Wingate 2010 Collection Development Plan
- 1. Mary “Nicole” Wingate Collection Development Plan FRIT 7134 – Spring 2010 March 3, 2010 Site Description Wayne County High School is the only high school located in Wayne County, which is settled in southeast Georgia. The community is located forty miles northwest of Brunswick and the Atlantic Coast, and sixty-six miles south of Savannah. Wayne County, created in 1803, was named after General “Mad Anthony” Wayne. General Anthony was a leading southern general in the Revolutionary War. The county, whose county seat is Jesup, is also comprised of the communities of Odum, Screven, Mt. Pleasant, Madray Springs, and Gardi, and encompasses a total of 645 square miles. According to the US Census Bureau, the county had a 2008 population estimate of 29,509 people. At that time, it was 77% Caucasian, 20% African American, and roughly 3% Hispanic. The median household income in the county is approximately $37,500, and just above 20% of the population lives below the poverty level. Just short of 6% of the homes in the community speak a language other than English at home. And finally, approximately 70% of the population has received a high school diploma, while just shy of 12% has a bachelor’s degree. The county is the home to one of the few remaining drive-ins in the state and has the Altamaha River running through it for entertainment. Also, Rayonier is the county’s leading employer. The Pulp Mill, which was the largest paper mill in the world when it was built, is the heart of the community and its livelihood. Salaries at other local businesses cannot compare to the elevated salaries of this big corporation. As a result, many students have only the desire to be hired as a manual laborer at the mill upon graduation.
- 2. The public school system includes eight schools. The high school houses students from Jesup, Odum, Screven, and the other communities in the county. The system has two middle schools, which are located in Jesup, one alternative school, which is also located in Jesup, and five K-5 schools, located throughout the county. The community has one public school Pre-K program, and several private Pre-K programs in various churches. At the high school, there are 143 people on staff. Of those, 6 are administrators, 89 are teachers, and 4 are counselors. The breakdown of this staff shows that 68% of the employees are certified Caucasians, 3% are certified African Americans, 22% are classified Caucasians, and 7% are classified African Americans. Now, for a look at the students of WCHS. Wayne County High is home to 1,501 students for the 2009-2010 school year. The racial makeup of the student population is 70% Caucasian, 25% African American, 4% Hispanic, and 1% multi-racial. We will take a closer look at the makeup of the eleventh graders at the school, as the standards addressed in this collection development plan are standards taught in the 11th grade. Of the 1,501 students at the high school, 376 of them are in the 11th grade. Of those 376, 263 are Caucasian, 84 are African American, 19 are Hispanic, 6 are Multiracial, 3 are Asian, and one is Indian. Of these eleventh graders, 31 are classified as “students with disabilities,” and 165 are considered to be economically disadvantaged. There are also six 11th grade students in the ESOL program, one of which speaks little to no English at all. All of these students are served through one media center, which is supervised by one certified media specialist and her para-professional. The media center is centrally located in the school, right next to the lunchroom and “commons” area, where students spend most of their time in between classes. The three instructional hallways in the school meet right outside of the
- 3. media center, so it is easily accessible to all students. The media center has sixteen computer workstations available for student use. However, the media specialist has requested more workstations, totaling thirty, so that she can accommodate an entire class without having students partner up or share computers. She hopes for these additional computers to be added by the end of the 2009-2010 school year. In addition to the computers in the media center, the media specialist is in charge of three computer labs, each located down an instructional hall. The labs have between twenty and thirty computer workstations, depending on which lab you visit, and each has a color printer for student and teacher use. The labs also have LCD projectors and a teacher workstation. In addition to the computers offered in the media center, the media specialist oversees a total of 17,018 copies of print and non-print items. This number includes fiction, nonfiction, reference, and video titles. The number has grown since inventory was completed at the end of the 2009 school year, when the collection included 16,924 copies. The media center averages having approximately 250 items checked out at a time. The computer workstations serve as the center of the library, where a LCD projection screen is also available for instructional purposes. The fiction collection occupies the right side of the library. In this section books are labeled with “FIC” and the author’s last name. The shelves in this section are labeled fiction and are marked with the letters of author last names that are housed in that row. The reference and nonfiction sections occupy the left side of the media center. This section is labeled using the Dewey Decimal System and the author’s last name, while the reference section is also marked with an “R.” There is also a biography section, where three smaller bookshelves house biographies and autobiographies at the back of the library. They are also labeled using author’s last name and the Dewey Decimal System. Side rooms house print magazine titles, which are organized, stored,
- 4. and labeled based on magazine name, and a video collection, which is labeled with a VC and then in numerical order. All resources are available for student checkout, except for the video and magazine collection. Curriculum Review This collection development plan will focus on the Roaring Twenties and the Great Depression in US History. The reason for focusing on these topics and time periods is the fact that they are addressed in the 11th grade standards in both Language Arts and US History. Therefore, the library could be used for these topics in various content areas, and by various teachers. Also, because there are standards on this topic for various subjects, there is a greater need for material covering these areas in the library. The following is a list of the primary standards that address the Great Depression and the Roaring Twenties, and the instructional approaches that teachers at WCHS take to meet these standards. Social Studies Standards Addressed: SSUSH17 The student will analyze the causes and consequences of the Great Depression. a. Describe the causes, including overproduction, underconsumption, and stock market speculation that led to the stock market crash of 1929 and the Great Depression. b. Explain factors (include over-farming and climate) that led to the Dust Bowl and the resulting movement and migration west. c. Explain the social and political impact of widespread unemployment that resulted in developments such as Hoovervilles. SSUSH18 The student will describe Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal as a response to the depression and compare the ways governmental programs aided those in need. a. Describe the creation of the Tennessee Valley Authority as a works program and as an effort to control the environment. b. Explain the Wagner Act and the rise of industrial unionism. c. Explain the passage of the Social Security Act as a part of the second New Deal. d. Identify Eleanor Roosevelt as a symbol of social progress and women’s activism. e. Identify the political challenges to Roosevelt’s domestic and international leadership; include the role of Huey Long, the “court packing bill,” and the Neutrality Act.
- 5. Language Arts Standards Addressed: ELAALRL3 The student deepens understanding of literary works by relating them to their contemporary context or historical background, as well as to works from other time periods. The student relates a literary work to primary source documents of its literary period or historical setting; the student: a. Relates a literary work to the seminal ideas of the time in which it is set or the time of its composition. i. Native American literature ii. Colonial/Revolutionary/National literature b. Relates a literary work to the characteristics of the literary time period that it represents. i. Romanticism/Transcendentalism ii. Realism iii. Naturalism iv. Modernism (including Harlem Renaissance) v. Postmodernism Content Area Standard Concept Activities Resources Social Studies SSUSH17 Great -Students create -Textbook Depression timelines of major -Current Events events leading up to and from local and during the Great national Depression newspapers -Students compare the -Cinderella Man, Great Depression to the movie (have 2008-2010 used teacher’s -Students watch personal copy) Cinderella Man -Websites with -Create a shadow box of descriptions of a Hooverville Hooverville -Shoeboxes -Construction Paper -Scissors -Glue Social Studies SSUSH18 New Deal -Jigsaw Activity: In -Textbook groups, students identify -collective a different part of the biographies from New Deal, then students time period rotate around the room -Set of to share about their Encyclopedias component and learn -Websites on about their classmate’s Eleanor Roosevelt New Deal component and her -Do a biographical contributions to
- 6. sketch of one of US during 1930s Roosevelt’s “enemies” -Presidential Profile of Roosevelt -Research and present one major impact Eleanor Roosevelt had on the US during era Language Arts ELAALRL3 Modernism - Students read The - Textbook Great Gatsby - Computer Time - Jigsaw activity to to access various introduce students to websites on different aspects of the authors during the 1920’s Harlem - Students create a Renaissance historical timeline for - The Great the events of the time Gatsby period - The Great - Students research an Gatsby Video author from the “Harlem - The Great Renaissance” Gatsby Study - Students read one short guide story from the - Websites Modernist period and focusing on label the Modernist different aspects elements in it of the 1920’s Collection Evaluation When beginning to analyze the collection in the media center with a focus on the Great Depression and Roaring Twenties, I first took a “stroll” through the shelves. I looked for some notable fiction titles that I knew were set in the time period, and browsed through the titles in the nonfiction section. The media specialist pointed out to me that the 970s made up the nonfiction collection material on US History. Some of the books in this section focused directly on the Great Depression and/or the twenties, while the majority of the books in this section focused on many issues in American history, and only included a section on the Depression and twenties. After doing a quick visual inventory, I dug deeper by using the card catalog.
- 7. When searching in the card catalog, I searched for keywords such as “The Great Depression,” “1920s,” and “The Roaring Twenties.” These keywords returned 161 search results. Of these titles, some were videos, some were nonfiction, others were reference materials, and still others were fiction books. However, these simple searches of the collection returned titles that would be useful in a unit on the Roaring Twenties and Great Depression, and others that were not. For example, when using the keyword “1920s,” several results were simply books written by authors that were born or died in 1920. Therefore, after completing a search of the catalog, I had to examine the results to see if they were actually connected to the units on the Roaring Twenties and the Great Depression. After doing so, I found that only 88 of the 161 search result titles actually pertained to the unit being examined. Of these 88 titles, 47 were nonfiction titles, 20 were fiction titles, 4 were reference titles, and 17 were titles in the video collection. There were no titles in the form of e-books. From these results I can see that e-books should be added to the media center’s collection, as students are becoming more computer-savvy and several prefer to work on the computer rather than in print books. Also, it is concerning that only four reference books are available that focus solely on these major time periods in US history. Sure, these topics can be researched in comprehensive reference books, like encyclopedias, but then relatively small articles provide only the bare facts. To provide students and teachers with more in-depth information on the topics, my materials order should include reference materials that focus solely on the 1920s and/or the Great Depression. After determining the relevant titles available in the media center for a Great Depression and Roaring Twenties unit, I took a look at how much these collections were checked out. I learned earlier that only roughly 1.5% of the collection is checked out at any given time. When examining the resources available for the unit at hand, only one of the 88 titles was currently
- 8. checked out. I was alarmed to find that several of the titles had never been checked out. In fact, 54 of the 88 titles pertaining to the units had never left the library. I do want to add here, however, that I think this number is slightly higher than it actually is. None of the videos had been recorded as being checked out, and I think this is because of the video checkout policy. Only teachers are allowed to checkout videos, and they do so by signing them out. Because of this, they videos are never actually “scanned out” using the cataloging system when they leave the library. Therefore, I would guess that these videos have been checked out, and the records just do not show it. However, there is no excuse for the remaining 71 titles being analyzed. Even the research materials are available for overnight checkout. Perhaps even more alarming than the overall checkout number is the fact that these titles have only been checked out thirteen times in the 2008-2009 school year, and only three times in the 2009-2010 school year. This would suggest that teachers and students do not find the available materials very useful or have a hard time finding them. Therefore, it will be of top priority in my materials order that I acquire new resources that are easily accessible and inviting for students and teachers. In addition to looking at the number of times the books were checked out, I also examined the date of publication to see how current and up to date the books were. The following charts show my findings: Nonfiction Reference Fiction Video Collection Average 1982 1986 1988 1988 Publication Date Great Depression 1920’s/Roaring Twenties Average Publication Date 1984 1986 These charts prove that the titles in the media center are in need of an update. However, the average publication dates do look “worse” than they really are, because of a few older titles that
- 9. are figured into the total and bring down the averages. Also, the topics being researched, the Great Depression and the 1920s, are not topics that are being updated or changed today. However, the main average that needs uplifting is the average publication for the video collection. With the constant updates and new capabilities in the video world, today’s students will be bored watching videos produced in the 1980s. One video was even produced in the 70’s. Therefore, my materials order must also focus on adding newer videos to the collection. In addition to analyzing the circulation and average publication date of materials, I evaluated the collection in the media center by looking at the multicultural aspects of what was offered. While this topic does not lend itself very easily to multicultural titles and outlooks, the collection did bring in the thoughts and issues of different cultures through works such as Minorities in American History and Negroes and the Great Depression. These two titles, included in the nonfiction section of the media center, were not the only titles that stretched across cultural lines. Titles in the fiction section do an excellent job of showing how the Great Depression affected young people across the country in a variety of different atmospheres and from equally as many different cultural backgrounds. Novels like Sunday’s Dust bring in characters of different nationalities and cultural backgrounds, as one of the main characters in this story is Italian. However, one area that the media center lacks in is that none of the materials are offered in Spanish. With the Hispanic population growing in the community and school, some of the most commonly taught novels and research materials should be offered in Spanish. For example, The Great Gatsby is taught in all 11th grade Language Arts classes. While there are copies of the novel in the media center, none of them are in Spanish. Six 11th grade students are classified as ESOL students and speak limited English; therefore, it is essential that these
- 10. commonly taught titles are available in Spanish. The need for Spanish literature will be important in my materials order. The fourth way that I analyzed the collection was on reading levels. The content concerning the Great Depression and the 1920s is taught in 11th grade Language Arts and History classes. There are four teachers teaching 18 sections of American Literature. There are two sections of AP American Lit offered, two sections of remedial American Lit taught, and five sections of American Lit that are inclusion classes. On the Social Studies side of the content, there are five teachers teaching 17 sections of US History. Of these classes, there are also two sections of AP US History, five sections of Inclusion US History, and one remedial US History class taught. Therefore, even though all of the students being taught these concepts are 11th graders, not all of them are taught in the same way, at the same speed, or have the same abilities. According to the English department head, the reading levels of the 11th grade students in American Literature classes ranges from a fourth grade reading level, to a freshman in college reading level. Because of this large gap, the media center needs to provide students with information on the Great Depression and 1920s in formats that accommodate all of these reading levels. While not all of the materials in the media center are labeled with their appropriate reading level, most of the titles that are labeled are at least on a middle school grade level. Therefore, it is important that more lower-level materials are added to the collection for use in the remedial and inclusion classes. Overall, though, the media center does an excellent job of providing a variety of materials to students at different reading levels. Materials Order After an in-depth look at the needs of students at WCHS, and an analysis of the current collection in the library, I have created a materials order that I feel will best help the media center supplement meaningful curricular units on both the 1920s and the Great Depression.
- 11. Because of the low number of checkouts on already available materials, I have included sources that are attention-getters. Several sources have pictures, are bright-colored, up to date, and interesting for students and teachers alike. I also included several fiction titles from the time period in the materials order. Some of these titles are ones commonly taught in 11th grade classes, but others are there for individual reading purposes. Several of these titles were also purchased in Spanish, so that the ESOL students have access to the books in their native language. The purpose of this is to give students access to interesting reads that are set within the framework of the time period. Next, I included several reference materials that focus solely on the 1920s and the Great Depression. These sources allow readers to get a much more detailed description of the time period and happenings of the era than if they read only a paragraph summary of the events in a comprehensive US history book. Not only were reference and fiction books included in the materials order, but biographies and nonfiction books focusing on key people from the time period are also included. These selections were made because several key people of the era are addressed in standards. Books were also added to address other major aspects of the standards, such as the New Deal, the 1929 crash of the stock market, and the Dust Bowl. These books were added to assist teachers in meeting the 11th grade US History standards. And finally, cds, videos, and DVDs were added to give teachers audio/visual options when teaching the units. All of these resources are current and up-to-date. This currency is important since the current average publication date for videos in the media center is 1988. I have created this materials order after doing much research to find appropriate and adequately priced materials on various websites and from various venders. The total amount needed to purchase materials for this collection development plan is $3,780.93. However, I feel
- 12. that after these resources are added to the collections, teachers and students will be adequately equipped and prepared to master the 11th grade standards in both US History and American Literature for the 1920s and the era surrounding the Great Depression. Included along with these materials for the collection is a list of helpful websites. These websites build upon the collection materials to offer a deeper understanding of the concepts and people from the time periods being studied. All aspects of the standards have been addressed through a fiction book, nonfiction book, reference book, video, and/or website. A wiki with a resource list of helpful websites can be found at: http://wingatecollectiondevelopmentplan.pbworks.com/.