Tag Archives: Reference Interview

04/8/20

Reference Services From a Remote Learning Commons

“Essentially every aspect of school library services has changed over the past few decades due to the emergence of new and innovative technologies.  Reference skills, sources, and services are but one area that has changed to meet the needs of students in the diverse, global society of today.  The Internet has become the most important reference tool in the digital age, providing many of the electronic information sources required for reference services.” (Rielding , 2019, pg. 99)

Reference services from a remote learning commons has become the ‘new normal’ for many libraries across Canada and even worldwide. On March 19th, 2020, the B.C. government closed all schools in B.C. in an effort to reduce the spread of COVID-19.  “That means that more than 500,000 B.C. students won’t be returning to class after spring break. B.C. Education Minister Rob Fleming has said that schools and school districts should offer alternatives while in-class instruction is suspended” (Crawford, 2020). This news for teacher-librarians has resulted in a significant shift in how we support students, staff, parents and administrators with a now virtual learning commons.

Asselin outlines the following standards for Information and Communication Technologies:

“From the perspective of information access, information and communication technologies in the school library offer:

  • Ready access during and beyond the school day
  • Equitable opportunities for students who do not have computers at home
  • Supervised settings for the use of the Internet and electronic, digital, and online resources.
  • Increased productivity and learning through learner-focused activities
  • Enhancement and extension of the curricula through integration of technologies.
  • Support for a variety of teaching and learning styles.

(Asselin, 2003, pg. 46)

For remote learning, reference access, equitable opportunities, support for a variety of teaching and learning styles was a large part of week one’s action plan.

Re-imagining reference services:

Reference services at Rockridge’s learning commons has more print resources than digital reference sources.  The digital references are largely supplied by the ERAC district bundle, though we do have some additional purchases outside of that. Through the library operations folder that we maintain, we have all of the digital resource logins, passwords, vendor contacts and the licensing terms.  Putting together a school specific digital resource list was the first step to supporting the school community.

 

It was clear from looking at the digital reference list there were significant topic gaps within our reference collection online as compared to our print reference section.  Having started evaluating our print reference section for LIBE 467, I was able to see gaps within the online references that our print selection fills. Our print reference resources comprise of 6 shelves.  With the exception of the last shelf, all of the texts are organized by Dewey categorization.  The inclusion of the newer AP science volumes (500s) after the Canadian Encyclopedias (970s) was a decision that related to space and access, as frequently used.

Our online references, largely miss language support texts, geography and atlas texts, as well as some of the more topic specific reference resources within the humanities and social science sections.  Having said that, these print references are older texts within our collection for the most part and fall outside 15+ years old.  We don’t see much use of these texts, but they have yet to be weeded or replaced.

After an digital reference resource list was generated, my library partner let administration know that we are ready and prepared to support staff with course text access, reference resources and researching projects.   I also sent an email to staff that shared the following supplied information:

  1. Digital resources – school-based resources
  2. FOIPA approved resources by our district
    1. we also encourage all staff to supply us with any digital tool that they wish to use that is not on the approved list so that we can send to the district team for vetting and approval.
  3. Copyright information
    1. Highlights from Copyright Matters
    2. Rules for recording ‘read alouds’ posted online
    3. Canadian publishers’ information – reporting requirements and how we can help with submitting that information.
Encouraging Reference Service Engagement:

One of the challenges, I’ve found with being a remote teacher-librarian is creating that central hub like our learning commons has without being overzealous.  We are cognizant to not over-inform, over email and essentially overwhelm staff with copious resources that may or may not be useful to every teacher.  One of the more effective strategies we found was to let every department coordinator know that we are available to attend any department virtual meetings.  This was received positively by staff and we were able to attend a number of virtual department meetings.  These meetings served multiple benefits: we are able to actively show our presence and availability for support; we are able to listen to subject topics being focused on, which lets us anticipate potential reference supports; we also were able to share some of the support we can offer: not just supplying digital references, but also investigating copyright rules for specific texts, creating video support for using materials to be shared with classes.  After these department meetings, we received many queries about research topics and classroom text alternatives. Week one was a busy week!

District Teacher-Librarian Collaboration:

A number of meetings outside of the school community also took place in week one.   District teacher-librarian meetings as well as smaller break off meetings with the secondary teacher-librarians.   Some of the topics we explored were: teacher librarian supports, effective ways to communicate how we can support our staff, students and families with essential learning, reference reviewing: vetting and approvals, copyright and FOIPA.

With the BC Government relaxing FOIPA rules until June 30th, the overarching message our district is conveying is that we must protect our students and ourselves within this grey territory.  To support our district, we have been asked to do a preliminary review on a number of online sources.  This evaluation follows similar guidelines to the ERAC suggestions in Appendix 5.  “Consultation with resource teachers, such as teacher-librarians and technology coordinators, will provide information on how best to provide access for students. Sites should be appropriate for the grade level and language of instruction while being readable and accessible. The school’s technology resources will have an impact on what type of sites are of practical use. Teachers must also ensure students are aware of school district policies on Internet safety and computer use.” (Evaluating, Selecting, 2008, pg. 136). Our district is evaluating digital resources based on: does it connect/support essential learning; is there a comparable resource already licensed; do we have to login or create accounts; grade appropriate; is the site safe or free from advertising; accessible to all; education specific?

The district guidelines mirror Riedling’s philosophy.  She states, “a Web resource may be different from a print source, but it remains essentially the same in purpose and scope.  Web materials can make steps easier, considerably more efficient, and certainly more comprehensive.  However, each resource must be evaluated for authority ad appropriateness for the question at hand.” (Riedling, 2019, pg. 103)

Some great sources of free reference sources are being shared within the teacher-librarian community:

With the volume of free resources available, we are collectively working together to ensure that teachers are equipped with the best resources for their courses.  Teachers are encouraged to submit digital resource requests for review. Not all resources are approved, and it is conveyed to staff that the approvals are district specific and what may be approved provincially or in another district isn’t necessarily greenlit for us. The approved resources are officially greenlit at a district level and shared with all staff.  For example, in our district we are not permitted to do 2-way teleconferencing, nor are we permitted to use Zoom.  However, we have virtual meetings with staff and are encouraged to use Google Meet and Microsoft Team.  How-to videos have been circulated to staff to ensure ease of access like the one here for Google Meet.  Where possible, alternatives are provided.

Virtual Reference Interviews:

Once staff were set up with the basic information on how the library team can support them, individual teacher requests were being received.  The first direct contacts were about current texts or movies.  Can we source approval or do we have an alternative?  My teacher-librarian colleague reached out to a number of publishers and was able to secure digital copies of some texts, or was able to share publisher’s temporary ‘relaxed’ copyright rules.  For films, this has been more of a challenge.  One of our Social Studies teachers wanted to show a movie on the Lavender Scare which explores LGBTQ treatment in the US during the Cold War, but we discovered that digital access was not available. After searching were able to share a Canadian perspective alternative with TVO’s Fruit Machine.  We have been less lucky however sourcing a digital copy for The Handmaid’s Tale 1990 film, which we can access via DVD, but permissions to rip and upload are not enabled.  Apple and YouTube enable users to pay for a digital copy but this is for single user licensing and not classroom sharing.  The majority of films used to support classes, we are finding will have to come from the following sources: Criterion on Demand, NFB, public free to access sites like TVO, West Vancouver Memorial Library’s Kanopy and Indieflix.  The latter requires the additional step of ensuring all students have WVML cards, which most do.  Those that don’t will be helped with acquiring one remotely.

The other requests we are now starting to receive, and likely will have more as the weeks pass are research support queries.  My recent reference query was a request to support students researching revolutions.  I conducted a brief reference interview over email and ascertained that the teacher was looking to have general information for her students to find any revolution: cultural or political.  They will have to retell it through 5 elements of story and include at least one primary resource.  I went through our databases as well as the temporarily free Gale in Context High School.  I created a reference resource document, outlining research steps.

The next step was creating video support, showing how to navigate through Gale in Context High School.   The video was designed on Mac screen capture software and slightly edited in iMovie for this assignment to redact the passwords.  I was tempted to use other software, but for the purposes of this reference query and time management, these were the most effective creation tools to me.

(Video by N.Reid)

My video was deliberately short and serves to show students how to navigate and select primary resources.  I know that many students will stop at this stage, and the research document I created can adequately support from this point forward.  However, some students will need further explanation and I created a second video that shows students how to navigate our library page and select both databases and encyclopedias.  For most students this will be a refresher, but there are some who are new to the school, that may have missed our orientations.

(Video by N.Reid)

The above supports for a remote learning reference query, worked well for supporting students and offer similar support to an in-person library lesson.  The caveat will be questions.  From teaching library lessons, there is an opportunity to have students ask questions on the spot and reply.  With this type of remote learning set-up, that instantaneous feedback isn’t viable and we can only encourage students to ask us if they have questions.  Another drawback is not being able to ‘read the room’.  As a teacher, you are looking for class receptiveness and when you have ‘lost’ a group, you are able to reset and either backtrack or further elaborate.  An online video does not offer that type of engagement.  The positive however, is that students can rewind if they missed a step and learners are able to move at their own pace. We foresee many more of these types of reference queries over the next few weeks and look forward to discovering more ways to support students and teachers.

After Remote Learning:

The current status of offering remote reference services has variable intensities.  The first week offering teacher supports was extremely busy and also rewarding.  Now that teachers are diving into content, we are seeing more topic specific research queries.  We have yet to received direct contact from students for reference services, but anticipate this will happen with assignment engagement.  The experience of offering remote services is new to many of us, but I can’t help wonder how it will shape our perception of reference services when we return to the physical learning commons.

Having done a direct comparison between the print collection and our electronic collection, the glaring omissions within digital reference resources cannot be overlooked. The area that feels weakest for support is within languages.  Having mentioned earlier a number of the print references that don’t have digital resource counterparts, are from texts that are generally 15+ years older and fail the both Crew’s MUSTIE scale and Asselin’s standards, technically they should be weeded.  Budget, use and better replacements are factors that lend to why the resource is still housed within the collection.  An aggressive evaluation of usage will need to be observed to determine whether many of the older print references are actually being used.  This would enable a more focused buying approach to replace some print collections and also the digital resource for offsite use.

Works Cited:

Asselin, Marlene., Branch, J., & Oberg, D., (Eds). (2003). Achieving information literacy: Standards for school library programs in Canada. Ottawa. Retrieved from http://accessola2.com/SLIC-Site/slic/ail110217.pdf

BCTLA Executive. (2020, March 22). A Word from the BCTLA Executive during this time. Retrieved April 5, 2020, from https://bctla.ca/2020/03/22/a-word-from-the-bctla-executive-during-this-time/

Beaudry, R. (2020, April 7). 25 Sources of Free Public Domain books [Tweet]. Retrieved from https://twitter.com/RBeaudryCCLE/status/1247573556138872832

Canadian School Libraries (CSL). (2018) “Leading Learning:  Standards of Practice for School Library Learning Commons in Canada.” Retrieved from:  http://llsop.canadianschoollibraries.ca

Crawford, T. (2020, March 19). COVID-19: Five things to know about B.C. school closures. Vancouver Sun. Retrieved from https://vancouversun.com/news/local-news/covid-19-five-things-to-know-about-b-c-school-closures/

DoIT Training at Stony Brook University. (2020, March 10). Using Google Meet to Record a Meeting or Narrate Slides [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-bEJEvf6JFk

Evaluating, Selecting and Acquiring Learning Resources: A Guide [Guide]. (2008). Retrieved from https://bcerac.ca/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/ERAC_WB.pdf

Larson, J. (2012). CREW: A Weeding Manual for Modern Libraries [Manual]. Retrieved from https://www.tsl.texas.gov/sites/default/files/public/tslac/ld/ld/pubs/crew/crewmethod12.pdf

Library of Congress: Engage! (n.d.). Retrieved April 5, 2020, from https://loc.gov/engage

Noel, W., & Snel, J. (2016). Copyright Matters!: Some Key Questions [Pamphlet]. Retrieved from http://cmec.ca/Publications/Lists/Publications/Attachments/291/Copyright_Matters.pdf

Reid, N. (2020, April 6). Revolution Intro Research [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z2uZbyRqodQ

Reid, N. (2020, April 6). School Database Review [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cz7vteoaP98

Riedling, A. M., & Houston, C. (2019). Reference skills for the school librarian: Tools and tips (4th ed.). Santa Barbara, CA: Libraries Unlimited.

Welcome to the Home Page of Rockridge Library Learning Commons. (n.d.). Retrieved April 2, 2020, from http://www.sd45slc.ca/about-rockridge-library.html

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03/8/20

Taking Charge of Change through Collaboration: The Concerns-Based Adoption Model

“The role of the teacher-librarian as an educator who works collaboratively with other teachers to create and sustain powerful and relevant learning experiences for students made it essential to focus on literacy cognitive abilities and foundational skills for educating BC children today. Teacher-librarians support both teachers and students as they explore multiple sources of information to create new knowledge and learning.” (The Points of Inquiry, 2011)

The collaborative role that a teacher-librarian implements in the learning commons is the framework that enables inquiry to develop.  Each teacher’s interaction with the learning commons differs specifically with their approach to inquiry and more broadly in relation to library use: from social studies research based projects, to English booktopias to Math LEGO area and design activities. Essentially the learning commons in 2020 differs heavily from libraries in schools 20+ years ago and how classroom teachers interact with the learning commons has also been reshaped as changes evolve.  Digital learning technologies have progressed and traditional approaches to research and curriculum have been updated.  In order to shape a library program and build a learning commons, the teacher-librarian’s role and tools of support need to be shared within the school community. The goal is getting as much use in the library as possible, and utilizing the many resources available. This requires approachability and encouraging teachers to come into the space, but it also challenges teachers to approach learning differently, especially if new resources and technologies are being introduced.

Through using Concerns-Based Adoption Model, CBAM as a conceptual framework that “acknowledges that learning brings change, and supporting people in charge is critical for learning to ‘take hold’” (Loucks-Horsley, 2015) teacher-librarians are able to recognize the process of change and support teachers effectively as they evolve through the steps of change.  The Concerns-Based Adoption Model was created in the 1970s and 1980s by a team of researchers at the University of Texas.  To ensure its accuracy, it was further updated in 2006.  “The three diagnostic dimensions of the Concerns-Based Adoption Model (CBAM) provide tools and techniques that enable leaders to gauge staff concerns and program use in order to give each person the necessary supports to ensure success.” (CBAM: The Concerns-Based Adoption Model, 2015)

The three diagnostic dimensions:

  • Stages of Concern
  • Levels of Use
  • Innovation Configuration

“The Standards of practice for school library learning commons in Canada are framed around five core standards of practice that put school libraries at the centre of school improvement.” (Canadian School Libraries, 2018) Through collaborating with teachers, and implementing effective use of reference resources in their pedagogical practices, the understanding of the concerns-based adoption model and the diagnostic dimensions within it, can help to shape the approach to change.

 

Example 1 – CBAM (Stages of Concern)

  • Teacher A: Ms. Callidus
  • Subject Area: Social Studies 8-10
  • Experience: First-year teacher.  Started mid-year to replace a teacher on leave.

Ms. Callidus joined the school in February.  During her first week, she was given a tour of the school and introduced to the learning commons where she was shown various resources and the booking procedures.  Ms. Callidus was very enthusiastic about the space and demonstrated interest in learning more about the learning commons and how her social studies classes could utilize the space.  I sent Ms. Callidus a follow up email one week after our initial meeting to invite her back to the learning commons.  For this meeting, I explained that I am happy to discuss upcoming units she has with her that she might like to use the learning commons for. I have already developed resources that I’ve collaborated on with the teacher she is replacing, but also I am happy to develop new material with her as well.  My goal was to engage Ms. Callidus by demonstrating approachability and encouraging collaboration. We arranged a mutually good time to meet during her prep.

This first meeting was in the learning commons office and is a cleared calm space with comfortable seating for teachers.  Ms. Callidus came prepared with some research tasks to discuss, and I determined we were at the stage where a reference interview could be conducted.  Following, Riedling’s guidelines, the reference interview took place in a “relatively quiet, comfortable setting that is free of clutter.” (Riedling, pg 91).  Today I planned to conduct the first three stages of Rielding’s suggested practice for the reference interview as outlined in Figure 9.1.

Upon interviewing Ms. Callidus, she had a clear research assignment on revolutions for her students.  Together we narrowed the students’ research query and identified reference expectations.  I sensed that Ms. Callidus was looking to have me pull resources for students and prepare a cart that they could work from.  This was of course, the approach she’d observed herself as a student.  My goal was to stretch Ms. Callidus’s preconceived ideas of the teacher-librarian/classroom teacher support.  Sure I could prepare a cart for Ms. Callidus, but I also could do much more to support her and the students research queries.  This was where I pulled some past examples that showed similar structured assignments.  I then showed Ms. Callidus examples of library support through note-taking templates devised for google classroom, power points and the various database options.  I wanted to reassure Ms. Callidus, we have supported similar types of assignments in the learning commons and the various ways we could extend student learning together.

I could see the moment Ms. Callidus entered the stages of concern dimension the CBAM.  The first three of seven stages presented themselves in this interview.  (Loucks-Horsely, 2015) Ms. Callidus asked: what are these additional support resources?  How do they work? How does it apply to my assignment?  The subtext within these questions were: I am unsure about these new support resources.  I have never used them before.  They look interesting, but will they work for me.  How can I use them efficiently. I am unsure.

I addressed Ms. Callidus’s concerns and explained that we can still pull books as per the original vision of the assignment, but that I am happy to prepare a power point presentation that will teach students other reference options for their query and review primary and secondary reference definitions with the students.  I further explained that the note-taking document is optional and that as I have templates on hand, it is easy for me to tailor one to her assignment which she may choose to use if it seems efficient.  This was the part to the reference interview where I needed to search and inform Ms. Callidus of progress.

Ms. Callidus circled back a few days later and I was able to show her the various resources pulled and tabbed.  The prepared note-taking sheet and power-point presentation helped Ms. Callidus feel at ease and excited once again about the assignment.

The library lessons with Ms. Callidus’s class showed her moving up the stages of concern.  How can I master and fit it all in?  Is it working?  Once the lessons wrapped, Ms. Callidus felt success with her project and was at the point of refocusing.  She said, ‘next time we do this, let’s start with …’  This felt successful for both of us as collaborators as we discussed doing the task again in future, but also we learned and refined based on practical observation and implementation of the lesson. Ms. Callidus, has scheduled many more learning commons visits since and has changed her approach to using the library program and thereby moved within the CBAM  to the “Levels of Use” dimension.

Example 2 – CBAM (Levels of Use)

  • Teacher: Mr. Pertinax
  • Subject Area: English 8-12
  • Experience: 22-year teacher at this school.

Mr. Pertinax regularly uses the learning commons with his classes. He participates in read-ins, supports booktopias and author presentations.  Mr. Pertinax is certainly a supporter of the learning commons, he, however, does not participate much in the way of collaboration and is a self-proclaimed technophobe, who proudly uses a flip phone circa 2005.  His library usage is predictable and hasn’t changed much from when I started at the school 5 years ago.

I have been trying strategies to engage Mr. Pertinax with collaboration for the past two years.  From sharing of resource information at department meetings to ‘What’s New?’ updates and the informal gatherings we have in the learning commons with staff each year.  When Mr. Pertinax came in to book a read-in session for his Grade 8s, I had just received a Legacy Schools box for the Downie-Wenjack Fund.  Mr. Pertinax was intrigued by the box and I happily showed him one of the latest resources to support Indigenous topics within the classroom.  Mr. Pertinax was excited to learn more as this is a topical area newer to him with the recently revised Learning Standards.  After discussing the resources in detail, Mr. Pertinax and I arranged to meet during his prep to formulate a plan to integrate some of the Legacy lesson ideas in the library, with a specific intention of technology inclusion.

The levels of use stage of the CBAM enables the teacher-librarian to evaluate the usage of the program.  (CBAM: The Concerns-Based Adoption Model, 2015) For teachers who have moved past the stages of concern and are actively using the library program, where the level of usage is at needs to be understood to help the progression of change for the classroom teacher.  In the case of Mr. Pertinax, though he exhibits routine use of the learning commons space, he does not exhibit routine use of the program.

I utilized my time with Mr. Pertinax to interview his level of use.  After a short interview similar to the a reference interview, Mr. Pertinax is at the orientation stage of the CBAM dimension levels of use.   He referenced colleague’s library program use, which was at the integration stage of the CBAM levels of use and it seemed clear that Mr. Pertinax was ready to engage more with the program.  He observed from his colleagues the ease of program usage with teacher-librarian support.  Currently, Mr Pertinax demonstrates the following characteristics of the orientation stage:

  • a general interest
  • would like to know more
  • takes initiative to learn more (Huang, n.d.)

In our subsequent meeting, we determined a research assignment on Indigenous issues in Canada focusing on the topics: 60s scoop and Residential Schools.  The entire lesson is designed through google classroom and research exclusively through the use of Curio, Gale’s Global Issues In Context Canada and CBC News.  We discussed the selected video clips I chose from Curio’s Secret Path Collection to integrate with the lesson.

Mr. Pertinax’s lesson at the library was engaging for his students, who were able to interact with technology more than they have in lesson thus far.  Mr. Pertinax was able to see his students’ knowledge with technology, though vaster than his, was not an obstacle for his lesson. He was able to manage students and resources effectively, but was impressed by the students’ level of engagement with the task.  Mr. Pertinax left the learning commons after his lesson with a sense of accomplishment and is ready to discuss another class project.  Mr. Pertinax has moved up the CBAM level of use scale and is set to become a regular user of more than just the space but rather the program.

“Change is a process and not an event” (Loucks-Horsley, 2015)

When learning new approaches to learning the act of change involves acquiring new skills, but also relies on the adjustment of attitudes and beliefs. (CBAM: The Concerns-Based Adoption Model, 2015) Further, according to Loucks-Horsley, she states that changes in classroom practices are not singular events but rather occur over a three to five years before they are fully in place.  The CBAM model can be implemented effectively in the library when working with all teachers but the recognition that teachers will likely be at different levels within the diagnostic dimensions.  Even as the teaching profiles vary from beginning teacher to experienced, teachers who are continually adopting new curricular implementation challenges, whether this is utilizing new resources, strategies or learning models. For the library program to be successful, the end goal requires steady teacher-librarian collaborative support to help classroom teachers evolve on the CBAM scale and to ultimately achieve school-wide implementation of the program.

The teacher-librarian is “the one person on staff whose prime function is to support teachers in unit planning and lesson delivery. Teacher-librarians are committed to collaboration. We work best when we work closely with individual teachers in the critical areas of designing authentic learning tasks and integrating the research and technological pieces required by various IRPs.” (Lindsay, 2005)

Works Cited:

BCTLA Info Lit Task Force. (2011). The Points of Inquiry: A Framework for Information Literacy and the 21st century Learner. [Poster] British Columbia Teacher-Librarians Association. Retrieved March 4, 2020 from https://bctla.ca/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/the-points-of-inquiry.pdf.

Canadian School Libraries (CSL)  (2018) “Leading Learning:  Standards of Practice for School Library Learning Commons in Canada.” Retrieved March 5, 2020 from http://llsop.canadianschoollibraries.ca

CBAM: The Concerns-Based Adoption Model. (2015, December 8). Retrieved March 5, 2020, from American Institute For Research website: https://www.air.org/resource/cbam-concerns-based-adoption-model

Glazer, Gwen. [Photograph]. (2017 ).  Finding A Book When You’ve Forgotten Its Title.  Retrieved March 7, 2020 from https://www.nypl.org/blog/2017/11/22/finding-book-forgotten-title

Huang, P. (n.d) Concerns-Based Adoption Model: Levels of Use.  Retrieved March 7, 2020 from https://sites.google.com/site/ch7cbam/home/levels-of-use

Lindsay, K. (2005, September). Put A Teacher-Librarian On Your Team. Teacher, 18(1), 7. Retrieved March 7, 2020 from https://www.bctf.ca/WorkArea/GetAsset.aspx?id=49643

Loucks-Horsley, Susan. (2015) “The Concerns-Based Adoption Model (CBAM): A Model for Change in Individuals”. National Standards and the Science Curriculum (ed. Rodger Bybee). Iowa: Kendall/Hunt Publishing.  Retrieved March 3, 2020 from https://s3.wp.wsu.edu/uploads/sites/731/2015/07/CBAM-explanation.pdf

MacKenzie, T. (2019). Classroom Inquiry’s Secret Weapon: The Teacher-Librarian. Canadian School Libraries Journal, 3(1). Retrieved March 5, 2020 from http://journal.canadianschoollibraries.ca/classroom-inquirys-secret-weapon-the-teacher-librarian/

“Reference Interviews” [Photograph]. (n.d). Retrieved March 5, 2020 from https://ic.softlinkint.com/blog/reference-interviews-time-and-cost-expensive-or-not/

Riedling, A. M., & Houston, C. (2019). Reference skills for the school librarian: Tools and tips (4th ed.). Santa Barbara, CA: Libraries Unlimited, an imprint of ABC CLIO.

 

 

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02/23/20

2020: The Role of the Teacher-Librarian

Managing and Evaluating Reference Services

“In today’s rapidly changing society, students must have the opportunity to develop the ability to retrieve, assess, and apply information. As we equip students with these skills, we will help ensure that learning does not end with the completion of formal education, but continues throughout life.”  (Information Literacy Committee & Davies, n.d)

The theme of managing and evaluating reference services explored topics: reference interviews, managing a reference collection and evaluating reference services. Within these areas, however, the theme explored the over-arching question – what is the role of the teacher-librarian?  Our class discussions focused on defining the role in 2020 and how the role of the teacher-librarian has evolved.

I have always rationalized the most essential role for the teacher-librarian is to develop, build and maintain a collection for the school community.  This is a multi-step process that involves collaboration, fostering relationships with staff and students as well as being knowledgeable with curricular needs.  A teacher-librarian needs to have an understanding of course topics, upcoming projects and students’ reading preferences.  Riedling says that “one of the primary functions of a school librarian is to assist students in the use of the library and its collection.”  In order to ascertain what a student wants, a teacher-librarian must conduct a reference interview. (Riedling, 2019, pg. 89)

 

Riedling further explains the reference interview in detail from exploring approachability and question types to creating a quiet, comfortable setting. Riedling’s discussion with the reference interview centrally focuses on the student/teacher-librarian reference interview and lacks highlighting the inclusion of the classroom teacher to the process, thereby minimizes the importance of cooperative planning.  (Mueller, Lesson 5) Integrating cooperative planning within the role of the teacher librarian is a key component to supporting reference skills though Cooperative Program Planning and Teaching.

Russell’s article, “Teachers and Librarians: Collaborative Relationships” defines collaboration as being “based on shared goals, a shared vision, and a climate of trust and respect (Muronago & Harada, 1999). Each partner fulfills a carefully defined role; comprehensive planning is required; leadership, resources, risk, and control are shared; and the working relationship extends over a relatively long period of time.” (Russell, 2000) Shared collaboration between teachers and teacher-librarians is pivotal to running a successful learning commons.

The Learning Commons

Many of the discussions in this theme have centered on evaluating – what is the role of the teacher librarian? The answers that rise often relate to approachability, flexibility, and collaborators. School libraries have been changing over the past decade and libraries go beyond being places that exclusively house resources.  On my school’s library homepage, our philosophy is shared with the community and states: “our library is a learning commons where physical and virtual spaces overlap and students and staff work independently and collaboratively.” (“Welcome to the Home Page of Rockridge Library Learning Commons”, n.d.)  The below video from Richmond School District, elaborates on the evolution of the library to learning commons.  The learning commons philosophy contributes to shaping the role of the teacher-librarian, most notably in how it relates to cooperative planning.

(Richmond SD38, 2019)


Cooperative Planning:

At my school the library team aims to engage in cooperative planning with teachers from the start of the year.  This begins with quick refreshers on databases and new material in staff meetings and email blasts.  We encourage classes/teacher collaboration and invite teachers to discuss upcoming topics they plan to explore, and we talk about ways we can help support information skills.  We also find hosting early in the year a staff gathering with hot chocolate and treats as well as a display of pre-selected fiction and teacher resources brings the community together.

Another way to jostle collaboration has been to maintain records from past years.  What did Science 11 work on last November or what topics did English 12 begin in January? One example of this in my current teacher-librarian assignment, we anticipate months in advance that Social Studies 10 is going to be studying The October Crisis and FLQ in the spring, as they have done so in the past. Before Christmas, we checked in with all of the Socials 10 teachers as well as Learning Support to see if our current collection meets the needs of our students and anticipated research assignments.  It was reconfirmed, after our initial assessment, that our resources were academically advanced and would not meet the needs for all learner profiles.  We began researching for easier reading texts and ended up allocating a healthy chunk of the budget to developing this section in the library, knowing that all learner profiles would benefit from the additions. For a teacher-librarian to develop and build a successful collection, fostering relationships to ascertain community needs is essential.  The best way to determine those needs are through cooperative planning and reference interviews.  Essentially through cooperative planning with subject experts, teacher-librarians can efficiently conduct reference interviews with students, by being prepared with reference material selections and provide instruction on information skills. (Mueller, lesson 5)

(“Collaboration“, n.d.)

How Cooperative Planning Connects to Evaluation of References?

“Teacher-librarians work collaboratively with other teachers and school administrators to develop information literate students. Teachers and teacher-librarians work together to develop an instructional program that ensures that information literacy outcomes are integrated into student learning experiences in a developmental and sequential manner. These experiences allow students to learn and practice the necessary information skills across the curriculum. Teacher-librarians develop school information literacy plans that pinpoint the levels at which specific skills will be introduced and identify subject areas where they are most appropriately incorporated” (Asselin, 2003, pg. 57)

In the example mentioned earlier with Socials Studies 10 topics of the October Crisis and FLQ, an evaluation of references was undertaken and prompted by:

  1. Self-evaluation
      • Did our references adequately support students/teachers on this topic last year? How can it be improved?
  2. “A statistical evaluation of the use of reference materials (circulation, reference interviews, student use etc.);” (Mueller, Lesson 7)
      • Much of the reference materials are not permitted to be signed out, however, we are now maintaining scans on Destiny when these are accessed in reference interviews, so that the evaluation of circulation can be measured.  In the topic of FLQ and October Crisis, no reference texts appeared to be used.
  3. “An evaluation of the “satisfaction” levels of students and teachers using the reference collection;” (Mueller, Lesson 7)
      • We engaged in discussions with classroom teachers to understand research goals and to discuss reference material selections we currently have.  What might improve?  This collaborative approach helped us understand areas to focus on improving within the collection.

It is not practical to do the above for every reference source or even topic, however, in this case, it felt like the best approach.  Mueller discusses evaluating reference services more broadly-beyond a singular reference text or topic within reference, but rather to look at the collection holistically. Some other considerations for evaluating reference services would be:

    • Comparisons to accepted “Standards” outlining best practice, for example Achieving Information Literacy: Standards for School Library Programs in Canada.
    • An evaluation of the teacher-librarian’s role as the person delivering the reference services
    • Peer (teacher-librarian to teacher-librarian) evaluation;
    • Administrative evaluation of our library program in general; (Mueller, Lesson 7)

Further, when evaluating reference services, and “deciding where and how learning resources should be organized, located, and stored, those involved in these decisions must ensure that the resources are easily accessible by staff and students. The format, cost, and number of learning resources, as well as the personnel and facilities available, will be factors in these decisions.” (Evaluating, Selecting and Managing Learning Resources: A Guide, 2002, page 87)  The guide further explores how the organization of support should be divided into three areas: intellectual access, physical access and digital access.  Riedling touches on this briefly and reinforces the need for a planned, organized, weeded and accurate arrangement of a reference collection.  She acknowledges, “at the elementary level, reference instruction continues to use print sources because of the difficulty young children experience in navigating the Internet.  However, the use of print resources decreases as the level of education increases because older students can make effective use of the sophisticated search interfaces and the wide variety of reference resources available online.”  (Riedling,2019, pg. 26)

Final Thoughts:

Maintaining a reference collection that meets the needs of the school community is one of the largest responsibilities for teacher-librarians.  It goes beyond curating a collection and requires continual cooperative planning/collaboration with teachers, understanding the school community and curricular needs, frequent evaluation of reference services, budget maintenance and record keeping.  Record keeping should include past library lessons, research requests and statistic information about the circulation of the collection as well as database use.  Teacher-librarian roles evolve and adapt much like our spaces have and the flexibility to move and grow keeps the job exciting.

“Collection Development is a process of systematically building library collections to serve, study, teach, research and meet other needs of students and teachers.” (Riedling, 2019, pg.15)

References:

Asselin, M., Branch, J., & Odberg, D. (Eds.). (2003). Achieving information literacy: Standards for school library programs in Canada. Retrieved from http://accessola2.com/SLIC-Site/slic/ail110217.pdf

Canadian School Libraries (CSL) [Image]. (2018) “Leading Learning:  Standards of Practice for School Library Learning Commons in Canada.” Retrieved from:  http://llsop.canadianschoollibraries.ca

Collaboration. (n.d.). Retrieved February 23, 2020, from
https://www.surreyschools.ca/llc/instructionalpractice/collaboration/Pages/
default.aspx

Evaluating, selecting, and managing learning resources: A guide. (2002). Victoria, B.C.: British Columbia Ministry of Education.

Information Literacy Committee, & Davies, J. (n.d.). Resource-Based Learning. What is it? Retrieved February 20, 2020, from Information Literacy & Learning website: http://www.edu.pe.ca/BIL/bil.asp?ch1.s2.gdtx

Mueller, Aaron. (2020) Lesson 5: The Reference Interview: Cooperative Program Planning and Teaching for Personalized Inquiry.

Mueller, Aaron. (2020) Lesson 7: Evaluating Reference Services.

Richmond SD38 (Producer). (2019). The Evolution of the Library [Video file]. Retrieved from https://youtu.be/5sadWGKFs4k

Riedling, A. M., & Houston, C. (2019). Reference skills for the school librarian: Tools and tips (4th ed.). Santa Barbara, CA: Libraries Unlimited, an imprint of ABC CLIO.

Russell, S. (2000). Teachers and Librarians: Collaborative Relationships. Eric Digests, (ED444605). Retrieved from ERIC database.

​Welcome to the Home Page of Rockridge Library Learning Commons. (n.d.). Retrieved February 20, 2020, from http://www.sd45slc.ca/about-rockridge-library.html

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