Balancing the spectrum of the collection 2007

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Balancing the Spectrum of the Collection LIB 610 Collection Management Summer 2010

Transcript of Balancing the spectrum of the collection 2007

Page 1: Balancing the spectrum of the collection 2007

Balancing

the

Spectrum

of the

Collection

LIB 610 Collection Management

Summer 2010

Page 2: Balancing the spectrum of the collection 2007

Abstract2

Page 3: Balancing the spectrum of the collection 2007

Newtonian physics

Newton first used the word spectrum

(Latin for "appearance" or

"apparition") in print in 1671 in

describing his experiments in optics.

Newton observed that when a narrow

beam of sunlight strikes the face of a

glass prism at an angle, some is

reflected and some of the beam passes

into and through the glass, emerging as

different colored bands. – Visible spectrum From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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Spectrum requires a prism

Estonian composer Arvo Pärt:

– I could compare my music to

white light which contains all

colours. Only a prism can divide

the colours and make them

appear; this prism could be the

spirit of the listener.

• about his music: Alina

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Prism as a filter

Historian Doris Kearns Goodwin:

– The biographer finds that the past is

not simply the past, but a prism

through which the subject filters his

own changing self-image. • Goodwin, Doris Kearns (1979).

„„Angles of Vision‟‟, in:

Mark Pachter (Ed.), Telling Lives: the

biographer’s art. Washington, DC: New Republic

Books. Cited in Debate and Reflection: How to

Write Journalism History

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The goal of collection building?

Amanda Credaro:

“. . . the ultimate goal of

collection development

must be to create a

„balanced‟ collection . . .”• The Use of Reviewing Journals in School

Libraries

balanced

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What do you mean, balanced?

Credaro:

“. . . there is disagreement as to

what actually constitutes a

„balanced‟ collection.” • equal numbers of print and non-print

resources?

• materials that present the arguments for

both sides on controversial issues?

• a combination of both “demand” items

and quality resources?

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How can we tell?How do we know when we have “a

well-balanced collection that meets the

needs of our users”?

“To evaluate the results of any

particular intervention, we need to

be able to clearly identify and

define the desired state.”

• T. Scott Plutchak, “The art and science of

making choices,”

Journal of the Medical Library Association

2003 January; 91(1): 1–3.

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Define your desired state!

What is your library‟s

mission?

Where, then, will be your

point of balance?

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A prism to view the full balanced spectrum

Personal

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Real

Invented

SMiley face

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Two Continuums

Real Invented

Personal Smiley

Face

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Put „em together!

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Real

Invented

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Application to Collections???

. . . and Dragons????

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Dragons in folklore15

St. George and the Dragon /

Egorii / Iurii / Georgii

– Region: North Africa

– Time Period: 3rd and 4th

Century AD

– References in Literature:

The Faerie Queen by

Edmund Spenser

– Sources: Everyone – He‟s

very popular

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Dragons in Folklore16

– The oriental dragon is very different in appearance

to the Occidental dragon. The tales differ just as

much. In China the dragon is a creature to be

worshipped and respected. Although they can still be

fierce, they are mainly called to for help in times of

need, by the people of China. The Japanese dragons

are very different in personality, sharing traits with

the western dragons. However they are still known to

be both benevolent on occasion and certainly

respected by the Japanese people.

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Dragons in Native American Folklore

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– The Seven Headed Dragon – Ojibwa

– Sacred Medicine Water – Caddo

– The Chenoo, or the, story of a cannibal with an icy

heart -- A Passamaquoddy and

Micmac Legend

– Search the First People website for

other examples!

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Bottom Left Sector of Matrix18

Invented, but Personal Real

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Quality literature, sometimes

adaptations, or else original

writing, with universal appeal and

meaning for everyman and

everywoman

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An invented dragon who is

very personal (if not exactly loveable!)

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Smaug

– Smaug the Golden was a

powerful, though greedy,

reddish-gold dragon of

Middle-earth, considered the mightiest Dragon of his

time. He is the most prominent antagonist in The

Hobbit. In the book, he lives in the Lonely Mountain,

to the east of the Mirkwood Forest.

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A good invented dragon20

My Father’s Dragon

– A Newbery Honor–winning title

and a favorite among children, My

Father’s Dragon by Ruth Stiles

Gannett, is a humorous adventure

story about a clever and

resourceful boy named Elmer

Elevator, who runs away to Wild

Island to rescue a baby dragon.

• My Father‟s Dragon

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Real Smileys!

Top Right of the Matrix21

Real

Recognizable

stories, but unoriginal

and shallow

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Dragon stories that are real smileys?22

In this first of the Dragon

Slayers‟ Academy series, Wiglaf,

the put-upon sensitive son in a

family of louts, heads off to school

along with his faithful pet pig,

Daisy. . . . This lightweight,

amusing adventure rattles right

along, without pretensions and

with, given the series title, a

resolution that cleverly avoids

violence--Wiglaf slays the dragon

with bad jokes. An entertaining

confection. (b&w illustrations, not

seen) (Fiction. 7-10)

• Copyright ©1997, Kirkus Associates

Review cited by Amazon

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Invented smileys [perhaps contrived?]

Bottom Right of the Matrix23

Invented

Generic, unoriginal, im

personal, shallow

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An invented “smiley” dragon?24

What about the Dazzling Dragon?

– When Princess Daisy hears that a real dragon is being brought

into the Princess Academy, she is terrified. What will her

friends think of her being such a scaredy cat? But later

Princess Daisy has a chance to show how

brave she really is...

• Blurb from The Tiara Club website

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Evaluation instrument

– Part of inventory or selection/acquisition

• Create a scattergram

How to use this PRISM?25

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Especially controversial ones!

Balancing issues26

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COUNTERISSUE

ISSUE

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Important Native American Resource

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OyateOyate is a Native organization working to

see that our lives and histories are

portrayed honestly, and so that all people

will know our stories belong to us. For

Indian children, it is as important as it has

ever been for them to know who they are

and what they come from. For all

children, it is time to know and

acknowledge the truths of history. Only

then will they come to have the

understanding and respect for each other

that now, more than ever, will be necessary

for life to continue.

Oyate: About Us

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Another native Resource30