Theme 2: Managing and Evaluating Reference Services

 The Evolution of The Librarian

                                                                                                        Video credit: Vancouver Public Schools

What does being a librarian mean?  

For years, I thought it was a person who loves books, loves reading, and will always know the answers to your questions or at least where to find them in a book.  The Oxford dictionary defines a librarian as “a person who is in charge of or works at a library.” (Oxford, 2023) On the other hand, The Collins Dictionary defines them as people “who are in charge of a library or have been trained to work in a library.” (Collins, 2023).  To be honest, these definitions are so vague it really makes you wonder if people outside of the profession actually know what the role of a librarian is.  Even as a teacher, I never fully grasped the true role of a teacher-librarian until I decided to become one and started learning more.

But what does this role really entail?  To be honest, I am still learning, and it never ceases to amaze me how many hats this profession holds.  Through my courses, LIBE 467 included, I have learned that a teacher-librarian is:

• The heart of the school: the learning commons and its teacher librarian are like the kitchen in a house, where everyone gathers to experiment, learn, and relax.  Their job is to make sure their library is a welcoming place where everyone will feel safe not only to learn but to be who they truly are.

• The person in charge of making sure everyone has equal access to resources: as teacher librarians, our job is to ensure our students’ learning needs are met.  We need to provide a variety of multi-modal resources so everyone has a chance to succeed.

• An advocate of equality and freedom: as teacher-librarians, it is our job to make sure we provide a variety of points of view so our patrons can make informed decisions.  We are in charge of helping them develop critical thinking skills in this digital era where they have access to an infinite number of resources at the click of a button. 

Credit Image: Neil Gaiman

Theme 2 has also taught me that a Teacher-Librarian is a reference advisor (a resource guide), a collection curator, a 21st-century online expert, and a budget allocator.  I’m sure that as I continue on my learning journey, I will learn of many more roles TLs have within our school community…if that’s not a superpower I don’t know what is!

Lesson 5: Cooperative Planning – Why Collaboration is Important

Credit Image: Pinterest 

As I continue to read through the lessons and weekly discussions, one thing keeps coming up and that is the importance of collaboration in teacher-librarianship.    I can now see that this role functions best when there is open collaboration amongst teachers, administration, students, and the whole school community. 

  

Riedling explains the importance of collaboration through the “reference interview.”  She states that teacher-librarians can strategically determine what the students want by conducting one-on-one reference interviews, “a conversation between the school librarian and the student for the purpose of clarifying the student’s needs and aiding in meeting those needs.” (p89) As an interviewer, the teacher-librarian’s primary role is to determine “efficiently and productively” the student’s information needs in terms of “the nature, quantity, and level of information the student requires, as well as the most appropriate format.” (Oxley, UBC 2023) She also states that this process is “an essential part of reference services and a major function of all school librarians.” (p89). But how can they achieve this? How do they know if the reference interview was successful?

Furthermore, Riedling tells us that in order to effectively conduct reference services, the teacher-librarian should not only be familiar with both print and digital resources in the collection, but they should also possess great communication skills and be competent at evaluating, organizing, and selecting resources based on their school community’s needs.  She also states that the success of the reference interview is not only whether or not the student got the resource they needed, but also how they felt during the process.  If they felt that they were given adequate attention as well as accurate resources, then Riedling says that the interview was successful.

The Canadian Library Association, on the other hand, sees the teacher-librarian as the facilitator of collaboration among teachers, students, and the school community.  Their document Leading Learning states that the TLs have the role of “facilitating collaborative engagement to cultivate and empower a community of learners.” (p8) The focus here is more on teachers, students, and teacher-librarians working together to learn, rather than just being led to the right resource.

Leading Learning Standards of Practice for School Library Learning Commons in Canada

During one of my courses this past semester, I was introduced to the infographic made by the Surrey Teacher-Librarian Association.  I find it very useful because it summarizes what Teacher-Librarians can do to foster a collaborative culture in our learning commons and school community.  The document also states that the success of the learning commons, and its ability to deliver the services and programs available, “require a higher degree of collaboration” and communication among the Teacher-Librarian and the school community as a whole. (BCTLA, 2019)

Image Credit: BCTLA Surrey Charter

Lesson 6: Managing the Reference Collection

Teacher-Librarians also have the responsibility of managing and developing the collection. Riedling describes collection development as “the process of systematically building library collections to serve, study, teach, research, and meet other needs of students and teachers.  The process includes the selection and weeding of current and retrospective materials, the planning of strategies for continuing acquisition, and evaluating collections to determine how well they serve user needs.” (p15) She also states that the effectiveness of a collection can be better achieved if the teacher-librarian works collaboratively with key players such as admin, classroom teachers, students, district staff, and the community.  Again, Collaboration is seen as a key element in teacher-librarianship.  

Other key elements we must mention are time and budget.  During our group discussion, I discovered that I am not alone and others share the same feeling of frustration when it comes to time and money!  Teacher-Librarians already have so much on their plates, trying to run an effective 21st-century Learning Commons that just adding the thought of also becoming community leaders and advocates for our students with the little time and depleting budget we have, seems almost like an impossible task to achieve. 

Riedling states that in order to have a collection that is useful for everyone, “an active and continuous program of weeding must be maintained.” (p17) My job share partner and I have been trying really hard to continue to take time for weeding, even if at times we do it a small shelf at a time due to having to add more prep blocks to our schedule, or having to step in as classroom teachers due to staff shortages.  Time to collaborate is also hard to come by! 

Empowering Learners: Guidelines for School Library Media Programs states that “the school librarian collaborates with the teaching staff to develop an up-to-date collection of print and digital resources in multiple genres that appeals to differences in age, gender, ethnicity, reading abilities, and information needs.” (AASL, 2017). We certainly have had to be very creative in finding time to talk to our colleagues to see what resources are working and what they would like to see in the SLLC.  Talking with students, on the other hand, is a bit easier since we see them in the hallways or at the learning commons more often.  

Image Credit: World Book Encyclopedia

 The reference collection also needs time and funds to be able to be supported appropriately.  We know that our job is to make sure that we are meeting the needs of our students and staff by providing access to various multimodal sources.  These can be very costly!  A set of printed encyclopedias can cost over $1,000.  We also need to take into account that “print encyclopedias should be replaced every five years as the information becomes outdated.” (Riedling, 2019) 

When it comes to online resources, we are lucky that our school district has paid for online subscriptions to resources like World Book Kids, National Geographic, Helix, Curio, and Learn 360 to name a few.  Each year, TLs are provided with a list of usernames and passwords to access all these online resources; again this is great! However, this also requires the teacher-librarian to teach staff and students how to gain access.  My job-share partner and I have taken time during staff meetings to present one resource at a time, so we do not overwhelm our teachers.  We have also offered to come and show classes how to access these at home.  Ideally, we would like to collaborate with classroom teachers during projects so we can show students (and teachers) the benefits of having access to these amazing resources.  As K. Oxley suggests, it is the teacher-librarian’s “responsibility to ensure that a resource is used and used well in an ongoing way.  In order to ensure effective spending of budgets, it is essential that the entire collection be used on a regular basis by students and teachers, and this includes the reference section.” (Oxley, 2023)

Lesson 7: Evaluating Information Services

Image Credit: Creative Commons

Evaluation of a library service is not as simple as stating what is working and what needs improvement.  It is more complex than that.  Riedling asserts that in order to provide top-quality resources and reference services, a teacher-librarian must be aware of the needs surrounding their school community and be able to select, organize, and evaluate resources that will meet those needs.

Evaluating reference services (as well as the entire collection) is important because it allows the teacher-librarian to be fully aware of how much and how well references and reference services are used by members of the school community. (UBC, 2023)

According to K. Oxley, the following steps must be included in any evaluation of reference services:

• A statistical evaluation (raw data) of how much the reference materials are being used

• A satisfaction survey from all patrons using the services.

• Comparisons to standards outlining best practices (using the IFLA standard document as well as the standards outlined in Achieving Information Literacy: Standards for School Library Programs in Canada.)

• An evaluation of the Teacher Librarian’s role after delivering the reference service

• Peer evaluations

• Administrative evaluations of the library program as a whole

• Self-reflection/self-evaluation 

(Theme 7 LIBE 467, UBC, 2023)

This theme has touched on yet another layer in the teacher-librarianship job.  It never ceases to amaze me how much difference we can make in our school community through collaboration, effective management of the collection, and evaluations of the reference services.  I continue to be humbled by everything I am learning on this Teacher-Librarianship journey; one thing I know for sure…no task is too big or too small for a TL, Teacher-Librarians are definitely superheroes!

Image Credit: The Library Voice

Works Cited:

Asselin, Marlene, et al. Achieving Information Literacy Standards for School Library Programs in Canada. Canadian Association for School Libraries, 2003. 

Canadian Library Association. (2016) Leading Learning – Standards of Practice for School Library Learning Commons in Canada. Canadianschoollibraries.ca. https://llsop.canadianschoollibraries.ca/Links to an external site.

Gaiman, N., & Riddell, C. (2018, September 6). Neil Gaiman and Chris Riddell on why we need libraries – an essay in pictures. The Guardian; The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/books/gallery/2018/sep/06/neil-gaiman-and-chris-riddell-on-why-we-need-libraries-an-essay-in-pictures

IFLA School Libraries Section Standing Committee Edited by: Barbara Schultz-Jones and Dianne Oberg, with contributions from the International Association of School Librarianship Executive Board 2nd revised edition IFLA School Library Guidelines. (2015). https://www.ifla.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/assets/school-libraries-resource-centers/publications/ifla-school-library-guidelines.pdf 

Oxford Dictionary. (2019). Oxford Learner’s Dictionaries | Find definitions, translations, and grammar explanations at Oxford Learner’s Dictionaries. Oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com; Oxford University Press. https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/us/

Oxley, Kristie. Lessons 5-7 LIBE 467: Information Services 1. Canvas, UBC, 2023. Class lecture. canvas.ubc.ca

Riedling, A. (2019) Reference skills for the school librarian: Tools and tips, (Fourth Edition). Libraries Unlimited.

Vancouver Public Schools. (2013). The Changing Role of School Librarians. In YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2dy3xQgsi1o

What about T-L Collaboration? BC Teacher-Librarians’ Association. https://bctla.ca/2019/02/17/what-about-t-l-collaboration/

Assignment 1: Evaluation of a Reference Work

 

Image credit: Cuke Archives

Introduction:

Geographical sources are considered an integral component of any school library collection.  They provide information about places such as historical data, location, weather, topography, name places, etc.  Riedling defines Geography as “an interdisciplinary science.  (This) subject encompasses an interdisciplinary perspective that allows the observation and analysis of anything distributed in earth space and the development of solutions to problems based on such analysis.” (Riedling, 2019). Thanks to the internet, our world has quickly become a global society giving us access to a lot more information than we use to have at our fingertips, this has also given our students the opportunity to explore places beyond their immediate community, making geographical sources a necessity.  As Teacher Librarians we “will find that there are as many reasons for consulting geographic resources as there are students in the school.” (Riedling, 2019).  Although the internet has made it easier to access online geographical sources, it is still important to house print sources in our Learning Commons.  

The following report will evaluate the Historical Atlas of British Columbia and the Pacific Northwest by Derek Hayes.

Community Context:

Prior to beginning the evaluation, it is important to mention the audience this source is intended for.  Laity View Elementary is located on the traditional territory of the Katzie First Nation and Kwantlen First Nation (Maple Ridge, BC). It is a K-7 dual-track school with a school population of 619 students from various nationalities.  Laity View is considered the 2nd largest school in our district due to the fact that it runs both a French Immersion and an English Immersion program. Considering the size of our school and the additional funding from the French Immersion program, our school has approximately $6500 allocated to our Library Learning Commons for the current school year.  A portion of these funds will be used towards replacing a few of our outdated reference sources with other works which will align better with our current B.C. Curriculum Learning outcomes, especially the section on Indigenous Histories in our region.  Moreover, the new sources will also contribute towards achieving one of our school’s long-term goals of integrating First Nation perspectives into our lessons.

Our Library Learning Commons houses a rather small section of reference materials situated in a corner under one of our front windows.  The sources range from a newly acquired Atlas of the World (2019) to our Atlas de Merveilles (1979).  Most of our online references are found on the district website under the “Students” tab.  

    

Reference section at Laity View Elementary

Image credit: Karla Vernon

Part 1: Evaluation of a Significant Reference Resource

The source I have decided to evaluate for this assignment is the Historical Atlas of British Columbia and the Pacific Northwest, by Derek Hayes.  Looking critically at this source will shed some light on the state of our reference section and will answer some important questions regarding relevancy, currency, curriculum connections, and whether or not the source merits a place in our Library Learning Commons.  

Image credit Karla Vernon

Image Credit Karla Vernon

 

Carol Singer states that “selecting the highest-quality appropriate reference materials for a collection is one of the most important functions of managing a reference collection…almost all books of reference possess defects as well as merits; it is difficult indeed to find one that is perfect…as the curriculum changes, the academic library must respond by adding new reference materials that will meet these new needs.” (Singer, C. 2012 p.45). Keeping this in mind, I decided to begin my evaluation by applying the MUSTIE technique mentioned by Riedling and Houston in Reference Skills for the School Librarian: Tools and Tips.   

MUSTIE chart created by K. Vernon

The next step in my evaluation process was to take a closer look at the resource.  Riedling and Houston state that “by using appropriate evaluation tools and criteria, the school librarian is better able to judge whether a particular source meets the needs of the student population.” (Riedling & Houston, 2019 p.23). Thus, after carefully reviewing the various rubrics found in Standards for School Library Programs in Canada and the criteria set by Riedling, I have created a rubric which includes the following categories:

1) Accessibility: whereabouts is the resource located? Can it be accessed by all learners? is the content age appropriate? Is the reading level appropriate for the intended audience? Does the resource meet the diverse learning needs of our school community?

2) Accuracy: are the maps drawn to scale such that accurate comparisons may be distinguished between a verbal scale and a representative scale?  Is the map legend easy to read? Is the content accurate? Is the geographical information up to date? 

3) Authority: is the resource published by a reputable publisher? Is the resource published by an unknown or smaller publishing company? If so, are there other works from the same publisher that can be checked out? Any reviews?

4) Currency: is the geographical information up to date? If used as a historical resource, is the information too obsolete or inaccurate?

5) Format: does the page layout make it easier for the reader to find information? Are the illustrations and maps clear, appropriate, and functional for the intended audience? Does the layout take into consideration the various learning needs of students?

6) Curricular connection: is the resource connected to the current learning outcomes, big ideas, curricular competencies, and content covered in the BC curriculum?  Does the resource support the rationale and pedagogy of the BC curriculum?

7) Objectivity: is the content presented in an objective/unbiased way?  Is there any content that has been excluded, changed to paint a different picture, emphasized or deemphasized?

8) Indexing: does the resource provide an easy-to-follow index? Does the index provide references to maps showing features such as latitude/longitude/grid information?  Is the index in alphabetical order?

9) MUSTIE score: how well does the resource score on the MUSTIE scale? 

Evaluation Rubric: Historical Atlas of British Columbia and the Pacific Northwest, by Derek Hayes

Accessibility: Emerging 1 out of 3

Although the resource is available on loan for a week by anyone who wishes to sign it out, it is very difficult to find without the help of the teacher-librarian.  You have to physically take students to the section to find it.  Furthermore, due to the layout of the Atlas, not every learner will be able to use it independently.

Accuracy: Emerging 0 out of 3

Even though this is a historical atlas, and some information is correct, it is considered outdated as it is written from a colonialist perspective, there is no mention of First Nations’ perspectives throughout the resource. There is no scale to show whether the maps have been drawn to scale, the legend is also missing or hard to find.

Authority: Developing 1 out of 3

This resource was published by Cavendish Books Vancouver, a small local publisher (this is a plus). However, I had trouble finding a lot of reviews or other reputable work published by them.  

Currency: Emerging 0 out of 3

The atlas was published in 1999 and revised in 2000. Even though it is a historical atlas, it is still outdated, also some information is obsolete as current sources have incorporated First Nations’ perspectives into their content, aligning it to the current BC Curriculum learning outcomes and core competencies. (See figure 3 and 4)

Format: Emerging 0 out of 3

The layout makes it very difficult for our intended audience to find the information they seek without the assistance of the teacher librarian or classroom teacher.  The maps are also very small and hard to read.  The visual layout is also confusing, making it hard to meet the diverse learning needs of all our students. 

Curricular connection: Emerging 0 out of 3

Not only does this resource focus on Colonization and Exploration, themes that are covered in high school (see figure 3), but it also does not consider the consequences experienced through colonization by the various First Nations bands living in that region prior to the Explorers coming to what is now called British Columbia (see figure 4).  

Figure 3: BC Curriculum grade 8 Social Studies

Figure 4: BC Curriculum Grade 3 Social Studies

Objectivity: Emerging 0 out of 3

This resource is lacking cultural and indigenous perspectives. Some of the information is very biased and does not align with the new curricular and Content competencies making it inaccurate for adept learning.

Indexing: Developing 1 out of 3

There are two indexes at the back of the atlas.  The content index is in alphabetical order, making it easier to find information, only if you know exactly what you are looking for.  However, with the help of the teacher librarian or any other adult, the student would be able to find what they are looking for.  The map index, however, is not in alphabetical order but rather in a numerical sequence.  This makes it hard because you would have to leaf through the whole Atlas, find the map you are looking for, look at the number in the bottom left-hand corner and then find the information in the index.  There are way too many steps for the audience this resource is intended for.

MUSTIE score: Emerging 0 out of 3

After applying the MUSTIE weeding technique, the resource rated 6 out of 6, which means it needs to be weeded and replaced by something else.

TOTAL SCORE: 3/27

PART 2: Evaluation and Review of a Potential Replacement Resource

In today’s fast-changing world, teacher librarians are faced with the dilemma of having to choose the resource format that will make the most sense for their school community.  Some reference sections have seen a decrease in printed format, our Learning Commons being part of that trend.   However, we need to keep in mind that “librarians have an obligation to select and support access to all content on all subjects that meet, as closely as possible, the needs of ALL persons in the school community the library serves.” (Mardis, M. 2016, p239). Furthermore, the CASL states that “the school library provides access to information in all formats, at all levels, and to all members of the learning community.  As the quantity of information escalates, the number and variety of information formats expand…the school library plays an important role as a gateway to all information resources.  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.” (Asselin, M. et al, 2006).  Keeping this in mind, I have decided on the printed source that I think would be a good addition to our reference section.

The replacement resource is the Indigenous Peoples Atlas of Canada (4 volumes)

                                    

Image credit: Amazon Canada

Evaluation Rubric: Indigenous Peoples Atlas of Canada

Accessibility: Extending 3 out of 3

The printed version comes in both printed format and online through the publisher’s website.  What I like the most about it, is that you can access the information without having to pay a subscription which is excellent when it comes to keeping budget in mind.  Having a pdf version will also give us the opportunity to use “read-text” features with some of our diverse learners. 

Accuracy: Extending 3 out of 3

The atlas was printed in 2018, and being only 5 years old, the information is still rather accurate.  The maps have been drawn to scale and have a colour-coded legend, making it easier for our students to follow.

Authority: Extending 3 out of 3

This atlas was created by the Royal Canadian Geographical Society, published by Canadian Geographic, and funded by the Government of Canada in partnership with Canada’s National Indigenous Organizations.  All involved in the creation of this source are reputable and well-known organizations.

Currency: Extending 3 out of 3

The Atlas was published in 2018, according to Riedling “because the world is changing so rapidly, it is of utmost importance that the school library provides up-to-date geographical information.  A world atlas that is five years old or more portrays enough obsolete information to be considered only for historical purposes.” (Riedling & Houston, 2019) Since this will be considered a historical atlas, we do not need to worry about the fact that it is now 5 years old.

Format: Proficient 2 out of 3

The layout is very user-friendly.  It is also more appealing and can support diverse learning needs (bigger font, if using the online version you can use a read-text feature for struggling readers, etc). The illustrations and maps are also current, colourful, easy to read, functional, and appropriate for most of the intended audience (upper intermediate can use this source independently, whereas the younger audience would need the help of the TL or classroom teacher.)

Curricular Connection: Extending 3 out of 3

The source supports the current BC curricular learning outcomes, big ideas, and content learning standards.

Objectivity: Extending 3 out of 3

The source provides students with an Indigenous perspective on the history of Canada.  It is well-aligned with the current provincial curriculum.

Indexing: Extending 3 out of 3

The resource has an easy-to-follow index (it is in alphabetical order).  It is very easy to read, and it even provides some images of important words.  The volume containing all the maps displays a simple index with map number as well as page number to make it easier for students to find what they are looking for.

MUSTIE Score: Extending 3 out of 3

The source scores 0/6 in the MUSTIE scale.  This makes it a good resource to have on our shelves in our Learning Commons. 

TOTAL SCORE: 26/27

Conclusion 

After careful evaluation of both resources, I highly recommend purchasing the Indigenous Peoples of Canada Set for our Learning Commons at Laity View Elementary.  By taking a closer look at the score, you can see that the resource is very user-friendly, and can be accessed both online (the Canadian Geographic website has a link to a PDF version of the set) and by using the print version at the Learning Commons.  Furthermore, a good advantage of this source is that it also comes in French (Atlas des peuples autochtones du Canada), this is a key component when purchasing this resource as both our French Immersion Program and English Immersion Program can use it.  The current price for the set on Amazon Canada is $94.84, you can also purchase it at both Chapters and Good Minds for $99.99.  Furthermore, I would recommend it mostly for intermediate students because of the complexity of the content.  However, that is not to say that primary students will not get the opportunity to look at the pictures and maps and read them with the aid of an adult.  Although it would certainly be more costly to buy both language sets, it would still be worth the purchase given that the resource would be very useful to continue to achieve our school goal of integrating First Nations Ways of Knowing into the curriculum.    Finally, it is of the greatest importance to start replacing some of the existing reference sources in our learning commons, not only because a lot of it is outdated and does not fully support the current BC Curriculum outcomes, but also because having a printed source would help us meet the needs of those students who cannot use online resources.  Our school district has been focusing on developing an online reference section for everyone to use, so these printed works will help us continue to provide a variety of multimodal formats to our school community.

References:

• Asselin, M., Branch, J., & Oberg, D., (Eds). Achieving information literacy: Standards for school library programs in Canada. Ottawa, ON: Canadian School Library Association & The Association for Teacher-Librarianship in Canada.

• British Columbia: A New Historical Atlas: Hayes, Derek: 9781771622110: Books - Amazon.ca. (2023). Amazon.ca. https://www.amazon.ca/British-Columbia-New-Historical-Atlas/dp/1771622113 

• Building Student Success - B.C. Curriculum. (n.d.). Curriculum.gov.bc.ca. https://curriculum.gov.bc.ca/curriculum/social-studies/3/core

• Canada, atlas des peuples autochtones du. (2018). La Commission de vérité et réconciliation. Atlasdespeuplesautochtonesducanada.ca. https://atlasdespeuplesautochtonesducanada.ca/section/la-commission-de-verite-et-reconciliation/

• Canadian, R., Canadian Geographic Enterprises, & Indigenous Resources Collection. (2018). Canadian Geographic Indigenous Peoples Atlas of Canada. Kids Can Press.

• Hayes, D. (1999). Historical Atlas of British Columbia and the Pacific Northwest. Cavendish Books Inc. 

• Indigenous Peoples Atlas of Canada. (2018). Indigenouspeoplesatlasofcanada.ca; IPAC. https://indigenouspeoplesatlasofcanada.ca/

• Riedling, A. & Houston, C. (2019). Reference Skills for the School Librarian: tools and tips. Libraries Unlimited.

• School District 42 - Maple Ridge & Pitt Meadows. (n.d.). Maple Ridge - Pitt Meadows School District 42. https://www.sd42.ca/

• Singer, C. A. (2012). Fundamentals of Managing Reference Collections. American Library Association.

• Wikipedia Contributors. (2019, February 9). Indigenous Peoples Atlas of Canada. Wikipedia; Wikimedia Foundation. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indigenous_Peoples_Atlas_of_Canada

• Weeding Library Collections. (2009, May 4). OLC Small Libraries. https://olcsmalllibraries.wordpress.com/2009/05/04/weeding-library-collections/