1.

What are the professional selection tools that support both physical and virtual
collections?

The selection tools that support both types of collections are: “books, reviewing periodicals, and
bibliographic essays. These tools can be in print or electronic format (Mardis, 66)”. The
book/electronic formats typically used are the H.W Wilson series: ​Children’s Core Collection,
Middle and Junior High School Core Collection, ​and ​Senior High Core Collection. ​Some of the
reviewing journals used are ​Booklist, School Library Connection, Voice of Youth Advocates, and
School Library Journal. ​Lastly the bibliographic essays usually used are: ​Teacher Librarian,
School Library Journal, ​and ​Book Links.

2. What makes a "good" review?

There is a reason why most school’s use a selection committee instead of just one person. It’s
because “reviews reflect the writer’s opinion, based on the reviewers’ knowledge of materials
and students (Mardis, 67)” so a review can be a good source of knowledge, but you have to
remember there is always a slight bias. A “good” review consists of: bibliographic information,
purchasing information, cataloging information, description and evaluation of literary
characteristics, description and evaluation of usability, description and evaluation of visual
characteristics, description and evaluation of comparison, description and evaluation of
sociological factors, and description and evaluation of other considerations. A librarian should
also look at more than one review journal and should look at journals that fit the needs of their
school and community.

3. Do you have favorite source for reviews? Please share.

I can’t say that I do since I am not in a school library yet.

4. What criteria can be used in selection and which are most important?

General selection indicates that the following are criteria for what a source of media or books
should do: contribute to the instructional program’s objectives, be consistent with goals, help
students gain awareness, be relevant, reflect the problems, aspirations, attitudes, and ideals of
society, be age, ability level, learning style, and social development appropriate, meet quality
standards, be selected for their strengths, be cost/need effective, not be personally biased, have a
high degree of user appeal, motivate students to examine their attitudes, and reputation of all
involved with the resource. The most important criteria is the judgement of the librarian/selection
committee in relation to and keeping in mind all of the criteria listed above.

5. Is it possible for selection to be a truly objective process?

In my opinion it’s not possible for a selection process to ever be fully objective. Even if you have
an entire selection committee, there are still biases and preferences that will override the criteria.
However, as long as the librarian and selection committee do their job, follow the criteria, and
follow the set guidelines for selection, there should be a quality set of resources.

6. How is the selection of virtual or electronic resources alike or different from selection
processes for print or other non-print materials?

When making decisions on whether a resource is of quality or not, both print and non-print
resources should answer two fundamental questions: “Is the format appropriate for the content?
Does the presentation effectively address the users’ needs? (Mardis, 75)” So in the search for
new resources of both print and non, quality is still the key. “Both resources should also have
many of the same considerations that relate to the validity, accuracy, authority, uniqueness,
completeness, coverage, currency, and audience of a resource (Mardis, 80)”. However, technical
considerations for non-print resources also include accessibility (which could also relate to
print), the organization, whether or not the website has terms and conditions, and have special
considerations for diverse language and physical needs.

7. How do you work with the constraints, like filtering, in using and/or selecting online
resources?

The filters are obviously there for a reason, so I’m not sure that I see it as a constraint, rather a
preventative measure. A librarian should always be aware of what the district has filtered and
what they consider to be appropriate. Then they should use their best judgement, keeping in
mind all of the criteria that a quality resource requires.

Sources Cited

Mardis, Marcia A., and Kay Bishop. ​The Collection Program in Schools: Concepts and
Practices.​ 6th ed. Santa Barbara, CA: Libraries Unlimited, An Imprint of ABC-CLIO, LLC,
2016. Print.