Chart
3: 43% of Our Books Are Ten Years
or Older
Chart 4: 16% Matches a Professional Selection Source
Dear
Principal,
Iíve just completed an
evaluation of the Science section (the 500s of the Dewey Decimal Classification
System) in our school library. To
my dismay, I discovered that the average copyright date is 1991. In other words, in an area in which
books become outdated after just five years, our books are 13 years old.
Itís important that our
students and teachers have access to current information in these rapidly
changing fields. After all,
inaccurate facts affect learning and test scores. Besides, Iíd like to think we have many budding scientists
and inventors in the Harpers Choice Middle School
community!
I am requesting funds to
update our science section. Iíve
prepared a fact sheet with tables and charts to help you with your decision on how
much to spend.
To conduct the evaluation, I
used the method of systematic random sampling to select a representative sample
of 200 books. While the figures
are estimates, they provide a good overview of our collection. I discovered that:
1.
The average age of our
science books is 1991.
2.
We have 1.03 science books per student.
3.
Only 15% of our collection matches a professional selection
source. (A tool that provides
annotated lists of quality materials worthy of purchase for school libraries.)
4.
To upgrade our science
books to:
… 2001, weíd need to replace 117 books at a cost of approximately $6,215.00;
After much thought, Iíd like
to request $4,700 for this year.
This amount is in addition to the funds already allocated for school
library books. As you can imagine,
if our science books are this old, the rest of the collection is old, too.
Thank you for taking the
time to examine this report and for any support you can give me in my attempt
to update this important collection.
Sincerely,
Ann Bailey, Stephanie
Greene, Diane Omans, Michele Pierantozzi
Middle School Group
McDaniel College
Science Books In Our School Library
Chart 1: Science Books (500s)
|
#Students |
# of
Books |
% found
in ESLC |
# Books
Per Child |
Average
Copyright |
*Upgrade
to 2001 |
|
679 |
660 |
15.0% |
1.03 |
1991 |
$6,215.00 |
Chart 2: Top Ten Golden
Oldies Still On Our Shelves
While the following books may have some historical
significance, they have seen better days and should be weeded from our shelves.
|
Top 10
Golden Oldies |
||||
|
1.
Animal
Behavior |
1968 |
|
6.
The
Land and Wildlife of North America |
1966 |
|
2.
Wild
Rodents |
1967 |
|
7.
The
World of the Black Bear |
1966 |
|
3.
Familiar
Trees of America |
1967 |
|
8.
The
Friendly Dolphins |
1963 |
|
4.
The
Life of the Marsh |
1967 |
|
9.
Rascal |
1963 |
|
5.
The
World of the Wolf |
1967 |
|
10.
Energy |
1963 |
Chart
3: 43% of Our Books Are Ten Years
or Older
Notes:
These
numbers are estimates and to obtain them, I used an excel file found at The
Reading Corner at http://www.carr.org/read/schoollibrary The amounts in the last two columns do not include the funds needed to upgrade the
collections so that there are five books per student.
According
to SLJ Online (March 1999), the average price of one hardcover childrenís and
Young Adult book is $16.66. This
is the cost used to figure the cost of upgrading the collections. http://www.slj.com
Middle
and Junior High School Library Catalog, 8th Edition and Childrenís
Catalog, 18th Edition both published by H.W. Wilson Company 2004
with supplements 2001,2002,2003
These sources provide materials that are recommended for purchase in
school library media centers.
Most
state guidelines for school library materials recommend a minimum of 10-20
items per student.
COLLECTION INFORMATION |
|
|||||||||
|
|
207 |
|
Is the sample size |
|
|
(this number is
computed) |
|
|||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
1991 |
|
Is the average
copyright date |
|
(this number is
computed) |
|
||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
660 |
|
Is the total
collection size |
|
(you enter this
number) |
|
||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
117 |
|
Number of books to
replace in SAMPLE |
(change with channel
button) |
|
|||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
$16.66 |
|
Average Replacement
Cost Per Volume |
(you enter this
number) |
|
|||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
2001 |
|
Average Copyright Date
of Replacements |
(you enter this
number) |
|
|||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
2001 |
|
Average Copyright Date
With Replacements |
(computed) |
|
|
||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
$6,214.90 |
|
Estimated Cost (over
whole collection) |
(computed) |
|
|
||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
373 |
|
Total Number of
Volumes Replaced over WHOLE COLLECTION (rounded) |
(computed) |
||||||
