Information Resources and Collection Development
Domain 3: Information Resources and Collection Development
This domain tests selection, acquisition, evaluation, organization, and maintenance of resources in all formats. The exam emphasizes documented selection criteria, curriculum alignment, diverse and accessible materials, digital licensing, weeding, and handling challenges through policy.
Core rules and concepts
- Apply stated criteria: accuracy, authority, currency, readability, curriculum fit, diverse perspectives, format, cost, and review quality.
- Use multiple professional review sources and consider challenged-material risk before purchase.
- Map the collection to curriculum and student needs; identify gaps rather than buying favorites.
- Weed continuously using MUSTIE (Misleading, Ugly, Superseded, Trivial, Irrelevant, Elsewhere).
- Understand digital licensing: simultaneous use, subscription terms, privacy, and renewal costs.
- Follow the reconsideration policy if a resource is challenged; do not remove materials preemptively.
Worked example
A middle school needs a book on immigration. The librarian checks several reviews, verifies the author's expertise and publication date, compares reading levels, confirms multiple perspectives, and ties the title to an eighth-grade social studies unit. She also considers cost and challenge risk, then adds it to a display with paired primary sources. The reasoning is that selection is evidence-based and curriculum-linked, not a personal preference.
Traps
- Selecting from a single review or publisher blurb.
- Ignoring diverse and accessible formats.
- Treating a digital subscription as a one-time purchase.
- Keeping outdated or biased materials because replacement is inconvenient.
- Removing a challenged item without following policy.