Collection Policy for the Missouri Botanical Garden’s
Ecosystem Explorer Digital Library
This section of the policy focused on Area Three: Investigating the natural community (How are plants and animals adapted to living in my community?)
Objectives:
The Missouri Botanical Garden’s objectives focus on educating children and adults to improve their science education and to create learning opportunities.
Scope:
The physical community area is the greater St. Louis area, but the use of the digital library will be web wide. Any person with access to the web may utilize the educational resources available through the Garden’s web site. The intended population is focused on, but certainly not limited to, school age children and elementary school teachers.
Selection Criteria:
Materials will be selected for the digital library separately than those materials that are physically held at the Botanical Garden. The collection (this section pertaining to area three: how are plants and animals adapted to living in my community?) will include those sites that have educational resources relating to plants and animals. The goal of the collection is to provide educational, inquiry based sites that teachers can use to incorporate into lesson plans for students and/or that students can use to further their understanding of the plants and animals in their community and the world around them. As the collection as a whole is developed, I believe that many of the sites will overlap and be beneficial to all four areas of investigation. For the sake of understanding the relationship between all areas they are listed below:
®Exploring the natural community (What plants and animals live near me?)
®Comparing the natural community (How is my local eco-region different from other communities?)
®Investigating the natural community (How are plants and animals adapted to living in my community?)
®Explaining my natural community (How can I explain to others what lives in my community?)
The sites specifically selected for children need to be interactive so that the child is not just “clicking through the pages” without a question or answer to be found. It is also important that those sites for children need to be child friendly: limited advertisements and easy to understand layout of the site.
The sites specifically selected for teachers need to have quick information that can be used in lessons or actual lessons that can readily be adapted to fit a particular classroom situation. It is a goal that all sites selected would have a clear description of how the site could be used in the classroom. (This could come later after the collection is further developed-possible a sharing section where teachers have the opportunity to share ideas, helpful hints, or sites that did not work with the goals they were trying to meet.)
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Selection of on-line resources and sites will be made by employees of the Missouri Botanical Gardens. They will reserve the right to include any site that is freely obtainable and that they feel holds appropriate educational value. Recommendations are welcome with the understanding that Garden Digital Library may or may not use the site submitted by an outside user.
Deselection:
Any site that is found to be no longer useful and/or hold educational merit will be omitted from the digital library collection. Software will be periodically used to assure that all links are still good links. Any site that changes format to requiring membership to use will be removed. Any site that is found to be non-child friendly will be promptly removed. The Garden reserves the right to remove any site without warning or reason.
Responsibility:
The educational department of the Missouri Botanical Garden’s Ecosystem Explorer Digital Library staff holds sole responsibility for the selection, deselection and maintenance of all materials presented on the website.
This collection policy may be updated and/or changed at the discretion of the digital library staff.