Reflection on Learning

I have learned a lot in our course from class discussions, course readings and the assignments. Having only been a "regular" classroom teacher until very recently, I very much appreciated all of the technical aspects of the library side of the job. This class provided me with some good foundational knowledge with which I can and will apply in my new job. It was a big learning curve and not without its frustrations but has been well worth the effort!

I will be honest in saying that I found the content in this course challenging; relevant absolutely, but challenging. I think a large part of my struggle is the up until recently (just the last three weeks) I had never worked as a TL before. With the weekly readings for example, I could always see how they were relevant but found it difficult to connect with them on a practical level as I wasn't yet working in a library. Often I would read one of our lessons or readings and think to myself "yes, I can see this is a useful resource so I will bookmark it for future use" but, above and beyond that, I didn't know what else to say because I was lacking the background knowledge. I was highly impressed by some of my classmate’s responses and often found myself wishing that I was working in a library so I could have a more meaningful learning experience. Despite this, I took full advantage of Delicious and have literally bookmarked hundreds of resources and links to have on an “as needed” basis for the situations which will inevitably arise in my library.

These bookmarks are invaluable to me now when I need an answer to a question -"What does this MARC tag stand for? How can students access the books in the library when I’m not there? What does this random library term mean? (Thank-you ODLIS!) Where do books on amphibians go? What is the best search engine for these students to use?" etc., I have the resources in place to find the answer in a timely manner. I feel this is my best accomplishment in this course as I now have a wealth of practical resources to facilitate my career as a teacher-librarian.

The most useful part of assignment two was learning about WEEBLYand how to make a website! I didn’t realize before this that such user friendly tools were available for website creation which I can now turn around and use to potential create a website for my library or teach students how to showcase their learning using a website or other Web 2.0 tool. Becoming familiar with catalogue information was good for the technical side of things -this may be information that only computer programmers and library clerks use daily but still clearly information that all librarians should know! This would be particularly true if I were judging the quality of a resource and needed some basic, quick information.

Assignment three was interesting as it’s always great to think about ways you can improve your workplace. Sadly, I think I may have been a bit too optimist in what I can realistically accomplish in my library but it never hurts to dream big! I know I can accomplish part of what I set out to do it will just have to be on a smaller scale.

I did enjoy keeping this blog as a way to reflect on our lessons each week. Because the lesson topics were often so foreign to me, this blog helped me summarize and confirm what exactly I had learned each week, and how it was applicable. Further, I think I will keep writing on this blog as I continue through the teacher-library program – it would be very interesting to see my reflections a year from now (for example) and how I have grown as a TL. I am also debating starting a new blog (or adapting this one) to be a librar blog attached to my school’s website. I am thinking this might be more applicable then creating a whole new website. With a blog I can keep readers (staff, parents, students) up-to-date on new books and resources, projects, and events that may be happening in the library at any given time.

With all this is mind, I’m concluding that I’ve taken away a lot more from this course then I originally thought! I look forward to my continued education in teacher-librarianship and hope to work and learn more with my classmates in the future. Thank-you to everyone in our course for our help and encouragement!

 

Library Users

I think user-independence is very important in a library, although at the moment is it sadly pretty much non-existent. Students are really only able to look up resources when I am there and that isn’t very often. Ideally students would have access to the online catalogue on a as needed basis. Technically they do if the log onto a computer and search the school districts library website externally. Perhaps I could turn this into a lesson for the older students in the school so when I am not there they can search themselves to see if we have a particular book. I’m still new to this school and I can’t even remember at the moment if we have a projector in the computer lab – I may have to create printed out directions for students to follow. Further, I will have to ask around and see if the staff knows how to do basic user searches – I think they are still coming to terms with the fact that somebody has actually “opened up” the library and is a place for resources, learning, etc. I sat down with all the teachers this week and asked them to please, please, please use me as a resource locator, collaborator, co-teacher etc. – they seemed fairly happy with this so hopefully these budding professional relationships will lend themselves to the staff feeling less out of place in the library. If staff and students feel confident in using library tools independently, this would theoretically improve the ever important issue of access!

Learning Resources Avalibility

At the school I just got hired at, the library has essentially been closed for the first two months of school. Books were being used but they weren’t being officially checked out.  Although this is now causing me additional work, (piles of books lying everywhere, some checked out, some not, some checked out under the wrong person’s name, etc.) I am glad the library and resources were getting some sort of use. Orderly cataloguing will likely be a challenge for me; the TL portion of my job is only 0.10 FTE and we only get a LT for three hours, once a month.  How could I possibly get new resources processed and shelve ready quickly? As the school is very small, (80 students, four teachers) it will be fairly easy for me (I’m assuming) to track books down should I decide to give staff access to them prior to being properly catalogued. Having such a small staff makes is easy for me to communicate the cataloguing status of various items – for example, I could let a teacher know directly that this book has to be back in the library in two days – maybe even get them to sign something that says they understand they are using an unprocessed item.  Uncatalouged books could be used with an “in house” policy, meaning they can’t leave the library yet but students are welcome to come and sit and read. Ultimately I think a box of unused resources is a waste – get them out there one way or another!

Delicious

I have been an avid user of Delicious for some time now. I LOVE THIS RESOURCE. Not only does it provide an on-line bookmarking program for all your professional resources, it is a great resource for educators to share ideas! Within the context of my UBC classes, I'm adding about a dozen links a week from the weekly lessons or modules. I've added subject key words such as “cataloguing”, “MARC”, “advocacy”, “volunteers”, “budget”, etc. This is especially helpful as a new TL because it allows me to have quick access to quality resources on a “as needed” basis. It is important that delicious links to professional articles and blogs, lesson ideas, collaboration tips, etc., be properly and consistently label. One thing the TL doesn't have a lot of is time – quick and efficient information recall on Delicious is priceless for the teacher-librarian-in-training. 

Of course, the same idea can be applied to the library collection. I work at a small rural school of about 80 students. Classes have about 20 to 30 minutes in the library once a week. With so little time, these time slots need to be useful and efficient. Staff, and especially students, should be able to find the resources they need in a timely manner. Of course, this ties into the issue of effective access to all patrons which we discussed at length earlier in our course. Popular books should be accessible and easy to locate through the use of labeled bins (for example). Signage should be attractive and easy to read. The collection should be organizing as well into effective groupings such as primary, intermediate, secondary and staff resources as well as resources that have seasonal or cultural importance. 

I am currently exploring Delicious to get some decorating ideas for my library. Overall I think Delicious is a great resource that every educator and certainly every TL can find extremely helpful!

First TL contract!

Just a quick note - I've been offered and accepted my first TL job! The job includes library and a literacy competent. I am so looking forward to applying the knowledge I am learning at UBC! I am going to try my best to give this small rural elementary school library a breath of fresh air and be a "go to" helping hand for students, staff and parents. Here's to a foot in the door and the start of my TL career!

One of the many tasks I am hoping to tackle is redecorating the library. I am debating a theme based on this quote by an author whose works are very dear to my heart:

"When I was ten, I read fairy tales in secret and would have been ashamed if I had been found doing so. Now that I am fifty, I read them openly. When I became a man I put away childish things, including the fear of childishness and the desire to be very grown up.”

                                                        -C.S. Lewis

MARC Records (and other various cataloguing tidbits)

Learning about MARC records has been a bit of a slow, uphill battle. It would seem that several of my classmates agree on this. Machine Readable Cataloguing Records (MARC records) provide relevant and interesting information for a teacher librarian. While standard catalogue information likely contains the "basics" - title, author, ISBN, etc., MARC records can provide information such as summaries, grade/subject level, content warnings and so forth.
My colleague Shannon (TL at Frank Ney) and I had an interesting experience creating our own MARC records whilst creating a inquiry based website on Ancient Rome (Grade 7 IRP). Here we had to create our own MARC records for the resources on our topic. This was a time consuming though clearly necessary task. We used a variety of useful resources from our local library as well at the Library of Congress and the National Library of Canada. Although in our class discussions several TL mentioned that MARC creation is not really a part of their day to day job, the information is important to know and serves as a good foundation for understanding the cataloguing process.

Cataloging!

Apparently cataloguing is the activity of creating a catalogue! Well, that much I knew, but I didn't know how complex it all was! Clearly organization of resources is a key issue in a school library. There are a TON of new terms that I am learning from the Online Dictionary of Library and Information Science http://www.abc-clio.com/ODLIS/odlis_A.aspx which contains all sorts of interesting definitions, many of which are applicaible in several fields and walks of life. I was certainly surprised by the array of terms from "half-time" (part-time employee) to the definition of "URL" to "The Dead Sea Scrolls" to "microfilm" (people still use microfilm?!). I am just beginning to understand the significance of all this information.

My course this week explained that "cataloguing is a subset of a larger function: Bibliographic control, the organization of bibliographic information. Elaine Svenonius defines this as: "the skill or art of organizing knowledge (information) for retrieval." Well, that makes sense to me but I suppose it will make a whole lot more sense once I'm working as a TL and figuring the organization system for my library. I understand that there should be a standard set of rules for cataloging within a library, but how much flexibility do I get within those rules? How could I collocate the resources in my library to work effectively?

Obviously cataloguing goes hand in hand with access. Patrons of the library, be they students or teachers, use the catalogue to access resources. Therefore the catalogue should be fast, efficient and easy to use. My understanding is that library cataloguing systems are evolving at a very fast rate as we rely more and more on the digital world.  It's one thing to organize books, but more and more students are turning to on-line resources, and new help in understanding the catalogue as a learning tool.

Access and Metadata

Last week in class we discussed the issue of access and how it applies above and beyond simply being able to walk into the library or media centre. All people associated with the school community should have access to the library before, during and after school hours, although this may vary depending on the person and situation. Access should also take into consideration on-line learners (in my SD we have a Learn@Home program that allows students to home school but still have the resources and support of "regular"school), as well as students educational abilities and even cultural or lifestyle beliefs.

Communication is key for the TL whether it is with students and parents, clerical staff or other teachers. Open communication and education about what is available in the library will encourage more users and thus learning opportunities. Perhaps access means that the TL goes around to classrooms and gives book talks, or has clear written communication for all levels of learners in the library or maybe access even means limiting students access if an inappropriate issue arises.
With the increase of technology in the school library the issue of access takes on a whole new meaning. With the Internet students today have access to more information then ever before thought possible! But is it quality information? Do students know when they are looking at a reliable resource or not? For that matter do I, as a TL, know how best to direct students when accessing on-line materials? Well not really, no, but I am learning and it leads me into this weeks topic about Metadata!

 (Meta-what???) As for Metadata, I am pretty much lost after the first paragraph:
http://www.itb.hu/fejlesztesek/meta/hgls/core/Background/An_Introduction_to_Metadata.htm
We also discussed evaluating search engines, (crawler-based search engines vs. human directories) and understanding how the two search engines work.
What do I get out of all of this? Besides a whole lot of confusion (haha) I am beginning to understand that TLs must approach the fast-paced world of technology with both open-mindedness and trepidation so that our students are using resources that promote critical thinking (i.e. - NOT copying and pasting from Wikipedia *shudder*) and life long learners. Certainly Wikipedia, Facebook and other such mediums have their value for everyday knowledge or social media, and potentially could be used educationally but the TL must first be educated to ensure it is not just "technology for technology's sake". I think  one of many responsibilities of the TL to teach students how to correctly access and assess academic search engines, particularity for inquiry based learning.
Steep learning curve this week as predicted!

Introduction

While I have started this blog as an assignment for ‘LIBE 465: Organization of Learning Resources', I can see it becoming a very useful tool for reflecting on my practice and learning experiences throughout my career. Before I begin about the specifics of the course, I suppose a good place to begin would be my thoughts on why I have chosen the path of the TL.  There are many reasons but I suppose it is based on my love of reading and my desire to help young people with their literacy skills; therefore, as an English teacher, teacher-librarianship seemed like a natural choice of specialization.  Further to that, I really want to help students, teachers and parents with the many different aspects and challenges of learning and teaching. Anybody in the Education field knows that teaching is a tough job, and that teachers today have to "do more and more with less and less". I believe teaching needs to become more collaborative – especially as new teachers take on a generation of students that face challenges vastly different then their predecessors.  

To paraphrase Alvin Toffler, the illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write but those who cannot learn how to learn. Educators need to be the "guide on the side, not the sage on the sage" to help students to come to their own meaningful learning outcomes. Students need to be actively involved in and responsible for their own learning! They cannot be mindless robots that store seemingly needless information that they will never use again.  But someone must show them the way, hence the teacher in teacher-librarian. A plethora of print and on-line learning resources are now available, resources that must be careful selected, managed and utilized by the librarian in teacher-librarian.   Education is changing. With our society becoming more and more dependent on technology, students must be taught how to use said technology effectively and responsibility. But who will teach the teachers? The media specialist, aka the teacher-librarian! School libraries are changing from just a "place" to dynamic learning centers for entire school communities. Access to quality resources, a belief in strong communication skills and a respect for diversity and critical thinking are but a few values of the school library, now more accurately called the school library media centre.

Sadly, TL jobs are often at the mercy of school board's budget cuts. Despite this, I believe the TLs role is needed now more than ever.  Gone are the days of the shrewd librarian permanently fixed behind a desk saying "Shhhh!" to anybody who uttered so much as a word.  A TL now wears several different hats, is apparent and visible in the school as a co-teacher, media specialist and team leader. I've already learned that the scope of the job is far beyond what I'd imagined-I anticipate a steep learning curve, and yes there will be some significant challenges, but it's a job that at its core is promoting lifelong learning - a skill with immeasurable value. Please stay tuned for my reflections on the specific topics of the course!