Chasing Relevancy
Each morning the sun travels across our sky trying to chase down the moon, and each night the moon follows the same trajectory and tries close the gap. They are stuck in a cycle of eternal pursuit without conclusion. Somedays, as I learn more about the monumental task of managing and evaluating a reference collection, I feel as though I have entered a similar dichotomy. Teacher librarians will always be chasing relevant resources and those same resources will inevitably need to be replaced.
Theme Two
In studying theme two I learnt about the basic requirements and the steps needed to take when evaluating resource materials. By reading the chapters from Riedling's Reference Skills for the School Librarian, I was given concrete examples of what constituted acceptable reference resources. This was complimented by Achieving Informational Literacy which provided examples for what below standard, acceptable and exemplary reference resources would look like. For a first year teacher-librarian this was valuable information I could apply directly into my library the next day. Documents such as Leading Learning (2014) and the above-mentioned, gave me evaluation tools to assess where my library was and which steps were needed to progress its development.
The Role of the Teacher Librarian
But the role of the teacher librarian is more than just an evaluator, manager and replacer of resources in a school library. Articles such as Teachers and Librarians: Collaborative Relationships (Russell, 2001) remind us that “collaborations, leadership and technology” come together to bring us the vision for the future of libraries". A vision that’s echoed by the Leading Learning document when it says, “the library program in the past was on building strong collections of resources and assisting users to find and use them effectively, the goal now is to build learning communities and make connections among learners, thus facilitating knowledge creation in the school community (2014, p.4)”. Teacher librarians are catalysts for learning. Just as we would in a reference interview, we interact and survey our school and use our professional judgment to recommend teaching tools, resources and promote spaces conducive for collaborative learning.
I appreciated the visual below which reminds me of how we serve the school’s learning needs so broadly as well as this video, which although it does not encompass the entirety of our role, it does illustrate that the teacher librarian of today is more than just a keeper of resources:
https://www.bythebrooks.ca/leading-learning-in-the-school-library-learning-commons/
Physical vs Digital Reference Resources
Another theme which emerged from theme two was the idea of digital and physical copies of reference materials. In the blog posts and comments, my classmates have been careful to acknowledge the benefit of physical books as opposed to a solely digital reference section. Ms Zmukic, for instance states in a blog post reply, "I think students can find value in both physical and electronic references. There are pros and cons for both. Electronic forms as you said can be accessed everywhere although not everyone has access to a device. Physical copies can be shared with students and we can teach them how to search through a dictionary and find what they are looking for. " I tend to agree, but I would also suggest that there still exist prejudices against digital resources. I think this cartoon captures it well:
So, in my new role as teacher librarian, I might be forever chasing the lofty notion of having a fully relevant and up-to-date library resources available to my students. I might even have to justify the relevancy of my position during this age of COVID19 and restricted budgets. But thankfully for all us teacher librarians, our role is more multi-faceted not defined solely by the pursuit of relevant resources. Wherever our resources, our libraries or ourselves are on the continuum of growth, we will chase relevancy and enjoy the pursuit.
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.
Ms.Zmukic. (Oct. 11, 2020). A Quality Picture Dictionary is Worth a Thousand Words. https://booknbloom.blogspot.com/2020/10/a-quality-picture-dictionary-is-worth.html?showComment=1602477186599#c2638131017573661057
Nate Fakes (2015). Retrieved from Mystery Reader. (October 21, 2020). Cartoon of the Day:Dictionary http://mysteryreadersinc.blogspot.com/2015/01/cartoon-of-day-dictionary.html
Riedling, A. & Houston, C. (2019). Reference Skills for the School Librarian: Tools and Tips (4th ed.) [eBook edition]. Libraries Unlimited.
Shayne, R. (2001). Teachers and librarians: Collaborative relationships. ERIC Digest. Syracuse, NY: ERIC Clearinghouse on Information & Technology. Retrieved from https://www.ericdigests.org/2001-2/librarians.html
Standards of Practice for School Library Learning Commons in Canada. Retrieved from: https://www.bythebrooks.ca/leading-learning-in-the-school-library-learning-commons/
I feel like you have accurately described my own feelings in your blog post. In Lesson 7 Aaron quotes Mae West and said "It's not necessarily what you've got, but what you do with what you've got that's important". I think just like a teacher the job of a teacher-librarian is never done. New books come, old books go, we train volunteers as old volunteers leave. But at the end of the day the information we provide the students with should be their largest take away. Not every library will have a large collection but I think what is more important than a large collection is knowing what resources we have, our connections with students, being able to collaborate with classroom teachers and creating a safe space for students to explore and ask questions.
ReplyDeleteLuisa T.
ReplyDeleteHi Suzanne, thank you for sharing your post. This post is very well-laid out and helped me reflect on many aspects of Theme two that I do not believe I gave enough attention to in my own reflection piece. I agree with you and believe that many teachers and non-teacher adults have prejudices against digital resources. It is similar, in my opinion, to many adults (other teachers and parents) view on the new reporting system at our school- e-portfolio reporting. Many people are asking to still see a letter grade to truly understand how their child is doing. In a way, they are refusing to open their mind up to the new way of considering and seeing their child's learning growth as reflected electronically, in the portfolio. I think it will all take time. And it may not be until today's students are the parents that adults understand the benefits of portfolio reporting/digital resources, mainly because they will have grown up with this way of life.
Luisa T.
Good reflection on the last theme and the topics and ideas that resonated with you. Your insightful analogy of the sun chasing the moon really captures the sisyphean tasks we all face as Teacher-Librarians, constantly evolving and adapting our programs and collections. A good overview of the key ideas, new awareness and deeper understanding that you've collected and curated from the last few weeks. Some good connections to our course texts and reference resources as well.
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