References, References, References! – What I Thought I Knew and What I Think I Know Now (Blog Post 1)
To be very honest, I was having difficulties with finding a definition for “reference sources” as well as the proper terminology. Before taking courses for my teacher-librarianship diploma at UBC, I knew reference sources as a section of a library that contained giant, heavy books which included dictionaries, encyclopaedias, and atlases. According to Riedling, “reference sources” are, “materials from book to computer to periodical to photograph, that can be found anywhere in the library or online” (Riedling, Shake & Houston, 2013). This can include a large range of materials as most items in a library are “book[s].” Riedling also mentioned on page 15 that “reference sources and services are constantly changing in response to new societal and technological developments” which could then further broaden the definition of what reference sources or reference resources are (Riedling, Shake & Houston, 2013).
(Image courtesy of Pixabay)
From a primary classroom teacher’s point of view, I am still quite skeptical of the valuable shelf space that a reference section may occupy in a school library. Young students are developing their reading skills so they may not reach for these resources because the reading levels may be too complex and it may not be of interest to them. However, I understand that providing information in various formats is beneficial to meet the information and learning needs of all our students. Also, the reality is that school budgets do not often make it an easy choice for teacher-librarians to constantly update their reference section according to the guidelines in Riedling’s book which is about every 5 years (Riedling, Shake & Houston, 2013, p. 24). At times, budget may be the reason why it does not exist at all. The teacher-librarian at my school has gotten rid of the reference section entirely because it was never used and made room for material that her students would use often.
Although I was questioning the upkeep of the reference section in an elementary school library, I think it is important to contain sources of information in various formats including print and non-print to accommodate the diverse needs of your school community. At the same time, we live in a world with heavy Internet usage and so information can be accessed quickly and easily through a search and a click. Access to the Internet is so widely available that it is very likely that many young primary students are already daily users (Escoda, 2014). This highlights the importance of information literacy and this seems to be an issue for not just students but adults as well. This TED Talks video with Kevin Arms reiterates the criteria used to evaluate sources found in Chapter 10.
“A thorough knowledge of existing resources, as well as the community and population served, is crucial to successful evaluation of reference materials.” (Rielding, Shake & Houston, 2013, p. 25).
Theme 1 consisted of terminologies and practices that were new to me as well as some ideas that were familiar. The above quote stood out to me because our reference collection could have materials that cover a broad range of content or could have the most current information but if the library patrons are not using them, it has failed to meet the information needs of our community.
References
Escoda, A. P. (2014). Media literacy in primary school: new challenges in the digital age. Teoría de la Educación. Educación y Cultura en la Sociedad de la Información, 15(1), 43-69.
Riedling A. M., Shake, L & Houston, C (2013). Reference skills for the school librarian: Tools and tips, (Third Edition).
TEDx Talks. (2017, November 28). Information Literacy | Kevin Arms | TEDxLSSC. [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/3BAfs_oDevw
Image courtesy of Pixabay
Hi Carmen,
Great blog post! “To be very honest, I was having difficulties with finding a definition for “reference sources” as well as the proper terminology.” Thank you for your honesty, when I started this course I did not have a good grasp on what reference sources were and I struggled to fully understand what would be considered a reference source at the beginning of the course even after doing the readings. It was nice to read your blog and know that it wasn’t just me! That is interesting to read that your TL got rid of the whole reference section since it was not being used. I can imagine there are a lot of school libraries out there that have reference sections that could use a good weeding to encourage more students to access it. Thank you for sharing that TED Talk, it was very engaging and informative.
Hi Carmen,
You bring up an interesting point regarding curating the collection in a school library. As we’ve been going through theme 1 and learning about selecting reference materials, I’ve realised how important it is for TLs to know their school community. `Choosing resources depends on the specific needs of users so there’s no one size fits all solution here. Thank you for sharing the TED Talk. It offers a lot of useful information.