Sonoma County Office of Education

Collection Development

Collection Development

Collection development is an important and complex aspect of school library operations. These resources provide welcome guidance and assistance.

California Department of Education: Literature Links
The California Department of Education works with librarians and teachers to create literature guides that support California standards and curriculum. Lists created in the 1990s are now being updated and the new lists will be maintained online where additions and deletions can keep the lists current.

Carol Hurst's Children's Literature Site
Look here for reviews of books for kids, ideas for ways to use them in the classroom, and collections of books and activities about particular subjects, curriculum areas, themes, and professional topics. Carol Hurst has been a teacher, librarian, author, storyteller, and lecturer and her experiences come together in this site that highlights children’s literature and explores the integration of literature in the classroom. A free quarterly electronic newsletter about children’s literature features new books, old favorites, the latest resources on her website, and other online resources.

Nancy Keane's Booktalks: Quick and Simple
Help students find just the right book with these 30-second descriptions of books commonly found in K-12 libraries. Over 1,200 K-12 booktalks can be searched by reading level, interest level, author, title, subject, or award. The site also includes book review sources and tips for booktalking. New booktalks are added monthly.

Resources for School Librarians: Collection Development
A Philadelphia librarian has identified a number of collection development resources as part of her site, School Libraries on the Web. These resources include sites about general collection development, creating collection development policies, collection evaluation, and selecting new resources.

Nicole Rosaschi, SCOE Administrative Operations Specialist, Human Resources
"I love that the people I work with are passionate about their work, passionate about our students getting the best possible education, and passionate about Sonoma County. " - Nicole Rosaschi, SCOE Administrative Operations Specialist, Human Resources