Assignment #3- Evaluation plan to improve my reference services
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 library. There is only one copy of reach reference resource, so it greatly limits the amount of possible use. Also, many of the reference resources are in need of repair or replacement and are “weeded infrequently.” (Asselin, Branch & Oberg 2003 40) After an evaluation of the possible resources, I discovered that almost all are more than 10 years old, which according to Reference Skills of the School Librarian, indicates that they are due to be replaced. (324) This is due to to major budget constraints and the high cost of encyclopedias. Currently there is a 22 Volume Set of the World Book Encyclopedia, but it was published 12 years ago. Other items are simply no longer appropriate, such as the Encyclopedia of North American Indians (published in 1997).
There are many encyclopedias to choose from, here is a sampling: The Encyclopedia of Mammals (2006), World Book (2006), The Encyclopedia of technology and applied sciences (2000), Encyclopedia of Discovery: Science and History (2002), Encyclopedia of Health (2010), Encylopedia of North American Birds (2006), Encyclopedia of Great Civilizations (1994), Encyclopedia of the Ancient World (2001), Encyclopedia of Drawing Techniques (1987), The Encyclopedia of the First Peoples of North America (1999), World Atlas and Encyclopedia (2001), The WorldBook Encyclopedia of Science (2000), The World Book Student Discovery Encyclopedia (2000), The Usborne Internet Linked Encyclopedia of Ancient Greece, Rome and Egypt (2001), The Usborne Internet Linked Encyclopedia of Religions (2002), Meriam-Webster’s Encyclopedia of Literacy (1995), Encyclopedia of Biomes (2002), World Book’s Encyclopedia of Flags (2005)
Oversized Books: Encyclopedia of Events that Changed the World (2002)
Other Languages: Fleurus la grande encyclopedie: religion (2000)
All library resources are included in the catalogue, and the online reference resources for this library are excellent, including 10 reference databases and 3 online encyclopedias (written below).Therefore, the print area of this library learning commons is the aspect that requires further development.
Available Online Encyclopedias for our Students:
The Canadian Encyclopedia: http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/en/
The Encyclopedia of British Columbia: http://knowbc.com/ebc/Books/Encyclopedia-of-BC
The Encyclopedia of Raincoast Place Names: http://knowbc.com/placenames/Books/The-Encyclopedia-of-Raincoast-Place-Names
Why Change is Necessary
“All planning should stem from your vision for the school library program.” (Weisburg & Toor 2015 147) The overall goal for this local Middle school library is to improve the collection of encyclopedias and the support surrounding them. Changes to these print and online reference resources will improve information literacy and research skills for students.
This area is not best serving the students because they are far less accessible than other aspects of the library collection. The encyclopedias are only available in one language, one format and do not take into account the various needs of the learners in this Middle School. Seeing as “reference resources must be accessible to the entire student population regardless of linguistic or physical limitations,” (Standards of Practice for School Library Learning Commons in Canada 23), it seems that the lack of resources will adversely affect student learning by not reaching many of the students with learning, reading or visual difficulties. This means that these students would not be able to use print resources for their library research. Their information literacy skills would suffer as a result. “The ideal library [should] have encyclopedias in many formats,” (Reidling, Shake & Houston 2013 71) and while there are a few items in French and large print, more should be done to accommodate all learners.
Another concern is the timeliness and permanence of this collection. With almost all encyclopedias dating over ten years, many of these resources no longer contain the most up-to-date information available. There is a possibility that there is information contained in these works that it is no longer current. As such, it is a disservice to the students to have reference resources that may no longer be accurate. For example, if a student is looking at an older Atlas for a research project, they may be looking at maps that will have changed in recent years. This will affect the accuracy of their information gathering. These old or possibly defunct books should no longer be in the library and should be weeded.
The lack of proper weeding in this library is another issue. Weeding is an essential part of being a teacher librarian, and “abdicating this responsibility degrades the appearance of the collection and creates the opportunity to spread dangerous or misleading information.” (Dickinson 2005) For example, “much of the health and nutrition information from the 1960s and 1970s has been found to be completely false. Scientific facts have changed our perception of the world. The library media center collection should not be an interactive museum of equipment, media, and information from past generations.” (Dickinson 2005)
My final concerns are regarding the availability of these resources and student understanding thereof. As previously mentioned, reference texts cannot be removed from the library by students. Therefore, they cannot be brought home to use for research. Many students prefer to do their schoolwork at home, which might account for why these resources are largely unused. Also, many students are unaware of how to use print and online encyclopedias. More must be done to enrich their understanding so that they become information literate students who are able to use all types of research tools. In essence, we want the students to use the encyclopedias more often and be comfortable with the format.
Should students have resources that are up-to-date, visually appealing, accessible to all learners and also have the knowledge how to use them, that will create a well-used reference section. Encouraging information literacy and a healthy use of the encyclopedias are important goals for this school library learning commons.
Step-by-step plan to improve the reference section
Step 1) Immediately change library policy to allow students to check out reference resources. Make announcements over school P.A. to inform students and staff, also ensure to write it on library website and twitter.
Step 2) Sign up to receive Seedlings Braille Books for Children, which “offers free articles in braille from the World Book Encyclopedia for students in grades 1-12.” (Paths to Literacy)
Step 3) Evaluate the resources individually to determine which are appropriate and which must be replaced. They must be evaluated based on “accuracy, authority, currency, format, indexing, objectivity and scope.” (Reidling, Shake & Houston 2013 72) It will be important to keep in mind “whether existing resources adequately support the particular learning outcomes that teachers are addressing in the classroom, the individual learning styles and abilities of their students and the needs of individual students.” (Evaluating, Selecting and Acquiring Learning Resources: A Guide 66) The librarian must consider if keeping certain book is a good use of library space, or are there more appropriate books (or other media) that would be more beneficial to the students? Using both Achieving Information Literacy and Evaluating, Evaluating, Selecting and Acquiring Learning Resources: A Guide, decide which resources will stay and which must be replaced. This will take 1-2 months. Using the rubric I created to evaluate Exploring Ancient Civilizations will also be helpful for the evaluation:
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Issue
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Poor
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Acceptable
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Exceptional
|
|
Relevancy
(Is this the most
current document available?
|
This resource has not
been updated many years. The information is out of date and is no longer
accurate.
|
This resource has not
been updated in some time. Other resources exist with more up-to-date
information on the topic, but the information remains accurate.
|
The resource is the
most up to date on the subject and is constantly being updated to incorporate
new information. Information is accurate
|
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Currency
(How current is the
resource? Does it requite updating? Is it a resource that requires updates
every 5 years?)
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More than ten years
old. Requires immediate replacement.
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Five years old,
information is still current and does not require updates
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The source was printed
within the last year and does not require
updates. All information is current
|
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Curricular Connections
(How much of the
curriculum is covered in this resource? Does it cover different subjects,
grades?)
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Little to none of the
subject matter is in-line with BC Curriculum.
It will not be useful for planning lessons
for any of the grade levels at the school.
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Some areas of the
resource are in-line with BC Curriculum. The source is pertinent for some
subject matter and grade levels.
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The content in this
resource is completely in-line with BC Curriculum and covers a wide range of
topics and grade levels
|
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Use of Library Space
(Does it benefit the
students to keep the resource? Are there similar resources?)
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Rarely used, other
sources are available with similar information that are easier to use (online
databases)
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The resource is used
somewhat often (once a month)
Other resources exist
that compliment this resource
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Resource Is in high
demand for students and in constant use.
There are no similar
resources to compliment this resource
|
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Purpose
(Does having the print
resource enrich the students’ experience? Is it better than an online
database? Does it meet the needs of the students?)
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Resource is poorly
organized and includes no images. It fails to capture the attention of
readers. The writing is not suited to the age group for which it is designed.
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Resource is somewhat
well organized and contains some visual aids. The language is somewhat
suitable for the age group.
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Resource is very well
organized, easy to navigate and engaging. It is written to suit the needs of
the particular age group and can be understood by different ability levels.
|
Step 4) Weed resources. Weeding will be a continuous process, but all resources that no longer contain accurate or appropriate information must be weeded as soon as possible.
Step 5) The level of need for the resources should be considered. It must be decided which are the most pressing and which can be replaced in later years. Those that should be ordered first are the core materials, large print, and the “significant number of resources [that] are worn, damaged, missing components or need of repair.” (Asselin & Marlene 2003 47)
Step 6) Create a ten-year timeline for ordering the replacement encyclopedias. This year the library budget is 7,000$. The encyclopedias can account to up to 1,400$ (20%) of our annual spending. This should take the librarian around 1 month to compile.
Step 6) Once it is decided which resources must be replaced, make a list of desirable replacement candidates, including pricing. Priority must be given for “maintenance of core materials,” (Johnson 2013 105) such as general use encyclopedias. Due to the high-cost of many of the print encyclopedias, I suggest replacing the World Book (paper cost 1200$) with the online version of the World Book Encyclopedia online, which is now paid for by the school district. It is also available in English, Spanish and French. It includes a dictionary, atlas and timeline search, as well as options for listening to the text (to benefit students with visual impairments). It provides “accuracy, objectivity and reliability in research materials for both children and adults,”(Reidling, Shake & Houston 2013 72) so we know it is a trustworthy source that our students can benefit from using. I also suggest replacing Exploring Ancient Civilizations (320$) with the free online encyclopedia (ancient.eu). This will help to keep the costs low so that more resources can be replaced. Also, the currency of these online formats is superior because they are constantly updated. This means that these items will not require replacing every 5-10 years. However, also having encyclopedias available in print will ensure that students are aware of how to use both formats. Regarding the replacement of other encyclopedias, it would be prudent to use Kister’s best encyclopedias or School Library Journal to review the best possible candidates. This will also take minimum 1-2 months.
Step 7) Introduce teachers to the new online encyclopedias via a recorded or in person tutorial. For any students who are visually impaired in the school, offer to give personal tutorials to assist them with locating the new braille articles and listening option of the online World book Encyclopedia.
Step 8) Input all new resources into the library online catalogue.
Step 9) Over the course of 1-2 months, invite each teacher to bring their homeroom class to the library for a lesson on the use of encyclopedias and a tour of the library’s online and print resources. This is also a good opportunity to offer additional lessons about information literacy to any interested teachers/students.
Step 10) Post a list of potential encyclopedias in the school library for students to peruse:
Country reports (www.emulateme.com), encyclopedia.com, www.britannica.com, Encyclopedia Smithsonian (http://www.si.edu/encyclopedia), infoplease (http://www.inforplease/com/encyclopedia/), Surfnetkids Online Encyclopedia (http://www.surfnetkids.com/encyclopedia) (Riedling, Shake & Houston 2013 77-78)
Considerations
The process of updating the references in the library will take up to 10 years, as the budget does not allow for the resources to be purchased immediately. However, making immediate improvements such as ordering braille items and improving reference instruction in the library can be done in a matter of months (approximate timelines are mentioned in the step-by-step plan above). Ensuring that the resources are well advertised and understood in the school can also be done almost immediately.
The entire school will be involved in this process, whether by taking the tutorials or learning more about reference services. However, the work will be entirely completed by the teacher librarian. All changes will be communicated via the library website, Twitter and the school P.A. system. Whenever there is a new resource, it will be featured on the website and the library bulletin board. Teachers will also receive an email about any new encyclopedias with a quick summary explaining its’ contents.
The list of potential replacement resources will change each year as new encyclopedias are published. Therefore, continued research will be necessary to decide upon the best new resources.
The follow-up for this library improvement will be continuous. Each year, more resources will need to be ordered and other encyclopedias will be weeded out of the collection. The librarian will need to continue research to determine the best possible new resources. Also, each year, tutorials for homeroom classes surrounding the use of encyclopedias will need to be repeated. The success of this plan will be determined by the use of the encyclopedias and if there is an improvement in student information literacy skills.
Success will mean that:
- Encyclopedias are being used frequently, both in the library and at home (by checking out materials or using online options). It will also mean that students in the school will be confident using these encyclopedias, and will not shy away from the reference section when in need of research materials. Should the librarian need to explain how to use or find encyclopedias, it will mean that more work will need to be done to improve reference services.
-Encyclopedias will be available in English/French and options for large-print and braille will be available.
-The resources are up to date and have been properly weeded.
-Teachers and students will know how to navigate the reference section and questions about proper use of encyclopedias will be minimal.
Works Cited
Asselin, Marlene, et al. Achieving Information Literacy: Standards for School Library Programs in Canada. Canadian School Library Association, 2003.
Dickinson, Gail. "Crying over Spilled Milk." Library Media Connection, vol. 23, no. 7, April/May 2005, pp. 24-26. EBSCOhost, ezproxy.library.ubc.ca/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=lls&AN=502952010&site=ehost-live&scope=site.
“Evaluating, Selecting and Acquiring Learning Resources: A Guide”. ERAC, https://www.bcerac.ca/resources/whitepapers/docs/ERAC_WB.pdf
Johnson, Doug. The Indispensable Librarian: Surviving and Thriving in School Libraries in the Information Age. Linworth, 2013.
“Paths to Literacy.” Free World Book Encyclopedia Articles in Braille!, www.pathstoliteracy.org/resources/free-world-book-encyclopedia-articles-braille.
Riedling, Ann Marlow, et al. Reference skills for the school librarian: tools and tips. Linworth, 2013.
“Standards of Practice for School Library Learning Commons in Canada.” Leading Learning, Canadian Library Association, llsop.canadianschoollibraries.ca/.
Weisburg, Hilda K., and Ruth Toor. New on the Job A School Librarians Guide to Success, Second Edition. American Library Association, 2015.
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