Katey's Blog

Research. 10 Online Research Tools Every Online Learner Should Know About. eLearning Industry. Web. Accessed 30 Mar 2018. What I have learned in this last unit is just how many different sources of information there are to draw from. From the depths of the world wide web, to indexes, directories, almanacs, databases, dictionaries, encyclopedias and geographical sources (and everything in between), there are a myriad of different places to obtain information. The sheer amount of information available is staggering and can be very overwhelming. How do we decide which resources are best for any given situation? How can we help students to know which resources to turn to, and how to avoid the bumf? I found that these videos useful for introducing students to the different uses for reference resources (at the elementary/middle level): For Elementary Students : Part One of this lesson was included in my previous blog post The Lonely Reference Section: For Middle Schoo...

Under review in this evaluation are the library reference services and resources surrounding print and online encyclopedias at a local Middle School. In this particular library learning commons, there are a lot of excellent references resources, but there are many ways in which we could improve it to better serve the students. Using professional resources, I have evaluated the collection of encyclopedias to understand the areas where improvements could be made. Present Condition of the Encyclopedias In this library, encyclopedias “are catalogued, inventoried, organized, and circulated through the school library, but are not available to all users.” (Asselin, Branch & Oberg 2003 40) Unfortunately, “little, if any, provision is made for access to information resources beyond the school,” which means accessibility to resources can be somewhat difficult. (Asselin, Branch & Oberg 2003 40) Students cannot check-out the reference resources, they can only view them while in the ...

Book Shelf . Nerdglaze. Web. Accessed 13 Feb 2018. Over the last few weeks, we have learned a lot about the role of the reference collection in the library. I have noticed that it is always the loneliest section of the library, and students seem to avoid it to favour of online databases and fiction novels. Knowledge of the Reference Section I myself had a few questions about this important topic. What can we do to improve the overall sentiment about the reference area of our libraries? How can we ensure that students know how to navigate these resources and help them along their way to becoming information literate? And finally, how can we ensure that our reference sections are providing the best information for our students? I believe that the key to improving anyone’s opinion on any subject is knowledge . I feel that students are intimidated by these larger books that they don’t know how to navigate. It is our job to make them feel comfortable using all type...