It's an interesting time to be a teacher-librarian. We feel compelled to fill our shelves with current, attractive and relevant resources and yet more and more of our students are relying on web resources. Herein lies more challenges: showing students how to find good information on the internet (Toor & Weisburg state that "Students will not seek out databases on their own. They invariably will start with Google or Wikipedia unless directed otherwise.") and also balancing their web resources with print.
We also need to get other teaching staff updated. I was extremely surprised recently when giving a pro-d workshop to learn that more than half the staff at my school didn't know about, or how to access the online databases that the district subscribes to (we have the BCERAC suite) nor did they know how to check our library catalogue for resources. If my school is any indication of other elementary schools, then it has become clear that the teacher-librarians need to take on larger responsibilities, both in leadership and collaboration. On the leadership front T-Ls should be updating staff regularly on new developments and resources. Collaboration can be a bit trickier as indicated by Toor & Weisburg: "[Teachers] see collaborating with you as keeping them from what they have to get done, and it sounds like a lot more work." Collaboration really needs to come in the form of making the teachers' lives easier, not taking more of their time.
Reference Materials
Theme three of the course focused on many different types of reference materials and the management of these materials. One of my biggest take-aways from this theme was that the format and usage is very dependent on context. For example, in the K-7 context of my school it is important to have
print copies of dictionaries and thesauri available as technology isn't readily accessible by all students. However, in a high school where there is more technology available and the majority of students have access to personal devices, having print versions of these materials might be wasteful. In any context, it's important to have a mix of formats to familiarize students with different formats as well as stretch the budget as far as it will go. Reidling supports this: "Less than two decades ago
information sources were synonymous with print materials. It is now an anomaly to use only printed resources in the realm of reference work."(14)
In the case of encyclopedias, I think that digital versions are the way to go for all age groups. Based on budget limitations and the speed at which information becomes obsolete, digital encyclopedias seem to make the most sense. Especially for those of us in districts that subscribe for us as it's not coming out of our personal library budgets.
Online databases begin to become useful in the late-primary grades once students can read independently. There are some very good high-interest, user-friendly databases out there and introducing them to students early sets them up for success later in their schooling.
Maps and Atlases are a good example of the type of reference material in which you'd want multiple formats. Online maps are good for getting current information, but print atlases can provide a whole world's worth of maps at a "nominal cost" as Riedling points out. (79) When I am teaching a lesson and need to reference a map I always use electronic, but I also keep a set of print atlases in my late-primary classroom for the students to reference.
Final thoughts about the format of reference materials: there isn't one perfect format for all resources. Each format has it's pros and cons and we must weigh those when making purchasing decisions for our library.
Works Cited
Riedling, Ann. Reference Skills for the School Librarian: Tools and Tips, 3rd Edition. ABC-CLIO. Kindle Edition.
Toor,
R., & Weisburg, H. K. (2012). New
on the job: A School Library Media Specialist’s Guide to Success.
2nd edition. Chicago: American Library Association
* All pictures acquired through Creative Commons and are labelled for noncommercial reuse.
A good look back at the content from the last few modules in theme 3 of our course. You did a good job of highlighting and outlining the major issues, gaps, and goals for the Reference collection and services, as well as some potential challenges and opportunities to collaborate with your peers. A little more specific and personalized reflection on your key takeaways and new learning for you would be beneficial. Overall, a useful look back at your experiences.
ReplyDeleteThis is an excellent summary of our course. I especially relate to your comment about staff needing to update (although not being especially willing to give up time to do so) and your point that young students (upper primary) are capable of using online databases (once they can read and write independently). There are a lot of online databases created to be user friendly for our young students and it is our job as a teacher librarian to encourage both teachers and students to explore and use these.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your thoughtful response! I too have enjoyed examining different digital and print resources and have been challenged by the conversations concerning currency and relevance of reference resources. I agree with you about maps, there is nothing better than a big map to give us a sense of the big picture!
ReplyDeleteYour experience teaching the pro-d workshop sadly is not all too surprising. A lot of educators are not aware of ERAC and how helpful it can be for selecting resources to use with a class. How do we showcase a resource that requires signing up and logging in as beneficial and worth the time verses an open website? I don’t have an answer, either. Like you said, under the leadership role of the TL, updating staff regularly on new developments and resources seems key, which means the TL must stay up-to-date on new developments and resources! *Phew* Like you said, it’s an interesting time to be a TL.
ReplyDeleteI've enjoyed reading your posts throughout this course -- take care & all the best!