Mary “Nicole” WingateCollection Development PlanFRIT 7134 – Spring 2010March 3, 2010

Site DescriptionWayne County High School is the only high school located in Wayne County, which is

settled in southeast Georgia. The community is located forty miles northwest of Brunswick and

the Atlantic Coast, and sixty-six miles south of Savannah. Wayne County, created in 1803, was

named after General “Mad Anthony” Wayne. General Anthony was a leading southern general in

the Revolutionary War. The county, whose county seat is Jesup, is also comprised of the

communities of Odum, Screven, Mt. Pleasant, Madray Springs, and Gardi, and encompasses a

total of 645 square miles. According to the US Census Bureau, the county had a 2008 population

estimate of 29,509 people. At that time, it was 77% Caucasian, 20% African American, and

roughly 3% Hispanic. The median household income in the county is approximately $37,500,

and just above 20% of the population lives below the poverty level. Just short of 6% of the

homes in the community speak a language other than English at home. And finally,

approximately 70% of the population has received a high school diploma, while just shy of 12%

has a bachelor’s degree.

The county is the home to one of the few remaining drive-ins in the state and has the

Altamaha River running through it for entertainment. Also, Rayonier is the county’s leading

employer. The Pulp Mill, which was the largest paper mill in the world when it was built, is the

heart of the community and its livelihood. Salaries at other local businesses cannot compare to

the elevated salaries of this big corporation. As a result, many students have only the desire to be

hired as a manual laborer at the mill upon graduation.

The public school system includes eight schools. The high school houses students from

Jesup, Odum, Screven, and the other communities in the county. The system has two middle

schools, which are located in Jesup, one alternative school, which is also located in Jesup, and

five K-5 schools, located throughout the county. The community has one public school Pre-K

program, and several private Pre-K programs in various churches. At the high school, there are

143 people on staff. Of those, 6 are administrators, 89 are teachers, and 4 are counselors. The

breakdown of this staff shows that 68% of the employees are certified Caucasians, 3% are

certified African Americans, 22% are classified Caucasians, and 7% are classified African

Americans.

Now, for a look at the students of WCHS. Wayne County High is home to 1,501 students

for the 2009-2010 school year. The racial makeup of the student population is 70% Caucasian,

25% African American, 4% Hispanic, and 1% multi-racial. We will take a closer look at the

makeup of the eleventh graders at the school, as the standards addressed in this collection

development plan are standards taught in the 11th grade. Of the 1,501 students at the high school,

376 of them are in the 11th grade. Of those 376, 263 are Caucasian, 84 are African American, 19

are Hispanic, 6 are Multiracial, 3 are Asian, and one is Indian. Of these eleventh graders, 31 are

classified as “students with disabilities,” and 165 are considered to be economically

disadvantaged. There are also six 11th grade students in the ESOL program, one of which speaks

little to no English at all.

All of these students are served through one media center, which is supervised by one

certified media specialist and her para-professional. The media center is centrally located in the

school, right next to the lunchroom and “commons” area, where students spend most of their

time in between classes. The three instructional hallways in the school meet right outside of the

media center, so it is easily accessible to all students. The media center has sixteen computer

workstations available for student use. However, the media specialist has requested more

workstations, totaling thirty, so that she can accommodate an entire class without having students

partner up or share computers. She hopes for these additional computers to be added by the end

of the 2009-2010 school year. In addition to the computers in the media center, the media

specialist is in charge of three computer labs, each located down an instructional hall. The labs

have between twenty and thirty computer workstations, depending on which lab you visit, and

each has a color printer for student and teacher use. The labs also have LCD projectors and a

teacher workstation.

In addition to the computers offered in the media center, the media specialist oversees a

total of 17,018 copies of print and non-print items. This number includes fiction, nonfiction,

reference, and video titles. The number has grown since inventory was completed at the end of

the 2009 school year, when the collection included 16,924 copies. The media center averages

having approximately 250 items checked out at a time. The computer workstations serve as the

center of the library, where a LCD projection screen is also available for instructional purposes.

The fiction collection occupies the right side of the library. In this section books are labeled with

“FIC” and the author’s last name. The shelves in this section are labeled fiction and are marked

with the letters of author last names that are housed in that row. The reference and nonfiction

sections occupy the left side of the media center. This section is labeled using the Dewey

Decimal System and the author’s last name, while the reference section is also marked with an

“R.” There is also a biography section, where three smaller bookshelves house biographies and

autobiographies at the back of the library. They are also labeled using author’s last name and the

Dewey Decimal System. Side rooms house print magazine titles, which are organized, stored,

and labeled based on magazine name, and a video collection, which is labeled with a VC and

then in numerical order. All resources are available for student checkout, except for the video

and magazine collection.

Curriculum ReviewThis collection development plan will focus on the Roaring Twenties and the Great

Depression in US History. The reason for focusing on these topics and time periods is the fact

that they are addressed in the 11th grade standards in both Language Arts and US History.

Therefore, the library could be used for these topics in various content areas, and by various

teachers. Also, because there are standards on this topic for various subjects, there is a greater

need for material covering these areas in the library. The following is a list of the primary

standards that address the Great Depression and the Roaring Twenties, and the instructional

approaches that teachers at WCHS take to meet these standards.

Social Studies Standards Addressed:

SSUSH17 The student will analyze the causes and consequences of the Great Depression.a. Describe the causes, including overproduction, underconsumption, and stock market speculation that led to the stock market crash of 1929 and the Great Depression.b. Explain factors (include over-farming and climate) that led to the Dust Bowl and the resulting movement and migration west.c. Explain the social and political impact of widespread unemployment that resulted in developments such as Hoovervilles.

SSUSH18 The student will describe Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal as a response to the depression and compare the ways governmental programs aided those in need.a. Describe the creation of the Tennessee Valley Authority as a works program and as an effort to control the environment.b. Explain the Wagner Act and the rise of industrial unionism.c. Explain the passage of the Social Security Act as a part of the second New Deal.d. Identify Eleanor Roosevelt as a symbol of social progress and women’s activism.e. Identify the political challenges to Roosevelt’s domestic and international leadership; include the role of Huey Long, the “court packing bill,” and the Neutrality Act.

Language Arts Standards Addressed:

ELAALRL3 The student deepens understanding of literary works by relating them to their contemporary context or historical background, as well as to works from other time periods.The student relates a literary work to primary source documents of its literary period or historical setting; the student:a. Relates a literary work to the seminal ideas of the time in which it is set or the time of its composition.i. Native American literatureii. Colonial/Revolutionary/National literatureb. Relates a literary work to the characteristics of the literary time period that it represents.i. Romanticism/Transcendentalismii. Realismiii. Naturalismiv. Modernism (including Harlem Renaissance)v. Postmodernism

Content Area Standard Concept Activities ResourcesSocial Studies SSUSH17 Great

Depression-Students create timelines of major events leading up to and during the Great Depression-Students compare the Great Depression to 2008-2010-Students watch Cinderella Man-Create a shadow box of a Hooverville

-Textbook-Current Events from local and national newspapers-Cinderella Man, the movie (have used teacher’s personal copy)-Websites with descriptions of Hooverville-Shoeboxes-Construction Paper-Scissors-Glue

Social Studies SSUSH18 New Deal -Jigsaw Activity: In groups, students identify a different part of the New Deal, then students rotate around the room to share about their component and learn about their classmate’s New Deal component -Do a biographical

-Textbook-collective biographies from time period-Set of Encyclopedias-Websites on Eleanor Roosevelt and her contributions to

sketch of one of Roosevelt’s “enemies”-Presidential Profile of Roosevelt-Research and present one major impact Eleanor Roosevelt had on the US during era

US during 1930s

Language Arts ELAALRL3 Modernism - Students read The Great Gatsby- Jigsaw activity to introduce students to different aspects of the 1920’s- Students create a historical timeline for the events of the time period- Students research an author from the “Harlem Renaissance”- Students read one short story from the Modernist period and label the Modernist elements in it

- Textbook- Computer Time to access various websites on authors during the Harlem Renaissance- The Great Gatsby- The Great Gatsby Video- The Great Gatsby Study guide- Websites focusing on different aspects of the 1920’s

Collection EvaluationWhen beginning to analyze the collection in the media center with a focus on the Great

Depression and Roaring Twenties, I first took a “stroll” through the shelves. I looked for some

notable fiction titles that I knew were set in the time period, and browsed through the titles in the

nonfiction section. The media specialist pointed out to me that the 970s made up the nonfiction

collection material on US History. Some of the books in this section focused directly on the

Great Depression and/or the twenties, while the majority of the books in this section focused on

many issues in American history, and only included a section on the Depression and twenties.

After doing a quick visual inventory, I dug deeper by using the card catalog.

When searching in the card catalog, I searched for keywords such as “The Great

Depression,” “1920s,” and “The Roaring Twenties.” These keywords returned 161 search

results. Of these titles, some were videos, some were nonfiction, others were reference

materials, and still others were fiction books. However, these simple searches of the collection

returned titles that would be useful in a unit on the Roaring Twenties and Great Depression, and

others that were not. For example, when using the keyword “1920s,” several results were simply

books written by authors that were born or died in 1920. Therefore, after completing a search of

the catalog, I had to examine the results to see if they were actually connected to the units on the

Roaring Twenties and the Great Depression. After doing so, I found that only 88 of the 161

search result titles actually pertained to the unit being examined. Of these 88 titles, 47 were

nonfiction titles, 20 were fiction titles, 4 were reference titles, and 17 were titles in the video

collection. There were no titles in the form of e-books. From these results I can see that e-books

should be added to the media center’s collection, as students are becoming more computer-savvy

and several prefer to work on the computer rather than in print books. Also, it is concerning that

only four reference books are available that focus solely on these major time periods in US

history. Sure, these topics can be researched in comprehensive reference books, like

encyclopedias, but then relatively small articles provide only the bare facts. To provide students

and teachers with more in-depth information on the topics, my materials order should include

reference materials that focus solely on the 1920s and/or the Great Depression.

After determining the relevant titles available in the media center for a Great Depression

and Roaring Twenties unit, I took a look at how much these collections were checked out. I

learned earlier that only roughly 1.5% of the collection is checked out at any given time. When

examining the resources available for the unit at hand, only one of the 88 titles was currently

checked out. I was alarmed to find that several of the titles had never been checked out. In fact,

54 of the 88 titles pertaining to the units had never left the library. I do want to add here,

however, that I think this number is slightly higher than it actually is. None of the videos had

been recorded as being checked out, and I think this is because of the video checkout policy.

Only teachers are allowed to checkout videos, and they do so by signing them out. Because of

this, they videos are never actually “scanned out” using the cataloging system when they leave

the library. Therefore, I would guess that these videos have been checked out, and the records

just do not show it. However, there is no excuse for the remaining 71 titles being analyzed.

Even the research materials are available for overnight checkout. Perhaps even more alarming

than the overall checkout number is the fact that these titles have only been checked out thirteen

times in the 2008-2009 school year, and only three times in the 2009-2010 school year. This

would suggest that teachers and students do not find the available materials very useful or have a

hard time finding them. Therefore, it will be of top priority in my materials order that I acquire

new resources that are easily accessible and inviting for students and teachers.

In addition to looking at the number of times the books were checked out, I also

examined the date of publication to see how current and up to date the books were. The

following charts show my findings:

Nonfiction Reference Fiction Video CollectionAverage Publication Date

1982 1986 1988 1988

Great Depression 1920’s/Roaring TwentiesAverage Publication Date 1984 1986

These charts prove that the titles in the media center are in need of an update. However, the

average publication dates do look “worse” than they really are, because of a few older titles that

are figured into the total and bring down the averages. Also, the topics being researched, the

Great Depression and the 1920s, are not topics that are being updated or changed today.

However, the main average that needs uplifting is the average publication for the video

collection. With the constant updates and new capabilities in the video world, today’s students

will be bored watching videos produced in the 1980s. One video was even produced in the 70’s.

Therefore, my materials order must also focus on adding newer videos to the collection.

In addition to analyzing the circulation and average publication date of materials, I

evaluated the collection in the media center by looking at the multicultural aspects of what was

offered. While this topic does not lend itself very easily to multicultural titles and outlooks, the

collection did bring in the thoughts and issues of different cultures through works such as

Minorities in American History and Negroes and the Great Depression. These two titles,

included in the nonfiction section of the media center, were not the only titles that stretched

across cultural lines. Titles in the fiction section do an excellent job of showing how the Great

Depression affected young people across the country in a variety of different atmospheres and

from equally as many different cultural backgrounds. Novels like Sunday’s Dust bring in

characters of different nationalities and cultural backgrounds, as one of the main characters in

this story is Italian. However, one area that the media center lacks in is that none of the materials

are offered in Spanish. With the Hispanic population growing in the community and school,

some of the most commonly taught novels and research materials should be offered in Spanish.

For example, The Great Gatsby is taught in all 11th grade Language Arts classes. While there are

copies of the novel in the media center, none of them are in Spanish. Six 11th grade students are

classified as ESOL students and speak limited English; therefore, it is essential that these

commonly taught titles are available in Spanish. The need for Spanish literature will be

important in my materials order.

The fourth way that I analyzed the collection was on reading levels. The content

concerning the Great Depression and the 1920s is taught in 11th grade Language Arts and History

classes. There are four teachers teaching 18 sections of American Literature. There are two

sections of AP American Lit offered, two sections of remedial American Lit taught, and five

sections of American Lit that are inclusion classes. On the Social Studies side of the content,

there are five teachers teaching 17 sections of US History. Of these classes, there are also two

sections of AP US History, five sections of Inclusion US History, and one remedial US History

class taught. Therefore, even though all of the students being taught these concepts are 11th

graders, not all of them are taught in the same way, at the same speed, or have the same abilities.

According to the English department head, the reading levels of the 11th grade students in

American Literature classes ranges from a fourth grade reading level, to a freshman in college

reading level. Because of this large gap, the media center needs to provide students with

information on the Great Depression and 1920s in formats that accommodate all of these reading

levels. While not all of the materials in the media center are labeled with their appropriate

reading level, most of the titles that are labeled are at least on a middle school grade level.

Therefore, it is important that more lower-level materials are added to the collection for use in

the remedial and inclusion classes. Overall, though, the media center does an excellent job of

providing a variety of materials to students at different reading levels.

Materials Order After an in-depth look at the needs of students at WCHS, and an analysis of the current

collection in the library, I have created a materials order that I feel will best help the media

center supplement meaningful curricular units on both the 1920s and the Great Depression.

Because of the low number of checkouts on already available materials, I have included sources

that are attention-getters. Several sources have pictures, are bright-colored, up to date, and

interesting for students and teachers alike. I also included several fiction titles from the time

period in the materials order. Some of these titles are ones commonly taught in 11th grade

classes, but others are there for individual reading purposes. Several of these titles were also

purchased in Spanish, so that the ESOL students have access to the books in their native

language. The purpose of this is to give students access to interesting reads that are set within

the framework of the time period. Next, I included several reference materials that focus solely

on the 1920s and the Great Depression. These sources allow readers to get a much more detailed

description of the time period and happenings of the era than if they read only a paragraph

summary of the events in a comprehensive US history book.

Not only were reference and fiction books included in the materials order, but

biographies and nonfiction books focusing on key people from the time period are also included.

These selections were made because several key people of the era are addressed in standards.

Books were also added to address other major aspects of the standards, such as the New Deal,

the 1929 crash of the stock market, and the Dust Bowl. These books were added to assist

teachers in meeting the 11th grade US History standards. And finally, cds, videos, and DVDs

were added to give teachers audio/visual options when teaching the units. All of these resources

are current and up-to-date. This currency is important since the current average publication date

for videos in the media center is 1988.

I have created this materials order after doing much research to find appropriate and

adequately priced materials on various websites and from various venders. The total amount

needed to purchase materials for this collection development plan is $3,780.93. However, I feel

that after these resources are added to the collections, teachers and students will be adequately

equipped and prepared to master the 11th grade standards in both US History and American

Literature for the 1920s and the era surrounding the Great Depression. Included along with these

materials for the collection is a list of helpful websites. These websites build upon the collection

materials to offer a deeper understanding of the concepts and people from the time periods being

studied. All aspects of the standards have been addressed through a fiction book, nonfiction

book, reference book, video, and/or website. A wiki with a resource list of helpful websites can

be found at: http://wingatecollectiondevelopmentplan.pbworks.com/.