Library Collection Mapping

  What is library collection mapping? How does it help the SLMS to meet the needs of students and teachers? Put at least one link to a company which provides this service (it doesn’t matter whether this is a free service or if you must pay; just note if the service is free and if not, what costs there are).

     A library collection map is defined by Baltimore County Public Schools as “graphical representation of the strengths and weaknesses of a library collection”. (http://www.bcps.org/offices/lis/office/admin/cm/mapping.html) 

      As a math person, I love graphs and visual representations of information.  I find that things are easier to understand and visualize by using graphs and maps.  A school library collection map categorizes the collection of the library into groups (usually based on the curriculum of the school) and then further subgroups.  It shows what resources the library has for general education needs, specific school subjects, unit topics within the subjects, and more specific subgroups within a unit.  Library collection mapping is a great tool to help analyze the collection of the library.  Using library collection maps can greatly help the library meet the needs of the students and teachers because it helps the SLMS see the size, quality, and condition of resources in the library.  It also shows what specific areas are in need of more resources, and which areas could use some weeding out of resources.  Using a library collection map can help the SLMS work towards obtaining a library collection that supports the entire curriculum offered at the school in a fairly evenly distributed way. 

     I looked online to find a company that provides collection mapping, and at first I got stuck!  It was difficult to search this topic, because different companies came up that involved actual maps (of geographical places) for libraries.  Then, I decided to search with some different words and I found this website: http://www.perma-bound.com/collection-analysis-introduction.faces !  The company PermaBound offers a free collection analysis and planning tool that allows users to upload a collection and analyze it by creating different graphs, maps, and charts.  It seems very helpful, and it is free!  It also looks like it is definitely geared towards school libraries, and even helps fit materials right into the curriculum of the school. 

    I was also able to find another tool.  The company Bowker developed a Book Analysis System.  http://www.bowkersbookanalysis.com/Pages/how.html  This is a product that costs a certain fee (request more information for fee details).  This is also a product that seems to fit larger, college libraries.  It can help the process of building up the collection based on certain needs, and weeding the collection based on materials already in possession.  

References

Collection Mapping. (n.d.). Retrieved November 26, 2012 from Baltimore Count Public Schools:
http://www.bcps.org/offices/lis/office/admin/cm/mapping.html

Collection Analysis and Planning. (n.d.). Retrieved November 26, 2012 from PermaBound: http://www.perma-bound.com/collection-analysis-introduction.faces

Bowker Book Analysis System. (2011). Retrieved November 26, 2012 from Bowker: http://www.bowkersbookanalysis.com/Pages/how.html