodation for EAL, readers with low literacy and advanced readers

Differentiation based on reading levels and languages based on analysis of reading level reports from digital libraries and/or sampling of physical texts for fiction

Comment

Question Title

* 2d Alignment to user interests

No attempt to match user interest

Ad hoc or selective consideration of user interests in selection of resources

Meets the needs of most users

Responsive collection development process with user input forming a priority in selection

Comment

3. LEARNING FOCUS

Question Title

* 3a Curriculum analysis and mapping to align with learning content

Minimal alignment to curriculum needs, teaching styles and assessment needs

Reactive response to requests is sole method of identifying areas of insufficient resourcing, and is the minimum required for core learning areas

Current units of work are analysed, and holdings are checked to ensure breadth and depth

Resources that correspond to the school’s curriculum map are tagged for effective retrieval via the catalogue

Comment

Question Title

* 3b Literature resources

Ad hoc collection of literary texts with no clear focus, no attempt to meet standards

Base collection of literary texts; limited range of authors, formats and genres

Effective collection of core literary texts, moderate range of authors, formats and genres

Outstanding collection of literary texts, extensive range of authors, formats, and genres, including classics, and contemporary

Comment

Question Title

* 3c Reading development

Limited, ad hoc availability of materials to support literacy development, and lack of responsiveness to needs of users

Base collection of materials encourages readers, and supports the literacy needs of the school

Effective collection fulfils diverse literacy needs, encourages wide reading, and is responsive to recreational reading interests

Outstanding collection that prioritises reading, and proactively meets recreational reading for a majority of students and staff

Comment

Question Title

* 3d. Collaborative programming that integrates collection into school learning programs

No collaboration with teaching staff to integrate the collection with research and classroom programs

Ad hoc or limited collaboration with teachers to integrate the collection with research and classroom programs

Collaboration with teachers to integrate the collection with research and classroom programs

Ongoing proactive collaboration with teachers to ensure integration of the collection with the school’s research and classroom programs

Comment

4. FUNDING AND VALUE

Question Title

* 4a Funding focus: Alignment of budget use to school and system priorities

Development budget is inadequate to reach foundation level

Budget is limited to essential resources

Budget allows for renewal of collection of less than 10% per year

Budget allows for renewal of collection of 10% per year plus enrichment or special interest collection building

Comment

Question Title

* 4b Budget allocation

Inadequate funding to allow systematic allocation across resource types

Ad hoc allocation of budget across resource types

Appropriate balance of budget allocation between physical and networked resources

Budget allocated according to % priorities specified in collection policy

Comment

Question Title

* 4c Partnerships that enhance access to resources

No partnerships or access to external resources, for example public library

Limited partnerships to extend access to resources

Some partnerships and engagement with broader resource networks

Actively partnering to provide enriched access, for example, consortia membership where more cost-effective

Comment