A Collection Development Policy for Mbogo Mixed Senior Secondary School Library

Abstract

The study aimed at designing a collection development policy for Mbogo Mixed Secondary School (MISS) that can enable the library to acquire the current materials, planning for strategies for continuing acquisition and evaluation of information materials that will match with the users’ needs. The objectives of the study were to; identify the different types of collection, establish how collection development is carried out, find out the challenges in developing the collection, and develop a Collection Development Policy for Mbogo Mixed Senior Secondary School Library. A case study research design was used while adopting both quantitative and qualitative approaches of data collection. Purposive and simple random sampling methods were used to select 2 Librarians, 2 teachers and 58 students who participated in the study. Interviews, questionnaire, observation and document review methods were used in data collection. The findings revealed that there is a variety of information materials that are managed by Mbogo Mixed Senior Secondary School Library which include; text books and reference books, holy books, periodicals like magazines and newspapers, reports, charts and many others. The various collection development processes that are undertaken in the school library are; selection of information materials, acquisition of information materials, weeding and preservation of information materials. These processes carried out are not effective due to lack of procedures to cater for the collection in the library. This brings a concern to develop the library's collection at Mbogo Mixed Senior Secondary School Library. The study concluded that there is need to develop a Collection Development Policy for Mbogo Mixed Senior Secondary School Library. The policy will guide the school library on how to develop the library collection, selection of library materials, and acquisition of library materials, weeding, conservation and preservation. The study recommended that the management of Mbogo Mixed Senior Secondary School Library should adopt the proposed Collection Development Policy for the library.