Assignment #1 Part II

What I know:

When I think of Reference materials, I think of dictionaries, encyclopedias and rather large-sized books that no one is allowed to check out.  No one spends much time in the Reference area, and it is just for quick answers to “Where’s Waldo”-type questions.

Because of my impressions–correct or not–of the Reference Section, I was surprised to read the long list of materials often housed in the section (Riedling, 2005, p. x).  As well, I never really considered that on-line resources are reference.  But, of course they are.

Just the other day, a student said to me, “Hey, there is a whole shelf of books here, each one has a different letter of the alphabet!”  There is a whole generation of students growing up without ever having used a print encyclopedia.  Times change.  It is interesting how quickly both the students and I turn to on-line resources.

I know that there really is no reference section in my library, per se.  The  encyclopedias are in one area.  The dictionaries are in two separate places, relatively inaccessible (on the lowest shelves, where no other resources are) and the atlases are in a third area (covered in dust, laying flat on their back covers).  In the two years that I have been a TL, no one has ever used these dictionaries, encyclopedias or atlases.

I also know that I haven’t spent a dime on reference materials for my library (yes, I have lots to learn!).  The on-line dictionaries, translators and encyclopedias do get some use;  fortunately for my budget, the encyclopedias are paid for by my School District.  To be brutally and embarrassingly honest, before this course, the reference section never entered my thoughts.

What I have learned:  Information Literacy

Riedling asserts that “the essential philosophy surrounding school reference service is the encouragement of lifelong learning--or information literacy.” (Riedling, 2005, p. 6) An important path to information literacy is the use of a research model.   As I mentioned in my May 17 post under the Research Models section, the research models/processes presented in the book “follow a similar format.  The [main] differences come in with the amount of detail given to each step.”  I had heard of the Big 6 and Research Quest in my last course, but I hadn’t used them nor had I done any comparative analysis of those or any other processes.  With this idea of the processes being relatively similar, I found it especially instructive to read my classmates responses.  Ben’s comment about using common language so that students from one school become familiar with a process was a good point, but it didn’t help me with my choice of process.  Then, Brooke and Hiliary pointed out that making the process language accessible for kids is important.  This was another good point;  however, it didn’t necessarily help me narrow down my choice.  What I did gain from the discussion was that there isn’t necessarily a right choice for all circumstances.  It is important for a TL to be aware of the different process so that he or she can best choose for the school population, levels, styles and personalities.  And, if possible, it would be best to stick with one strategy, adapted for different levels.

A knowledgeable TL will be able to choose the best process for his or her students.  The idea of using similar language is a good one; however, a TL should be able to add details and/or new activities within each step should the student require it (or adapt the steps for struggling students or ESL learners).  In this way, “there are many acceptable paths to the same end...if everyone had been ordered to use one specific approach many students would have found themselves incredibly frustrated” (as cited in Riedling, 2005, p. 10)

How will this affect my practice?  Next year I will offer my research skills services to our teachers--this will be fairly revolutionary at my school as we are an elementary, so the library times are exclusively prep driven.  Which process will I use?  It depends upon the grade level, student ability and topic.  So,I’m not sure yet which process;  this is something that I will discuss with classroom teachers for their input is vital to the process.  What I will do is use similar steps and common language, adapting each according to needs.

What I have learned:  Selection and Evaluation

I was pleased and relieved to discover the existence of Selection Tools for reference materials--who has the time to search out great new resources?  With websites and magazines devoted to the promotion of excellent materials,  the selection of resources becomes a much more effective, efficient task.  As well, the Evaluation Guides in chapters 2-8 of Riedling’s text were helpful, though fairly commonsensical for the most part.  One of our classmates, Jody, made a chart of all of the evaluation criteria--definitely something to print off to hang on my library office door.  In my post under the Reidling’s Approach section, I queried “the scope and comprehensiveness aspects” of these Evaluation Criterion.  I pointed out that “when we are able to discuss purchasing decisions with classroom teachers, admin, [other TL’s], even students, we will be able to make more informed, more accurate sections.”  I noted that several of my classmates as well as Reidling were in agreement.  In this way, TL’s can have the input of experts in the field, who understand the scope and sequence and how it applies to the curriculum at varying levels.  The library can become a resource centre that directly and effectively supports the curriculum.  

In my first year as a TL, I didn’t make any purchases with the curriculum in mind;  I bought the latest fiction as well as non fiction to replace what I had weeded.  I now have a much clearer purpose as I plan for purchases with the curriculum--supporting the teachers and students.  I have emailed my staff, letting them know that I will be making a few more purchases this year;  I invited them to make suggestions so that I can better support their teaching.  

As I am now in my second year in the library, I am coming to know the collection, the curriculum and the classroom teacher needs much better.  For future purchases, I will use the Selection tools, the Evaluation Criterion from Riedling as well as my “knowledge of the collection, [teacher suggestions] and ...good judgment based on the existing resources and needs of the community and students served.” (Riedling, 2005, p. 19)

What I have learned:  Print vs Non Print

As I mentioned earlier, no one has used the print reference resources in the library in the two years that I have been TL.  This fact along with the high cost of these (rarely used) resources and the infrequency of research activities in my library have combined to create an out-of-date, dusty, forgotten resource collection.  To be fair, I know that print dictionaries and atlases are used at my school;  however, these particular resources are housed in individual classrooms.

Lesson Four’s class notes lists of pro’s and con’s of prints and electronic resources was helpful.  None was particularly surprising, but having them in one list gave me pause.  I know how annoying and, sometimes, inappropriate the advertisements or pop-ups can be.  I know that there are inappropriate sites out there, sometimes with fairly innocuous site titles.  Also cut and paste copying is made extremely easy with on-line sites.  These are all important points from the class notes.

Two comments particularly resonated with me.  The first was from the class notes, Lesson Four,  “what information students find is less important than how they find and apply it.”  This might seem like it doesn’t fit with my earlier discussion on print vs. non print, but it actually does fit.  When we choose resources that can help us teach students how to access, evaluate and use information, we are teaching life skills that they can use in the years to come.  In fact, one of the final conclusions to the EPIC study was that “formal instruction on how to evaluate electronic resources would be beneficial to most students.”  I would add that teaching students how to evaluate all resources would be useful.  

Therefore, we must chose resources that are well-laid out;  print resources often have predictable layouts.  This will not only help teachers design projects--I know of several who base the criteria of their assignments on the contents of specific books--but also help students find the answers to their questions.

The other comment that made me think was in the list of pro’s and con’s.  The “overwhelming amounts of material” that can be contained on some sights are counterproductive, especially to younger students.  When we provide access to appropriate materials and  teach how to use them, the students will be more successful.  

How will this affect my practice?  I can see a need for print reference materials.  They are often predictably laid out, don’t necessarily contain too much information, don’t have inappropriate aspects.  As well, when a book is in front of a student, it is easy to see the whole of the information.   That said, there are some great, appropriate, kid-friendly and interactive sites available.  Having a well-rounded reference section, contain both print and non print resources 

Still Thinking About:

As I mentioned in my post on May 28 in the Standards Discussion thread, I am still unsure of what exactly constitutes a Reference book.  If a Reference book is one what gives us the answer that we are looking for, why can’t any non fiction book be a Reference book?  If I want to know how long the gestational period for an elephant is, I can look in an encyclopedia--print or on-line--or I can look in the 599.6 section for a book on elephants.  If we’re talking about print resources, I can guarantee that the non fiction book on elephants is more up to date--newer!-- than our print encyclopedias.  

I read an article suggested by one of my classmates.  It was about the Mansueto library.  This article can be found at:  http://news.lib.uchicago.edu/blog/2011/05/16/mansueto-library-celebrates-books-in-digital-era/  It was retrieved last on Sunday, June 12, 2011.  This article mentioned the “growing digital trend”  and how many libraries are moving their print collections to “off-site storage” and are “offer[ing] up their collections to Google Books for digitization.”  So, if these libraries are moving towards on-line collections--and I’m assuming that these libraries have well-educated, experienced librarians who know volumes more about libraries than I do, it certainly makes me think twice.  So, although I can certainly see the need for print resources (as I mentioned in the last section), I am still not convinced that I should be spending a large portion of my budget on Reference materials.