Into the world of the Teacher-Librarian and reference services

For me, Theme One: The Foundation to Reference Services has been a great introduction to the world of a teacher-librarian (TL). It has been exciting to go into the elementary school libraries where I substitute teach to see the similarities and the differences across the district. I've also come to appreciate the influence that the TL has in shaping her surroundings and to compare them to what I have been learning and the issues that I have been grappling with so far in the course.  

I have really enjoyed reading the Leading Learning document and the BCTLA's document From School Library to Library Learning Commons. It is exciting to think that the library is the hub of the school where critical literacy and thinking skills are being taught to equip the students for a lifetime of learning.  I am eager to continue learning in this course and to eventually have my own library in which to apply my new-found knowledge and my evolving thoughts on the matter of reference services:

• If I had my own library, I would definitely incorporate the Points of Inquiry Process in my collaborative work with teachers and students, as it aligns itself most closely with the BC curriculum. In the meantime, I will attempt to use this process more often and be more cognizant of it while teaching in the primary classroom. Currently, I teach grade 1/2, so I can see myself using the following scholastic education visual with the students:

• The evaluation process of a reference resource is rigorous and I learned a lot about it through Riedling, ERAC and the CRAAP test. I also found the outside article "Crying over Spilled Milk" to be very practical. It was really helpful to read about the funding and collection guidelines in Achieving Information Literacy. It was a wonderful exercise to see how the real libraries in some of our BC schools stacked up. 

• It was also eye-opening to see how quickly trends take hold, and I am interested to see how they affect the next generation of students and their learning as the ERIC survey  pointed out. I conducted an informal survey with grade 9 Science and grade 12 Biology students, while substituting in a high school for the first time class last week. It was interesting to see the awareness that the students had been taught with regard to using the internet for research and what their personal inclinations were. Although I am well aware that this survey is by no means conclusive, I am heartened to see that there is a trend to critical literacy. The grade 9's relied more heavily on more traditional means of gathering reference information, citing teachers, textbooks and reputable magazines. They were critical of using the internet, as it posed credibility risks, but were not entirely sure which sites to use. The grade 12's cited the internet as their first place to do research; however, they were aware of the credibility risks, could cite numerous reputable sites to do their research and knew how to check the credibility of a source.

• It has been a steep learning curve for me, personally, as I learn the newest technologies of the digital world and come to the realization what sorts of opportunities these technologies give to the teaching world generally and the library reference services specifically. I was very interested in the discussion on crowd-sourced references and Wikipedia. I read an interesting article on this:  In the 'pre-digital library days' a user did not expect to go to a library and have a simple information transaction. They wanted the information but they also wanted to discuss with the librarian (or any other user) what they thought of the latest novel they had just read, the results of their research, what else they know about steam locomotives that was not in the book they just read, or the error they just found in your card catalogue.(...) When libraries first started delivering digital resources all these social interactions were taken away from users and they simply got an information transaction by downloading content. It has taken libraries a while to realise that users still want more than a simple information transaction and they want the same and more social interactions than they had in the 'pre-digital' days. In our digital library world they want to: review books, share information, add value to our data by adding their own content, add comments and annotations and 'digital post-its' to e-books, correct our data errors, and converse with other users. And now they are telling us they can do even more, they can organise themselves to work together to achieve big goals for libraries and make our information even more accessible, accurate and interesting."

• The print versus digital references debate is intriguing. I am not quite sure yet where I stand on that. While the world becomes more digital, is print reference material going to be obsolete in the near future? I think I would still put some of my budget towards good print references for several reasons:

1. technology is not fail safe nor always accessible; it's always good to have a back-up
2. electronic sources may not be appropriate or easy to navigate for all ages. It is a valuable skill to learn to navigate the electronic world; however, younger children may not be developmentally ready for this task, as Riedling points out on page 13. The grade 1/2s that I teach are interested in doing research on the internet; however, they prefer to have a book in their hands to look at the pictures and turn the pages. Perhaps it is less overwhelming and, at their age, still more engaging for them.
3. I wonder if there is an argument to be made that some experiences are worth having for emotional, cultural or intellectual reasons. An example that comes to mind is: opening up a print map and learning to find a location or calculate a route, rather than having Google Maps do it for you.

It is exciting to think that reference services, although dealing with factual material, are so dynamic. It seems to have a very social and interpersonal nature to it if the service is delivered well by the TL. A large part is about collaboration on many levels and meeting the needs of the individual patrons to get them to think critically and make meaning for themselves and to "protect and strengthen their self-concept" (Riedling, p 100).

Bibliography:

   Asselin, Marlene, Jennifer L. Branch, and Dianne Oberg. Achieving Information Literacy: Standards for School Library Programs in Canada. Ottawa: Canadian School Library Association, 2003. Print

   Dickinson, Gail. "Crying over Spilled Milk." Library Media Connection 23.7 (Apr/May 2005): 24-26. Web. 22 Jan. 2017. <Library Media Connection; Apr/May 2005, Vol. 23 Issue 7, p24>.

   "EPIC Online Survey of College Students: Executive Summary." EPIC Online Survey of College Students: Executive Summary. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Jan. 2017.

   From School Library to Library Learning Commons. N.p.: Bctla, May 2014. PFD.

   Holley, Rose. "Crowdsourcing: How and Why Should Libraries Do It?"Crowdsourcing: How and Why Should Libraries Do It? D-Lib Magazine, Mar.-Apr. 2010. Web. 23 Jan. 2017.

   Inquiry Process, Scholastic Education, February 2014, http://education.scholastic.ca/images/SCH/enewsletter/feb2014_images/inquiry-process-poster-k-1.pdf

   Riedling, Ann Marlow, Loretta Shake, and Cynthia Houston. Reference Skills for the School Librarian: Tools and Tips. Santa Barbara, CA: Linworth, an Imprint of ABC-CLIO, LLC, 2013. Print.

 Canadian Libraries Association. Leading learning: Standards of practice for school library learning commons in Canada. Ottawa, ON: Canadian Libraries Association.