Resources for School Librarians - Index

Collection Development

Collection Development Menu: General Collection Development | Collection Development Policies | Evaluation and Weeding | Book Repair | Selection Tools

"It does not matter how many books you may have, but whether they are good or not." - Lucius Annaeus Seneca (3 B.C.-65 A.D.), Epistolae Morale

Selection Tools

Books and Audio-Visual - Web Sites

• Teacher Book Wizard - This tool by Scholastic allows you to search for books by grade level, reading level, genre and other criteria.
• Recommended Books and Links - This is a PBS site. There are monthly reviews. Make sure to check out the archives for many more titles.
• Best Books - for students and classrooms. Also lists of best books for teacher professional development and for parents. These lists are from Education World. You may also submit reviews of books.
• University Press Books Selected for Public and Secondary School Libraries - These books are selected by an ALA commmittee of librarians who work with young adults.
• Outstanding Science Trade Books for Students K - 12 - These lists are by the National Science Teachers Association.
• New Reference Sources for Students - From Booklist, August, 2010.
• Thrifty Reference Sources - If the price of reference books is straining your budget, you will find help in this article by Mary Ellen Quinn in Booklist Online, Jan. 14, 2009.
• Cooperative Children's Book Center - This site has bibliographies of children's books created by librarians and book reviews. By the University of Wisconsin at Madison.
• Children's Book Awards - by the Association for Library Service to Children. This site has winners of the Newbery and Caldecott Awards.
• The Children's Series Binder - A wiki which will help you identify the titles of series that you are missing.
• SOL: Spanish in Our Libraries - An online newsletter for librarians who work with Spanish speaking patrons. There are useful tips for collection development. Also check out the related site PLUS which has Spanish language signs, bookmarks, and other library related materials.
• Comic Books - Internet resources. This site is by the University of Buffalo.
• Good Graphic Novels for the K - 4 Crowd - An article by Peter Gutiérre in School Library Journal, Sept. 2009.
• Comic Relief: 39 Graphic novels that kids can't resist. - An article by Brigid Alverson et al in School Library Journal, July, 2011.
• Monster Librarian - Reviews of horror novels for children, teens and adults. Note there is also a page for collection development resources.
• The Brood of Frankenstein - An article by Amy Luedtke, Sarajo Wentling, and Jody Wurl about selecting horror novels for Young Adults. From School Library Journal, July, 2006.
• Titlewave - From Follett Library Resources. Search for books, AV, or CD-ROM's by many criteria. Reviews are included for many of the titles. This is an excellent collection development tool.
• California Learning Resources Network - Searchable guide to videos, software, CD-ROM's and videodiscs. You can search by keyword, subject, grade level, language, technology and platform. Results include a description of the item, a rating, address of publisher, and suggestions for use in the classroom. This is a very, very useful site for locating instructional media.
• Kids First! - Searchable listing of videos and CD-ROMs reviewed by both adults and children. By the Coalition for Quality Children's Media.
• Becoming American : New Immigration Stories - Booklists of children and young adult literature by ALA.
• Books for Children and Young Adults - Links to more booklist and book review sites.

Databases and Serials

• A Look at Subscription Web Sites - An article from Multimedia and Internet@ School by Charles G. Doe, Jan, 2005. An evaluation of subscription sites for teachers and students.
• School Library Journal Reviews Center - You need to be a subscriber to access this.

Software Reviews

• California Learning Resources Network - Search for educational software by subject, grade level, platform and other criteria.
• Discovery School Education Software Reviews
• Education World Software Reviews
• Children's Technology Review
• Superkids - Educational software reviews.
• Girls Tech - This is a framework developed by Rutgers University to assist in the selection of web sites which will interest girls and encourage them to become more involved and proficient in the use of technology. Sample sites are given.
• Guide to First Class Learning Software - Teacher reviewed programs.

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This site is maintained by Linda Bertland, school librarian (retired), Philadelphia, PA. Please address any comments, additions, or corrections to info@sldirectory.com.