Purpose
The Collection Development policy is a used as a guide to shape relevant collections and to ensure consistency in collection development. The decision to purchase library materials is primarily the responsibility of the collections librarian in consultation with faculty in the Department.
This policy has been developed by Pauline Dewan, the Youth and Children’s Studies Librarian, in cooperation with Lisa Wood, the Youth & Children’s Studies program’s Library Liaison.
Focus
The primary focus of the collection is to support undergraduate teaching, study, and research in Youth and Children’s Studies. Currently, Laurier Brantford offers a B.A. in Youth and Children’s Studies, as well as an option in Children’s Education and Development.
The collection also supports, on a selective basis, individual faculty research interests in Youth and Children’s Studies.
Scope
- Language: English language is preferred.
- Chronological Period: Although the contemporary period is emphasized, historical material will be collected for some courses.
- Dates of Publication: Emphasis is placed on recently published works.
- Geographical Areas: International focus.
Types, formats, and readership of materials collected
- Readership: Materials with academic-level readership at the undergraduate level are emphasized.
- Format: Single copies of books in print formats are generally selected. Web-based formats are also selected, especially if the title is of interest to users at multiple Laurier campuses. Duplication of print across Laurier campuses is generally avoided.
- Web format is preferred for reference sources, journals and indexes.
- Books or other items that are either expensive or of specialized interest/limited use are usually only purchased if not available at the University of Guelph or Waterloo.
- Types of materials not purchased: Textbooks, abridgements, study aids, limited editions, works by vanity presses, pamphlets, and partial contents (eg. single issues of journals, electronic versions of single chapters of books). Reprints are purchased selectively.
- Books about teaching and education are purchased selectively since students and faculty have access to the Nipissing Brantford education collection.
- Picture books, child/youth fiction, non-fiction, and films are purchased with a high degree of selectivity since students and faculty have access to the Brantford Public Library’s child/youth collection.
- Theses, dissertations, symposia, conference proceedings and audiovisual media are collected with a high degree of selectivity.
Subjects collected and collecting priorities
Collecting priorities are categorized into 3 levels:
- A - highest emphasis
- The collection includes major published materials required to support the core teaching and research at the highest degree level offered by the Department.
- B - secondary emphasis
- The collection includes a selection of materials to complement the discipline as a whole, although it may not be a primary focus for courses.
- C - selective emphasis
- Materials, including reference materials and basic journals and indexes are collected to introduce and define an area.
| Subjects collected | Classification | Collecting priority |
|---|---|---|
| Children and Child Development | HQ767.8-792.2 | A |
| Adolescence | HQ793-799.2 | A |
| History of childhood | A | |
| Resources that incorporate the voices of children | A | |
| Developmental psychology | BF712-724.85 | A |
| Child and youth health | A | |
| The family and domestic issues | A | |
| Youth, law, and the justice system | A | |
| Child and youth rights | A | |
| Indigenous education | A | |
| Children and music education | MT1-960 | A |
| Play, toys, and games | GV423-1220.8 | A |
| Children and media | A | |
| Youth cultures and social issues | A | |
| Children’s literature (secondary sources) | A | |
| Children’s books (primary sources) | C | |
| Youth culture in film | A | |
| Girls, feminism and gender issues | A | |
| Youth and popular culture | A | |
| Educational psychology | A | |
| Psychology of exceptional children and youth | A | |
| Teaching exceptional children and youth | LC3950-4806.5 | C |
| Teaching mathematics | QA1-699 | A |
| Children and Labour | HD6050-6305 | A |
| Children, youth, and technology | A | |
| Theory and practice of education | LB5-3640 | C |