Lesson 2 - Accessibility
In Lesson 2, while discussing access, Lindsay brought up an interesting point that "accessibility for our ESL students means procuring more high interest/low level books as well as building our collection of bilingual books" (January 12, 2012). My special education training was immediately clicked in and I began wondering how accessible school libraries are for all students with special needs. It makes me wonder if there are enough quality high interest, lower reading level books readily available for students with reading difficulties? Also, I have considered the library as a safe haven for many students with special needs. In the past we have used the library as a place for students to take breaks or to do extra jobs/help out. The librarian has to be a willing team member for this to work though.
Lesson 3 – Metadata
Reflection: Consider how a mastery of search engine anatomy would help with the role of the teacher librarian in developing information literacy with colleagues and students.
This lesson coincided with the beginning of my workshops to become a Google Ninja! These workshops are being hosted by our technology coordinator and district librarian coordinator. The first lesson was on Google search. So my motivation to find out how Google search work was amplified knowing I was going to the workshop the following week. In response to the reflection above, I believe it is very important for the TL to be a master of search and be able to pass that skill on effectively to her students and teachers in an interesting a motivating way. If students are motivated to learn by modules like Google Ninjas they are more apt to use the skills later on. I think teachers have a lot to learn about becoming effective searchers as well. This would reflect back in the way they design their research projects. Being able to teach these skills effectively is another great way for a TL to advocate for the necessity of her position!
I did learn about a few other search engines from Lindsay (January 17, 2012): Wolfram, Dog Pile and Bing. I did find the discussions for this module to be a bit repetitive, as most people found the same information and it can only be interpreted in so many different ways.
Lesson 4 & 5 – Cataloguing process and standards
I found these lessons a bit confusing at first. Both the modules and readings placed the full record information in different orders and I was unsure what information should actually be included and if there was a set order in which it should appear. When searching our public library and comparing it to our school library catalogues, there was some similar information, like author and title, however each catalogue I checked had their own way of presenting this information. I discovered through the module readings, examples for assignment two, and skimming through the Accessing Information Cataloguing Guidelines for Manitoba and Saskatchewan School Library Personnel, 2011, that the most important or basic access points are: title and statement of responsibility, other authors (including illustrators), publisher, description (physical), ISBN, summary, subjects and call number. After going through other people’s examples I came to the conclusion that order does not necessarily matter as long as you are consistent over the entire catalogue; much like citing sources for a paper.
Lesson 6 – MARC
This was one of the more challenging parts of this course, and I noticed through reading the discussions that a lot of people struggled with it. At first it did remind me of a scene out of the Matrix and I was completely intimidated. Kimberly’s response to my posting stating that once she immersed herself in it she “found it started to miraculously make sense!” (January 24, 2012) motivated me to dive head in. Once I had a copy of the Accessing Information Cataloguing Guidelines for Manitoba and Saskatchewan School Library Personnel, 2011, and by using examples of previous assignments, I found creating MARC records actually quite fun, like a puzzle or scavenger hunt. I also enjoyed helping others out with their queries. Brenda (February 2, 2012) asked for feedback regarding where to add additional information for a particular resource. By investigating her question, I was not only able to make a suggestion to her, but it also helped me down the road, as it is a tag field I used myself for assignment 2.
Lesson 7 – CIP / MARC comparison
I learned a lot from this lesson about CIP as I always relied on the information in the book as being correct. I never thought it could be inaccurate or lacking. This I now know is because it is produced before the final publication. This lesson also emphasized the need for accurate and detailed information in our catalogue records to have the best access for our patrons even if that means time consuming original additional data entry. It was interesting to learn what other districts do – purchase, copy, original, or a mixture. One issue that seemed to stand out was around subjects. I reflected upon Kristi’s comment “This little note has helped me* Remember, the option always exists to add subject headings to meet local needs as needed* stood out for me, it confirmed that there is flexibility in what seems like a rigid process” (January 31, 2012), as the MARC records do seem to be “rigid” but as a TL you have to take into account your audience. Many people suggested the ones purchased are generic and non-kid friendly. Christa made the point that when you are making subjects “you need to think like a kid” (February 23, 2012), which is sound advice.
Lesson 8 – Delicious
After reading everyone’s posts I found it interesting how many people enjoyed using Delicious. Myself, I found it frustrating and disorganized. I agreed with Jason when he said “it was quite time consuming for something that I feel that isn't very useful” (February 28, 2012). In order to sit down and want to use delicious in my everyday life I would have to have a purpose/topic of interest like Michelle’s Valentine’s Day (February 9, 2012). I did learn about other similar sites like Diigo from Cindy (February 10, 2012). I myself use igoogle to access bookmarks from anywhere. I also wonder how this new Pinintrest is similar to Delicious?
Lesson 9 – Dewey Decimal
Having not been in a TL position nor having the chance to teach the Dewey Decimal System, I felt a bit overwhelmed at this task. I enjoyed going through others examples of games, lessons and strategies. Like a teacher, I filed many ideas away. I laughed when I came across Brenda’s idea to make a wiki to share these ideas (March 19, 2012); a great idea! I myself like the hands on scavenger hunts like Rachel’s example (February 7, 2012). Although the online versions that I found are useful, I believe the hands on experience of locating books in a real life setting of a library is far more authentic and memorable. The online web quests can be used as reinforcement after.
Lesson 10 – Other sources of Cataloguing, Processing and Preparing
This lesson caused me to reflect back to lesson 7 and Kristi’s question to her cataloguers: “I asked our cataloguers whether they purchased cataloguing or created their own and used CIP and her response was "Hi, Kristi. We do not purchase cataloguing -- it typically isn't of high quality as it is generic and not tailored for our collections. We also never rely on CIP as it changes too much from the pre-pub information to the finished product. We subscribe to Alliance+ through Follett and we use Z 39.50 links to find records, which we then edit. We also do a lot of original cataloguing when we can't find a good record, especially for British and Australian materials, using the book in hand” (January 31, 2012). I too found this answer to be fairly honest. As researchers we do not rely on one source to write a paper, so why would we rely on one source to catalogue our resources, especially when it is the TL who knows best what the needs of her library and patrons are. It only makes sense that multiple sources are used and tailored to fit. On a side note… I too found Z39.50 difficult to navigate like many others.
I found Brenda’s chart (February 18, 2012) very helpful. I am a visual learner and I often create charts to organize my thinking. She also stressed her personal belief that resources should become available for students and teachers as soon as possible. This is something I too get frustrated with. In the past I have attached temporary barcodes to resources, just so they can be used, but so we still have an idea of where they are down the line.
Lesson 11 – The Library Catalogue
Having not been in a TL position and not having regular access to the administrative side of Destiny, I was interested to learn from reading other people's experiences. One comment that I made about Destiny was the inability to add pictures of the resources to the system. This was my understanding after talking with someone in our district. However, I am pleased that Lindsay pointed out that it is possible," it's called title peek but apparently it slows the system down incredibly" (March 5, 2012). Maybe this is why this option is not used in our district to my knowledge. Lindsay even provided a link to a youtube video, which was very informative and interesting. Thank you!
A common criticism of Destiny is it does not have a built in spell checker. Scott mentioned this (February 26, 2012). As someone who has struggled with spelling growing up, I know how frustrating it can be to try and find something and not be able to because your spelling is not correct. As a shy child, it was also embarrassing to ask for help. Access would be improved greatly if this feature was included in the program. Not to discount the importance of correct spelling, but one has to take into account the objective of searching for resources. It is not spelling the query correctly it is independently locating the resources needed.
Lesson 12 – School Library Homepages
I took to heart Joyce Valenza’s taxonomy when viewing several library webpages. One needs to have a balance of all four to achieve the greatest access for its users.
In Joyce Valenza's webquest she outlines the Taxonomy of a website under four areas.
1. Information Access and Delivery
2. Teaching and Learning
3. Supporting Books and Reading
4. Program Administration
The overall census from this week’s discussion was that library webpages are important; however they can be daunting to begin. Lindsay pondered the range of audience for such a website to meet all students’ needs. I suggested creating a primary and an intermediate space following her idea of having a separate parent and teacher space (March 14/20, 2012). I enjoyed reading through Cindy’s “bucket list of the most important elements of an elementary school library homepage would be” (March 20, 2012). She included many of the same traits I would, in addition to a potential password protected teacher page, where they can share resources and ideas. I thought this was a great idea, since as teachers we get so little time to share with our colleagues. I myself would prefer to use Weebly to create a webpage after having great success with it for assignment two. Many others echoed this sediment.I will also remember to use Valenza's taxonomy as a guide.
Lesson 13 – Organizing and Maintaining the Collection
In LIBE 461 Administration of a School Library Resource Centre we spent a lot of time going over the physical space of the library and the importance of it. From weeding to presentation, to organization of the different areas, and a well thought out design will create better access for your visitors. I remember talking to a TL last year and one of her biggest pet peeves was having shelves jammed packed with books. This was echoed in Lesson 13:
One very obvious restriction to use is when the shelves are overcrowded. Often certain sections, for example the "Easy" or "Picture Book" section, are very difficult for younger students to use because there are too many books on each shelf to browse through. The rule of thumb for the amount of books on a shelf is to ensure that when all of the books are on the shelves at the end of the school year, each shelf should never be more than two-thirds full. (Others suggest three-quarters full.) (page 2)
She uses the empty side of the shelves to showcase books and finds it is these books that are the most circulated, which makes sense as they are presented in their best visual way – cover outwards. Again, it is about accessibility!
My experience with improving the physical space of a library is very limited as I do not work in one. Assignment 3 provided me with a chance to conceptualize and formulate improvements to the district library. I found that my changes, though subtle and inexpensive would have a big impact on accessibility of the sensory self-regulation resources we have recently acquired. Organization of these non-traditionally shaped resources into a very traditional book dominated space took some planning. However, if the digital side of accessibility was improved it only made sense to improve the physical accessibility as well.
The improvements to everyone’s libraries discussed this week sound exciting and make me want to initiate the ones proposed in assignment 3. Unfortunately this is not my own library space to change. The librarian that I worked with did ask to read the final product, so I do plan on sharing this with her.
