“Google can bring you back 100,000 answers. A librarian can bring you back the right one.”
Neil Gaiman
Prior to working as a Teacher Librarian, I had no idea about everything they did for our school community on a daily basis. I was under the impression that they would share their love of reading, do book exchanges, help with a question, and put together book sets for a unit we were studying. Boy was I wrong…These past few years have taught me that I could not have been further away from the truth than the distance between Earth and Neptune!
Perhaps my biased way of thinking stemmed from past experiences with previous TLs. If you have read my previous blogs, you would already be familiar with my predicament. Here is a refresher, as you know, before my job-share partner and I took over our library, we would only be allowed to go in for book exchanges and if we needed books for units we were teaching, we could send an email and presto…our box would be delivered to our classrooms (like magic!).
Furthermore, our library schedule was fixed, with little to no opportunity to access resources at other times besides your assigned slot. Once we took over, we decided to have a hybrid model, where we could assign fixed slots for primary grades (with room to be flexible) and a more flexible schedule for our intermediate classes. Marcia Mardis taught us that having a hybrid model would “allow us to have more responsiveness to changing learning and teaching needs, give us a chance to tailor to student development levels, and give us the opportunity to offer consistent access to the library.” (Mardis, M. 2016 p37). Following this schedule has allowed our students and staff to access the learning commons more, not only for research activities but also for pleasure. Little by little, we realized how much our collection was being impacted by this new influx of people. More research meant we needed to take a closer look at our collection, were our students accessing the right sources? was our collection meeting the learning needs of everyone? We started thinking about ways to “develop a collection that include(d) the materials needed to support such activities…(start) collaborating with classroom teachers to provide integration of the teaching of information skills into the curriculum, and at the same time develop a collection tailored to the needs of (ALL) our students and teachers.” (Mardis, M. 2016) Carol Singer takes it one step further by saying that our job as Teacher Librarians also includes "selecting the highest-quality appropriate reference materials for a collection...(This) is (considered) one of the most important functions of managing a reference collection...not only must the content of the collection be carefully selected, but the person in charge of the collection must constantly reevaluate what should be purchased and what should not be purchased." (Singer, C. 2012 p.45) Say what?! Needless to say, we panicked at first because as new TLs we had no idea what that entailed!…talk about being thrown into the deep end without swimming lessons!
Scheduling sure was an eye-opener for us when it came to really look into evaluating our collection; however the money shot was realizing that not only are we in charge of providing the best resources we can to help our students and staff reach their full potential, but we are also to be the tech gurus of the school, the curators in this digital era, the go-to person for anything inquiry related, and the main advocate when it came to making sure our 21st Century learners have access to all the resources they need to succeed. And here I was thinking that my main job as a librarian was to share my love of reading with my students!!
Mark Ray explains what librarians have had to do to “reinvent” themselves to be able to meet the needs of our school community. He says that due to this fast-changing “hurricane of technology,” we have had to transform ourselves into “information and technology gurus (aka Tech Wizards).” (Ray, M., 2017) Moreover, Melanie Sibley also shares what transformation she has had to go through to be able to help her students become information literate, she says that “as we educate ourselves about something (in this case the evolution of library services), we learned that the difference between perception and reality can be quite different…we are no longer librarians but Librarian Media Specialists, Teacher-Librarians (Literacy Magicians).” (Sibley, M., 2016) Our job is now to provide students with bibliographic instruction. Riesling defines it as “any activity designed to teach students how to locate and use information which goes beyond the physical boundaries of the school library…with the explosion of technologies that exist within, and yet beyond, the walls of libraries today,” TLs need to equip students with the necessary lifelong learning skills needed to excel in this era. (Riesling & Houston, 2019) Wow, talk about a powerful statement!
You can listen to both TED Talks by clicking the links below.
Mark Ray: Changing the Conversations About Librarians
Melanie Sibley: The Evolution of a Librarian
One of the statements that really got me thinking about our job as Reference Gurus is the definition Riesling gives when talking about our Learning Commons, she says that they are “more than books on a shelf, school libraries are (now) places for personal growth and reinvention, for getting help in navigating the World Wide Web, a gathering place for civic and cultural engagement, and a trusted learning environment for building a culture of collaboration.” (Riesling & Houston, 2019).
This really got me thinking…is there such a thing as a magic formula, a trick, or anything that could help us become the gurus we ought to be? What can we do to be able to “help students use library resources to obtain relevant and credible information that meets their needs?” (Riesling & Houston, 2019). Our roles have certainly changed now with the introduction of what I like to call the “Google Ocean of Knowledge,” aka the internet. Since our students have come to depend on it to find all the answers to their questions with just a few clicks, we (TLs) need to then become the trained magicians “with the ability to assist students in extracting the desired data to meet specific informational needs.” (Riesling & Houston, 2019). TLs need to understand that the issue with information gathering today is not related to access or quantity, it has more to do with finding the right authoritative sources and showing our students how to effectively and efficiently use the Internet to gain knowledge.
I am really looking forward to seeing what else I learn this term in regard to Reference Sources. More importantly, how I can become the “Tech Guru” my school community needs. I know that I do not need to be perfect but more of a vessel of information, one of the captains of our ship with the main role of guiding our students through this sea of knowledge and helping them get where they need to go. I will continue to enlist the help of all our teaching staff and the community of Teacher librarians in our District. It does take a village to raise the new generations after all. As Teacher Librarians, we must accept all these changes, not resist them. Students need now more than ever, to be taught information literacy skills. Our Learning Commons have now become key players in “providing resources and instruction for the 21st-century learner to reach the desired learning standards that required students to be fluent in critical inquiry and decision-instruction (in this new digital era).” (Riesling, 2019)
Let’s remember that as the saying goes “Opportunities are like sunrises. If you miss them, they are gone.” Let’s all embrace this new change and do our best to ensure we meet the needs of today’s students by not only carrying out our traditional role of “bringing information resources to learners, but also providing the tools and infrastructure that enable learners to analyze, synthesize, and evaluate resources in ways that demonstrate learning and create new knowledge….” (Binkley, M. & Erstad, O., 2009)
So, is there a magic formula to do all this you ask?
Mardis, M. A., & Phyllis Van Orden. (2016). The collection program in schools: concepts and practices. Libraries Unlimited, An Imprint Of Abc-Clio, Llc.
Mattson, K. (2017). Digital citizenship in action: empowering students to engage in online communities. International Society For Technology In Education.
Miller, S., & Bass, W. L. (2019). Leading from the library: help your school community thrive in the digital age. International Society For Technology In Education.
Riedling, A. M. & Houston, C. (2019). Chapters 3-8: Reference and the school library: An overview. Reference skills for the school librarian: Tools and tips (4th ed.). Libraries Unlimited.
Singer, C. A. (2012). Fundamentals of Managing Reference Collections. American Library Association.
Hi Karla, Thanks for sharing you thoughts and experiences! I too really had no idea how much is encompassed in the role of a TL and wow was it a reality check once I started working in my library! My experiences with past TLs definitely shaped my view as well. I love how you've taken charge of changing the narrative with your own library! I love the idea of a hybrid schedule and how you've already seen such a positive impact! I have yet to be a part of making the schedule at the beginning of the school year, but that type of change is exciting to think about! Thanks again! Tracy
Hi Karla,
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing you thoughts and experiences! I too really had no idea how much is encompassed in the role of a TL and wow was it a reality check once I started working in my library! My experiences with past TLs definitely shaped my view as well. I love how you've taken charge of changing the narrative with your own library! I love the idea of a hybrid schedule and how you've already seen such a positive impact! I have yet to be a part of making the schedule at the beginning of the school year, but that type of change is exciting to think about!
Thanks again!
Tracy