11.1 Purpose
The Library maintains a Curriculum Materials Center which has as its primary purpose the provision of materials and assistance to students and faculty of the University?s Teacher Education programs.
11.2 Function
The function of the Curriculum Materials Center is to make readily available for inspection, evaluation, and implementation educational materials for use with preschoolers through twelfth graders. Adult Basic Education materials are also included. The material supports the University curriculum.
11.3 Personnel
- Librarians
The Curriculum Librarian?s primary assignment is the development, staffing, maintenance, and operation of the Curriculum Materials Center. All other librarians are indirectly responsible for the Curriculum Materials Center.- Support Staff
The support staff must be trained to perform appropriate duties and activities.
11.4 Services
The Curriculum Librarian provides specialized services for the Center, including reference service, readers? advisory services, and classroom instruction in the use of the Curriculum Materials Center and its materials.
11.5 Clientele
The clientele or service population is essentially the same as that of the rest of the library. However, the Center has a heavy concentration of education students and faculty, and local teachers.
11.6 Role of Teacher Education Faculty
The Teacher Education faculty members have an important role in promoting the services and collections of the Curriculum Materials Center. They should also assist as appropriate in the processes of collection development and weeding.
11.7 Scope and Boundary
The Curriculum Materials Center collection provides materials designed to support the instructional needs of the Teacher Education programs, including methods courses taught by faculty in academic departments outside of the education departments.
11.7.1 Collection Guidelines
- Curricular level and subject treatment
The Curriculum Materials Center collection contains resources appropriate for pre-school through secondary education, and may also include adult education materials.- Languages
The primary language of materials in the collection is English, although materials used to teach other languages are also included.- Chronology
Although the collection contains older materials, emphasis is on recently published teaching materials. Older children?s books, textbooks, and curriculum bulletins of historical or research value may be retained.- Geographical Emphasis
Educational methods and approaches used in the United States are emphasized in the Curriculum Materials Center collection. Materials published by the Minnesota Department of Children, Families, and Learning and materials used by area school systems will have priority. Materials from other states are selectively collected.- New and Emerging Instructional Technologies
New and emerging instructional technologies that affect educational practices are incorporated into the Curriculum Materials Center when feasible.11.7.2 Collection Formats
- Juvenile Literature
Books appropriate for the preschool child through young adult are divided into three major areas: easy books, fiction, and non-fiction.- Sample Texts
Textbooks include all curricular subjects, grades kindergarten through twelve. Textbooks adopted by local school districts are normally acquired, while other exemplary texts, particularly those recommended by instructors of methods courses, are collected selectively. Emphasis in the textbook collection is on in-print materials.- Curriculum Bulletins
Curriculum bulletins for preschool through twelfth grade are included. Bulletins published by the Minnesota Department of Education are collected comprehensively, while bulletins from other states, districts, or special agencies are collected selectively.- Multi-media Materials
Multi-media materials appropriate for preschool through college level are housed in the Curriculum Materials Center. Materials include computer disks, CD-ROMs, filmstrips, video cassettes, slides, kits, games, flash cards, transparencies, phonodiscs, and realia. Appropriate audiovisual hardware is available within or near the Curriculum Materials Center.- Reference Books
The reference collection includes reference sources which are related to other materials in the Curriculum Materials Center collection.- Picture and Portrait Files
The picture and portrait files include materials useful in teaching at the preschool through high school levels.- School-Related Publishers Catalogs
This vertical file collection contains publishers catalogs of juvenile books, K-12 textbooks, teacher resource materials, and audiovisual materials.- Historical Texts
The historical text collection is a very selective collection of textbooks of historical value, published at least 30 years ago.- Historical Curriculum Bulletins
This collection contains bulletins published by the Minnesota Department of Education, which were published over twenty years ago.11.8 Relationship to Other Departments
The acquisition, cataloging, circulation, and maintenance practices of the Curriculum Materials Center are consistent and integrated with the general library policies and procedures. Most materials recommended for the Curriculum Materials Center by either the Curriculum Librarian and/or teaching faculty are cataloged for that collection. Decisions about the location of specific materials necessitates a close consultatory relationship among the Collection Management/Reference, Coordinator of Technical Services/Reference and Curriculum Librarians. Special technical services and circulation procedures may be established in consultation with cataloging and circulation services.
11.9 Selection and Acquisition
Selection is the primary responsibility of the Curriculum Librarian within the context of the purpose, scope, and function of the collection. The primary faculty users of the Curriculum Materials Center have the responsibility of recommending materials to support courses they teach.
Curriculum Materials Center acquisitions are supported by funds from the general library budget.
11.10 Weeding
The general principles and procedures established for the Library are followed for the weeding of the Curriculum Materials Center collections. The special nature of the Curriculum Materials Center requires that additional factors be considered in weeding decisions.
11.10.1 Objective
To maintain usefulness and quality of the collection based upon a commitment to the curricular needs of the University Teacher Education programs.