LIBE 465: Assignment #1

I feel it is very important to revisit your vision of what it means to be an effective TL as your gain new knowledge and experiences. From experience I have found it is easier to set short and long term goals and be able to prioritize your tasks when you have an articulated vision of what you want to accomplish. Being a reflective practitioner requires that you look at what you do, why you do it, evaluate how effective you are and question if there is a way of doing it better.

Experiencing LIBE 465 has provided the opportunity for me to connect many more dots in terms of how I see my role as a TL.  As a TL I feel that my main purpose is to provide and increase access to relevant and varied resources that will support student learning and provide the opportunity to help students develop information literacy skills.  Ultimately, I hope to be able to provide resources and experiences that will help students make meaning of their world and provide them with the ability to access resources and information to navigate and meet their information needs in the future. 

Through reading Loertscher’s article “The School Library Learning Commons” I found it helped set the stage about deconstructing our current/historical practices and re-evaluating them through the lens of why we do what we do and can it be done better. With the potential that the internet offers with respect to the enormous quantity of information and variety of resources available and the social mediums developed to provide collaboration and collation the question if we can  do things better is almost certainly – yes! 

For me have been a few overarching concepts which have emerged throughout this course.  Firstly, the continuous and significant changes in the opportunities that the digital world can offer layers another level of necessity for a constant reflection of how we provide access and ensuring it is relevant and effective for our students.  Most significantly, participation in this course has broadened my understanding of how the organization of resources both in house and digitally can have a profound effect upon my ability to increase access to resources that are relevant and useful to support student learning.  Examples of such organizational tools that allow for the streamlining of resources would be utilizing and maximizing the school library’s webpage, developing digital mini-libraries, and social bookmarking.  Each of which can be built  resulting in a rich, diverse (varied formats), current collection which would be relevant for students and support them in their learning and development of information literacy skills as they are gently guided to rich resources and are encouraged to use the varied materials in order to make meaning for themselves.  Organizing information and resources so that you harness the potential of the internet in that the information is available 24/7 from anywhere that has an internet connection certainly allows for increased access in terms of availability and in breadth and depth of resources available for students and teachers, which has changed my focus with respect to directing my attention to providing increased access to the digital world.

There have been several events throughout this course which have had a direct impact upon my learning and practice as a TL.  Struggling with the cataloguing using AACR2 and MARC records provided the information to better understand  standards and importance of standards in records.  In addition, the appreciation of adding extra information that would be valuable to my school community in order to increase the likelihood that they would be able to assess the relevancy of a particular resource and conduct more effective and efficient searches was very beneficial to me and a practice which I immediately put into practice using the 520 and 650 taglines.  The document “Accessing Information Cataloguing Guidelines for Manitoba and Saskatchewan School Library Personnel” will continue to be useful when cataloguing resources in formats other than text.

The discussion forum was extremely helpful during the preparation for assignment #2.  Reading about other students struggles with the material, helped me stick with the process because I didn’t feel I was the only one confused, and somewhat overwhelmed.  It was this camaraderie that enabled me to keep working at it, and reading others contribution sometimes help clarify ideas that were being presented in the readings.  This experience illustrates from me the importance of integrating this type of learning for our own students by developing a blog for course work which could serve as a venting and sharing medium to help support learning. 

In addition, I had not developed a website before assignment #2 and gauging the positive comments from our discussion forum about using Weebly, I decided it was worth the try and if I got in over my head there was support from other students and the professor.  Again, a valuable experience to bring to my students; when facing a challenge, or a very new task, students (of all ages), need to feel they will be supported and that their struggles are not unique to them alone.  It is the step by step guidance that can make the difference between working through the struggle or giving up. 

Throughout the course, there were many websites that I have archived that I will continue to use and refer to in my everyday practice.   Documents which I found particularly useful were “Evaluating, Selecting and Acquiring Learning Resources:  A Guide”, and “Achieving Information Literacy:  Standards for School Library Programs in Canada”, both were very practical and offered guidelines and principles to help form an informed vision of what it means to be an effective TL.

I would rate my participation in this course very good in that, I actively engaged with the learning modules through the notes and readings, and the discussion forum as I tried to integrate new ideas with my experience into my practice.  It often took me longer to process the new ideas than the course calendar outlined, but that simply was a result of the depth from which I tried to understand and make meaning of new ideas and strategies introduced.  All of which has helped me provide better and increased access to relevant resources for my students.

As a result of this course, I have acquired the ability and confidence to develop a web-site, create and maintain a blog, use social bookmarking as well as have a better appreciation of metadata and how this affects searching skills.  I feel I am better equipped to help my students access information efficiently and effectively; provide venues for students to critically and competently use resources;  help them search for relevant resources that support their learning and have meaning for them personally.

I feel it is important to assess regularly how our learning resource centre (LRC) meets the needs of the students and teachers in my school.  I liked the idea of gathering information (perhaps through a form or survey) that focuses on how students and teachers would rate their ability to access resources and what barriers or challenges they may face.  Without really getting inside your users heads it is hard to try to make any kind of effective changes if you are not really sure what the barriers may be – the barriers may be ones you may never think of yourself!  Keeping that in mind, there are certainly things which are obvious that as a TL you can do to encourage and increase the ability to access resources.  Attention to the organization of your materials (automated system directs you to the appropriate section) and sections are created in the library for the patrons to have easy access to the resources.  In our library we have a magazine section and a mobile shelving unit for new fiction that is housed by a informal seating area, we have a combination of table and chair arrangements (allowing for individual, small and large group work), as well a reference section, career center, NL section, smart board area, circulation area, professional development section for teachers, as well as a backroom for AV equipment, we also have an area with a screen and projector for student ppt presentations, invited speakers, showing movies and general internet usage for class purposes.  Our signage and I bulletin boards (changed at least once a semester) are reviewed and updated yearly.

Flexibility, flow, functionality (resources are able to be located and relevant) and flair is what I try to bring to the library – I try to make it inviting using many art projects from the past (masks and drawings) to be displayed on the walls and on the tops of shelves as well as plants.  Creating various sections and choices involving furniture placement and arrangement creates a more efficient flow while decisions about the placement of various sections and types of shelving and furniture used impacts the ability for flexibility when it comes for usages of the library.  Quiet study, guest speakers, webcast events, movie screenings, crisis response caring center, parent & teacher meetings as well as professional development sessions all have taken place here.  I love the fact that we can move from a student presentation, to a recess event, back to teachers using Youtube videos in their lessons, and then have a dinnertime “career cafe” presentation dinnertime, resource-based lesson, and preparation for 35+ staff meeting all happening the one day in the LRC -  it has happened! Our LRC is certainly at the hub of our school – and as such it is always evolving and I try to make the physical changes needed to keep up with the ever changing demands.   Flexibility, flow, functionality and flair!! My mantra!

                                                                                                                                                 

Physical changes are always happening in the LRC to meet the ever changing needs and possibilities that are proposed by my administration, teachers and students.  We are currently getting ready to move to a brand new school (September 2014) and I will certainly use the recommendations from “Achieving Information Literacy”’ as outlined in Lesson 13 and my own experience as a TL as a solid guide and focus when it comes to planning for our new space.  This course has been very timely for me personally.

For now, my biggest challenge and “reno” will be of the technology nature... website and creating mini-digital libraries for various subject areas and previous vertical file topics.  The expenditures for this will mainly be of a time nature, however, the beauty of this  - is that it can travel with us to our new school!

I feel the necessity of a homepage for a school library continues to increase as directly as we integrate technology into our everyday lives.  When considering the issue of access and our demand for instant and relevant information in most aspect of our lives, our students should expect no less from their primary academic institution.  Whether it is to do banking, looking up restaurant menus, public swims, recipes, music lyrics or information about any other topic that is of interest to us – access to the internet and knowing where to go to get the information we need is part of our daily experience either from a stationary computer, portable tablet or smart phone.  Whether the access is available in homes, schools, public libraries, coffee shops and many WI-FI wireless areas our students today are part of the first generation (since about the mid-nineties) that have had the power of the internet part of their lives and culture from birth.  Whether is it the fact that our students have seen their parents and teachers steadily increase their use and reliance on the internet to meet the needs of daily life or as they themselves use the internet to carry out daily functions (social comm., info. searches, games, etc.) there is no dispute that here in Canada the integration of technology (internet and the access it provides) is part of most people’s everyday life.  Now off my soapbox.

Your library’s webpage can be a tailored, safe, reliable and scaffolded means through which students can access information that meet curriculum needs, and help them gain a general understanding of the world around them and other valuable resources that can help them make meaning of and understand their world.  Through a webpage a TL is not only able to increase access to relevant information for their school community but also is able to provide opportunity to develop information literacy skills as students are encouraged and supported to locate and use relevant information.  From this vision, I do not see the issue of grade levels or size of school impacting the need for a homepage, however, how it will be organized, and the linkages included should be appropriate and relevant to the age group it serves.

Most important elements of an attractive, usable school library homepage would be interesting and relevant graphics, clear organization of components, and current information are all important parts of a website that would encourage usage.  But most of all I feel the information contained in the website should serve a need – the student should find it useful – otherwise they will not waste their time to visit it!

A few things that I would consider essential components of a webpage – or if you will the starting point would be:

. Being part of the bigger school homepage and the library website should be designed with the specific needs and interests of the users in mind. 

. Remote access to our OPAC, and our licensed on-line databases, e-journals.

. Linkages to other local public libraries, university library and news agencies. 

. Course specific resources, information literacy skills tutorials.

. New additions or program initiatives in the LRC (graphic novel club, etc.).

. Community groups for volunteering, museums, culture groups.

. LRC hours of operation, policies.

. Opportunity to converse with the TL for queries, ideally a blog but at the very least the availability of email.

As with many of the decisions we make as TLs and how best to use our time (and how much time) really needs to be driven by what we see or vision as our role as a TL.  Personally, I am committed to increasing access to information that is relevant for my school community which encompasses mainly my students and teachers.  Harnessing the power of resources available on the internet allows me to provide a wide breadth and depth of resources which due to housing and budget I would never be able to do in the confines of just four walls.  Providing an organized way of presenting this information, and designing a categorization of these resources to facilitate an ease of use, to a large number of my students when they need it (24/7) can be accomplished through a website – and therefore I would see this initiative as being a very worthwhile use of my time to meet the goals of my role as TL.

Effectiveness of my OPAC system - Athena


My resource center is different from most other schools in my district, and in fact the province, in that we use Athena as our OPAC system versus the others who use Library Pro. Historically, this evolved because the well trained and visionary TL (who I replaced when she retired), advocated for the system despite its comparative expense at the time.

She did a lot of background checking and reviewed the features of Athena for its flexibility, ease of use by TL and patrons, its ongoing tech. support, and useful applications and was successful in convincing the administration of its value in terms of library management and its ease of use by students and teachers to access resources.  The following features show how Athena's flexibility and power enhance library management and organization which in turn promotes through ease of use the resources available and patron's level of comfort accessing them.  

Athena offers flexibility in setting various loan periods, ease in overriding due dates if necessary, as well a clear and easy to navigate menu system. In addition, Athena is extremely forgiving in that if you make changes you can view the changes before making it a global change (this has saved me more than once when I was learning the system). Athena can print numerous reports such as overdue items and circulation & collection statistics. Patron photographs can be imported into Athena. Searches can occur anywhere that has an internet connection, although we have not tapped into this option yet as we did have out on-line database accessible from home and was promoting this option for outside of school time. 
Quick and advanced searches are options using author, title of subject. Visual and icon-based search tools are also available. MARC records are easily downloaded, z39.50 option is available, and barcode and spine label printing is very straightforward.

One of my most favorite aspects of Athena is that it allowed multiple collection management, so that you can create sub-sets of your main collection. An example of where this is an advantage is when we received grade 9's for the first time this year... all of their materials were catalogued in a separate collection which could be accessed by anyone but for the purposes of keeping these records separate (as the grade 9's are expected to go to another school next year) is possible. Also when downloading MARC records for new resources, it is possible to work in a temporary collection, add notes, edit and see what you have before transferring it to the main collection.

The icon for Athena is found on all desktops in the school so that students and teachers can access what resources are in our resource center from anywhere in the building - great for encouraging access.

It is interesting the number of errors other TL have reported when managing their systems when using Library Pro, whereas I have rarely had to use my on-going (paid for yearly) software tech. support.

I am very grateful to have such a powerful and flexible OPAC system, the cost today ranges from $2495 - $3955. 
Athena offers flexibility and therefore can be responsive to the needs of students and teachers as well as being powerful in its numerous applications and management capabilities. Clear menus and a "back" features always allows the user to move easily through the various menus and is very clean in terms of visual appeal. 

As I read about what one should consider as criteria for a OPAC I would certainly rank Athena as very high in terms or flexibility and power, ease of use, and visual appeal. The cost was high but I guess this has to be balanced out with what you are getting, what competitors are offering at the time, and the priorities/vision you and your school admin. have for providing optimal access to resources.

Reflective thoughts with respect to my own practise

Access (Intellectual, Physical, Digital) is affected by organization, TL time allocation and training, skills and strategies that the students are able to avail of (taught and able to implement), physical and technological circumstances.

Learning commons article.... PD does occur.... link initiatives with school development team.  Loertscher article our hub of activity, exhibits best teaching and learning (Remembrance Day, Culture days, Bell Island project and reception) PD always takes place there... emphasis as a school placed on the importance of reading and writing across the curriculum - ownership and importance placed on by all staff and TL seen as a leader within school and as a resource support for professional development - raising the importance placed on the role and how it can benefit all.

Access and internet filters.

Many strategies used in DI would be used if implemented through RBL

Evaluation strategies for resources  and the importance of social considerations

Access and resources:  Books, videos, cameras, projectors, on-line databases, display cases, bulletin boards, professional development sections, magazine subscriptions, website, stacks, .

Projectors for ppt presentations.
Orientation to  LRC - Athena system and public library system

Time needed to build relationships with teachers for planning and time to work with students to work on information skills and strategies to deal with the overwhelming amount of information which is available.

Organized sections of lrc (group and individual areas, career, reference, Newfoundland, computers, pd section, presentation section and set-up, times available to use)

Document lrc usage, equipment and resource request... year end report

Importance of ongoing communication and support from administration, and consultation with department heads and department meetings re planning and resource selection.  Staff meetings - LRC standing item - brings resources to staff's attention, opportunity to discuss issues, initiatives or opportunities with staff.

Determine the need for a learning resource committee if other things are in place.

The level of accessibility that exists in your lrc is integrally related to the ease of use and one definite aspect of this is organization of resources.

Public libraries initiatives and on-line resources (databases, e-books)

NIE initiative,  museum, plays, speakers, career cafe, womens film festival showings, graphic novel club with interns.  science paper and writing - alternative perspectives.

Possibility to link to homework through planning with teachers to post resources available to students - market what they can avail of in a site that they and their parents use.

The understanding of the usefulness of authority control has certainly been emphasized throughout this lesson. Having subject headings allows searchers to share the same language and as such should enhance access.
Being introduced to social bookmarking was very interesting and something that I can see great potential for in sharing resources with teachers and curriculum topics with students. Being able to share your findings with others so that they and you have access from either the school or home computer is great. It is also nice to be able to create your own tags and add brief description to serve as a reminder/introduction about the content of each of the sites.
I played around with delicious.com and registered. I found it a little frustrating to add links it didn't always work - so I guess I need to use the site a bit more to get the hang of it. My site containing my stack about resources on social entrepreneurship was www.delicious.com/stacks/view/GsnHF7 - hope you can view it. 
Social bookmarking is definitely something I would like to explore more of both professionally and personally. I see great potential for sharing among a staff wide account for resources members of our staff have found that would be relevant professional development material.

I was really intrigued by the concept of censorship and search engine results, and for that matter any mechanism that chooses the information that you have access to. 
Which I think brings us to the pivotal point as TLs that we must be aware of and fluent in the strengths and limitations of the various sources of information we use and subsequently promote/teach with our students. 
The more current and critically informed we are the better able we are to facilitate the transfer of these skills to our students so that they have increased access and mitigate the effects of intentional or unintentional censorship. 

From a teaching perspective I now appreciate the significance of understanding how to retrieve the most useful/relevant information - is a form of organization of resources and this is important because it ultimately increases access for students.

So, as much as I want to resist becoming somewhat of a "techie" it is important in order to be effective as a TL who envisions their role as facilitating access and providing opportunity for students to use and make meaning of the information they retrieve that I understand the scope and nuances of digital technology.