Assignment 3: Evaluation to improve
your reference services
Evaluation
This
is my second year as the Teacher-Librarian at my school and I have slowly been
discovering that my library is unique in many ways. We are the only fully
French Immersion school in the district, so by necessity our collection
contains both French and English resources. Our school used to be a dual track
school (English and French classes) in a different building and I have noticed
many books come across my desk that still bear the name, meaning they are a
good number of years old.
I
decided to run a report through our library system to show the average age and
circulation statistics for my collection, more specifically the Nonfiction
section. I wanted to discover which type of reference works are most in need of
an update or additions. My goal was not to base my plans for change on
simply what my collection looks like, standing in front of a stack, but to have
evidence of whether or not specific sections are healthy, so to speak.
Figure 1
Figure 2
Once
I had an overview (see Figures 1 and 2), I compared a more detailed breakdown
of a few of the Dewey sections against the evaluation guidelines provided in
Riedling (pg 24) and my own district’s Teacher-Librarian Handbook weeding
guidelines (pg 21). I discovered also that my collection is somewhat unbalanced
according to the ratios between Fiction and Nonfiction works found in Achieving
Information Literacy (pg 28). Roughly 70% - 85% should be Nonfiction /
Reference and I currently have just under 50%.
Figure 3
I
decided to focus on specific sections within these two areas pictured above
(Figures 3 and 4) for the following reasons. The 600s are the Technology
section and need updating after 5 - 10 years (TL Handbook, pg 13). Many of my
books are far beyond that time limit. While some resources may be kept for
teaching purposes if they contain historical information, anything that is
meant to be current is no longer. Revitalizing this section would be beneficial
for student learning in a few different ways. We have received robotics
equipment through the district and newer more up to date reference resource material
could compliment the hands on use of this equipment. Our grade 7 students also
participated in a science fair this year (for the first time) and having more
up to date material in this area would give greater opportunity and diversity
for project choice and exploration of their interests.
In
the 900s are both the majority of our atlases and many biographies. I have
noticed through a few different collaborative projects over the course of this
year that these sections are in need of additions and updates to better serve
the students. For example, each of the grade 2 classes did a heritage project
where they learned about their family’s background. They came to the library to
discover where their different countries of origin were, their flags, and a few
other key pieces of information. We only had a few atlases to help the students
with their project, but they were not all in French and were not all age
suitable.
The
issue of our dated biographies section came to light when a class of grade 6
students completed a “Mighty Woman” project, combining ADST and French language
arts. The project required students to research an important woman (historical
or modern) to discover her contribution to society and create a short
presentation along with a clothing design and sewing component. Of the
biographies on women that I pulled to assist the students in their research
many were quite old, written in a style that was difficult for the students to
read, and were generally not well used. Google searching and Wikipedia were the
sources most used. Building up the biography area of the collection would
benefit the students when completing a project like this by offering more
engaging, language appropriate options for them to choose from.
The
last area in my reference collection that I would like to focus on for this
plan is purchasing or acquiring a print encyclopedia. I believe it would be
valuable for my students to have a hands on opportunity to practice searching
for something alphabetically, trying different search terms and discovering
linkages between search terms, and also just opening a book full of interesting
subjects and finding themselves reading about something they didn’t expect.
Understanding something and seeing it physically can help them to understand
digital versions better and make their searches more direct. A good source may
be World Book as it is the digital resource that our district already purchases
for us. Another individual also suggested talking to our public library to see
if their encyclopedia sets could be donated, because they are updated more
frequently than we would need to do at our level. We have a number of subject
specific encyclopedias, but a general encyclopedia would offer new
opportunities for research and discovery.
The
timeline for this revitalization will be fairly slow, between two and three
years. The reason being there must be a balance between weeding out old
material and having new material chosen, purchased, and arriving in the
library. Our processing for orders is largely done through the district,
off-site and can take anywhere from a few weeks to a number of months. To best
serve my students and teaching staff I cannot have any one section completely
empty while I wait for new materials to come. This process of revitalization
has already begun by identifying the sections that need extensive weeding. The
next step will be finding and ordering replacements. This will take place next
year and be a part of next year’s budgeting plan.
As
I have indicated above, gaps or problems in the collection are often revealed
through collaborative projects that happen in the library. Therefore, I will
involve my colleagues in helping to choose new resources. I will begin at the
start of next year, when everyone is working on their year plans, by sending
out a simple survey to discover:
- What are some possible collaborative projects they would like to
work on this year?
- Are there any resources or types of resources they foresee needing
for their class?
- Have they noticed any gaps or resources they’d like to see in the
library collection?
Using the information collected
through the survey I will be better able to plan my purchases for the library
during the coming year and planning into the next.
Communicating Changes
In
my own experience I have found two things to be true in regards to having new
material in the library and trying to ignite interest in what is available. The
first is that it is a matter of display. On the advice of my district
teacher-librarian I changed how my Fiction and Nonfiction shelves were
organized allowing for more space for a display book in almost every section. I
immediately saw a difference in what was being taken off the shelves. Students
were choosing display books specifically. I have also see new books sit in a
display for weeks with no one taking a second glance until I draw attention to
them, possibly reading out the back of a few to the class. Then there is a mad
rush. With new reference materials this process may be a bit different because
they will be used for projects and also they may be less perused for interest’s
sake.
To
help integrate it into the collection and students’ awareness, and as part of a
unit on information literacy I will use the new encyclopedia to look at some of
the positives and negatives associated with using those volumes versus
crowd-sourced resources like Wikipedia. Having students participate in writing
their own articles for a site such as Wikimini or Vikidia (both in French and
geared towards children) will give them hands on experience discovering what is
required to create a useful entry and how simple it is to create a poor one.
They will be able to develop their own understanding of “the perils of
accepting information at face value” (Berinstein).
Further
communication about the new reference resources will involve displays for staff
showing new materials and opportunities for use, website promotion for
interested students and parents, and simple in class activities that allow
students to explore the new reference resources in a risk free environment.
In Conclusion and Determining Success
Once this plan has been
put to action the proof of success will be how closely it resembles what is
outlined in Achieving Information Literacy, “An effective school library
provides intellectual and physical access to a wide array of materials and
services to meet learning needs, both within and beyond the school” (pg 24). By
analyzing and identifying a few key areas in my library reference collection
that need updating and adding to I hope that I will be able to better serve the
learning opportunities of my students and my staff.
References:
Anderson, Stephen., et al. “School District No. 36
(Surrey) Teacher-Librarian
Handbook.” 2007. Accessed March 24,
2018. https://www.surreyschools.ca/sites/TF83DFQJB21/Documents/TL%20Handbook.pdf
Asselin, Marlene., et al. “Achieving Information
Literacy Standards for School Library
Programs in Canada.” 2006, pp. 24, 28.
Berinstein, Paula. “Conferences.” Information
Today, Inc., Mar. 2006,
Figures 1, 2, 3, 4. Destiny Library Systems;
library.sd36.bc.ca; 2002-2016; 24 March,
2018.
Riedling, Ann Marlow, et al. Reference skills for
the school librarian: tools and tips.
California, 2013.
Comments
Post a Comment