Statement to Consider:
The degree to which a library catalogue can be consulted easily by teachers and students is of great significance if teacher-librarians wish to encourage user-independence. A flexible catalogue will allow broader use of the school library.
Most schools I have been in have at least two computers, if not more, that the library catalogue is logged onto. Students can also access the catalogue from any computer in the school from the school's homepage as well as at home. All the TL's I have had conversations with spend time at the beginning of each school year with each class reviewing the catalogue and location of resources. With TL and teacher assistant time being cut back, there is not always a qualified person in the library to assist students in locating resources. This could potentially be resolved by universally teaching the students how to, as stated above, and ensuring all school staff know the process as well. Another suggestion would be to train library monitors for those times outside of regular library periods where a teacher would be accompanying the class. I know of one school who has trained library monitors (grade 4's) who assist students before school and at lunch time on a rotating basis. Also, if a student is down in the library and needs assistance signing out or locating a book, that student knows to go to the grade four classroom and politely ask for assistance. It seems to work out fairly well for this school and increases access.
Saturday, 3 March 2012
Wednesday, 20 July 2011
Reflection: LIBE 437
When looking back and reflecting on the past three months, I recall Anne's comment in her fist announcement: "First, I'd like to take a moment to emphasize that LIBE 467 is probably not the most "sexy" of the required Diploma courses. But it is truly essential, and will really represent a lot of the "meat and potatoes" of your practice as Teacher-Librarian" (May 5, 2011). I would have to agree that the reference section is not necessarily the most exciting section; students do not normally congregate around it, pouring over it's books for fun. However, it is a necessary part of the library, as students require it for research and learning of those critical information literacy skills.
Not knowing a lot about reference resources before this course, other than the general usage through my years as a student and teacher, I have come to appreciate how much the world of reference has changed and is still evolving more and more from print to electronic resources. Prior to this course I did not see the value in libraries purchasing printed materials when the resources are, for the most part, readily available in electronic form or online. However, through the lessons, readings, and assignments I can now see I was biased towards electronic resources. Now I see the importance of maintaining a balance and availability of the two in the library, as well as, teaching students the necessary information literacy skills using the both. One of my favourite citations that I used during this course dealing with the situation of print vs non print, was when Susie Allen quotes Andrew Abbott in her article as saying “the key thing to understand is that good researchers use more of both" (p.1). As TLs we need to emphasize this!
Another important piece of knowledge I acquired from this course was the introduction to the various research models. Being a TOC I have not had the opportunity to construct and teach a research project. All of the models were all new to me, with the exception of Focus on Inquiry which I was exposed to during my BEd degree at the UofA. I must say I was most intrigued by the Big Six because of the language used and the fact that there is also a similar model, the Big Three, which can be used with the primary students. I have been teaching for four years and one may find it surprising that I was unaware of any of these models. I think the lack of exposure has to do with the fact that schools are not necessarily using a research model with their students. When I obtain a TL position, this is something I am definitely going to try and establish, as I am now a firm believer that students must be taught information literacy skills directly and a research model is a natural and productive way of doing this.
Overall, this course's content may not have been as "sexy" as others, but it was informative, practical and well valued.
Works Cited:
Allen, Susie. "Mansueto Library Celebrates Books in Digital Era." The University of Chicago
Library News. 16 May 2011. Web. 01 June 2011. <http://news.lib.uchicago.edu
/blog/2011/05/16/mansueto-library-celebrates-books-in-digital-era/>.
Not knowing a lot about reference resources before this course, other than the general usage through my years as a student and teacher, I have come to appreciate how much the world of reference has changed and is still evolving more and more from print to electronic resources. Prior to this course I did not see the value in libraries purchasing printed materials when the resources are, for the most part, readily available in electronic form or online. However, through the lessons, readings, and assignments I can now see I was biased towards electronic resources. Now I see the importance of maintaining a balance and availability of the two in the library, as well as, teaching students the necessary information literacy skills using the both. One of my favourite citations that I used during this course dealing with the situation of print vs non print, was when Susie Allen quotes Andrew Abbott in her article as saying “the key thing to understand is that good researchers use more of both" (p.1). As TLs we need to emphasize this!
Another important piece of knowledge I acquired from this course was the introduction to the various research models. Being a TOC I have not had the opportunity to construct and teach a research project. All of the models were all new to me, with the exception of Focus on Inquiry which I was exposed to during my BEd degree at the UofA. I must say I was most intrigued by the Big Six because of the language used and the fact that there is also a similar model, the Big Three, which can be used with the primary students. I have been teaching for four years and one may find it surprising that I was unaware of any of these models. I think the lack of exposure has to do with the fact that schools are not necessarily using a research model with their students. When I obtain a TL position, this is something I am definitely going to try and establish, as I am now a firm believer that students must be taught information literacy skills directly and a research model is a natural and productive way of doing this.
Overall, this course's content may not have been as "sexy" as others, but it was informative, practical and well valued.
Works Cited:
Allen, Susie. "Mansueto Library Celebrates Books in Digital Era." The University of Chicago
Library News. 16 May 2011. Web. 01 June 2011. <http://news.lib.uchicago.edu
/blog/2011/05/16/mansueto-library-celebrates-books-in-digital-era/>.
Saturday, 16 July 2011
The Importance of Currency: Printed Atlases
Fiona mentioned she "searched [her] library catalogue for atlases only to discover that all of the atlases in the library would be considered historical" (July 14, 2011). I am assuming Fiona was referring to what Riedling (2005) states that "a five-year-old atlas is considered historical" (p. 76). I too searched my library catalogues and came to the same conclusion. Although there was a range of types and publishers of atlases, Junior Atlas, Scholastic Canada, Beginner's World Atlas, Historical BC Atlas, the most current one was published in 2000, a whopping eleven years old! The AIL Standards do not state a specific date in which geographic sources such as atlases should be replaced. They only suggest that "every effort should be made to ensure the currency of atlases" (p. 28). In my opinion, I don't think they would consider eleven years to be current.
I wondered if there was a more concrete number out there. I referred to the weeding guideline our TL uses, the California Department of Education pamphlet Weeding the School Library (2009). The only feedback it gave on atlases was under the Dewey classifications 000, which suggests should be weeded every 2-10 years. This a a huge range of years, and thus not much help in this particular situation, except to provided additional support that yes, these atlases are too old.
I referred also to The Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh's General Weeding Guidelines (2007). I like this document as it breaks the different sections of the library down even further than any other resource I have come across and provides weeding advice and guidelines for all of them. I was curious what it would have to say about atlases. The document did not provide a specific number of years but stated to "weed superseded edition[s] and those that do not reflect current conditions, even if new edition is not available. A limited number of atlases may be needed for genealogy and historical purposes and, therefore, should not be weeded" (p. 5). Even though it is not a concrete number to follow, this makes more sense. This guideline requires a TL to look through the resource and make an educated judgement on how the current the information is in respect to the current conditions of the date in time. Some time periods, where major shifts in political lines have occurred may require atlases to be updated more frequently; for example, during the end of the Cold War in the 1990s. I laugh, because I can still remember using atlases in elementary school during the late 1990s and believing the USSR was a country even through I knew Russia and the other countries of the former USSR existed. It is hard to ignore the huge USSR lettering across Eastern Asia and be able to replace it with the current labeling, especially as a child. This is another reason why keeping resources current is so important. As adults we are aware of the current conditions and it is easy for us to look through the inaccuracies and adjust them in our minds. For a child it is much harder and could very easily lead to confusion.
Unlike encyclopedias, atlases are not published on a regular basis. However, specialized encyclopedias are not updated yearly either and should not be replaced until a superseded edition becomes available. This is similar to what the Carnegie Library suggests for atlases; unless the content, according to the opinion of the TL is to outdated. This makes the weeding process a little easier at least.
Susan also framed an example of the ever changing world and the need for currency of atlases when she posted that "Sudan split into 2 countries just a few days ago" (July 12, 2011). Although, it would be nearly impossible and not economically viable to update printed atlases every time there was a political change of boundaries in the world or a shift in the physical geography, I think it is necessary for the TL to use her best judgement when to replace the resources and not let it slip off her list of priorities. Sure online geographical sources have the advantage of keeping their resources up to date and current without requiring extra cost, however as a teacher, a past student and a user of maps, there is something wonderful able flipping through pages, locating, and learning and teaching how to locate information on the printed maps that can not be duplicated in electronic form.
Works Cited:
California Department of Education. "Weeding the School Library." California Department of Education
Library. 27 Apr. 2009. Web. 11 June 2011. /lb/documents/schoollibweedng.pdf>.
Canadian Association for School Libraries. Achieving Information Literacy Standards for School
Library Programs in Canada. Ottawa: Canadian Association for School Libraries,
2003.
"General Weeding Guidelines." Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh District Library Center,
Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh's Regional and Statewide Role, Jan. 2007. Web. 25
June 2011. <http://www.clpgh.org/about/DistrictServices/>.
Riedling, Ann. Reference Skills for the School Library Media Specialist: Tools and Tips.
Worthington, OH: Linworth, 2005.
I wondered if there was a more concrete number out there. I referred to the weeding guideline our TL uses, the California Department of Education pamphlet Weeding the School Library (2009). The only feedback it gave on atlases was under the Dewey classifications 000, which suggests should be weeded every 2-10 years. This a a huge range of years, and thus not much help in this particular situation, except to provided additional support that yes, these atlases are too old.
I referred also to The Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh's General Weeding Guidelines (2007). I like this document as it breaks the different sections of the library down even further than any other resource I have come across and provides weeding advice and guidelines for all of them. I was curious what it would have to say about atlases. The document did not provide a specific number of years but stated to "weed superseded edition[s] and those that do not reflect current conditions, even if new edition is not available. A limited number of atlases may be needed for genealogy and historical purposes and, therefore, should not be weeded" (p. 5). Even though it is not a concrete number to follow, this makes more sense. This guideline requires a TL to look through the resource and make an educated judgement on how the current the information is in respect to the current conditions of the date in time. Some time periods, where major shifts in political lines have occurred may require atlases to be updated more frequently; for example, during the end of the Cold War in the 1990s. I laugh, because I can still remember using atlases in elementary school during the late 1990s and believing the USSR was a country even through I knew Russia and the other countries of the former USSR existed. It is hard to ignore the huge USSR lettering across Eastern Asia and be able to replace it with the current labeling, especially as a child. This is another reason why keeping resources current is so important. As adults we are aware of the current conditions and it is easy for us to look through the inaccuracies and adjust them in our minds. For a child it is much harder and could very easily lead to confusion.
Unlike encyclopedias, atlases are not published on a regular basis. However, specialized encyclopedias are not updated yearly either and should not be replaced until a superseded edition becomes available. This is similar to what the Carnegie Library suggests for atlases; unless the content, according to the opinion of the TL is to outdated. This makes the weeding process a little easier at least.
Susan also framed an example of the ever changing world and the need for currency of atlases when she posted that "Sudan split into 2 countries just a few days ago" (July 12, 2011). Although, it would be nearly impossible and not economically viable to update printed atlases every time there was a political change of boundaries in the world or a shift in the physical geography, I think it is necessary for the TL to use her best judgement when to replace the resources and not let it slip off her list of priorities. Sure online geographical sources have the advantage of keeping their resources up to date and current without requiring extra cost, however as a teacher, a past student and a user of maps, there is something wonderful able flipping through pages, locating, and learning and teaching how to locate information on the printed maps that can not be duplicated in electronic form.
Works Cited:
California Department of Education. "Weeding the School Library." California Department of Education
Library. 27 Apr. 2009. Web. 11 June 2011. /lb/documents/schoollibweedng.pdf>.
Canadian Association for School Libraries. Achieving Information Literacy Standards for School
Library Programs in Canada. Ottawa: Canadian Association for School Libraries,
2003.
"General Weeding Guidelines." Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh District Library Center,
Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh's Regional and Statewide Role, Jan. 2007. Web. 25
June 2011. <http://www.clpgh.org/about/DistrictServices/>.
Riedling, Ann. Reference Skills for the School Library Media Specialist: Tools and Tips.
Worthington, OH: Linworth, 2005.
Tuesday, 5 July 2011
Databases: An "Ah-ha Moment"
I look back on my University experience with a sigh. I received my BEd from the University of Alberta. Their program is a four year degree - two years of general arts or science courses, and two years of education courses. I remember stumbling through my research for history and earth science papers unaware of the library's databases. At first, most of my research was done through printed resources. I remember one time in particular going home to Kamloops to pull books on JFK for my American history paper from the public library. I was too intimidated by the enormous unknown campus library. Oh geez. Later my research turned more and more towards the web. It was not until my third year of university that I learned about the wonders of databases! During my laws and ethics education course, our professor took us on a "field trip" to the education library. The teacher-librarians walked us through the databases and directly taught us those much needed information literacy skills. My research world was changed. I look back on it now and am grateful the professor took time from lecturing to bring us to the library, but I was a little bitter that I was not equipped with these skills earlier on in my school career.
Now with taking these Library courses, educating myself further, and having this experience of being the lost student, it only motivates me that much more to ensure students have these vital skills before they reach the post secondary level.
It was only during this course did I become aware of the numerous databases our district subscribes to. It makes me wonder how many classroom teachers are also not aware of these, or if they are, how many of them are still not using them.
I am curious to know how much our district spends per year subscribing to these databases. However, like many people mentioned in their postings, this is not something companies make public or district's divulge. While I could understand many people's reactions of this being, as Chris put it "doesn't seem very fair" (July 4, 2011), I could not help but think, that this is a common way things are done in our society. When we go buy a car, we as a consumer have some room to negotiate. One person may walk away with a better deal than the next person on the exact same product. The company is not going to advertise the original deal as it sets a precedent. Later, Lori (July 5, 2011) was able to eloquently place into words what I was thinking.
This is one of the reasons why I think it is wonderful that our district negotiates and pays for these subscriptions instead of leaving it up the the individual schools. Firstly, library budgets would not be able to afford it, especially this many databases, and secondly, it makes more financial sense to pool users in able to secure a better deal.
In closing, I think electronic databases are wonderful. When I went back to University for my Special Education Diploma, they helped me out immensely as a lot of research was required for the various assignments and papers and don't know what I would have done without them. Better late than never!
Works Cited:
School District #73. "District Digital Reference Library." Kamloops Thompson School District No.
73. Board of Education of School District No. 73, 2009. Web. 05 July 2011.
<http://www3.sd73.bc.ca/general/content/district-digital-reference-library>.
Now with taking these Library courses, educating myself further, and having this experience of being the lost student, it only motivates me that much more to ensure students have these vital skills before they reach the post secondary level.
It was only during this course did I become aware of the numerous databases our district subscribes to. It makes me wonder how many classroom teachers are also not aware of these, or if they are, how many of them are still not using them.
 |
| http://www3.sd73.bc.ca/general/content/district-digital-reference-library |
First, as a former sales person I understand the need to keep prices confidential. While it is not "fair" to everyone concerned, businesses exist to make money. Incentives offered to some customers are often subsidized by others who either cannot reach the same economies of scale (discounts for very large orders), or lack the same skill at negotiating their contracts. No matter the reason, each district/school will make its decisions based on what they are prepared to pay or are able to pay. From the buyer's perspective, a true belief that they have reached the best price available (and every buyer wants to think they have) means that they'll "keep the supplier's price secret" in order to secure their price.
This is one of the reasons why I think it is wonderful that our district negotiates and pays for these subscriptions instead of leaving it up the the individual schools. Firstly, library budgets would not be able to afford it, especially this many databases, and secondly, it makes more financial sense to pool users in able to secure a better deal.
In closing, I think electronic databases are wonderful. When I went back to University for my Special Education Diploma, they helped me out immensely as a lot of research was required for the various assignments and papers and don't know what I would have done without them. Better late than never!
Works Cited:
School District #73. "District Digital Reference Library." Kamloops Thompson School District No.
73. Board of Education of School District No. 73, 2009. Web. 05 July 2011.
<http://www3.sd73.bc.ca/general/content/district-digital-reference-library>.
Sunday, 3 July 2011
Encyclopedias
The great debate of: if, when, how, and where to use Wikipedia has been going on ever since its creation. I remember many of my teachers in high school banned the use of it. They preferred printed resources or electronic encyclopedias. On a similar note, one teacher during my practicum advocated for the use of Wikipedia as she saw it as more authentic and reliable than the traditional encyclopedias. Her thought was traditional encyclopedias are written by a select few, while Wikipedia is continually being edited by millions of users, so it should be more authentic. Much like what Aaron referred to as a "collective human brain" (June 26, 2011). Although I can see the justifications behind both these frames of minds, I do not fully agree with either of them. One thing is for sure though, Wikipedia is widely popular. Yes - even I use it for some things.
Hillary shared a very common experience, one I have encountered myself, one that I have discussed with my TL and one that was mentioned in Chris Harris' (2007) article Can We Make Peace with Wikipedia? Hillary states that she tried to keep her students away from Wikipedia by providing them with alternatives, but she often found them going directly for it anyways (June 19, 2011). My TL does not allow her students to use Wikipedia at all, as she feels the information is unreliable, however she still "catches" her students using it. One day she got frustrated and challenged the student to see if he could find the information using World Book, since he said he tried already and could not. She of course was right, he could; not necessarily the best way to promote the use of World Book to her students though. Harris states that by "continually bad-mouthing Wikipedia to the very people who use it successfully makes us look a bit daft" (p. 2). So is there a middle ground? Harris also states that "it would be much more productive to teach colleagues, students, and parents how to best use Wikipedia... Librarians can foster educated, high-end users who verify Wikipedia entries using the history and discussion tabs" (p. 2). This is something I need to teach myself how to do first!
I agree with one point that Jennifer says that "Wikipedia offers a great starting point to discuss accuracy and authority as well as the need for several sources" (June 18, 2011). This is an entirely different information literacy lesson, apart from allowing students to begin their research for their projects and assignments using this resource. I do not agree with Chris in using Wikipedia as "a starting point for an inquiry" (June 19, 2011). True, Wikipedia does give a good overview of a topic, but so do many other resources that have authority. I would rather my students start with one of these resources and be assured they are accessing reliable information. They can then go back and use Wikipedia, if they chose. At this point the students will hopefully be better equipped with a general understanding of the topic in order to analyze and critic the validity of the information found on Wikipedia.
That all being said, I agree with Harris that Wikipedia should not be banned, but used as a research tool. I also agree that students need to be taught directly those information literacy skills required to verify Wikipedia sources. Because many of the students that I have encountered do not have these skills, some I have even found cutting and pasting Wikipedia entries into their own work, I would not feel comfortable allowing them to access Wikipedia as their starting point. While it is still important to continue to teach the older students about verifying information, it may sometimes seem like a loosing battle, especially with less and less library time available to teach them. The TL at one of my schools is trying to battle this problem with teaching these skills early. Although she spends time teaching all grades information literacy, she spent a great deal of time this year with the grade two class. She wants to see if this will make a difference in the student's research skills by the time they are in the intermediate grades. Already she has noted some of them are more effective researchers, or at least make better reference choices, than many of the grade sevens.
In closing, one more thought to ponder...
I my experience with using Wikipedia for research is a lot of the content is directly cut and pasted from other sources; this I have found is usually the case in terms of academic entries. I have found that popular culture or current events entries contain more originality in their prose. The editors are more likely to write the entries themselves and cite their sources instead of cutting and pasting directly.
Works Cited:
Harris, Chris. "Can We Make Peace with Wikipedia?" School Library Journal 53.6 (2007): 26.
Hillary shared a very common experience, one I have encountered myself, one that I have discussed with my TL and one that was mentioned in Chris Harris' (2007) article Can We Make Peace with Wikipedia? Hillary states that she tried to keep her students away from Wikipedia by providing them with alternatives, but she often found them going directly for it anyways (June 19, 2011). My TL does not allow her students to use Wikipedia at all, as she feels the information is unreliable, however she still "catches" her students using it. One day she got frustrated and challenged the student to see if he could find the information using World Book, since he said he tried already and could not. She of course was right, he could; not necessarily the best way to promote the use of World Book to her students though. Harris states that by "continually bad-mouthing Wikipedia to the very people who use it successfully makes us look a bit daft" (p. 2). So is there a middle ground? Harris also states that "it would be much more productive to teach colleagues, students, and parents how to best use Wikipedia... Librarians can foster educated, high-end users who verify Wikipedia entries using the history and discussion tabs" (p. 2). This is something I need to teach myself how to do first!
I agree with one point that Jennifer says that "Wikipedia offers a great starting point to discuss accuracy and authority as well as the need for several sources" (June 18, 2011). This is an entirely different information literacy lesson, apart from allowing students to begin their research for their projects and assignments using this resource. I do not agree with Chris in using Wikipedia as "a starting point for an inquiry" (June 19, 2011). True, Wikipedia does give a good overview of a topic, but so do many other resources that have authority. I would rather my students start with one of these resources and be assured they are accessing reliable information. They can then go back and use Wikipedia, if they chose. At this point the students will hopefully be better equipped with a general understanding of the topic in order to analyze and critic the validity of the information found on Wikipedia.
That all being said, I agree with Harris that Wikipedia should not be banned, but used as a research tool. I also agree that students need to be taught directly those information literacy skills required to verify Wikipedia sources. Because many of the students that I have encountered do not have these skills, some I have even found cutting and pasting Wikipedia entries into their own work, I would not feel comfortable allowing them to access Wikipedia as their starting point. While it is still important to continue to teach the older students about verifying information, it may sometimes seem like a loosing battle, especially with less and less library time available to teach them. The TL at one of my schools is trying to battle this problem with teaching these skills early. Although she spends time teaching all grades information literacy, she spent a great deal of time this year with the grade two class. She wants to see if this will make a difference in the student's research skills by the time they are in the intermediate grades. Already she has noted some of them are more effective researchers, or at least make better reference choices, than many of the grade sevens.
In closing, one more thought to ponder...
I my experience with using Wikipedia for research is a lot of the content is directly cut and pasted from other sources; this I have found is usually the case in terms of academic entries. I have found that popular culture or current events entries contain more originality in their prose. The editors are more likely to write the entries themselves and cite their sources instead of cutting and pasting directly.
Works Cited:
Harris, Chris. "Can We Make Peace with Wikipedia?" School Library Journal 53.6 (2007): 26.
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