A Librarium of Adventure – A reflective journal into the world of teacher librarianship

Critical Reflection – ETL523

I’ve long upheld the conviction that digital learning is a crucial component of contemporary education. Utilising technology in my classroom has been a source of enjoyment, as I have found it to foster student engagement and inspiration. Despite this, working through this subject has expanded my perspective, and I now view digital learning environments in schools with a new lens. Billingsley (2024) emphasises the importance of digital literacy, highlighting its role in shaping our lifelong learning journey. This notion deeply resonated with me. Reflecting on my own schooling experience thirty years ago, we only scratched the surface of technology, learning just enough to compose a resume or indulge in simple games like Snake. It is eye watering how much technology has evolved in such a short amount of time. Technology skills are no longer only the requirement of people in certain industries, they are a necessity for engagement in our globalised and interconnected world. Pangrazio & Sefton-Green (2021) explore this notion with their explanation of the exceptional reach digital technologies have into every aspect of our lives – social, political, economic, and personal. This is only exacerbated by the concept of context collapse, which Loh & Walsh (2021) describe as a blurring of the lines between an individual’s previously compartmentalised life. The idea that students are not just using technology and online spaces for work related activities, make the teaching of it even more crucial.

The significance of the teacher librarian’s role has never been more pronounced. As skilled professionals, we bear the crucial responsibility of interweaving various elements to construct a meaningful, integrated digital learning environment. Teaching these skills cannot remain isolated; technology and its pervasiveness mandates its integration across the curriculum. Moreover, students must not only acquire these skills but also be provided with opportunities to analyse, interpret, create, and innovate using them.

In my interactions with colleagues throughout this subject, sharing my digital creations has demonstrated to me the multifaceted role teacher librarians can assume. I found that the sharing of technology and its production encouraged collaboration rather than hindered it (Dawkins, 2024)

Engaging with this subject has also shown me the obstacles hindering the effective integration of technology in classrooms. (Livingstone, 2014, pg.9) observes the sluggishness of schools in embracing technology, citing various reasons such as time constraints, teacher proficiency, and lack of resources. Additionally, Donahue (2015, pg. 23) introduces another barrier: teachers’ beliefs, which significantly influences the outcomes of technology integration efforts. Delving into research for my gap analysis task revealed numerous articles discussing how teachers’ attitudes towards technology can impact students’ achievement of these outcomes. Many teachers are still unsure about technology, even believing that it can have a negative impact on students and their development.

This growing knowledge has expanded my perspective on my role—not solely as an advocate for children’s technological literacy but also as an educator and supporter of teachers. I now perceive my role as a teacher librarian through a broader lens, recognising it as one of paramount importance within the school community.

References:

Billingsley, K. (2024, March 14). Module 2.2: Rethinking Digital Literacy. Little Irish Librarian. https://thinkspace.csu.edu.au/librarianship2022/2024/03/14/module-2-2-rethinking-digital-literacy/

Dawkins, B. (2024, March 23). Creating Digital Tools – a Reflection. A Librarium of Adventure. https://thinkspace.csu.edu.au/bdawkins/2024/03/23/creating-digital-tools-a-reflection/

Donahue, C. (2015) Technology and Digital Media as Tools for Teaching and Learning in the Digital Age. In C. Donahue (Ed.), Technology and Digital Media in the Early Years: Tools for Teaching and Learning (1st ed., pp. 21-35). Taylor and Francis.

Livingstone, S. (2014). Critical Reflections on the benefits of ICT in education. In C. Davies, J. Coleman, & S. Livingstone (Eds.), Digital Technologies in the Lives of Young People, (1st ed., pp. 9-24). Routledge. https://eprints.lse.ac.uk/42947/1/__libfile_repository_Content_Livingstone%2C%20S_Critical%20reflections_Livingstone_Critical%20reflections_2014.pdf

Loh, J. & Walsh, M. (2021). Social Media Context Collapse: The Consequential Difference Between Context Collusion Versus Context Collision. Social Media + Society 7 (3). https://doi.org/10.1177/20563051211041646

Pangrazio, L. & Sefton-Green, J. (2021). Digital Rights, Digital Citizenship and Digital Literacy: What’s the Difference?. Journal of New Approaches in Educational Research 10(1), 15-27. http://DOI:10.7821/naer.2021.1.616

Creating Digital Tools – a Reflection

In my teaching practice, I make a deliberate effort to incorporate various digital tools to enhance student engagement, promote collaboration, and equip students with essential skills for the modern world. Research has demonstrated the strong correlation between the use of digital tools, student motivation, and positive learning outcomes (Heindl & Nader, 2018). One aspect I particularly value is how online resources can expand students’ perspectives and engage them in learning experiences beyond the confines of our classroom walls. Until now, I have primarily relied on ready-made digital tools gathered over my years of teaching, never considering the possibility of creating my own.

Initially, I felt daunted by the task of creating a web-based guide and digital artifact for this assessment. I questioned whether my technical abilities were sufficient to develop something truly valuable that could address a technology need in my current context. However, as I delved into the task, I was pleasantly surprised by my ability to create, although not without encountering challenges. Overcoming issues such as video syncing, ensuring functional links, and creating a user-friendly design led me to seek assistance from my colleagues. This process of collaboration yielded a surprising discovery: my utilisation of technology actually fostered increased collaboration as I sought help from my colleagues, asking for guidance on video syncing in Canva and verifying the functionality of my links. This finding has ignited my curiosity and serves as a catalyst for potential future action research on the impact of technology on student collaboration in the classroom.

I intend to utilise my web guide to assist teachers in my school in understanding how artificial intelligence (AI) can be implemented ethically and responsibly in the classroom. Given the prevailing hesitancy in my current context towards embracing technology, I hope that through education and exploration, it can be the start of alleviating their concerns and showcase the benefits of digital technologies for teaching and learning.

References

Heindl, M., & Nader, M. (2018). Digital technologies in a design and technology lesson and their influence on a learner’s situationally perceived value of a task when engaged in inquiry-based learning. Journal of Computers in Mathematics and Science Teaching, 37(3), 239-263.

The Digital Divide

When we think of the concept of the digital divide we often think of those that have and those that have not. However, this is a far more complex and nuanced issue.

The Oxford Dictionary (2024) defines this concept as: ‘the gulf between those who have ready access to computers and the internet, and those who do not.’ Before thinking and reading about this, I would have summarised this concept in a similar way. However, I know it to be broader. Even though it does capture access to technology in its essence, it also refers to those who have the right skills and training to utilise digital technology, infrastructure, connectivity, inclusive sites for those with a disability and even your location.

The Australian Digital Inclusion Index (2023) tells us that 1 in 4 Australians are digitally excluded and those at the highest risk are: People with low levels of income, education and employment, those living in some regional areas, people aged over 65 and people with a disability (ADII, 2023).

Key data from the ADII (2024) gives us a lot of interesting data: Some key figures that caught my attention:

Digital exclusion is closely linked with age. Of those who are digitally excluded, 48% of those are aged 75 or older.
The nation’s digital ability score is only 64.5%
The affordability of digital technology in Australia is high – 95% affordability score.
Additionally, those living in public housing, living alone and First nations people are still the most disadvantaged when it comes to digital inclusivity.

It was interesting to compare this to places elsewhere – one being Finland. It is described as a highly digitalised country where being online is necessary for essential services, such as banking, taxation and pensions (Lehtinen et al., 2023). It was interesting to note that because of the need for all citizens to be digitally active, action research had been undertaken to consider the impact that librarians are having in providing this all important education and access to some of Finland’s disadvantaged citizens. (Lehtinen et al., 2023) discusses the services that local libraries provide, such as:

free bus shuttles to local libraries for those living in isolated communities
extended opening hours, catering to a wide variety of clientele.
free access to digital services, especially computers
their vast network of local libraries mean that it is within a reasonable distance for most people to access

The study outlines that this kind of support is not isolated to Finland, but in many countries around the world, even in America – where the digital support patrons get at their local library is often superior to the service they receive from the actual providers (Giesler, 2017)

This confirmed what I knew all along – librarians and libraries are the answer to society’s problems!!

____________________________________________

Australian Digital Inclusion Index (2023) Measuring Australia’s Digital Divide. https://www.digitalinclusionindex.org.au/

Giesler, M. A. (2017). A place to call home?: A qualitative exploration of public librarians’ response to homelessness. Journal of Access Services, 14(4), 188–214. doi:10.1080/15367967.2017.1395704

Lehtinen, E., Seppo Poutanen, & Kovalainen, A. (2023). Librarians bridging the digital divide: Experiences from Finland. Journal of Access Services, 20(3-4), 120–140. https://doi.org/10.1080/15367967.2023.2292210

‌Oxford Dictionary. (2023). Oxford English Dictionary. Oxford University Press. https://www.oed.com/

‌

AI – My thoughts

The explosion of AI technologies into our society has come with great fear across the education sector. Many teachers are afraid of what it will do to learning and assessment, with fears of academic dishonesty rife. In our traditional methods of assessment and learning, teachers have relied heavily on written tasks to demonstrate knowledge. Students now have at their disposal bots that can write essays in seconds, solve complex problems and answer questions (Chiu, 2023). This new technology, often deemed either angel, or devil, has given motivation for my own reflections on the value of written assessment and the potential for these new platforms to invigorate learning.

Oddone et al. (2023) in their article, Navigating Generative AI: The teacher librarian’s role in cultivating ethical and critical practices, undertake research using 3 different AI platforms, utilising the CATWOE framework methodology. Of particular interest was the implementing TL’s worldview – which is based upon ‘their own beliefs about learning, teaching and their understanding of the tools ‘capabilities and limitation’ (Oddone et al., 2023, pg. 16, para.2). My own worldview is to utilise and explore new technologies and what they can offer students as an asset and additional method to build creative and critical thinking. My only detriment is often the time it takes to explore and learn these new platforms. I am aware, however, that for other educators in my school, this may not be their worldview. I can only approach this with sensitivity, and offer support and education around these tools. New technology can often be a scary process for people, such as the arrival of calculators or citation generators – which many thought would be the antithesis of student learning (Dobrin, 2023). I appreciate the work done by Furze (2023) and the information he provides for schools via the article Teaching AI Ethics. This work provides me with an essential overview of what I need to take into consideration when educating others around the use of AI and its many implications. The infographic he provides for educators in this article provides this overview in a way that can spark conversation for a deeper dive into each of these issues: AI Ethics Infographic

As we broach the topic of AI in my current school, we can either go two ways – to ignore and silence it; or to teach students the critical skills they will need as they continue to live in a world where AI (and it’s continual evolvement) is a reality. I believe balance is key. Teaching students the critical use of these tools sits alongside other methods of information – such as databases, books, online articles and interactions with their teachers is one way to move forward.

My current challenge is to:

allocate time to explore the many different AI platforms – getting to know their settings and purposes and how they could be utilised in a school environment
Consider the needs of the teachers in my school – what do they need to know? Do they need to learn the language of these tools, or given a broad overview of the ethical considerations when using these tools in the classroom (especially with students being under 18)
How could these tools be used in the assessment of learning? What consideration and ideas could we look at that may invigorate the methods we have traditionally used to assess student learning? Are these methods encouraging critical thinking? Are they preparing students for the world beyond the classroom?

References

Chiu, T. K. (2023). The impact of Generative AI (GenAI) on practices, policies and research direc-tion in education: a case of ChatGPT and Midjourney.Interactive Learning Environments,1–17.https://doi.org/10.1080/10494820.2023.2253861.

Dobrin, S. I. (2023).Talking about generative AI: A guide for educators. Broadview Press.https://sites.broadviewpress.com/ai/talking/.

Furze, L. (2023) AI Ethics. https://leonfurze.com/2023/01/26/teaching-ai-ethics/

Oddone, K., Garrison, K., & Gagen-Spriggs, K. (2023) Navigating Generative AI: The teacher librarian’s role in cultivating ethical and critical practices. Journal of the Australian Library and Information Association, https://doi-org/10.1080/24750158.2023.2289093

Reflections on Digital Literacy

In schools across Australia, many students sit through what may be defined as digital citizenship lessons – where they learn about the big, bad internet and all the awful things that can happen to you in the present and future if you don’t play by the digital citizenship rules. Most teachers would agree that teaching in the negative, that reminding students of all the things they can’t do, tends to go in one ear and out the other.

After engaging in some really challenging, yet enlightening research readings, my vision and concept of digital literacy has been expanded – to the point of needing to get some of my ideas down to prevent them from running around wildly in my brain!

There are many definitions of digital literacy, which seem to change as often as a new app might appear, due to the nature of how quickly technology is evolving and how slippery a definition can feel (Pangrazio & Sefton-Green, 2021). Should we define digital literacy as an activity outlined by signs and symbols mediated by the electronic (Thorne, 2013), or is it the mastery of the skills required to operate digitally, or is it the ability to evaluate and make judgements on what we find online? (Lankshear & Knobel, 2011).

The digital literacy skills I have seen being taught in schools has tended to focus on how to be an appropriate and responsible person online, what (Pangrazio & Sefton-Green, 2021) define as the ‘protectionist’ approach. Even though teaching children to make appropriate and responsible decisions online, to consider their digital footprint, and to act in a way that would befit a positive member of any community is a good thing, it is only halfway toward what students actually need.

This concept is similar to the thought of attempting to distinguish what might be considered ‘literacy’ and ‘digital literacy’ – in order to be deemed competent in digital literacy, wouldn’t you need to be literate in the true sense of the word? Perhaps it is time to end the separation of the two forms – digital dualisms- (Vivienne et al., 2016) and think of all the eggs as being in one basket – that concepts like literacy, responsible online monitoring, and individual and collective creativity, are what it looks like to be a citizen that is informed by what they consume and makes meaning to share with others (Vivienne et al., 2016) – whether that occurs in the online world or the original 2D version. This seems to me an essential step as the lines continue to blur as to what could be considered online life and real life – I put forward that we can’t even properly define and distinguish the two in our post digital world – they are one and the same (which serves a great teaching point – don’t we want our students to act with the same good character and morals whether they are online or not?)

We still have a way to go. As those in power over children, it is often easier to mandate protective rights (which can tend to be negative) rather than positive rights (Green, 2020). However, children and teenagers are already using the technology at their disposal to assert their independence, and create and share their own meaning – whether we allow it or not. It seems to me that we better get on the wagon, and get on quick. If we want the horse to be controlling the speed of the cart, and help to guide the direction it might take, then digital literacies must go hand in hand with teaching on character and moral directives. If we are not clear in our direction on this, digital media becomes the place for power struggles between adults and childre (Livingstone, 1992), not a place where autonomy and agency can be respected and celebrated.

References

Green, L. (2020). Confident, capable and world changing: Teenagers and digital citizenship. Communication Research and Practice, 6(1), 6-19.

Lankshear, C., & Knobel, M. (2011). New Literacies: Everyday Practices and Social Learning (3rd ed.). Open University Press.

Livingstone, S. (1992). The meaning of domestic technologies: A personal construct analysis of familial gender relations. In R. Silverstone & E. Hirsch (Eds.), Consuming technologies: Media and information in domestic spaces (pp. 113–130). Routledge.

Pangrazio, L., & Sefton-Green, J. (2021). Digital Rights, Digital Citizenship and Digital Literacy: What’s the Difference?. Journal of New Approaches in Educational Research, 10(1), 15-27.

Thorne, S. L. (2013). Digital literacies. In M. Hawkins (Ed.), Framing Languages and Literacies (pp. 192-218). Routledge.

Vivienne, S., McCosker, A., & Johns, A. (2016). Digital citizenship as fluid interface between control, contest and culture. In A. McCosker, S. Vivienne, & A. Johns (Eds.), Negotiating digital citizenship: Control, contest and culture (pp. 1–17). Rowman & Littlefield.

Who should be teaching Digital Citizenship?

Being a teacher is a tough job – one that is constantly crowded by student needs, administration demands and an ever increasing full curriculum. It can seem like whenever something goes wrong in society, it can be traced back to ‘not being taught to the kids at school’. Teaching seems to be one of the many answers the public, and often, those in political power, pull out as an answer to correcting society’s wrongs. Add it to the curriculum! Teach this in school!

Even though teachers are weighed down by demands, most teachers I know want to be effective, successful teachers. They want to equip their students to become responsible, active citizens that make the most of their lives. The answer is not adding to the curriculum per se, but teachers being resourced to teach and to teach well. What does this have to do with digital citizenship, you may ask?

The Australian Curriculum (ACARA, 2024) define a list of general capabilities that teachers should be integrating into their busy curriculum. These include digital citizenship, creative and critical thinking, and intercultural understanding (just to name 3). Even though this may seem like an additional burden, when all teachers take responsibility for these key learning concepts, across stages and KLA’s, the burden becomes lighter and teachers achieve what they really want – student success.

In a world that is now considered ‘post-digital’- the use of digital tools in schools is not a special occurrence in a specific type of subject – it is integrated and a real part of the learning process in all subjects (Gagen-Spriggs, 2024). This applies to all subjects and all teachers. Digital citizenship is a skill that can be applied successfully when students understand that it is like being a good member of their local neighbourhood – whether you live in the big city or rural town. It applies to everything we do online – reading information, creating content, or sharing that hilarious cat video with a friend. This is reinforced by (Huk, 2021) who discusses the rapid pace of digital media development and the implication of social and cultural changes. If the role of the school is to help prepare the child for the real world – then they need to be prepared for a world dominated by these changes.

In short, we all need to be teaching digital citizenship. Just like all teachers advocate for good manners, respect for others and a collaborative and safe learning culture. It requires a similar approach – just because it is online doesn’t mean it belongs to the domain of the tech experts. Our world is online and we need to speak its language.

ACARA. (2023). Digital Literacy. Australian Curriculum, v9. https://v9.australiancurriculum.edu.au/teacher-resources/understand-this-general-capability/digital-literacy

Gagen-Spriggs, K. (2024) Learning and teaching in a post digital world (Study notes). ETL 523: Digital Citizenship in Schools. Interact 2. https://interact2.csu.edu.au/webapps/blackboard/execute/displayLearningUnit?course_id=_71810_1&content_id=_6252521_1

Huk, T. (2021). From education 1.0 to education 4.0 – Challenges for the contemporary school. New Educational Review, 66(4), 36-46. https://doi.org/10.15804/tner.21.66.4.03

Is digital citizenship still the best terminology to use?

In a world where the line is blurred as to where the digital world starts and ends (Ribble, 2015) knowing how to move toward education around digital use for students can be a challenging question. Before we even jump into what type of content should be delivered, we need to consider the following:

‘Is digital citizenship still the best terminology to use?’

Is technology even a stand alone issue? In our world that has blurred lines around reality and augmented reality, can we separate life and its experiences into digital and non-digital? Is our current rapid evolvement of technology just another form of revolution, such as the invention of the printing press? (Postman, 1994) discusses the impact of this moment in history as a catalyst to how we approached education and even the way society is organised into different groups. Are we currently living in just another printing press moment in history?

Despite all these questions, there are still a set of values, skills and techniques students need to learn in order to be safe consumers and creators online. (McLuhan, 1964) is direct in his approach that ‘a medium itself, not the content it carries, should be the focus of the story’. I can see the sense that this statement makes. As an English teacher, I teach students about the codes and conventions of different text types. A comic book and a prose novel may carry the same content (story) but the medium (and the conventions that tell me this medium is a comic) are different. Students choose to bully others online and off – however, the repercussions of which medium they use creates different results. Online bullying may go viral and cause wide spread devastation, in addition to leaving a footprint online that never disappears. Real life bullying is just as devastating, but it has different impacts due to the nature of location and spread.

Being a good citizen encompasses strength of character, selflessness and many attributes that help us to live in harmony with others. This extends to our digital life also -so perhaps the terminology of digital citizenship could have an update, however, there are definite skills and modes students need to be aware of that are digital specific.

I think the name isn’t anywhere near as important as the content. A fancy name tastes sour if it doesn’t deliver what it promises. Our students need a rigorous approach to this subject – their future. If we as teacher librarians can keep up with the rapid change of technology!

Ribble, M. (2015). A brief history of Digital Citizenship. In Digital citizenship in schools: Nine elements all students should know (3rd ed., pp9-14). International Society for Technology in Education.

McCluhan, M. (1964). Understanding media: The extensions of man. Signet Books.

Postman, N. (1994) The Disappearance of Childhood. Vintage.

ETL 503 Reflection

In our fast paced and ever-changing world, the pressure to keep up with technology and be on the cutting edge can be overwhelming. School libraries and the role of teacher librarians are not immune from this pressure. These challenges, coupled with issues of advocacy, misconceptions about the role of teacher librarians, alongside access and funding, can often make our roles seem like a constant battle (Maughan, 2022).

However, throughout this subject, I have come to appreciate and learn about the various tools teacher librarians can have at their disposal that support the many pivotal roles libraries play in their school communities. These supports, such as collection development policies, collection mapping and annual reports allow for advocacy, access, transparency and accountability (Dawkins, 2023). In these processes, these ‘actions and evidences’ (Todd, 2009) can be enacted and exhibited, through adherence to the aims of selecting new resources according to the CDP, or celebrating the access students have had to digital resources, such as e-books, which in turn supports student learning and engagement.

Before this subject, I would have considered that chunks of time spent on evaluating the collection, or drafting policies took away from the real work of teaching and learning in the library (Dawkins, 2024). However, without these policies and procedures providing guidance on decision making, the collection may evolve without being able to effectively meet the needs of the students and teachers it serves.

Collection development policies can assist to help prevent an ad-hoc collection and there are various considerations to be made in this area. CDP models vary and can include quite specific criteria about how different resources are selected, and others can be more general. This in turn will affect the teacher librarian, either providing avenues for the teacher librarian to exercise their own judgement, or needing to stick to a more prescribed criteria (Staats, 2024). The CDP protects the collection in the present, and into the future, such as the treatment of emerging digital resources. (Mullahey, 2024) advocates for digital resources to be managed differently than print resources due to how they can be accessed and used. However, new curation approaches are needed and can be considered for ensuring libraries reflect global progress (ASU Library, 2017). This protection extends into protecting access to resources by ensuring that school librarians aren’t able to control the collection through their own agenda and bias (Moody, 2005).

Ensuring that the collection meets the needs of the school’s educational and reading enjoyment is protected through adhering to the CDP, in conjunction with activities, such as collection mapping.

Collection mapping is essential for identifying strengths and weaknesses and can provide avenues for student collaboration (Dawkins, 2023). Methods that encompass both qualitative and quanitative measures are important, such as borrowing statistics, user surveys and mapping based on curriculum needs (Yeo, 2024). Even though these processes take time, they are essential for ensuring that resources are selected to support curriculum teaching and to support the teachers in the school community. Teacher librarians are uniquely skilled to be able to research and locate resources (Novak, 2016) and collecting data and information ensures the right information can be circulated.

Further to my learning, I have become more aware of my role as advocate within the school community. These policies and procedures, and information that is pertinent to the collection will be a stronger resource when embraced by the wider school community. The American Association of School Librarians (AASL, 2018) defines advocacy in a way that embraces my own philosophy: ‘the on-going process of building partnerships so that others will act for and with you, turning passive support into educated action for the library program.’

The collection, both present and ongoing will be strengthened by robust policies and procedures and ongoing education of all stakeholders – to ensure that the library continues to be a place that meets the needs of the community in which it serves.

American Association of School Librarians (2018) AASL Advocacy Toolkit. Educated Support for School Libraries and School Library Professionals. https://www.ala.org/aasl/sites/ala.org.aasl/files/content/aaslissues/toolkits/AASLAdvocacyToolkit_180209.pdf

Arizona State University Library (2017) The Future of the Academic Library Print Collection: A Space for Engagement. https://lib.asu.edu/sites/default/files/docs/ASU%2520Whitepaper%2520-%2520Which%2520Books.pdf

Dawkins, B. (2023, Dec 15) The Story of Your Library. A Librarium of Adventure. https://thinkspace.csu.edu.au/bdawkins/2023/12/15/the-story-of-your-library/

Dawkins, B. (2023, Dec 18) Collection Mapping. A Librarium of Adventure https://thinkspace.csu.edu.au/bdawkins/2023/12/18/collection-mapping/

Dawkins, B. (2024, Jan 8) Policies and Procedures – the Winning Ingredient. A Librarium Of Adventure. https://thinkspace.csu.edu.au/bdawkins/2024/01/08/policies-and-procedures-the-winning-ingredient/

Maughan, S. (2022, June 10) School Librarians Under Pressure in Industry News. Publishers Weekly. https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/childrens/childrens-industry-news/article/89573-school-librarians-under-pressure.html

Moody, K. (2005) Covert Censorship in Libraries: a discussion paper. http://eprints.rclis.org/7107/1/Censorship_discussion_paper.pdf

Mullahey, J. (2024, January 9) 6.1. Editing a Collection Development Policy. (Online Discussion Content). Interact 2. https://interact2.csu.edu.au/webapps/discussionboard/do/message?action=list_messages&course_id=_68466_1&nav=discussion_board_entry&conf_id=_140367_1&forum_id=_330419_1&message_id=_4665305_1

Novak, B. (2016, Term 4) It’s time: Let’s improve schools’ perceptions of teacher librarians. Issue 99. Schools Catalogue Information Services. https://www.scisdata.com/connections/issue-99/it-s-time-let-s-improve-schools-perceptions-of-teacher-librarians/ – :~:text=Teacher librarians can support teachers,skill held by teacher librarians.

Staats, A. (2024, January 14) Forum 6.1. Incorporating digital resources to a Collection Policy. (Online discussion content) Interact 2.https://interact2.csu.edu.au/webapps/discussionboard/do/message?action=list_messages&course_id=_68466_1&nav=discussion_board_entry&conf_id=_140367_1&forum_id=_330419_1&message_id=_4669299_1

Todd, R.J. (2009) Transitions for Preferred Futures of School Libraries: Knowledge Space, Evidence Based Library and Information Practice 2009, 4:2 not Information Place. Connections, not Collections. Actions, not Positions. Evidence, Not Advocacy. Keynote address. International Association of School Librarianship Conference, Auckland, New Zealand, 9-12 July 2001.https://www.researchgate.net/publication/26634053_Weaving_Evidence_Refection_and_Action_into_the_Fabric_of_School_Librarianship_Editorial

Yeo, K. (2024, January 1) Forum 5.3. Methods of Collection Analysis. (Online discussion Content). Interact 2. https://interact2.csu.edu.au/webapps/discussionboard/do/message?action=list_messages&course_id=_68466_1&nav=discussion_board_entry&conf_id=_140367_1&forum_id=_330418_1&message_id=_4661108_1

Policies and Procedures – The Winning Ingredient

Giving time to policies and procedures is not a task that many people jump to with enthusiasm and excitement. These documents tend to be thought of as dreary and boring, something to be trundled out every blue moon to conduct a review, for compliance or box ticking.

This was certainly my view, until recently. I have read a variety of pieces of literature that have discussed the value and necessity of policies in school libraries, one being the Collection Development Policy. Ensuring the library collection is relevant and useful is critical as it impacts learners, teachers, and curriculum in so many ways (Phillipi & Calzada, 2022)

(Oberg & Schultz-Jones, 2015) describe a collection development policy as the policy that ‘defines the purpose, scope, and contents of the collection as well as access to external resources and helps to ensure a wide range of high quality resources.’. In their writing they discuss the need for collections to be continually developing, in order to meet the needs of the community that the library serves. In past times, the teacher librarian may have chosen resources that they felt was in the best interest of the patrons, however, I am committed to my library being one that is there to serve the needs and interests of my school community.

I was struck in my readings by the need to ensure that the collection is not static, but an evolving and relevant set of resources. In this way, the collection development policy protects the collection, in its current and future states. This important document sets out the guidelines for who makes the selection decisions, what criteria they are subject to, who the main stakeholders are and carefully reminds staff and the community at large of the vision and ethos that the library is seeking to follow.

The policy is a powerful document that can ensure the library works at it’s best. It can protect the library from bias, censorship and irrelevance. It can guide appropriate budget spending and work against waste. In this way, it feels like a huge task – to ensure that my library has a relevant and well known policy – that it is familiar to community stakeholders and referred to often.

My approach to writing a collection development policy would be as follows:

Ensure I had read current literature and practitioner knowledge and I was aware of a range of best practice and current research around school libraries
Read a variety of already established collection development policies to be aware of the different ways policy writing can be approached
Make a list of what needs to be included in my policy – such items as the school vision and ethos and other important elements
Collaborate with others – I want to ensure that advocacy forms part of my library policies!
Draft, edit, re-draft!

It is important that this document is reviewed regularly – to ensure it is best serving the library that is is written for.

Oberg, D. & Schultz-Jones, B. (eds.). 4.3.1 Collection management policies and procedures. In IFLA School Library Guidelines, (2nd ed.) (pp.33-34). IFLA. https://www.ifla.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/assets/school-libraries-resource-centers/publications/ifla-school-library-guidelines.pdf

Phillipi, L. & Calzada, B. (2022) Why Collection Development is Important. Knowledge Quest, Vol 50, Issue 4. American Library Association.

https://go.gale.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CA697577815&sid=googleScholar&v=2.1&it=r&linkaccess=abs&issn=10949046&p=AONE&sw=w&userGroupName=anon%7E8f0ce844&aty=open-web-entry

Collection Mapping

Identifying a collection’s strengths and weaknesses is a key component of collection mapping (Lamb & Johnson, 2007) In a school library, it is important to undertake regular evaluations of the collection to ensure it is meeting the learning and reading interests of the students. Some of the many benefits of collection mapping include helping target funding and a guide for future selection decisions (National Library of New Zealand Services, n.d)

Evaluating a whole collection can feel like an overwhelming and daunting task, hence the advice from the National Library of New Zealand might be helpful here: identify and prioritise specific sections, and do this in consultation with teaching staff.

An approach to collection mapping can be done with two library aims in mind:

Resources to meet curriculum and learning needs
Resources to meet student interests and reading for pleasure

It could be useful to undertake these mapping expeditions at separate times, as the two aims will have different criteria and thus, a different set of collaboration needed.

In terms of mapping a collection to meet curriculum needs, this is best done in consultation with teaching staff, as the curriculum content specialists. It is also important to include teaching staff for students with diverse and extension learning needs, as they may require different resources. Having a map of each grade’s yearly curriculum, including assessment tasks and research needs can be a useful starting point to map what resources the library already has to meet these needs. In addition to mapping print texts to the curriculum needs, it is also important to consider what other resources may help broaden student information literacy skills, such as audio, online resources, technology or other items, such as maps or kits.

The collection can be mapped on a graph, such as the one below: Collection Mapping in a School Library - YouTube

Image source: Hauser, 2013

In terms of mapping the collection for student personal reading needs, this can be done via student collaboration. This mapping could be done in smaller sections, such as non-fiction, fiction, picture books and even technology. Creating surveys for students and graphing the results, such as:

A pie chart depicting results of a survey.

Image source: Hawkins, 2022

Surveys can be useful in order to identify the gaps in the collection that would meet student needs if they were to be rectified. They could also be graphed like this:

A table listing results of the fiction requests survey.

Image source: Hawkins, 2022

Once the strengths and weaknesses are identified, in collaboration with students and teachers, librarians can then move forward into the selection process to add to the collection.

Hawkins, A. (2022) Student-Centred Collection Development in Knowledge Quest. https://knowledgequest.aasl.org/student-centered-collection-development

Lamb, A. & Johnson, L. (2007) Library Media Program: Collection Mapping in The School Library Media Specialist. https://eduscapes.com/sms/program/mapping.html#:~:text=Collection%20mapping%20is%20the%20process,during%20the%20collection%20development%20process.

National Library of New Zealand Services to schools (n.d.) Assessing your school Library collection in Services to Schools. https://natlib.govt.nz/schools/school-libraries/collections-and-resources/assessing-your-school-library-collection?search%5Bpath%5D=items&search%5Btext%5D=assessing+your+school+library+collection