Developing a University Children’s Collection for Pre-Service Teachers Using PLACID

Abstract Not all academic librarians who oversee children’s collections for pre-service teachers have backgrounds in K-12 education. To develop a robust collection, the St. Cloud State University library reached out to an assistant professor in the Department of Teacher Development to help weed their children’s literature collection and recommend new titles because of their dual expertise with both libraries and schools. This commentary paper will outline the development of a children’s collection for pre-service teachers from the perspective of a faculty member with school library media expertise using an acronym they have deemed as PLACID: Pleasure, Levels, Awards, Curriculum, Illustrations, Diversity.