Selection+Report+Assignment+5

=Assignment #5 Selection Report = = The Process = This project was one that I thought about for a long time before formally beginning. I tend to mull things over for a while before acting on my ideas. By the time I began to physically work on the selection process, I already had a good idea of what I wanted for resources in my collection.

I began by looking through catalogues that we regularly get in the mail from Scholastic, Crabtree, and other vendors. I looked for the subject areas Planets, Plants and Buildings (and other similar subject areas) to reflect the Grade 3 Science curriculum.

Then I looked at other sites like Amazon and Kirkus. I typed in subject areas, and then checked to see if there were reviews on the books listed.

In my searches, I found that for the most part, if a book was available at different sources, Amazon gave the best price. I tried to buy hardcover whenever possible, as these tend to last much longer in a library setting. Even though Amazon gave the best prices on most books, I tried to order from Mosaic Books here in Kelowna whenever possible. I try to shop local if I can. They are very helpful and always recommend good resources if they see that I am interested in something in particular. Because they are local, I can simply send an email asking them to put a book aside for me, and then I pick up the saved books whenever I am nearby. They also give schools a 20% discount (not reflected in the prices I have listed).

When looking at reviews, I found that the Kirkus reviews were the most concise and were the most easily readable. They gave a good summary and a suggested age range. The last line was usually a clincher-type sentence that was either a "yes or no" kind of answer as to whether to purchase or not.

I also found when looking for books, that I didn't always decide against purchasing a book because of publication date. There were several books that I decided to buy because they seemed like "classics," like //The Tiny Seed// by Eric Carle. I felt that the //Blast Off// poem book (dated 1995) was valuable, because it was a completely different genre and that appealed to me. Other books like the Michael Caputo/Joseph Bruchac First Nations books were important to me because it was difficult to find books that related to the importance of celestial objects to Aboriginal peoples. Even though they are dated in the mid-1990s, their stories are still valid, and I felt they had an important place in covering this section of the curriculum.

= The Product = Attached is the spreadsheet showing the purchases that I feel are important for Grade 3 Science.

= Reflection = I am really happy with the resources that I have (virtually) decided to purchase. I realize now that it is a good idea to check reviews to justify purchases, especially when first beginning to purchase for the library. Reading the reviews helps to solidify the decision to purchase a certain resource, and can be valuable in explaining budget expenditures to administrators. I will definitely keep this list handy, as I plan to make some "real" purchases in these areas before the end of the year. As it is already late in the year, I will not be able to buy all that I want to, but I will definitely keep the list for future reference.