Reference Services: Are We There Yet? (Theme 2 Reflection)

The Big Question:

In terms of the reference services journey for my school Library, I've had to ask myself, 

"Are we there, yet?" 

                          Laden, Nina and Adam McCauley, illustrator. Are We There Yet?. 1st ed. San Francisco: Chronicle Books, 2016. Print.              

                                                   Santat, Dan. Are We There Yet?. 1st ed. New York: Little, Brown, and Co., 2016. Print.

The Answer?

"No. We're on our way, but have a long way to go...at least the driver has a map now (or, Google maps, as the case may be)."


Reflections On Where I'm At and Where I'm Going

Theme 2 of the LIBE 467 course has had me fully evaluate reference materials and my performance in using and promoting reference materials with staff and students.

When I look at something like Joyce Valenza's Manifesto for 21st Century Teacher Librarians, I'm hugely inspired, but also massively terrified. A long way to go indeed!

The realities of time (and attempting to have a life outside the job) mean that we can't accomplish everything we aspire to in one year. Thus, it is necessary to have a longer-range plan. I tried to set myself a five-year plan. This was the school year where I was supposed to properly assess and work on my reference materials collection and promote information literacy via direct instruction and team-teaching. That is why I planned to take this course now. Putting reference and info-lit goals in year three of my plan was also timed to coincide with the second year of having ERAC digital database bundles available (in SD33) with the bugs worked out (it took more than a year to get all parties to agree to create one simple login/password combo for all of the databases, rather than the insanity of at least four different unmemorable combos).

The actual print reference materials in my Library have been whittled down to four small shelf sections. They were too outdated, neglected, and too costly to replace; plus, as I reinvigourated other collections (picture books, non-fic, novels, and graphic novels), I ran into space issues. The best solution seemed to be to start concentrating on digital reference resources.

My Goals for Reference Services and Resources

The goal over the remainder of this school year, and the first half of the next one will be to collate, annotate, and promote links to free high-quality online digital reference materials. I'll need to make a page on the Library site that does this efficiently. Part of my plan is to pitch this to my Chilliwack Teacher Librarians' Association on Monday afternoon. I'm sure we can get a committee together to work on this, especially in our districts after school collaboration sessions. Many hands make light work!

In the meantime, I'll continue my current mission to increase team-teaching around using the database bundles available to our students, teaching internet searching skills, and teaching the importance of crediting image sources (not just text sources). The fact that Genius Hour and similar inquiry movements are currently popular is really helping this goal along: more teachers are seeking me out now, rather than me going out and trying to connect with everyone.

It is indeed vital that we Teacher-Librarians lead the way in making sure that our students can find, interpret, and use information in an efficient and responsible way. I feel it is my responsibility to ensure my students do become information literate:

"The American Library Association (2006) describes information-literate individuals as 'those who have learned how to learn. They know how to learn because they know how knowledge is organized, how to find information, and how to use information in such a way that others can learn from them. They are people prepared for lifelong learning, because they can always find the information needed for any task or decision at hand.' The abilities to access, comprehend, use, and evaluate information have become the skills people must develop in order to function in our current world (Reidling, 7-8)."

                                      Comic found online: https://goo.gl/images/3suLIi

When looking at standards set out in Achieving Information Literacy, my Library is currently Below Standard for both print and digital reference material. I believe that I'll be able to fairly quickly upgrade the digital resources to Acceptable, and maybe even move toward Exemplary, in the near future given my goals mentioned earlier.

On the issue of print reference materials, though, I'm not so sure I'll even get to Acceptable due to the constraints that led me to shrink that collection down in the first place. Although, after I get my digital reference material straightened away, I might then be able to devote more of my budget to looking at getting the numbers of physical print reference materials into the collection. Yet, I really shouldn't do so unless I have a real plan to use them, and use them often. We do have to be wary of purchasing expensive materials just meet a standard, check off a box on a checklist, but then not actually promoting the relevant use of those resources; we don't want them sitting uselessly on a shelf.

                                                           Comicfound online: https://goo.gl/images/ZE4fGu

References:

Asselin, Marlene, Jennifer L Branch, and Dianne Oberg. Achieving Information Literacy: Standards For School Library Programs In Canada. 1st ed. Ottawa: Canadian School Library Association, 2003. http://www.accessola2.com/SLIC-Site/slic/ail110217.pdf

BCERAC. "Evaluating, Selecting, And Acquiring Learning Resources: A Guide". British Columbia Educational Resource Acquisition Consortium. N.p., 2017. Web. 29 Jan. 2017.

Kesler, Chris. "What Is Genius Hour?". Genius Hour. March 29, 2013. Web. 19 Feb. 2017. http://www.geniushour.com/what-is-genius-hour/

Reidling, Ann, Loretta Shake, and Cynthia Houston. Reference Skills For The School Librarian: Tools And Tips. 3rd ed. Linworth, 2013. Kindle e-book: http://www.amazon.ca/kindlebooks

Valenza, Joyce Kasman. "Manifesto For 21st Century Teacher Librarians | Teacher Librarian". Teacherlibrarian.com. October, 2010. Web. 19 Feb. 2017. http://teacherlibrarian.com/2011/05/01/manifesto-for-21st-century-teacher-librarians/