This reflection prompt from ETL 503 asks TLs in training to explore online platforms accessible to our libraries, such as catalogues or websites in order to identify different types of resources available and then consider any of the potential issues of these resources.
This is a particularly helpful activity for me right now as I am in my first week being the TL at a new library in a new school. This will be a useful audit and will help formulate questions for my library director going forward.
First of all, the library catalogue is available through the library management system, Oliver. The school made the switch between LMS systems on Monday of last week (Destiny to Oliver) and the IT department is still creating a single login from the learning management system. As of now, Oliver would not be accessible, but shortly, students will see a link on their dashboard. Once a single sign is established between the learning management system and the library management system, students will be able to move into a search interface which will allow them to search the catalogue for hard copies of texts found in the library.
Physical materials consist of fiction and non-fiction texts in various formats, including magazine subscriptions (Total Girl, K-Zone, National Geographic, Cosmos).These are grouped variously according to their locations around the library and can be quite confusing when first trying to independently locate around the library. This has been my first week’s great challenge. Locating the various collections requires insider knowledge which is certainly a challenge.
A Wheeler’s eBook subscription is also found under the library umbrella on the learning management system (LMS), but, oddly, this is not integrated with Oliver. Thus, students need to search a separate database for eBooks. This division between the physical resources and digital is an odd one and not ideal. The eBook collection could be, and, hopefully, will be integrated shortly which will then enable students to view our hybrid collection. From past experiences, students will need some explcit instruction on ‘borrowing’ these books which then takes them to a different interface. While the interface for the eBooks is easy to use, this additional step and challenge can be discouraging for both students and their parents.
Students have access to both Encyclopedia Britannica and World Book via the library page on the LMS. Both encyclopedias offer large and evolving articles, multi-media, and links to external databases to service some of the learning needs of the high school (and staff). A single sign-in via the LMS into these resources eliminates the additional steps which eat precious time during instruction on using these, and during guided and independent use of these resources.
It seems reasonable to claim that all resources in a collection offer complications or challenges for the cataloguer, the users, and the library staff responsible for creating and maintaining their proper places on the shelves or on the school’s LMS.
