The Future of Reference

     It may seem as if I plagiarized this title when looking at my works cited, but I literally searched those exact terms for our previous assignment and came across a SLJ article of identical title. And the reason I was investigating this topic was because this module has really got me thinking if print reference work is slowly on it's way to extinction. As I read through each module for this theme and examined the various formats, atlases, dictionaries, handbooks, encyclopedias etc. I began to think how infrequently I purchased these items for our library, and on a bigger scale how outside of my profession I never used physical copies of them ever. And who actually does? If I want to plan a trip I don't go purchase the Lonely Planet book like I did in 2000, I use trip advisor. If I don't know what a word means I look it up on my dictionary app. Why would anyone consult a 2 year old anything when they could find more current information online? So I revisited my first blog theme where I know I discussed print vs. digital and while I still somewhat agree, children do benefit in a variety of ways from tangible, material reference work, if they are never used in adulthood will they become less and less available until they are non-existent? 

 

Photo courtesy of www.talonx.xom

     In the SLJ article also entitled, "What is the Future of Reference," (Verma) some points were discussed that I had not considered before.  One, that physical resources are an equalizer. Even within our own school let alone in the bigger picture, many people, both kids and adults, still do not have personal access to the Internet. And two, that physical copies have shelf life. Albeit maybe a short one, but World Book VP Jon Gregory makes a good point in the article, "When some administrators and librarians have decided to back off print reference and buy online products, four or five years later, budgets are cut and they can no longer buy the online resource. If they had bought print, they’d have some shelf life. You have zero shelf life with 100 percent digital; when it’s cut off, you’ve got 100 percent of nothing" (Verma). 

         I guess it's a question that only time will tell, but hopefully this infographic of an American Forbes study is telling, that when it comes to reading perhaps there is a certain unknown factor or aesthetic, that makes us want to turn pages. 

 

Photo courtesy of http://adrenalineagency.com

 In the meantime, I'll keep shopping for those big books with beautiful pictures, that kids sit in groups to pour over, hoping that the day they're forced to huddle around a screen never comes!

 

Works Cited

Riedling, Ann Marlow, et al. Reference Skills for the School Librarian: Tools and Tips.3rd ed., California, 2013.

Verma, Henrietta. “What Is the Future of Reference?” School Library Journal, 22 Nov. 2013, www.slj.com/2012/06/industry-news/what-is-the-future-of-reference/.

Reference Service....How Could We do Better?

Assignment 3
Reference Service Evaluation

            Throughout this course I’ve come to realize that our reference collection is in a state of disarray and needs some refocusing and rethinking, and this assignment provides the perfect opportunity to do just that. Currently our general library collection contains many of the examples Riedling lists in our course texts, including encyclopedias, factbooks, handbooks, atlases, biographies and dictionaries, as well as many digital subscription-based reference databases and both physical and digital periodical subscriptions as well. The problem with our collection is not quantity but rather organization and utilization. The following evaluation outlines how I will improve our library’s reference service through a sizeable weeding, accumulation of specific new reference resources, integration of the reference collection and increased use of digital databases. Through these changes I hope that students will be more inclined to make use of physical resources, will be less inhibited or disinterested by outdated materials, and will more effectively conduct research both physically and digitally, all of which will improve learning outcomes.

            Our current reference section contains approximately 9 collections of encyclopedias and factbooks, stored sparsely on a shelf immediately when you walk in the door. I knew just from looking through titles that there was nothing newer than 2009, with some as old as 1987, and that nothing had been checked out in the four years I’ve been there. Nonetheless, I decided to run a collection report, and while this information only dates back a year due to new circulation software, it confirmed zero circulations. What did surprise me was that we have 185 items listed in our reference collection and probably less than 100 on the reference shelf.  This combined with the age of the collection, tells me I need to do a major weed both physically and digitally of items that are clearly no longer on our shelves. Riedling and many other weeding models suggests items such as encyclopedias be discarded after 5 years, with 10 years being a generous timeframe by few, which means everything in our reference section must go. 

            So then what comes next? I already know my budget will not allow for the purchase of new World Book sets nor do they fit with my library philosophies at this point as I find them cumbersome and limiting. But after finding some great new topic specific reference resources for our first assignment, such as the Kingfisher Space Encyclopedia, I know there is still a place for physical reference resources on our shelves. Therefore I would like to allocate a portion of my budget next year for topic and curriculum specific encyclopedias, with a focus on space, biographies, and the human body to fill gaps in our collection. I also need to update some high interest level materials such as our Guinness Book of World Records collection and the Minecraft handbooks. I think this deliberate boost in purchasing will improve my reference services by providing new and up to date materials that will motivate students to continue using print material and see the value of physical information.

            The next step is then where to house this new material. I’ve contemplated all year about integrating our reference section into the main collection as it is not a good use of physical space and with the whole section weeded, I think it provides an opportune time to incorporate new resources where they will be most searched for and circulated. The blog renovatedlearning.com reiterates all three of my reasons for wanting to make this shift, space, money and the digital shift. If I do not have the funds or desire to replace the entire existing collection, then by integrating resources I could remove an entire shelving unit, which then provides more learning space, creates a more open learning commons feel and could be used in the future for a variety of more innovative activities.  In a summary from an American Public Library chat group Libnet, such integration was discussed and for the most part was promoted, with the few drawbacks being that patrons might not notice non-circulatory stickers or that there was a higher chance of loss or theft. Neither of these disadvantages would apply to our school as I have yet to purchase anything I would not let the kids check out, and I likely wouldn’t be purchasing anything tremendously more expensive than other library materials. By doing so my hope is that students have an easier time searching for the information they need, as well as increasing the chance that they happen upon reference works they might not normally have seen because they are interested in a topic.

            Lastly, after being reminded through recent course discussion the expensive nature of our digital database subscriptions I’ve realized I’m not spending a proportionate amount of time teaching and implementing them comparative to their fraction of the budget. Because they are district purchased I may be taking for granted their importance in our programming and we have been informed before that subscriptions that are not frequently used will be subject to cancellation. Despite doing yearly tutorials for all grades and teachers, their application into every day research is still lacking, which tells me I need to work harder to make their use an innate part of inquiries. As Teacher-Librarian Wendy Stephens points out in Henrietta Verma’s School Library Journal article on the future of reference, “My biggest challenge in pushing students to better content is the teachers. I have so many teachers who are not the best types of searchers, who don’t have the best skills at identifying quality information,” (Verma). Perhaps it’s not just students who need more dedicated database time, maybe in the form of information quests or scavenger hunts, but teachers as well, so I plan to develop some lunch and learns or professional development activities. Efficient use of databases means less time students are looking for credible information as well as improved information skills and therefore richer learning opportunities. 

            While parts of this plan such as the weeding and database lessons could easily happen in the next few months, in order to fully execute the purchasing aspect, I will need to wait until next year’s budget is available. I think a brief outline and rationale to administration and staff will suffice for communication, as it is a completely unused section of our library. For my own follow up I think will still mark new reference materials as such, despite their integration so I can observe circulation statistics and monitor effectiveness of their placement. Overall I hope these four changes help to improve my reference services by creating a more user-friendly work space for students and teachers to find and make use of information. 

 

Works Cited

Canadian Association of School Librarians, Leading learning: Standards of practice for school library learning commons in Canada, 2014.

Rendina, Diana. “3 Reasons to Rethink Your Reference Section.” Renovated Learning, 26 Sept. 2014, www.renovatedlearning.com/2014/02/14/3-reasons-to-rethink-your-reference-section/.   Accessed March 10, 2018.

Riedling, Ann Marlow, et al. Reference Skills for the School Librarian: Tools and Tips. 3rd ed., California, 2013.

“Shelving Reference and Periodicals in the Main Body of the Collection.” May 2004. https://www.lrs.org/documents/field_stats/shelving_reference.pdf Accessed March 10, 2018.

Verma, Henrietta. “What Is the Future of Reference?” School Library Journal, 22 Nov. 2013, www.slj.com/2012/06/industry-news/what-is-the-future-of-reference/.

Rethinking Reference Resources

Assignment 2

Rethinking Reference Resources

            We are a large school, so true collaboration with every teacher in a year is often a hard target to meet. As a whole, our teaching community is a forward thinking, like minded group who works together well and frequently; however as with any large group there are several teachers still stuck in their ways, either from habit or from lack of knowledge on how to further their practice and their students learning. One example is a Gr. 7 teacher who I find uses technology for the sake of technology, and often sticks to very basic research strategies such as Google and power points. The other is a Gr. 3 teacher, who believes, erroneously in my opinion that her students are too young to effectively utilize digital inquiries and essentially only prepares booklets and signs out books for her students to perform research. I will examine what stage both these teachers are at using the Concerns Based Adoption Model (CBAM) and discuss what improved practices they may be comfortable with, which will unquestionably help to improve student learning and outcomes.

Gr. 7 Google Guru

            I worked with this teacher my first year in the position at my school when she approached me to “collaborate” on a biographies unit she had always done with the previous TL. I soon found out it was not really collaboration at all but her showing me the outline she wished the students to use to gather information from Google and then create a power point presentation. At the time I managed to convince her to at the very least allow me to do a brief lesson on critical and information literacy, how to find credible information and analyze websites. I don’t think her intention was to collaborate at all, but rather just to use the Library’s computer lab and since getting to know her better, I feel she uses technology as a learning outcome rather than a tool to find answers to their own inquiries. In terms of the CBAM I feel she is at the informational stage of concern, I don’t think she would take initiative on her own to implement new resources but would be open to learning about different methods if I were to approach her with ideas. 

Photo Courtesy of google.com

            In order to level up her teaching pedagogy I would start by having a conversation with her about how she seems to be spending a lot of time helping her kids, particularly her ELL students, find appropriate sites. I feel this would be an impactful observation as it addresses a challenge or concern that she may be having with her teaching style, rather than her students. I would then show her how multi-faceted and user friendly many of our subscription databases are; for example how many of them have articles, videos and images all at a student specific level, in-site citations or how often they have text-to-voice features which could help struggling readers or ELL students. Some specific examples I would provide her with would be National Geographic Kids, World Book Kids/Student and the Dictionary of Canadian Biographies.  I would make sure to note that these subscription-based digital reference resources are credible and reliable, so students will have to do much less analytic work and she can spend more individualized time with students who need support, rather than helping everyone sort through Google searches to find trustworthy and accessible information. Obviously these databases possess a finite amount of material so it will be important to point out to her that some students may not find what they are looking for and will need to do a broader open internet search. I feel that even if she could begin by getting students to always start with databases first before accessing general search engines it would be a pedagogical win and her students would have a much easier time acquiring data.

Gr. 3 Anti-Internet Instructor

            For this teacher, I’m really not sure if it’s a lack of confidence in her student’s abilities or if she just feels incapable of teaching them how to use technology effectively. In either case, a few quick lessons in the library would resolve both issues and hopefully create a whole new learning opportunity for her students. Thankfully she is open to collaboration, but up until this point has preferred that her own teaching methods used. I would say in terms of CBAM she hovers around stage 2 or 3 with regards to levels of concern, as I assume she is starting to find the copying and assembling of booklets and book curation a bit cumbersome. 

Photo Courtesy of orderofbusiness.net

            I would definitely engage her slowly so as to not overwhelm her with unfamiliar technology, by offering lessons to adapt her students’ final products to be digitized using iPad apps such as Book Creator or Explain Everything. I could then introduce her and her students to an online image reference resource such as Pixabay.com or Pics4learning.com. I would hope once she sees how quickly and easily her students become skilled at the iPads and how their work becomes more dynamic and valuable as a result, the next step would be to try and introduce a collaborative inquiry project. For this project I would then suggest supplementing her use of books with simple databases, such as the ones mentioned above, as well as kid friendly search engine reference sources such as KidRex.org or Sweetsearch.com. With any luck she would see how capable her students really are, as well as how little prep time is involved on her part once students understand the basics of information and digital literacy. I would also hope that she would see the positive impact it could have on not just her students’ work, but their digital and critical thinking skills as well. These types of technology skills that are new to teachers can be much easier to implement with assistance, so at first it may only be effective when applied in a collaborative setting, but I think with enough exposure to and experience with new digital reference resources it could become a part of her teaching methods.

Conclusion

            In summary, I think both these teachers are in a professional position of being open to change and with some guidance and support could bolster their teaching practice by using digital reference resources more effectively. By doing so, students would be much more engaged and have greater opportunity to improve their information literacy skills. Their access to high quality, credible information would advance learning outcomes and their new research processes would help to develop life long digital proficiency.

Works Cited

“The Concerns-Based Adoption Model (CBAM): A Model for Change in Individuals.” The National Academies, 2005, www.nationalacademies.org/rise/backg4a.htm.

Dictionary of Canadian Biographies, http://www.biographi.ca/en/

National Geographic Kids, natgeo.galegroup.com/natgeo/archive/home?p=NGMK&u=39sbo

World Book Online, http://www.worldbookonline.com/ewol/home

           

           

Information Specialists

As we shift into the digital age, the importance of also modifying our roles accordingly is becoming increasingly evident. While a common thought among many is that librarians are becoming irrelevant, if we consider ourselves to be information specialists (which we always have been), than it stands to reason that with exponentially more information available, our services are even more necessary. 

 Photo courtesy of makemark.co.uk

This theme highlighted this idea well, that libraries are no longer a place to house books but as the Leading Learning article articulates, a learning commons to facilitate knowledge, collaboration and creativity. We as Teacher-Librarians need to adapt our practice to cultivate numerous ways of finding information, digitally, physically, peer to peer, rather than just pointing to shelves and providing catalog training. Rather than making status quo purchasing, we need to stop and ask ourselves what information our students need and how can we best provide that? For me, I think this theme has made me realize that my reference collection as such is not serving a purpose. It is not used, it is outdated and I have not “managed” it well in the sense that I have kept many resources for reasons other than student use or intrinsic value. If I see no use in promoting these materials, directing students or teachers to them, or using them myself then why are they there? 

Photo courtesy of Amazon.com

Photo courtesy of Pixabay.com

Which is not to say, our reference collection couldn’t accomplish my goals of being accessible and relevant for learning queries with a little work, we have a lot of great reference resources that are integrated into our non-fiction collection, but looking at the big picture our small reference “section” is in fact weighing us down and taking up space. Moving forward particularly with purchasing, I think I will constantly be asking myself, “What would I be excited or proud to promote to our students and staff?” I actually enjoy teaching our students how to use databases; so many of them provide such a great amount of information with excellent imagery, videos, articles and supporting links. They have such great features such as text to speech, citation support, and search features. If our whole resource collection were resources I looked forward to sharing (so in my case, NOT encyclopedia sets) I feel I would be doing my job as an information specialist and resource promoter and learning facilitator, and the resources would be doing there’s, providing usable, relevant, accessible information for student learning. 

Works Cited

Canadian Library Association. (2014). Leading learning: Standards of practice for school Library learning commons in canada 2014. Retrieved from http://llsop.canadianschoollibraries.ca/ (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.

Evaluation of The World Book Encyclopedia of Science: Astronomy

 Assignment 1

Evaluation of The World Book Encyclopedia of Science: Astronomy

Part 1

            Since we’ve begun our learning on reference materials and the role they play and value they add to our library spaces, I have tried to start looking at my collection with new eyes. Knowing my outdated encyclopedia collection would no longer fit the bill of an acceptable resource I began my focus for this assignment there. Coincidentally, I was also recently allotted some funding outside my usual budget to begin replacing much of our space collection, so I chose the Astronomy volume of one of our World Book sets in the hopes of this assignment serving a practical purpose in my work place as well.  The criteria I used while evaluating were currency, relevancy, purpose and use of space, and curricular connections.

Currency

            The first flag for me that this item deserved evaluation was the copyright date. Being published in 2000, I knew it did not meet the currency criteria for either an encyclopedia or a science subject such as space. According to Riedling, print sources for both materials should be replaced after 5 years (pg. 24) and her recommendations are parallel with most library associations. Even being generous with a 10 year replacement date as some popular weeding methods such as CREW (pg. 34) would suggest for subject-based encyclopedias, this book still falls short.

            While skimming through this resource it was very clear that much has changed in astronomy since publication. In it, Pluto is still considered a planet, information about life on other planets is sorely lacking and outdated and the technology that has become so vital for space exploration is non-existent. Even most students would be able to identify a great deal of information in this book that is missing, incorrect or no longer relevant.

Relevancy, Purpose and Use of Space

            While the topic of space is still very valid in terms of subject matter, many factors of this particular book such as vocabulary, reading level and knowledge base deem it irrelevant for our use. It’s pages are highly dense with small font text and it’s reading level would likely be much more appropriate for high school or beyond. The vocabulary is highly scientific and would not be useful for our mostly ESL elementary population. 

 

            In terms of space and purpose, because it is located in our reference section and not the astronomy section of our non-fiction collection, our digitally adept students never come across it in their catalog or subject searches. Meaning it sits and collects dust with the rest of encyclopedias and takes up space, which could be used for newer and more accessible resources.

Curricular Connections

            Although astronomy as a subject still has strong ties to our new curriculum, the out datedness of this book means it curricular connections are no longer as strong as they may have been in the past. Today’s space curriculum is heavily focused on Indigenous perspectives and mythology as well as space exploration technologies, which have changed exponentially in the 18 years since this book was written. No longer do students just need to know the basics of the planets and phases of the moon, but they must be cognizant of current events and the newest discoveries so they can be preparing for jobs and creating technology for the future of space.

Rubric

            Using the rubric I created below (shaded sections evaluative of this title), it’s fairly clear that this book must be discarded. I don’t think that each box can be weighted equally with significance however, as I believe the fact that that it is 18 years old is reason enough to deselect from the collection, but the rubric is a helpful guide nonetheless for looking at some of my other reference material as well.

Reference Material Rubric
	Below Standard	Acceptable	Above Standard
Currency	Source and it’s information is older than 5 years	Source and it’s information is 2-5 years old	Source and it’s information is 0-2 years old
Relevancy	Source is a subject with no student or teacher interest or is inappropriate for library grade level	Source is a subject with some student or teacher interest, may or may not include digital features, not widely circulated	Source generates high student or teacher interest, includes digital features, circulated often
Purpose	Source is unclear, beyond scope of learner, or difficult to use for research purposes	Source provides students with a fair amount of clear, comprehensible and usable information for research purposes	Source provides a wealth of in depth, accessible information, accompanied with imagery for research purposes
Curricular Connection	Source contains little to no components of curriculum	Source contains many connections to curriculum	Source directly connects to curriculum, across numerous grade levels

Part 2

            As a replacement resource I would definitely consider World Book Online as an exemplary substitution, however we already possess an online subscription so I focused my search on a print resource. I also condiered just using the newer edition of World Book’s space series entitled, “Out of This World,” but I was unable to find a publication date for it, the titles were solely focused on space technology and the cost for an entire series of encyclopedias, $219 plus tax and shipping, is not currently in my budget.

            Instead I started with United Library Service, which is where I do much of our purchasing. I searched for Space Encyclopedias with publication dates from the last year and came across several, but settled on the Kingfisher Space Encyclopedia by Dr. Mike Goldsmith. I chose this one for several reasons, first it was visually appealing, Kingfisher is a reputable publisher of children’s non-fiction, and more importantly this book was marked a ULS Choice item, meaning it was recommended by the company and was also categorized under “BC Science 2,3,4,5.” The categorization was most important to me because ULS creates lists that are “Professionally selected K-12 titles based on “Big Ideas” and “Curricular Competencies” described in the new BC curriculum.” So even without being able to skim through every page, I feel confident that the information will be a useful supplement for curricular connections. I also prefer this to the newer World Book set because as mentioned above, it can be integrated into our space section rather than our endangered reference section, allowing students easier access and making it more purposeful.  

 

 Photo Courtesy of Amazon.com

            In terms of authenticity, the author has a PhD in astrophysics, which presumably makes the information credible and reliable. The recommended age for this book on several sites including Amazon is 7 and up or Gr. 2-6, which works well for both our primary’s and intermediate’s as well as our many intermediate ELL students. In the publisher’s synopsis, it states that it is “arranged thematically into key areas, the concise text is clear, accurate…” (Amazon) suggesting it would be highly usable for young children. It also depicts beautiful imagery and photography as well as a list of accompanying appropriate websites, which is a highly beneficial feature as then students have access to both print and digital resources as a result. There are several disadvantages to this book however, one being that although it’s 160 pages it does not cover as much material as the original Encyclopedia I’m replacing. Although perhaps that can also be seen as a positive if it’s only supplying age appropriate topics. And lastly the other drawback of this resource is that I was unable to find it library bound or even hard cover anywhere, all of my purchasing outlets (Kidsbooks, ULS, Permabound et al.) only carried it in trade paperback, which is not ideal for libraries and high circulations resources. That being said it is available with school discount through Permabound.com for only $15.46, which makes it a very appealing replacement.

            Overall, I believe this book would be considered above standard on the rubric above and I think the visual appeal, price, usability, relevancy and curricular support that it would provide makes it a valuable addition to our library reference collection. 

 

Works Cited

            Amazon.com https://www.amazon.ca/Kingfisher-Space-Encyclopedia-Mike-Goldsmith/dp/0753473534/ref=sr_1_10?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1517550600&sr=1-10&keywords=space+encyclopedia Accessed Jan. 30.

            CREW: A Weeding Manual for Modern Libraries. https://www.tsl.texas.gov/sites/default/files/public/tslac/ld/pubs/crew/crewmethod08.pdf Accessed Jan. 30.

            Goldsmith, Mike. The Kingfisher Space Encyclopedia. Kingfisher Books, 2017.

            Out of This World. World Book. https://www.worldbook.com/out-of-this-world.aspx. Accessed Jan. 30.

            Permabound. https://www.perma-bound.com/ViewDetail/5903178-the-kingfisher-space-encyclopedia Accessed Jan. 30.

            Riedling, Ann Marlow, et al. Reference Skills for the School Librarian: Tools and Tips. 3rd ed., California, 2013.

            United Library Service. https://www.uls.com Accessed Jan. 30.

            Vancouver Kidsbooks. https://www.kidsbooks.ca/?searchtype=keyword&qs=kingfisher+space+encyclopedia&qs_file=&q=h.tviewer&using_sb=status&qsb=keyword Accessed Jan. 30^.

           

Gone are the encyclopedia's!

Often times while talking with friends or family I get the question, "You're a school Librarian....so what do you do?" While some think it's merely a circulation job, the topic of job relevance in the digital age often comes about. To which I now reply that Librarians have always helped students search for information, yes it used to be in books or Encyclopedia's (or dare I say microfiche?) and yes now things are much more digitized, but the job description remains the same. 

 

Photo courtesy of American Association of School Librarians

As discussed throughout this first theme, the foundation of any research model is information or reference material. It seems quite evident that with the digital shift happening exponentially in the world around us, reference works are no exception.  Much print information is outdated, sometimes even by the time of publishing, including even reference books on reference books as is evidenced by our text book, Reference Skills for the School Library Media Specialist: Tools and Tips (Riedling)! In my opinion the authors examples of reference materials are outdated, including CD-Roms and several of the few links I explored are not even existent anymore. So why not shift wholly to online sources?

One reflection piece in this theme asked if we possessed bias for either digital or print sources, which made me pause and consider. Ultimately I lean heavily towards online research with most of our intermediate students and think many formats of physical reference work are no longer relevant. We have no VHS, very few DVD’s, most of our maps and physical pieces have been discarded and our Encyclopedia’s need to be, but I believe we still have a very solid reference section; it just looks much different than in the school libraries I grew up with.

Much of the reference work I purchase is now in a more relevant and accessible format. We have a large collection of non-fiction picture books and readers, series of books about force and motion or animal adaptations all in graphic novel format, multi-lingual dictionaries and picture dictionaries. I’m trying to ensure that the reference material we do have is used, which means it must be as appealing as going online, and it must be at levels that our young and highly ELL population can actually understand. 

Photos courtesy of Worldbook.com

I probably won’t ever purchase another set of Encylopedia’s. I believe they’re just too expensive and limiting for student needs. But that doesn’t mean that print references are obsolete, they too just need to be adapted!

Works Cited

Riedling, A. Reference Skills for the School Library Media Specialist: Tools and Tips, 2nd Edition. Linworth Books, 2005.