The common collection

    A collection for all the students and school staff of the Québec school public network and for the First Nation schools not under agreement in Québec

    The Ministère de l’Éducation du Québec (MEQ) offers a common and shared digital collection for all students and school staff in the public school network sector and for First Nation schools not under agreement. This project is part of a major investment over five years: it aims to “increase access for the school community to Quebec cultural works and ensure better integration of culture in pedagogy”.

    This common collection is accessible at all times via the Biblius platform.

    Complemented by local collections

    Regarding the local orientations and resources, this common collection can be enriched with local collection shared between establishments of a particular center of school services or school board or First Nation school not under agreement group.

    COMPLETE LIST and portrait of the common collection

    Selection of e-books: process

    Selection criteria

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    Portrait of the common collection

    Complete list: 23-24

    Complete list: pdf

    Complete list: Excel

    General picture: 23-24

    Total of different ebooks : 464

    Number of publishers TOTAL: 68

    Québec publishers : 48

    Canadian publishers (outside Quebec): 9

    Publishers outside Canada : 11

    Language and place of publication
     % of the collectionNumber of e-book
    E-books in French91,5%425
    E-books in English5%23
    E-books in multiple languages3,5%16
    Québec publishers81,5%378
    Canadian publishers (outside Québec)7%33
    Publishers outside Canada10%47
    Number of titles in French from editors outside Canada8,5%39
       
    Number of e-book regarding the students school levels*

    *The target audience is determined by SQTD, when the data is available

     % of students in the school public networkNombre de titres

    Pre-school, primary cycles 1 and 2  ( generally 4 to 10 years old)

    		39%182

    Primary cycle 3, Secondary cycle 1 (generally 11 to 15 years old)

    		42%194

    Secondary cycle 2, Adult education programs

    		19%88

    Total

    		100%464

    Process for the selection of ebooks for the common collection

    Annual selection

    The e-book selection for the common collection is done once a year. No title is added during the school year, but the collection could vary from one year to another depending on feedback from the schools, the work of the selection committee and the involvement of publishers.

    Consultation

    A large-scale consultation of teachers first took place in the spring of the previous school year, in collaboration with the network of school librarians of Québec. The intention is that this common collection corresponds as much as possible to the educational needs of educators and students.

    The selection committee

    The selection for the common collection was made by a committee of experts : school librarians, teachers, educational advisers and specialists from the Ministry of Education (Direction des ressources didactiques et pédagonumériques (DRDP), Constellations).

    Criteria for the selection of e-books 

    General information

    For the elaboration of these criteria, the selection committee was largely inspired by the selection criteria of Constellations, which presents a varied selection of literary works developed by the Direction de la formation générale des jeunes (DFGJ) of the Ministry of Education. Education (MEQ).

    The school library being a support service for teaching and learning, the selection criteria reflect this reality by considering the educational needs as being essential in the choice of e-books.

    Detailed criteria

    Availability of the books in digital version
    • Book available in digital format on the market. When possible, the ePub format is preferred.
    • The publisher agrees to sign the license allowing the loan of the work in school libraries via the Biblius platform.
    The e-books selected are “universal”: the common collection is intended for all students and all school staff in the public network.
    • Books for which content is suitable, relevant and interesting for a wide audience.
    • Criteria for exclusion of a title: a book for which an accompaniment is absolutely necessary and could not be suitable for individual reading.
    The common collection is balanced regarding :
    • The type of books (picture books, novels, comics, documentaries, poetry, etc.) and the range of e-books available on the market.
    • The level of reading difficulty.
    • The representation of female, male and animal characters, depending on the school levels.
    • Parity between male and female authors.
    • Identity and cultural diversity.
    • The diversity of the Quebec public school environment: urban and rural areas, regular and HDAA students, school levels (preschool, elementary, secondary, vocational training and general adult education), etc.
    • The language of the e-books: mainly in French, but we also include e-books in English in order to meet the needs of teaching and learning English as a second language
    The e-books are of high quality.
    • Pedagogical richness, originality and versatility in relation to the content of the Quebec Education Program (QEP), depending on the audience targeted by the work.
    • Quality of writing and language.
    • Quality of narrative and narration. Coherent story that sustains interest and creates a universe.
    • Varied topics and points of view and adapted according to the target age.
    • Organization of the content (presence of table of contents, index or glossary), quality of the layout.
    • Advocated values ​​respectful of the reader with regard to his intelligence and his sensitivity.
    • Quality illustrations that enrich the text.
    The e-books meet the needs of students at risk and students with disabilities or social maladjustments or learning difficulties (HDAA):

    NOTE: This criteria cannot be applied to all e-books in the common collection. However, we must make sure to find titles that meet the needs of those students.

    • Text:
      • Simple layout (avoid colored backgrounds)
      • Simple texts. Short sentences
      • Documentaries: blocks of text are framed and the layout is predictable and regular
      • Story treated positively if the subject is difficult
      • Concrete and familiar subject, which is close to the daily life of the students
    • Pictures and illustrations:
      • Realists are preferred to abstract ones (eg animal figures)
      • Choice of colors with limited contrasts (gradation) and which illustrate the text well (little inference necessary)
    • Technical: when possible, the format of the digital work is compatible with the text-to-speech accessibility features offered on the platform, such as text-to-speech or text size adjustment