Collection Development

Our collection is constantly growing and shifting to reflect the needs, interests, and identities of our students. This page highlights the systems and professional practices I use to build an inclusive, engaging, and future-ready collection. My goal is to ensure every student can find books that feel welcoming, relevant, and inspiring, while also supporting strong instruction across all content areas.

Guiding Principles

Our collection is built to reflect our students, support instruction, and inspire curiosity. Every decision centers on providing inclusive access, balancing high-interest and rigorous texts, and ensuring students can find resources that feel welcoming, relevant, and meaningful.

Analyzing and Growing the Collection

I review circulation data, representation, genre balance, and age of materials throughout the year to understand where the collection is strong and where it needs support. This analysis helps guide purchasing, identify gaps, and ensure students have access to engaging, accurate, and developmentally appropriate resources.

Student Voice in the Library

Students shape the direction of our collection through book requests, advisory conversations, reading feedback, and browsing patterns. Their interests and questions help guide new purchases, expand popular genres, and keep the library responsive to the needs of our community.

Formats for All Learners

The collection includes a wide range of formats—graphic novels, high-low texts, audiobooks, digital titles, accessible nonfiction, multilingual resources, and fiction across every major genre. Offering multiple entry points supports diverse reading levels, learning needs, and personal preferences.

Collaboration With Teachers

I work with teachers to align purchases to units, inquiry projects, and literacy goals. We collaborate on text sets, research needs, and access to high-quality resources that support learning across disciplines. Teacher feedback continually informs future collection decisions.

Review and Maintenance Cycle

The collection is reviewed on a rotating basis for condition, accuracy, diversity, and circulation. Items that are outdated, damaged, or no longer aligned to student needs are removed using professional guidelines. This ensures students can easily find materials that are relevant, engaging, and useful.

Recent and Ongoing Collection Projects

Recent work includes refreshing high-demand genres, updating science and social studies nonfiction to align with curriculum, expanding multilingual titles, and increasing representation across authors, experiences, and identities. These projects ensure that students see themselves in the collection while also exploring new perspectives.

Literacy Challenges and Collection Growth

Our reading challenges have provided valuable insight into what students are excited about. As interest grows in particular genres, authors, and series, I expand those areas of the collection to ensure students can continue exploring what they love. These challenges help identify high-demand topics, guide new purchases, and keep the collection aligned with real student engagement and reading patterns.