Assignment+3+Part+2

LIBE 467 has helped me to prepare for the uncertainty of being a Teacher-Librarian TOC. I have found that each school uses and perceives the media centre and the role of the teacher-librarian differently. On the other hand, the Information and Literacy Reference Services in schools are always the same, even though the number or type of resource materials available may differ. Learning about the different information services has helped me to become more effective no matter the specific resources the schools have chosen because each of the information service is organized and used in a similar way.

Module 1 has provided me with a list of standards teacher-librarians should strive for when evaluating a Literacy Media Center. It has also made me aware that it is quite difficult to achieve these standards, or will take a three to five year plan to accomplish. First, one of the problems trying to meet these proposed standards is the size of the library facility. Most of the time the space and location for the library was not built with the purpose of the current media center. At that time, there was no need for OPAC, a computer lab, audio-visual storage, librarian work area, production area, or flexible areas for small or large group work. With these new areas, there is less space to keep back issues of newspapers and periodicals for the recommended five years. In addition, with a limited budget and print encyclopedia sets costing around 1500 dollars, yearly subscriptions to online resources, high cost of educational DVDs, and maintaining periodicals it is very difficult, but not impossible, to meet the standards set out by the A.I.L.

It today’s digital world, there is a wide range of free electronic resources that can help supplement our reference collection. This is one way to overcome some of the obstacles faced when trying to ensure up-to-date reference materials. Even though this is the case, we must make sure that we are constantly evaluating the electronic resources according to our policies to ensure accuracy, accessibility, and appropriateness. It is important to ensure the school has the capacity to allow for electronic resources to be circulated and used when needed by the students. This includes accessibility to computers that are fast enough to use the sites, the speed of the Internet, and organization of the material. I don’t have a bias about students using one reference format rather than another. Each student learns differently and may benefit from having access to one format over another. That being said, I think we should expose students to all forms of media to help them realize that there are other sources that can be used instead of just their one of preference.

The use of the library by teachers is different within a school as well as between schools. The library is used for book exchange, prep, research, story time, book reports, resource pullout, and a host of other activities. One thing I find is that there is not a lot of collaboration between the teacher-librarian and the classroom teacher about integrating research skills with a current unit of study. Why are teachers reluctant to adopt an inquiry-based curriculum that promotes collaboration? An inquiry-based model is fluid and organic. This means it is always changing based on the interest and experiences of the students. As a result, lesson planning needs to be continually evaluated and changed lesson-by-lesson and year-by-year. It is true that this makes for more of an authentic learning experience. This involves meeting of grade level teachers, specialists and the TL. Without this collaboration time, it won't work. The amount of release time is just not possible in the current system. When I was at an IB school doing inquiry-based instruction we had weekly planning meetings where the TL and specialists attended and late nights modifying lessons because the students took us in a different direction. This is why I think it is difficult (lack of time) do not see that it actually saves time and improves learning, lack of training, possessive of their class, and set in their ways.

Module 2 focuses on specific Information Services resources - encyclopedias, dictionaries, thesauri, almanacs, yearbooks, handbooks, indexes, abstracts, full-text databases, maps, atlases, bibliographies, biographies, and directories. The reference collection is an important and integral part to a Media Centre. The fiction collection's purpose is to improve fluency and ability to read and follow information in a sequential order. The reference collection is important to teach students how to become lifelong learners and develop strategies that will allow them to discover the answers they need in a logical and efficient manner - information literacy. Today as a TL, we must provide a variety of media to ensure that all of our students have the resources to inquire. Also, many of these resources are not present in many school libraries. In order for students to use these resources, we need to teach them about the purpose of each resource and help them understand how can be used. This module has introduced me to several information services and how they can be used with elementary students such as yearbooks, handbooks, indexes, and directories.

If we supplement these with a up-to-date encyclopedia set, a variety of visual resources, and engaging and high-interest trade books, we can provide a rich resource environment for our students. This does not come easy and we need to be up-to-date on the curriculum, resource materials, and motivation of our students.

Managing a collection is an overwhelming task. After completing Module 3, I have a greater appreciation for all the behind the scenes work a teacher-librarian does to manage the school library resource centre and the entire collection of resources and continue to be a leader in resource-based learning, resource management, and program and instruction. This is even more difficult today as the collection is more than just information sources, but can also include the physical or virtual accessibility.

Part of managing the collection is weeding resources from the collection. Even though I find it difficult to throw away things, I am more at ease because an old and ugly resource does not ensure a highly effective and quality library collection that meets the needs of the students or curriculum. Also, with the amount of good online resources, this can be used until a suitable replacement can be purchased because there is still value in print resources. If we constantly weed our collection, make good decisions on reference materials, and supplement our budget with outside sources, within several years we could have the reference collection close to acceptable standards.

In today’s school libraries, the reality is there are limited budgets teacher-librarians have to work with to ensure the collection is current and means that an area needs to be sacrificed. How do we decide what areas are a priority? Many of the discussion boards and conversations with other librarians confirm the harsh reality facing the profession. Many media centers do not have full-time teacher librarians and are one of the first areas that are considered for reduced funding during budget cuts. On top of that, the job of a teacher-librarian seems to be never ending. At almost every turn, a new and unexpected request or problem arises that pulls you away from the jobs that you need to get done. Being knowledgeable about the information services offered in a library can increase the time for improving the informational literacy of the students. It will ensure they can be taught the decision-making skills when deciding which resource to use for their research. A literacy media center that has evaluated the needs of their students and provided the appropriate informational resources will allow students to become independent lifelong learners.