Managing and Evaluating Reference Services

From the beginning of this course, I have been looking at the reference section in our library.  Is it functional? Is it up to date? Are students using it? What is its purpose? What needs to be weeded? Why do we have a reference section in elementary?  Are there better resources? The list of questions seems to go on and on.

As much of the information over the past few weeks shared has been connected to policy and various guidelines some of which are directly connected to British Columbia, I decided that I needed to dig further into my Alberta Education curriculum to see what I could find relating to Learning Commons and reference services and materials.  

Alberta however is going through some major transitions right now.  We are on the horizon of adopting a new K-4 curriculum for optional implementation in September 2019, but our Alberta Education website is also slowing moving over to a different web format so resources can also be difficult to locate.  

I was able to come across this Learning Commons Policy and Guidelines.  I found the policy and guidelines very interesting as some aspects were directly related to the importance of reference sources and services.  Most notably ensuring students have access to quality resources in both digital and print to address all student learning needs (Alberta Education, 2014).

Learning Commons Policy and Guidelines

To meet and address the student learning needs, the Library Learning Commons must have the materials available to meet the curious and intrigued minds of our students.  Our advances in society are made through the curiosity of individuals. The library can provide that starting point for our students to seek out information, answer their inquiry questions and challenge their thinking.  From much of the reading through this theme, a recurring thought came through for me and that was the importance of relationships.

The teacher librarian must develop effective relationships with all stakeholders.  Reidling, Shake and Houston (2013) share about the importance of reference interviews and how the “reference interview still involves human relations, communications and interaction with the student” (p. 105).  If we as teacher librarians do not have those relationships with students they will not feel comfortable approaching us with their questions for research projects or reader’s advisory. The same is true for the educators we work with.  Building those relationships with our colleagues is key to the success of the Library Learning Commons.

I found the role of the teacher librarian information in module 6 very interesting as my school district does not have a job description currently for teacher librarians.  As my school is the only one currently with a teacher librarian role we are currently creating this job description. I look forward to sharing this with my current administration. My administration has been very involved in learning more about Library Learning Commons and how to effectively support all students in our school to provide equal access. After last year’s creation of a Library Learning Commons Leadership Committee, my administration decided to put a greater focus on budget allocations.  My administration even put budget lines in for fiction and non-fiction. Again this is where relationships is so key in managing and evaluating reference sources and materials. The more involved you can get your administration in the Library Learning Commons, the more they will understand the need for certain resources or also the cost in attaining some resources.  Open communication and sharing of information about the Library Learning Commons is key.

After working through Assignment 1, I realized how much more work is required in our Library Learning Commons.  Since I started my position in September, I have worked hard to continually weed the collection mostly just based on age alone.  I have also spent a tremendous amount of time with our First Nations, Metis and Inuit consultant reviewing our resources in this area to ensure appropriate information.  As my school gets closer to moving into our new location, I know more time will have to be devoted to collection development as we will be focused on what needs to be weeded as well as what will need to be purchased in our new location.  

Finally, when evaluating reference services, I feel the biggest challenge or hurdle to overcome in my building right now is the continuation of building relationships.  There are many teachers in my building who are utilizing the services I can provide such as working with students on information literacy, how to access our digital resources, how to find resources in our library though using the OPAC system. Teachers are also feeling more comfortable with asking me to pull resources based on what they are currently teaching.  However, I still have teachers in the building who have not accessed any services that I can provide. I know this is an area I need to continue to work on and look forward to talking with my administration on how we can evaluate the success of whether having a teacher librarian this school year enhanced the Library Learning Commons.

References

Learning Commons Policy and Guidelines. (2014). Retrieved from https://education.alberta.ca/learning-commons/learning-commons/

Riedling, A., Shake, L., & Houston, C. (2013). Reference skills for the school librarian(3rd ed.). Santa Barbara, California: Linworth, an imprint of ABC-CLIO, LLC.

Evaluation of Reference Work in Library Learning Commons

“The library learning commons is the physical and virtual collaborative learning hub of the school” (Canada Library Association, 2014, p.5).  For the success of this learning hub, it is imperative students, educators and parents know the resources/materials within this space have been specifically curated to take into consideration the audience, format and usage of each resource.  Students, educators and parents rely on the resources and services available in the Library Learning Commons. They trust the resources have been properly vetted. According to Elk Island Public School’s Administrative Procedure 250 (2016), the Learning Commons must ensure it maintains an up to date collection with appropriate library selections.

As part of ensuring our library collection in up to date with appropriate library selections, the following checklist can be used to evaluate our collection. After reviewing a resource from our collection, I will share some possible alternatives to be considered for replacement in our Library Learning Commons as we begin the process of ensuring our resources are properly updated and maintained.

Evaluating Reference Resource Checklist

The checklist has been created using ideas from Reference Skills for the School Librarian by Ann Marlow Riedling, discussions from colleagues, course work as well as standards set forth in EIPS Administrative Procedure 250. The indicators listed in the checklist will be used to help determine the appropriate selection and weeding of Atlas reference materials.  

The majority of materials in our reference section are atlases.  According to Riedling (2103), “geographical requests can vary widely, requiring and assortment of geography related sources” (p. 79). However, upon further review, many of our atlases were very similar in content. We currently hold 5 Atlases in our collection considered World Atlases.  Our current collection of atlases range in publication dates from 1998-2009. Although Riedling (2013), suggests age may not be the main criterion when weeding resources, it does need to be mentioned a “five-year-old atlas is considered historical” (p. 80).  This would mean every Atlas we currently hold in our collection would be out of date.

PART 1:
The resource I am choosing to evaluate based on the Reference Resource Checklist is The Eyewitness Atlas of the World (1998).

Relevancy and Use of Library Space

• Is the resource relevant and reliable to the students in our school? NO
• Does the resource take up an appropriate amount of space on our shelves? YES 
• Is the resource user friendly, allow access to information quickly and provides many different access points for students based on grade level and reading ability? YES & NO
• Is the format of the resource easy to understand with a comprehensive how to use introduction?  YES

This current resource is only 160 pages so it takes up little space in our Learning Commons.  The format and introduction of the resource provides an adequate Key as well as a comprehensive section on how to use the atlas.  However, the relevancy and reliability of this resource in questionable due to the some of the content easily observed. This resource still has Pluto listed as a planet and it does not show the territory of Nunavut.  Although students are able to access information quickly the reading ability would definitely be suited for Division 2 students (Gr. 4-6).

Purpose and Curricular Connections

• Does the resource meet the needs and follow the Alberta Program of Studies? NO
• Is the resource circulated appropriately within the school so it can meet student needs and support their inquiring minds? NO
• Does this resource meet and support the EIPS Administrative Procedure 250? NO
• Does this resource add value to student learning and introduce the students to the social context of the world they live in? NO

According to Section 1.3 of EIPS Administrative Procedure the Principal shall: provide students with information about Canadian society, its many facets and the contributions of multicultural groups to Canadian social, political, economic and creative life.

This atlas unfortunately does not meet this descriptor as it uses the term Eskimos which we know to be an inappropriate term when referring to our Inuit population.  

Due to the age of this resource students may not be able to use this resource for reporting accurate information on communities.  For example: The Canadian population in this resources is listed as 27 800 000. According to Statistics Canada (2016) the Canadian population was just over 35 million.

Additionally, when reviewing the circulation history of this resource it has only been circulated 10 times since its acquisition in 2000.  The last time it was circulated was January 2013.

Currency/Authority

• Is this resource up to date as we live in an ever changing world? NO
• Does this resource provide our students with accurate and current ideas with multiple opinions? NO
• Is the cost of the resource taken into consideration with its usage? N/A
• Has a reputable publisher published the material? YES

This resource was published by a reputable publisher - Dorling Kindersley.  The biggest downfall of this resource is its age. This resource is 21 years old which makes for many inaccuracies which do not accurately represent our current world landscape.  

Although this resource could be used as a historical atlas to compare and contrast with a newer version, I would suggest weeding this from the collection.

PART 2:
The newest atlas to evaluate based on the checklist which I could currently find is the Smithsonian Children’s Illustrated Atlas (2016) which I will choose to evaluate based on the checklist.

Relevancy and Use of Library Space

• Is the resource relevant and reliable to the students in our school? YES
• Does the resource take up an appropriate amount of space on our shelves? YES 
• Is the resource user friendly, allow access to information quickly and provides many different access points for students based on grade level and reading ability? YES
• Is the format of the resource easy to understand with a comprehensive how to use introduction?  YES

Purpose and Curricular Connections

• Does the resource meet the needs and follow the Alberta Program of Studies? YES & NO
• Is the resource circulated appropriately within the school so it can meet student needs and support their inquiring minds? N/A
• Does this resource meet and support the EIPS Administrative Procedure 250? YES
• Does this resource add value to student learning and introduce the students to the social context of the world they live in? YES

Currency/Authority

• Is this resource up to date as we live in an ever changing world? YES
• Does this resource provide our students with accurate and current ideas with multiple opinions? YES
• Is the cost of the resource taken into consideration with its usage? YES
• Has a reputable publisher published the material? YES

Although this resource met most of the criteria on the Reference Resource Checklist, I wish to point out a few things to keep into consideration.  This resource is a very simplistic atlas. It has a ‘key’ which highlights the produce and industry in Canada but is very limited in the information it provides on Canadian content to meet the curricular content in the Alberta Program of Studies.  However, the images, graphics and layout are very appealing in this atlas and I could see many students of all ages and grade levels choosing to look through this resource. This resource would definetly be a great introduction to atlases at the younger grade levels, but lacks some of the more detailed content required for older grades. This resource is currently only 2 years old and is also published from Dorling Kindersley.  It is 128 pages with a price tag of $18.45. I would recommend this resource be added to the collection.

Riedling (2013) suggests National Geographic Atlases as suitable for school libraries.  While searching which resources National Geographic might have available for the school market, I came across 3 resources we may consider purchasing for the Library Learning Commons.  All three of these resources have publication dates in 2019. Limited information is currently available on these resources but they are all strong possibilities to be added to our collection.  The National Geographic website does not even have information listed at this time regarding these upcoming publications. This information was retrieved from Amazon.

The first is the National Geographic Beginner's World Atlas which will be available July 9, 2019.  The cover itself is appealing to the eye and the cost of the hardcover version is only $21.14 CAN with 64 pages.  The synopsis on Amazon talks about lively photos and a kid-friendly design.

https://www.amazon.ca/National-Geographic-Beginners-World-Atlas/dp/1426335520/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1549227522&sr=8-2&keywords=national+geographic+atlas

The second is the National Geographic Student World Atlas which will also be available July 9, 2019.  This is the Fifth Edition and according to Amazon it is complete with updated maps and statistics. The cost of the hardcover version is only $22.90 CAN and 144 pages.  

https://www.amazon.ca/National-Geographic-Student-World-Atlas/dp/142633480X/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1549228022&sr=8-3&keywords=national+geographic+atlas

Finally, the National Geographic Atlas of the World, 11th Edition will be available September 3, 2019.  According to Amazon this is National Geographic's Flagship Atlas, but with this designation also comes the heftier price tag at $243.85 with 448 pages.  

https://www.amazon.ca/National-Geographic-Atlas-World-11th/dp/1426220588/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1549228022&sr=8-1&keywords=national+geographic+atlas

Once these three resources are available for purchase and more information is available, the Library Learning Commons Leadership Team will spend some time reviewing our Reference Resource Checklist to determine which to purchase.  

References

Administrative Procedures. (2016). Retrieved from https://www.eips.ca/about-us/administrative-procedures/250

Brooks, A. (2016). Children's illustrated atlas. New York: DK Publishing.

Canadian School Libraries (CSL). (2018).  Leading Learning:  Standards of Practice for School Library Learning Commons in Canada.  Retrieved from http://llsop.canadianschoollibraries.ca

Raincoast Books. (1998). Eyewitness atlas of the world. Vancouver.

Riedling, A., Shake, L., & Houston, C. (2013). Reference skills for the school librarian(3rd ed.). Santa Barbara, California: Linworth, an imprint of ABC-CLIO, LLC.

The Foundation of Reference Services: My Journey in Learning

The past four weeks of this course have been a learning journey for me.  I started this course thinking about the reference materials which I remembered as a student which consisted mostly of just rows and rows of encyclopedias.   I don’t even remember a class as a student learning about reference materials or even the purpose of reference materials. I just remember when a research project was assigned the first thing every student in my class would do is go to the library and fight over a certain letter from the encyclopedias.

However, this course is happening at exactly the right time for me in my learning journey as well as my new role in the Library Learning Commons.  After the Winter Break, many of our classrooms have begun the non-fiction information writing, in Lucy Calkins Writer’s Workshop. Through these various units, students are asked to look at various non-fiction mentor texts.  These mentor texts are used to help develop the students as writers so they can then transfer it into their own writing. Also during their Reader’s Workshop time they are needing quality non-fiction resources to help understand text features. Since students and staff are looking for these resources and services this course could not have come at a better time to review reference materials and services.

Alberta Learning. (2004). Focus on Inquiry: a teacher's guide to implementing inquiry-based learning [Ebook]. Edmonton. Retrieved from https://open.alberta.ca/dataset/032c67af-325c-4039-a0f3-100f44306910/resource/b7585634-fabe-4488-a836-af22f1cbab2a/download/29065832004focusoninquiry.pdf

Since I became a teacher in Alberta, I have really only ever been exposed to one inquiry model.  This inquiry model has been in place since 2004. Although very popular when it was first released, I have seen the use of it decline over the years in classrooms and schools.  After reading Chapter 1, I became very interested in the variety of models available, of particular interest to me was the Points of Inquiry model shared in the course. As an educator, I specifically like the detailed benchmarks which were also attached.  It seems very user friendly and makes sense to elementary aged children.

The Points of Inquiry. (2011). Retrieved from https://bctla.ca/resources/point-of-inquiry/

This is my first year being a teacher librarian in the Library Learning Commons. I have been working hard to share the reference services available and the role I can play.  As my district does not have teacher librarians, the reference resources in a Library Learning Commons were chosen by library technicians often without consultations from administration or classroom teachers.  Additionally, library technicians are not required to provide reference services so this has been a shift in thinking within my school. As I become more familiar with my role and my colleagues continue to see the services I can provide, I hope they will access me more regularly for reference services.  As Riedling, Shake and Houston (2003) suggest “what the school librarian does with regard to reference services is fundamentally to assist students in finding the answers to questions and helping them become independent users of information and ideas” (p. 4).  I have been beginning to teach lessons on showing students where to locate our district's online databases through our Learn Alberta site and using the Online Reference Centre. I have also shown the students how to access and use our Online Public Access Catalog.   In conjunction with these lessons, we have begun to focus more on copyright, citations and plagiarism. As a young student, I don’t even really remember conversations about copyright, citations or plagiarism. I remember something about ensuring we don’t copy word for word but that was about it. Now with the access to information and the simple ability to copy and paste or hold to save to camera roll, this is more important than ever. Recently, I just showed this quick little video to grade three students, although it is an ad for EasyBib, it set the stage to have a conversation with the students about citing their work.  

From the journey I have taken so far in these past four weeks, some challenges have arisen in providing reference resources to an audience of elementary students.  The evaluation and selection of materials has to meet the diverse needs of the students in elementary school. Division One students (Gr. 1-3) do not have the capability to read large amounts of text and Division Two students (Gr. 4-5) range greatly in their reading abilities so it is important to select appropriate materials considering the complexity of the text and their ability to read it on their own.  Also when looking at online versions of reference materials does it offer the feature of reading to the student so that “the school library provides access to information in all formats, at all levels, and to all members of the learning community” (Asselin, Branch, & Oberg, 2003, p.24).

One of my major takeaways from this theme is looking at the successful reference services teacher librarians can provide and the importance of ensuring the collection meets the needs of our students.  According to Achieving Information Literacy (2003), "for both primary and high school grades, the ratio of fiction to nonfiction including reference should range from 15-30% fiction and 70-85% nonfiction/reference" (p. 28).  After reading this, I decided to pull our Titlewave analysis from January 2018. Our stats show that we really need to work on our non-fiction section. I am looking forward to sharing the Achieving Information Literacy information with my administration in conjunction with our Titlewave analysis to develop a plan of action to address our non-ficiton collection.

In just a few short weeks in this course I have  explored many different avenues of reference sources and services.  I look forward to what the remainder of this course will explore.

References

Alberta Learning. (2004). Focus on Inquiry: a teacher's guide to implementing inquiry-based learning [Ebook]. Edmonton. Retrieved from https://open.alberta.ca/dataset/032c67af-325c-4039-a0f3-100f44306910/resource/b7585634-fabe-4488-a836-af22f1cbab2a/download/29065832004focusoninquiry.pdf

Asselin, M., Branch, J. L., & Oberg, D. (2003).  Achieving information literacy: standards for school standards for school library programs in Canada.  Ottawa: Canadian School Library Association: Association for Teacher-Librarianship in Canada. 

Citation for Beginners. (2014). Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=3&v=CDGdqoCyAtw

Riedling, A., Shake, L., & Houston, C. (2013). Reference skills for the school librarian(3rd ed.). Santa Barbara, California: Linworth, an imprint of ABC-CLIO, LLC.

The Points of Inquiry. (2011). Retrieved from https://bctla.ca/resources/point-of-inquiry/

Our Future is in Motion

It is hard to believe we have reached this point where it is time to share our Final Vision Project. In the early stages of the process of considering what my final artifact might be, I wanted to create a non-stop shop for all stakeholders.  The initial ideas were creating a Symbaloo, a shared google drive or even a website.  This non-stop shop would address a list of goals such as building a reading culture, increase family involvement, increase collaboration, build relationships, stem & makerspaces, increase circulation, and promote literacy.  After further research and discussion with a few stakeholders, I settled on the idea of a website.

Upon deciding to create a website, there were many other factors that came into play.  Who would use this website? What would be included? What website platform would be used?  I had to do some investigation and research to answer these questions. The website platform I chose to use is Google Sites.  This choice was made for a number of reasons. I recently became Google Educator Level 1 certified and this has been a focus in our school and district.  I felt if I am going to support students in our school community in the use of G Suite for Education, I should be able to model the various apps. I also chose Google Sites as it allowed me to easily integrate slides, sheets and forms into the webpage as well.

I did decide to go with 3 main pages.  One 'For Students', one 'For Teachers' and one 'For Parents' in addition to the home page and a policy and procedures page.  The 'For Teachers' page has a few additional subpages addressing STEM & Makerspace as well as the recent Book Club/Series collection we have acquired in our school.  The policy and procedures page is truly a working document as there were no policies or procedures in our Library Learning Commons before my arrival. This section will continue to evolve as our Library Learning Commons Leadership Team addresses policy and procedures as a group.  Our Library Learning Commons Leadership Team has a Padlet which we are using to help focus our meetings and begin to address some key areas of the Library Learning Commons. As the team addresses these important areas, I will be adding them to the website. Some of these areas include a mission statement, collection development, and other library rules and regulations.

My home page is a place for all stakeholders. They can easily access Destiny for searching, make book recommendations as well as see upcoming events in the Library Learning Commons.

For the Students page, there is information on how to log into Destiny as well as helpful links which have been used in the classroom.  Please note that some links may not open for you as they require specific passwords which have only been shared with particular groups within our school community.

The For Teachers page has information on services which I can provide in the Library Learning Commons and gives them suggestions on areas in which I may be able to help.  For instance curating text sets or providing mini lessons on information literacy.

For our Parents page, we have a few useful links as well as articles which I have found that are currently relevant to reading.  My hope is that I will be able to constantly update this page with current articles and information.

Although I have big ideas for this website, and I know it is not completely done, I hope for it to be a starting point to begin discussions in my building on a variety of areas.  I knew starting this project that creating a final project which addressed all of these goals was pretty lofty.  The website I have created might not fully address all of these immediately, but it is a starting point and will continue to evolve as our learning commons grows and evolves.

Please click on the following link and enjoy looking at the new Wye Library Learning Commons website.
Feel free to provide ideas and suggestions.

Wye Elementary Library Learning Commons

Library Learning Commons Website

This week has required a lot of discussion with my administration regarding my final vision project.  I was also thankful for the Google hangout on Tuesday to continue to formulate the audience and rationale.

As a school district we already have a school web page.  On this school web page, each teacher has a section called an e-teacher page.  This is a spot where teachers communicate with parents, share events, etc. From last week’s post, I have been playing with the idea of creating a web page for the Library Learning Commons.  Since we already have an e-teacher section on the school website, I thought about possibly using this instead of creating an entirely new webpage. However, after speaking with teachers and administration this may not be the best approach since it does not allow all the functions I would like to include on the website as I continue to expand the Library Learning Commons site.  So instead, we have decided that we will put the link on the e-teacher page as well as on the school website to connect the audience to the resource I create.

The website idea came about because the Teacher Librarian position is new at my school.  The students, teachers and parents are excited as to the potential of having a Teacher Librarian but they do not know all the supports I can actually provide.  My hope is a library website will be a new and positive avenue to help clarify the services and opportunities that a Library Learning Commons and Teacher Librarian can provide.  In addition, I hope this website will be a form of promotion of the fantastic resources and materials available in our Library Learning Commons. We have already made several changes to our Library Learning Commons this year and we know  communication is essential more than ever at this time to support this new direction. As I am thinking of what this website will look like I have to remind myself it is a working document and it will always be undergoing continuous change and revisions based on the feedback I receive from all stakeholders.

My final vision for this project is a website with three different pages. One page for students, one page for teachers and even possibly one page for parents.  Since a Learning Commons website is completely new in my district, I feel the possibilities are actually endless. I am feeling very overwhelmed as I want it to look very polished but I have to remind myself it is just in the infant stages.  As we evolve as a district in this area I look forward to receiving feedback from my colleagues as to how my web page can improve. Below are my beginning brainstorming ideas using Popplet about what each page may contain. If you have any additional thoughts or suggestions, please share in the comment section.

Ideas! Ideas! Ideas!

When this course first started back in September and I took a look at the Vision of the Future project, I truly didn’t have many ideas.  I was just starting out in my new position as a teacher librarian and really didn’t know what I was in for entirely.

Now, two months of school have passed.  The ideas on how I would love to move our Library Learning Commons forward have grown exponentially.  This has happened from the numerous blog posts I have read in this course over the past few months. The ideas have also continued to grow because I have increased the number of individuals in my professional learning network who are teacher librarians and media specialists.  Additionally, the ideas have also continued to come based on conversations with my colleagues, administration and parents as they are sharing some of their thoughts and ideas with me. I am excited about the enthusiasm that has been shared with me from my colleagues, administration and parents as this has helped create a positive atmosphere in the school about the Library Learning Commons.

However, with all the ideas which have come forward I am also feeling the pressure of the ever growing to-do list.  I want to continue to move our Library Learning Commons forward using the Leading Learning - Standards of Practice for School Library Learning Commons in Canada but this then makes an endless list of to-do tasks.  The ideas shared in the blog posts from this course on creating a culture of literacy provided an endless amount of opportunities which are far too many to try in one year.  The ideas shared even in my own school community have created so much potential but a to-do list which couldn’t even be completed if I worked 18 hours a day.  

My hope in my final vision project is to start to compile some of the ideas which have come forward and create a one-stop shop for a variety of stakeholders.  My initial thoughts include creating a Symbaloo, a shared Google drive or even a website. My vision for this final project is creating something that is continually evolving to meet the needs of my school community and something that is easily updated, adapted and changed if necessary.  

I would like my Final Vision Project to somehow address the following goals if possible:

I am excited about where this Final Vision Project may lead and the opportunities it will possibly provide. 

Leading Learning – Standards of Practice for School Library Learning Commons in Canada. (2018). Retrieved from http://llsop.canadianschoollibraries.ca/