DDL Selection Guidelines

Purpose
The goal of these guidelines is to ensure that resources in the Darakht-e Danesh Digital Library are relevant, accurate and support the goals of the library.

Here, we outline current strategies for growing and maintaining the DDL collection, augmenting the DDL Collection Policy. We will review these guidelines periodically to ensure that the priorities outlined meet current needs of teachers and learners in Afghanistan.

Goals
This document is a blueprint and seeks to define criteria that both identify gaps and needs in the overall collection, and it guides development efforts for DDL growth. The areas of development may be in subject, audience, education level, or resource type.

Determining Collection Need
DDL may use a variety of means to understand resource need and determine DDL coverage and need. These include, but are not limited to:

Survey data and usage analysis from DDL server logs.
Increased availability to quality collections of educational resources for the library.
Requests from funding programs and projects associated with or supporting the DDL scope and mission.
Changes in collection scope in terms of subject, audience, education level, contextualization or needed resource type.

DDL will concentrate on raising the quality of the existing collection by weeding inaccurate, irrelevant, low-quality or non-functional resources from the library, according to the DDL Weeding Guidelines.

All collection development work is subject to the DDL Collection Policy.

Resource Selection Principles*
(See also, DDL Resource Quality Checklist)

Open Educational Resources
Resources in DDL are openly licensed teaching, learning, and research resources that reside in the public domain or have been released under a license that permits their free use, reuse, modification, and sharing with others. Digital openly licensed resources can include complete online courses, modular digital textbooks as well as more granular resources such as images, videos, and assessment items. Although open resources are freely accessible, all resources in DDL will follow best practice and give attribution to the resource author and/or institution.

Support DDL Priorities
Resources in DDL support the priorities that are established by DDL’s leadership and by the DDL Advisors Council each year, in addition to specific areas of priority determined by DDL projects.

Reliable and Relevant
Resource content is evaluated for its accuracy and relevancy for the intended audiences. Instructional material is appropriate for its intended audience and educational level.

Accurate and Accessible
Resources are complete and accurately translated. Internet-based materials can be accessed across a variety of platforms and devices. When possible, materials are available in a variety of formats including video, audio, print, and html, to allow for the greatest degree of equitable access and use by all.

Objective & Advertisement Free
Resources will be free of distracting advertising or content that is irrelevant, interferes with the use of the material, or that may be inappropriate for the intended user group. Resources will provide a respectful, non-discriminatory and gender equitable perspective and will recognize cultural and racial diversity in society.

Provides for Authentic Learning
Instructional resources will be prioritized that are engaging and that inspire interest and create curiosity for learning. Resources will encourage authentic learning through real-world applications and problem solving, inquiry and critical thinking.

Supports the Preservation of Afghan Literary Heritage
Afghanistan is home to a rich diversity of languages, a long tradition of poetry, and a rich history of storytelling including fables, folktales, epics, and songs. To the extent possible, the DDL can serve as a repository for the written recording of this heritage, including, eventually, content in Afghan minority languages, many of which are endangered.

*Resources that are openly licensed help to:

Increase Equity – All students have access to high quality learning materials that have the most up-to-date and relevant content because openly licensed educational resources can be freely distributed to anyone.
Keep Content Relevant and High Quality – Traditional textbooks are perpetually outdated, forcing districts to re-invest significant portions of their budgets on replacing them. The terms of use of openly licensed educational resources allows educators to maintain the quality and relevance of their materials through continuous updates.
Empower Teachers – Openly licensed educational resources empower teachers as creative professionals by giving them the ability to adapt and customize learning materials to meet the needs of their students without breaking copyright laws.
Save Money – Switching to educational materials that are openly licensed enables schools to repurpose funding spent on static textbooks for other pressing needs, such as investing in the transition to digital learning. In some districts, replacing just one textbook has made tens of thousands of dollars available for other purposes.