The role of the Teacher-Librarian is constantly evolving. More than just the collector of books, today’s Teacher-Librarians are facilitators of change, guardians of truthful knowledge and increasingly curators of online reference materials. As more and more quality reference material is being posted online, the importance of the role of the Teacher-Librarian and the Learning commons has increased. The 21st Century Teacher-Librarian has the “…skills in searching, accessing, using and evaluating information efficiently and effectively.” (Reidling, pg. 116)
Reference Materials – Not Your Father’s Atlas
Most teachers and students are used to the common staples of Library reference materials like atlases. Having an at-hand resource that provides geographical knowledge and details of the world around us has always been valuable. However, how we use these atlases in the classroom has evolved. Traditionally, atlases have been used to answer simple questions about our world (Where is Luxembourg? What is the population of Bangladesh?). However, in an ever-increasing awareness of a connected global society, reference materials such as atlases can offer the answers to more important questions like; “What is the reduction of size in the polar ice caps?” or “Which countries are the largest producers of greenhouse gases that contribute to climate change?” Even simple questions about a countries size, shape and population are changing rapidly and up-to-date print atlases can be expensive to maintain. Online geographical reference materials however, are increasingly being used in the classroom. The CIA Factbook is one such example.
CIA Factbook
The CIA Factbook is a constantly updated, free online reference material that can be extremely helpful for the 21st Century Classroom teacher. Reildling notes that print atlases can be considered “historical” if they are over five years old and it is not uncommon, for example, to find many classrooms with out-of-date information such as describing the size and shape of the Soviet Union. The CIA Factbook provides relevant, up-to-date information about not only the size and shape of countries, but also provides all sorts of country-by-country comparisons in the areas of Geography, People and Society, Economy, Energy, Communications, Military and Transportation. By being an online reference source, it can be constantly up-dated and maintained at little cost. For the school library or classroom it can be an invaluable, free source of information.
Online References Demand Teacher-Librarians
The sheer number and volume of online reference material that is available and is constantly being created and posted is perhaps the biggest benefit and challenge for school use. The Teacher-Librarian is in the position to provide a strong knowledge base and comprehensive list of valuable online resources. Teacher-Librarians work closely with colleagues and understand the level at which the students within their building are operating. They can collate and curate a number of easy-to-use and relevant online reference sources. They can steer fellow teachers and their students towards dynamic materials that can amaze and inspire learners, such as Google Expeditions. Never before in the history of libraries has there been access to so much quality information. The challenge now becomes who will manage all of that material to suit the needs of today’s 21st Century learner.
Works Cited
Facilitating Collegial Change, Blog Post, Trickey, Bill, https://blogs.ubc.ca/libe467/2020/03/08/assignment-2-facilitating-collegial-change/
Riedling, Ann Marlow, Loretta Shake, and Cynthia Houston. Reference skills for the school librarian: Tools and tips. ABC-CLIO, 2013.
Teacher-Librarians: Guardians of Truthful Knowledge, Blog Post, Trickey, Bill, https://blogs.ubc.ca/libe467/2020/02/02/teacher-librarians-guardians-of-truthful-knowledge/
World Factbook, https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/resources/the-world-factbook/
A good overview of your thinking, new learning, awareness and understanding of our course, the key concepts and some ideas going forward. You have discussed some of the core concepts and challenges explored in our course well and identified your new awareness, confidence and abilities to help our students learn, access information and gain new skills. Good connections to our course texts, resources and references to support your analysis and good reflection on your experience in our time together.
Given how quickly our landscape changes, it is no wonder that atlases are considered historic after five years. For assignment number one, I imagine I was not the only one to discover atlases where Nunavut did not yet exist. With respect to reference materials, it seems as though online resources are the best bang for your buck. They are updated on a regular basis and take up no additional real estate in the learning commons. They are also, quite often, interactive. During our self-isolation and home schooling, my ten year-old son has been enjoying activities on Google Earth. He particularly enjoys the Street View feature of this site where he can walk the streets of far-away lands. Only digital spaces will allow for this sort of interaction and it engages children in a way that a physical maps and atlases cannot.
Online references do seem to give great options. One of the challenges we are finding right now with the remote learning is supporting teachers with district approved online resources when there is such an abundance of resources on offer. Do the sites require user accounts? Do they have advertising? Etc.
Counter that with the paid electronic licenses. When I looked into Culture Grams, I was gobsmacked by the yearly cost. The pros of the software was that the content would support many courses, and the login functions as well as lack of advertising would support district requirements. The cost however, would be unsustainable yearly. This is where the pros of print alternatives seem to shine as they have the ability not have yearly expenditures.