Evaluation and Selection of a Reference Resource
February 2016
Georgia Ave Community School
Evaluation of a Selection of
Aboriginal Resources
Background
It
should be acknowledge that Georgia Ave Community School is located on the
traditional lands of the Snuneymuxw First
Nation of the Coast Salish people. Of the 301 students
that attend the school (grades K-7), approximately 44% of the student
population identifies as Aboriginal persons.
As such, it is important that our library collection reflect both its users
as well as the diverse natural of the new BC curriculum with regard to
education about Aboriginal histories and culture. Many of our non-fiction print
Aboriginal resources are badly out-of-date and do not demonstrate modern
cultural awareness and respect.
The
following rubric has been created to aid in the justification of removal
(weeding) of old resources as well as to ensure that new resources purchased
are excellent replacements for the diverse needs of our students in 2016. This
rubric has been created based on information from Reference Skills for the School Librarian (Riedling, et al), the
School District 68 Collection Development Policy (unpublished) as well as
informal discussion with Strong Nations owners Terri and Ken Mack. The staff
at Strong Nations are very diligent and extremely helpful when it comes to
selecting and recommending their resources for educators and each and every
item in the store is carefully reviewed for authenticity and accuracy (of note
they are considered to be one of the largest Aboriginal book stores in North America
and ship worldwide). Resources purchased
from this store are of the best quality and take into consideration many of the
factors the rubric below outlines. Our aboriginal collection is quite large –
for the sake of this assignment the weeded resources have been given a rating
of Fair-Poor while potential replacements have a rating of excellent-good. Our
library has an official budget of $1000 and at the time of this writing, $600
has already been spent, mainly on fiction resources. This very limited budget has been taken into
consideration.
Rubric for Quality Aboriginal Resources
|
|
Excellent-Good
|
Fair
|
Poor
|
|
Cultural accuracy (up-to-date,
cultural sensitive and respectful)
|
Resource no more than five to ten
years old* or a current edition, created by a person who identifies as
Aboriginal or in close partnership/permission this those identifying as
Aboriginal. Resource portrays Aboriginal peoples/culture in a respectful,
currently existing and cultural accurate manner.
|
Resource may be more than ten years
old with some out of date references.
Resource maybe have some cultural misrepresentations.
|
Resource is extremely out of date and
likely contains inaccurate or insensitive cultural references.
|
|
Cost Effective
|
Resource is (relatively) inexpensive
and will likely be useful for many years.
|
Resource may not be as cost effective.
|
Resource is not cost effective.
|
|
Relevancy to Curriculum
|
Resources supports Big Ideas,
Competencies and Content of 2016 BC curriculum for elementary grades
|
Resource could be used with some grade
levels with the new curriculum.
|
Resource does not support new
curriculum.
|
|
Use of Library Space
|
Resource works well in physical space.
|
Resource is of a reasonable size for a
library with limited space.
|
Resource does not use space
effectively.
|
|
Suitability for Library Users
|
Resource is appropriate reading level
for intended age, is visually appealing and user friendly.
|
Resource may be appropriate for some
users.
|
Resource is unappealing to users due
to age, reading level, lack of interesting visuals, etc.
|
*Exception for titles that were recommended
as still being accurate.
The Resources
1. The Eskimo: The Inuit and Yupik People. A New True Book.
This book has been given a rating
of Fair-Poor largely due to its publication date of 1985 and its evidence of
heavy wear. While is does contain some
information that is historical accurate, its extreme age makes it an undesirable
option for students. We also know of
course that “Eskimo” is no longer an acceptable name for Inuit people. A good replacement for this book can be found here.
2. The Coast Salish People by Frank W. Potter and Indians of the Northwest by Stan Garrod. These books have also been
given a rating of Fair-Poor due to their age and incorrect terminology (for
B.C.) such as “Indian” or “Nootka”. The
Coast Salish People appears very text dense with few interesting
illustrations to engage young readers. A
good replacement can be found here. **Recommendation not buy as we do already have
copies in library and around the school.
3.
Sea and Cedar by Lois McConkey.
Another “obvious weed” with a publication date of 1973! The book
contains outdated references and it starting to loose pages. Despite its age, this book came highly recommended as a replacement. Other
options for looking at the importance of Cedar (with varying reading levels)
can be found here and here.
4.
Journeys to the Far West by Edward Cavell. While this book does
contain some interesting historical information – diary entries from explorers,
etc. the library does not have the physical space to house archival resources. This
book is also very text dense with an adult level reading and a publication date
of 1973. A good replacement for looking
at the history of Aboriginal and Non-Aboriginal relations can be found here.
5.
Ninstints: Haida World Heritage Site by George F. MacDonald. While this book does have a publication date
of 1983, contains black and white photos and is a bit text heavy, it may not be
cost effective to remove it from the collection with a limited budget in
mind. Strong Nation does still have this
book in print.
6.
Indian Tribes of British Columbia by Reg Ashwell. Yet another example of a book that
is out-of-date and does not contain names and references of what we know to be
modern and politically correct Aboriginal terms. This pocket style chapter book
has high level dense text which would limit its readership. A newer edition is available
here. Further in-store review recommended.
7.
Scholastic Encyclopedia of the North American Indian
by James Cimet. This
book covers aboriginal people from all of North America – resources focusing on
those people from Canada – namely First Nations, Inuit and Metis may be more
suited for the B.C. curriculum. The
above recommended resources for purchase, as well as our online resources,
could be can be used as a replacement for this out-of-date encyclopedia (1996).
8.
Fisherman and Traders of the North Pacific Coast by Winifred Ferry, along with the rest of the “Vanishing
Communities” series have a publication date of 1980 and uses out-of-date language
that suggests (likely unintentionally) that these cultures do not exist anymore
– i.e. “this book will help you understand the Nootka when they lived as
fisherman…” (Ferry) and of course we know that many of the Nuu-chah-nulth still
live as fisherman. This series also contains many student activities that are
old fashioned, rote learning lessons that do not promote the skills within our
new curriculum.
9.
Wisdom of the Elders by Ruth Kirk.
Large, dated (1980) text book style books such as this aren’t useful at
this time for our library users. At the current time it is recommended the
library looking into purchasing more Strong Reader sets (which are
already being used successfully in the school with several of our primary
students. This books offer books with colour
pictures, accurate information and readers levels for a variety of abilities.
Summary
Replacing reference
resources in not an easy task. In this
case, many resources examined are “okay” as far as their condition, but do not necessarily
reflect modern or accurate information/ideas for Aboriginal people. Because print resources can become dated
quickly, along with a limited budget, not every resource has been recommended
for replacement. It is recommend that
our Aboriginal Collection be looked at as a whole to fully appreciate what
resources should or should not be replaced or removed. Age in itself should not be the sole factor
is determining a resource’s value. Likewise,
it is recommended that further consultation happen with SD 68 Aboriginal staff
members to ensure that resources reflect respect and accuracy of cultures. The
resource replacements recommended above in items 1-6 are very likely are cost
effective and can be used to meet curricular need by students or staff. As done previously, it is recommended the
Georgia Ave Community School Literacy Committee apply for additional funding or
grants to cover the cost of the Strong Readers.
Works Cited
Ashwell,
Reg. Indian Tribes of the Northwest. Saanichton, B.C.: Hancock House,
1977. Print.
Cavell,
Edward. Journeys to the Far West. Toronto: J. Lorimer, 1979. Print.
Ciment,
James, and Ronald LaFrance. Scholastic Encyclopedia of the North American
Indian. New York: Scholastic Reference, 1996. Print.
Ferry,
Winifred. Fishermen and Traders of the North Pacific Coast. Agincourt,
Ont.: GLC, 1980. Print.
Garrod,
Stan. Indians of the Northwest Coast. Don Mills, Ont.: Fitzhenry &
Whiteside, 1980. Print.
"Gila'Kasla!
Welcome, Come with All That You Are!" Strong Nations. N.p., n.d.
Web. 06 Feb. 2016.
Kirk,
Ruth. Wisdom of the Elders: Native Traditions on the Northwest Coast: The
Nuu-chah-nulth, Southern Kwakiutl, and Nuxalk. Vancouver: Douglas &
McIntyre in Association with the British Columbia Provincial Museum, 1986.
Print
Porter,
Frank W. The Coast Salish Peoples. New York: Chelsea House, 1989. Print.
McConkey,
Lois, and Douglas Tait. Sea and Cedar: How the Northwest Coast Indians Lived.
Vancouver, B.C.: J.J. Douglas, 1973. Print.
Osinski, Alice. The Eskimo: The Inuit and Yupik
People. Chicago: Childrens, 1985. Print.
Porter,
Frank W. The Coast Salish Peoples. New York: Chelsea House, 1989. Print.
Riedling, Ann Marlow, Loretta Shake, and Cynthia
Houston. Reference Skills for the School Librarian:
Tools and Tips. Santa
Barbara, CA: Linworth, an Imprint of ABC-CLIO, LLC, 2013. Print.
