Collection Management Policies:
Education Resource Center (ERC)
| ERC History: | The ERC was established in 1999 in response to a proposal by three College of Wooster students: Amy Brown, Signe Helgeson, and Stephanie Hoffman, to turn what was then the Libraries' Curriculum Materials Center (CMC) into a more usable and inviting collaborative learning space for pre-service teachers. |
| ERC Purpose: | To provide efficient and effective access to
specialized education resources needed by early childhood through high school teachers to
develop age and skill-appropriate lesson plans, curricular materials, and classroom
activities. Emphasis is on current resources used in contemporary educational settings.
There are essentially two overarching collections:
The Professional Collection consisting of
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| ERC Structure: | The ERC is part of the College of Wooster Libraries. It is located on the third floor of Andrews Library and open during all hours the Andrews/Gault Libraries are open. Items for the collection are purchased out of the centralized College of Wooster Libraries' funds for new library materials and are owned by the College of Wooster Libraries. Selection of items to be included in the ERC is done by the librarian with liaison responsibilities to the College of Wooster Education Department, in consultation with Education Department faculty, and in keeping with professional library and external accrediting body standards. Recognizing that ERC materials are part of the entire College of Wooster Libraries' collection, reasonable efforts will be made to avoid unnecessary duplication of materials between the ERC and other library collection areas unless high demand or special circumstances warrant additional copies of a given work. |
| ERC Users: | While ERC items are acquired primarily to support the teaching and learning of College of Wooster pre-service teachers, the majority of the circulating ERC items are available to the entire College of Wooster, CONSORT, and OhioLINK communities. All ERC items are represented in the CONSORT catalog and are subject to the same expectations for reasonable care and usage as other College of Wooster library materials. |
ERC Materials: The Professional Collection
- ERC Idea Books: : books that suggest activities, lessons, or curricular
content for a specific subject and educational level. Items are separated into Pre-K through
Grade 3 (blue dot), Grades 4-6 (green dot), and Grades 7 and up (orange dot). Within these
grade-level divisions, idea books are arranged under the following subjects:
Alphabet, Phonics & Spelling Math Arts & Crafts Music Drama & Theatre Psychology Games, Puzzles & Activities Reading & Study Skills Geography & World History Science Holidays & Seasons Social & Health Issues Language (Foreign) Teacher Inspiration Language Arts Technology Literature U.S. History - ERC Periodicals: magazines or journals whose primary purpose is to provide ideas for
activities, projects, or curricula in early childhood through high school classrooms or to review
currently available books and media as candidates for acquisition.
Current ERC professional periodicals include AIMS: Activities in Math and Science Newsletter, Mailbox Primary, Mailbox Intermediate, Mathematics Teacher, Reading Teacher, Science and Children, Science Teacher, Teaching Children Mathematics,Teaching Pre-K-8, and Young Children. Current ERC review periodicals include Booklist, SB&F: Science Books and Films, School Library Journal, and VOYA: Voices of Youth Advocates. ERC periodicals are arranged alphabetically by title and may not be checked out. - ERC Reference: books including manuals/guides for educational computer software as well as age or content-specific handbooks, guides, lists, or sourcebooks. They are arranged by Library of Congress call number and may not be checked out.
- ERC Textbooks: textbooks typically used in contemporary early childhood through high school classes and their corresponding instructor editions. They are arranged by Library of Congress call number and may circulate within CONSORT or OhioLINK.
ERC Materials: The Juvenile Collection
ERC Juvenile Literature: Collection of juvenile fiction and nonfiction books that are suitable for use in contemporary classrooms pre-kindergarten through high school. To be included in this collection, items should be readily available for purchase/acquisition under current imprint, or should be of such a "classic" nature that continued demand for them leads to frequently reprinted or reissued editions. Titles selected for this collection have won a major children's or young adult literature award, are on notable book lists, or have received positive reviews either from the professional literature, departmental faculty, area teachers, or pre-service education students.
These books, while housed in the ERC, are also part of the Libraries' children's literature collection and are arranged on the shelves in one of two main sections:
- works most appropriate for PreK-3 students or
- works appropriate for students from Grades 4-12.
Within these two sections, no distinction is made regarding specific grade level. Books are arranged in each of these sections by Library of Congress call number. All juvenile literature books may circulate within CONSORT and OhioLINK, except “Big Book” type items whose size prohibits them from being easily shipped to other libraries. The latter are located in the ERC Oversize area.
- ERC Kits:games or sets of educational resources addressing a common theme or concept. Kits may include a combination of books, media, manipulatives, or game pieces. Items in kits must be of a non-disposable/non-consumable nature, as they are intended for usage multiple times. Kits should be representative of what is readily available for purchase/use in contemporary educational settings, and should be in such a condition as to conform to current health and safety guidelines. They are arranged under the same subjects as those listed under idea books. Kits must be checked out in their entirety, not as individual component items, and due to their often fragile and multi-component nature, may only be checked out by College of Wooster library patrons.
- ERC Media: audio/visual media (e.g. cassettes, CDs) that support a curricular area. They are arranged on the shelf by accession number and may only be checked out by College of Wooster library patrons.
- ERC Readers: readers classified according to the Fountas and Pinnell Leveled Book List, indicating increasing reading difficulty for each subsequent alphabet letter category. They are arranged on the shelf by Fountas and Pinnell level, and then within each level by accession number. ERC Readers may only be checked out by College of Wooster library patrons.
Acquisition of Materials for the ERC Collection:
Items may be added to the ERC collection either by donation or by direct purchase. The College of Wooster Libraries will support the purchase of faculty-requested ERC Reference books, textbooks, periodicals, kits, idea books, award books, and games, within the constraints of the library budget.
The College of Wooster Instructional Technology (IT) department will support the purchase of faculty-requested ERC educational software within the constraints of their budget and available technology in the ERC. Original software documentation, installation software, and license agreements will be maintained by Information Technology in Morgan Hall.
Items added to the ERC must be
- in very good to excellent condition (e.g. no loose or missing pages, highlighting, pen or ink notations)
- a complete, original work or legal copy for library use
- appropriate for use in a contemporary educational setting
- of a non-disposable/non-consumable nature.
Donated items for the ERC should be given to the College of Wooster Education librarian for review and application of the above acquisition guidelines. Items deemed appropriate for addition to the ERC collection with then be forwarded to the Libraries Collection Services department for processing.
Removal of Materials from the ERC Collection:
As the ERC collection is meant to reflect material readily available and appropriate for contemporary educational settings, it is important that it undergo regular review by both the Education librarian and College of Wooster education faculty to assess the continued relevance, usable condition, and value of held materials, as well as areas needing additional resources.
as of: 10/24/07
