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Ashley Brewer

SLM 506 Collection Development

Assignment 1: Community and School Analysis: Piney Ridge


Elementary School
The Community
o Community Description: Sykesville, Maryland is a suburban/rural
neighborhood located on the southern end of Carroll County.
o Socioeconomic status: (based on 2010 Census Data: Sykesville, MD)
Median Household Income: $66,551, Median Family Income: $75,758
o Cultural Background: (based on 2010 Census Data: Sykesville, MD)
83.27% White, 12.08% Black or African American, 2.71% Hispanic or
Latino, 2.52% Asian, 1.65% Two or more races, <1% Other
o Access to Public Library Service: The Eldersburg Branch of the Carroll
County Public Library System is within a 10-minute drive of the school.
The School
o Number of Students: ~590 (11% FARMS Students)
o Number of Teachers: 40 (Media Staff: 2 Specialists, 1 Media Clerk)
o Trends in Test Scores: PRE is consistently near the top of County
Assessments for both Reading and Math scores. As transition to
Common Core instruction and PARCC Assessment has taken place,
county percentages have decreased.
o Academic Achievement Scores:
Carroll County Assessment Data (Taken from the PRE School
Improvement Plan)

MSA Scores 2013-2014 (Taken from the MD Report Card site)

Ashley Brewer
SLM 506 Collection Development

o Access to the Media Center: K-5 Classes visit the Media Center during
their Specials Block for 30 minutes once a week. Before and after
school access based on staff availability (8:45-9:10 am, 3:45-4:10 pm).
o Special School Programs: Guys Read club meets once a week before
school in the media center. This club encourages boys to read for
pleasure by introducing them to male authors and readers who love
what they do!
o Parental Involvement: The PRE Media Center benefits from an active
partnership with the PTA. Parent volunteers support the annual Book
Fair and provide funds for other media events.
o Mission Statement of the School: (Taken from the PRE website)
It is the mission of Piney Ridge Elementary School
to develop students as thinkers, problem solvers and communicators.
All will work to ensure maximum achievement for every child in all
curricular areas.
The Current Library Collection
o Mission Statement of the Library: (Taken from the PRE website) The
mission of the school media program is to provide instruction,
resources, and services to assist students and teachers in becoming
critical thinkers in the pursuit and use of ideas and information, and
encourage reading for pleasure.
o Size of the Current Collection: over 12,000 items (all media included)
o Weekly Circulation: With each grade level visiting the Media Center for
one half hour block, and morning and afternoon check out times
optional, the Media Center averages 900-1,000 checkouts per week.
o Condition of the Collection: large, organized shelves: lower height
shelves in the Everybody section, under water themed mural
stretches above all shelves on the walls of the library, 1 smart board
and document camera station set up at the front of the group area, 12
student computer stations all with headphones, 1 color printer, 1 black
and white printer, 1 circulation desk, All books sampled in fair condition
of varying publication dates from 1992- 2012, some student created
books in collection more weathered
o Collection Goals: Build diversity collection based on current trends in
childrens and young adult lit (characters with special needs, nontraditional family settings, or multicultural perspectives), build ebook
collection based on collaboration with Public Library branch, fill 900s
(last years weeded section)
o Yearly Budget: $7,392 (Books), $1,915 (Subscriptions), PTA
Donations/Fundraising Opportunities (Book Fair/Other Media Events)
Analysis

Ashley Brewer
SLM 506 Collection Development

This assignment led me to the most thoughtful library visit Ive had
since starting my coursework! Ive never explored my schools library before
with the whole collection and school population in mind, and it led to some
interesting considerations.
When researching the school and community statistics, I did not find
anything too surprising in my data. I still feel that this practice will be
essential to my future media career, however. Unless I choose to stay in the
same school, in the same part of the county throughout my career
(doubtful), Ill need to know how to collect information about my school
community before day one. Knowing the cultural background of my learners
and the resources available to them will help me dig into my new collection
with a more critical eye. The best library collection for any given population
will vary based on all of the criteria we researched for this assignment.
Students in a suburban or rural setting will have different interests and
experiences than those in an urban setting. Parent involvement will fluctuate
based on household incomes, parent availability around work schedules, and
commute times. Getting a sense of the makeup of a school population will
allow me to better prepare my collection to meet their needs.
After my community research, I began to explore my schools current
collection with our population in mind. Although we are located in a less
diverse part of the county, I still feel that titles that represent a diverse world
are important. Perhaps these titles are more important to students with
limited multicultural experiences! Reading allows us to explore stories
different from our own, and my schools media collection has a good start,
but Id like to see more. Specifically, books with characters with special
needs, non-traditional family settings, or multicultural experiences would
make our collection stronger.
One of the benefits of having a media specialist who has worked with the
same collection for several years is all of the work they have done already to
fill any collection holes. Most recently, the collection has changed to reflect
new digital resources. Magazines checkouts and thus paper subscriptions
have gone down in recent years thanks to digital issues. Print nonfiction
materials are still popular to check out, but more funding has been put
towards digital research tools (our databases like PebbleGo) in the last five
years. I expect this trend to continue and expand: our county recently
adopted a Bring Your Own Device policy, and our school is working to make
devices accessible at the elementary level (bus travel is rough in the
younger grades and devices are expensive!). I anticipate that the media

Ashley Brewer
SLM 506 Collection Development

program will continue to be a voice in this debate and policy making as


schools work to incorporate technology into everyday routines.
I believe our population is adequately served by the collection, but
after just a short visit to the library, I can see how one can be carried away in
the possibilities. Most of our books are current or in good condition, but even
as a classroom teacher I have a wish list of new books that Id like purchased
for next year. Our special ed needs can be met through differentiation with
our varied databases and technology resources, but we have to advocate for
money each year to be put towards the things we really use (for example,
funding for Dreambox Math was allotted by the county for our school this
year, but money for RazKids was not). Analyzing this balance from the
perspective of the whole collection and the community of learners and
teachers it serves was very beneficial to me as a new face to media.

Ashley Brewer
SLM 506 Collection Development

Bibliography
"Assessments: Maryland School Assessment.": Carroll County. Maryland
State
Department of Education, n.d. Web. 17 Oct. 2014.
<http://www.mdreportcard.org/Assessments.aspx?K=060509>.
"Piney Ridge Elementary School Improvement Plan 2014- 2015."Piney
Ridge Elementary School (n.d.): n. pag. Piney Ridge Elementary School
Improvement Plan. Piney Ridge Elementary School. Web. 17 Oct. 2014.
<http://www.carrollk12.org/Assets/file/PRE/Piney%20Ridge%20SIT%20Plan
%202014-15.pdf>.
"Piney Ridge Elementary School Website." Piney Ridge Elementary School.
Carroll County
Public Schools, n.d. Web. 17 Oct. 2014.
<http://www.carrollk12.org/pre/>.
"PRE Collection Budget and Plans." Interview with Keith Taylor (PRE Media
Specialist). 20 October 2014.
"Sykesville, Maryland Population: Census 2010 and 2000 Interactive Map,
Demographics, Statistics, Quick Facts." Sykesville, MD Population.
Moonshadow Mobile, Inc., n.d. Web. 17 Oct. 2014.
<http://censusviewer.com/city/MD/Sykesville>.

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