May 31, 2020
by judyo54
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The digital learning environment

This course is one of the key stones of the entire master’s degree for me as it has reminded me of the importance of recognising and acknowledging the role that technology plays in our lives (which was highlighted even more while we were in lockdown during Covid-19) and the need for students to understand how to use technology responsibly and ethically in the digital world of the future. I agree with Christy Roe’s comment (Roe, 2020) about being hopeful that the course would provide the skills and knowledge to lead the school to develop an improved digital learning environment (DLE).

I really enjoyed the opportunity in the course to experiment with creating and using new technologies to create digital artefacts. I will certainly use this new knowledge to create digital artefacts for the school and feel empowered to encourage staff and students to engage with these digital tools and resources on the school library website as they will be available 24/7. I designed resources around referencing, copyright and plagiarism which are well suited to learning in a digital format that I think will appeal to students and hopefully encourage and promote their use of these artefacts. Working in a group to complete this assignment was interesting and made me reflect on how working in groups is organised for students at school. As I wrote in my blog at the time, (O’Rourke, 2020) there are many variables that make up a group when collaborating and although my group achieved its goals, we floundered at the beginning due to difficulties with establishing a common goal. Collaboration is one of the key skills that students need in order to engage successfully in the changing world and these difficulties encountered by my group really made me consider what I could put in place to facilitate students’ working this way.

I had never really thought about the DLE and completing the assessment made me scrutinise my school environment to realise that there are many areas that need problem solving and troubleshooting. Feneck comments on the need for schools to work together using policies and procedures to establish a whole school approach to manage a DLE (Feneck, 2020). I realise that in order to upgrade and bring attention to some of the deficiencies in the provision of technology at the school, I need to form alliances with members of staff to represent a consolidated approach to improving our digital assets and providing solutions to ongoing technical problems. Lester refers to the importance of all teachers being on board with teaching the important elements of digital citizenship, (Lester, 2020). One of the issues that has become clear from this course, is the proficiency of teachers using technology. Edmonds makes a very apt comment in the forum about teachers being confident with technology before they can really engage with digital citizenship education and also the need to collaborate and support each other to implement a successful program (Edmonds, 2020). As the teacher librarian in the school, I have the support of my line manager (who is an ex librarian) to create programs and work with teachers to implement or integrate aspects of digital citizenship into their programs but the broader executive has shown little interest in this area and are yet to be persuaded! I appreciate the comment made by Cunningham (2020, 1 May) regarding integration versus implementation as a model of teaching digital citizenship as she reminds us that whatever the model, digital technology requires constant maintenance and updating.
I am building relationships with teachers by supporting them with resources and team teaching which gives me the opportunity to discuss digital citizenship teaching and therefore reinforce the importance of students understanding their digital roles and responsibilities. These relationships will assist in making a case for forming an IT committee and persuade more teachers that our uneven internet access and problematic technology in the classroom can be improved through consultation, collaboration and planning.

References

Cunningham, A. (2020, May 1). Creating a digital citizenship program. [Online discussion comment]. https://interact2.csu.edu.au

Edmonds, H. (2020, March 9). Digital citizenship for educators. [Online discussion comment]. https://interact2.csu.edu.au

Feneck, E. (2020, March 27). Designing the Digital Learning Environment. [Online discussion comment]. https://interact2.csu.edu.au

Lester, K. (2020, March 16). Digital citizenship for students. [Online discussion comment]. https://interact2.csu.edu.au

O’Rourke, J. (2020, April 24). Group work reflection. Judyo54blog. https://thinkspace.csu.edu.au/judyo54/

Roe, C. (2020, April 1). Designing the Digital Learning Environment. [Online discussion comment]. https://interact2.csu.edu.au

April 24, 2020
by judyo54
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Group work reflection

Group assignments are always challenging and it is very hard to predict how your group will perform – somewhere between rewarding and frustrating! This blog describes the experience of being a member of a group of three who created an online module about digital citizenship.

Once the group was established, I was encouraged that our group started communicating immediately through google docs but I was worried immediately that we had completely different perspectives of the task and we seemed to lack a common language for discussing how we would proceed. I thought about how students at school must feel when they are in a similar position – working with other students they normally don’t even speak to with the expectation of achieving outcomes. Frykedal and Samuelsson (2016) identified various processes that underpin students’ willingness to participate and the discomfort that group work can create.

Our first Zoom meeting made a big difference to the quality of our interactions and we agreed on a common platform for the task. Surprisingly after the meeting it seemed that team member (A) had a completely different interpretation to myself and team member (B) of our discussion and our way forward seemed confused – we were stuck! Hofman and Mercer (2016, p. 412) discuss strategies used by teachers to deal with group work problems and their approach of striving for agreement seemed to resonate with our group dynamics when we met on Zoom again and established more familiarity with each other. The conversation relaxed and we seemed to finally move forward with some agreed understanding. I was relieved that we managed to coordinate our thoughts and effort to finalise a product after feeling that we didn’t really seem to have common goals. This experience has made me question many things about the group process and my participation in this particular task. I felt at times that no matter how hard I listened to or read other group members proposal, I found it difficult to understand how their ideas would fit into our overall themes. I think our different knowledge base and work experience contributed to our very different perspectives towards our topic and the language we used to describe what we were doing.

So many variables go into group dynamics and collaboration, I realise how difficult it can be for students participating in group work at school. Maybe students have more settled group dynamics and language in common when they embark on group learning? Pahamov (2018) has strategies for making group work effective that includes an inventory of strengths and weaknesses when choosing members of the group. My group did not choose its members nor did we know each other before we started the task. We were different ages with different experiences of teaching and the other two members had never worked as a teacher librarian.

This experience has made me more sensitized to the importance of a group being able to establish themselves as a group with a common approach very quickly in order to move forward. It has made me think about what tools or checks I could implement to maximise a positive learning experience for students embarking on group work in the future.

References

Forslund Frykedal, K., & Samuelsson, M. (2016). “What’s in It for Me?” A Study on Students’ Accommodation or Resistance during Group Work. Scandinavian Journal of Educational Research, 60(5), 500–514.

Hofmann R. & Mercer, N. (2016) Teacher interventions in small group work in secondary mathematics and science lessons, Language and Education, 30:5, 400-416. DOI: 10.1080/09500782.2015.1125363

Pahomov, L. (2018). Inventories, Confessionals, and Contracts: Strategies for Effective Group Work: Turn group work from a classroom management headache into a productive–and even joyful–experience. Educational Leadership, 76(1), 34–38.

January 31, 2020
by judyo54
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literary responses

When I started this subject, I had very little idea about the concept of literary learning apart from the fact that I know from my experience as a teacher librarian that reading is a key but often neglected factor in student’s ability to make progress. The subject has reemphasised the importance of this basic skill as a prerequisite to full engagement as a responsible and active citizen and has given me the inspiration and academic basis for continuing to advocate for more reading in schools. Reading allows students to enter other worlds and free their imagination as well as developing empathy and consideration for others (Beaumont, 2019) and is also a basic tenet of developing personal and social capabilities within the Australian curriculum (Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority, n.d.).

Through the readings and discussions of this subject, I have developed a much broader approach in my thinking about the reading landscape and appreciate the value of picture books, non-fiction and graphic novels as part of the teacher librarians’ toolkit and it has also increased my knowledge of the diverse resources available. I have learnt how picture books can provide the opportunity for senior students to access complex and serious issues in an accessible and engaging manner. Picture books provide the opportunity for students of diverse capability to make an emotional connection with the topic, especially non-English speaking students and those with less developed literacy skills. Weir (2019) discusses the practical use of Tales in teaching English, especially with ESL students, as the book has a range of stories that can lead to many activities for teaching, especially for developing students’ skills in visual language. As a humanities teacher, I can see the real value from using picture books to teach human rights and many other areas of the syllabus that may be complex, emotional or sensitive topics. I am definitely going to review my shelf of picture books at school and talk to head teachers about the values of using them.

I am amazed and delighted to discover that science that says we need stories to grow and develop as human beings (Haven, 2007, p. vii) and that story telling is probably the most effective method for retaining information (2007, p. 90). The next time I teach History I might spend the first part of the lesson telling a story to start the lesson! I am also excited about trying new approaches with students to engage in a theme (such as human rights and freedoms in year 10) using a learning circle as a literary response. I was uncertain as to establish them and unsure of how to approach them or what was involved. I will definitely be promoting the idea of making book trailers with other staff. I think this would work very well with our EALD students to assist in their comprehension and understanding of the texts. Many of the literary response strategies seems to indicate that students will respond and engage if the text is relevant and interesting and this in turn provides an opening to understanding the topic.

References

Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority. (n.d.). Personal and Social Capability. Retrieved from https://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/f-10-curriculum/general-capabilities/personal-and-social-capability/

Beaumont, D. (2019, December 18). Why read? [Online discussion comment]. Retrieved from https://interact2.csu.edu.au/webapps/discussionboard/do/message?action=list_messages&course_id=_38049_1&nav=discussion_board_entry&conf_id=_74552_1&forum_id=_177192_1&message_id=_2627679_1

Haven, K. F. (2007). Story proof: The science behind the startling power of story. Retrieved from https://ebookcentral.proquest.com

Weir, F. (2019, December 5). Picture Books [Online discussion comment]. Retrieved from https://interact2.csu.edu.au/webapps/discussionboard/do/message?action=list_messages&course_id=_38049_1&nav=discussion_board_entry&conf_id=_74552_1&forum_id=_177193_1&message_id=_2575374_1

December 3, 2019
by judyo54
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expanding the repertoire of children’s literature

My personal strategies

I have worked for a few years as a teacher librarian so I have been able to keep up with what is current to some degree just through the brochures that arrive daily from different publishers and booksellers. I often pop in to bookshops and look at what they have in their YA/teenage section and I always look at my local library, which has always been excellent, to see what they are promoting or to read staff reviews – which I love! Handwritten reviews are really appealing I think and I love reading them – unfortunately if the review is good the book is often not there!

I also find it useful to set goals for reading. This module has prompted me to think about how I can read more YA so I will make a plan to read different genres and use lists from the world cat fiction finder website. I’ll search for the top 5 recommendations in the genre I haven’t read and work through the genres systematically.

I skim read a lot of books just to get a sense of what they are about. I read Percy Jackson very quickly in order to get an idea of what it was that attracted boys to read it as it is a very popular book and boys are sometimes the hardest group to encourage to read.

I use Goodreads to post books I have read and reviewed. I find it useful to find new books to read but also as a reminder of authors I liked and the chance to read other books by them. Goodreads is very useful for finding new directions for reading and for reading reviews. I know there are publishing websites that you can follow to see what is new – this module has many links to sites and I am going to make a list of all the places that will help me keep up to date and stretching my boundaries.

Teresa Cremin suggests (Scottish Book Trust, 2019) teachers could use the Open University website that promotes reading for pleasure and other resources such as Author Spotlights and links to other resources to support teachers expanding their knowledge. The website has triggered reading groups across the UK.

References

Scottish Book Trust. (2019). Teachers’ knowledge of children’s literature: the cornerstone of reading for pleasure. Retrieved from readingchallenge.scot/blog/2019-03/teachers-knowledge-childrens-literature-cornerstone-reading-pleasure

November 12, 2019
by judyo54
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future of children’s books

There is some comfort to be derived from Harvey’s (2015) report on book trends in that children still enjoy print books and that the digitalised world has not completely taken over the world of books, as predicted. Although some young people may fight against the idea of reading, preferring to stare at their screens, when they do have the opportunity to browse a book collection it is satisfying to witness the pleasure of finding a book they are interested in. I have found students respond positively to using an atlas for the first time – they seem to enjoy the size of the book as well as the information inside.

Printed books are still in demand (Rutherford, Singleton, Ariel Derr, & Kristin Merga, 2018) and I believe they have survived the first seismic shift of change and will prevail, for the immediate future anyway. According to Short (2018), picture books publications were dwindling in 2015 but were attracting high numbers of readership and her research seems to indicate that the visual component of books, whether for very young children or adults is a growing culture. The future for children’s books it seems will definitely include a graphic or image that enhances the narrative or stands in place of any narrative. Teachers may have to adjust their analysis to cover text and image. They do already but possibly in more depth and using new terminology.

Who will drive the change? There are many stakeholders in this discussion including: parents, publishers, teachers, librarians, booksellers, schools, children and technology. Technology seems to be the driver of change in many other facets of our lives but although it may have some bearing on the future of children’s books, the evidence so far indicates that it has not totally dominated this market as predicted. For a while it seemed that books had been written off but that has not proved to be the case – bookshops are reappearing and some never closed.

Harvey also discusses the popularity of books that have a game or movie tie-in which have proved to be lucrative and this format and distribution will definitely be part of the future book market with drivers coming from other media industries. Personalised books are also a growing sales area and board books are regaining popularity. It would be hard to imagine how this format could be improved by digitalisation – part of the fun of these books is in the handling!

Hateley (2013) discusses the possibility of ipads becoming the readers’ tool of choice in the future, but for the time being it seems that both technology and print have a place for readers of all ages.

References

Harvey, E. (2015, December 8). Five trends affecting children’s literature. BookBusiness. Retrieved from https://www.bookbusinessmag.com/article/what-we-learned-from-the-top-trends-in-childrens-literature-webinar/

Hateley, E. (2013). Reading: from turning the page to touching the screen. BookBusiness. Retrieved from https://www.bookbusinessmag.com/article/what-we-learned-from-the-top-trends-in-childrens-literature-webinar/

Rutherford, L., Singleton, A., Derr, L.A, & Merga, MK. (2018). Do digital devices enhance teenagers’ recreational reading engagement? Issues for library policy from a recent study in two Australian states. Public Library Quarterly, 55(3), 318-340 https://doi.org/10.1080/01616846.2018.1511214

Short, K. (2018). What’s trending in children’s literature and why it matters. Language Arts, 95(5), 287-298.

October 14, 2019
by judyo54
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reflection on ETL504 – leadership

The course has allowed me to reflect on my working life in schools both as a teacher and teacher librarian. I have not previously thought about the leadership aspects of my role at school as a teacher librarian but I realise now that I have demonstrated this skill several times in the last two schools I have worked in, “Teacher librarians have always been leaders in their school environment”, (Korodaj, 2011).
In the first school, I took the lead by completely changing the shelving system in the library and creating a welcome and warm environment. I worked hard to make relationships with teachers I thought would be open to co-teaching and encouraged staff to use the library where I could support their teaching. In my current school, I have had to create a library from scratch – in a cupboard – as well as introducing a pop-up library that I wheel outside twice a week.
It is so important to be flexible when you work in libraries – having fixed views about how things should be done will not work in this environment. Fritz, (2013), refers to a list of critical habits that great leaders display and flexibility is on this list –providing the user the ability to change and adapt.
I am not sure where I will be in 5 years’ time – maybe not working so much as I get older. I would like to work in an overseas IB school for the experience as that course really involves the librarian. I am hoping to finish the course asap so I can put in on my resume to see where it takes me – maybe a leadership role?!

Korodaj, L. (2011). Chameleons embracing change: considering the image of the teacher librarian. Access (10300155), 25(4), 16–19. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.csu.edu.au/login.aspx?direct=true&db=lih&AN=70191863&site=ehost-live
Fritz, A. (2013). The Heart of One Teacher-Librarian. Medium, 37(3), 10–27. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.csu.edu.au/login.aspx?direct=true&db=lih&AN=96523172&site=ehost-live

October 10, 2019
by judyo54
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leadership in groups

I am often the first to respond in group situations (O’Rourke, 2019a) as I often find that other people do not always share my sense of emergency. I thought that if I posted content first, and took the lead, it would show a willingness to do the work myself rather than relying on the group. Gleeson (2015, para. 9) refers to the fact that great leaders do not ask their team to do something they “aren’t willing to do themselves”. There is always uncertainty with group work – it can go so many ways. I was disappointed when some of the group didn’t contribute content in the beginning but I know that TLs really have to be patient and have empathy in their role – which fits with the servant leadership style. I am often waiting for a response from staff at school but sometimes it takes time to build a culture of engagement and the timing just isn’t right! I was impressed by the other points of view expressed in the forum and I really see the value in having a sounding board when tackling serious problems. The responses received to one of my posts about trust (O’Rourke, 2019b) reinforced this feeling and has encouraged me to engage in more collaboration – I think this is a very important skill set and very useful for making connections.

This course has made me conscious of how I work as a leader in my professional life as a TL. I now understand that there are different leadership types, and realise that TLs have flexibility between styles which is important for outcomes and employee satisfaction, (Caton-Hughes, Hughes 2017 p, 254).

Servant leadership has allowed me to develop relationships with staff and I have worked hard to demonstrate how I can add value to their teaching and learning. I have used transformational leadership skills with my school executive to present innovative ideas such as a pop-up library (and made a fuss about literacy) but I am an instructional and servant leader in the classroom. I am also very interested in the concept of leading from the middle which is an approach I think will be extremely useful and relevant and at the forefront of my thinking when I work with staff at school. I feel aligned with Buller’s (2018, p. 48) view that leading from the middle requires facilitating information flow between staff and ensuring that all are ‘on the same page’.

Colvin’s article on managing for the future (Colvin, 2000) has given me motivation to promote my skills and also to continue to advocate for change in areas I know are essential. Given the organisation of my specialist school that shares library space with a tertiary institution, this can prove challenging at times. I have realised that my environment is unusual and that as the only worker in the library area I have to be realistic about what I can achieve. The scenarios reminded me of stressful environments that have demonstrated ‘dysfunctional and uncaring management’ (O’Rourke, 2019, b) that I have worked in and how this impacted on my role. However, the course has empowered me to have trust in my skills and knowledge and know that it is grounded in a theoretical base and understand that TLs make a difference.

References

Buller, R. (2018). Leading from the middle: An overview of current research and trends on the topic. Journal of Access Services, 15(1), 44–56. https://doi-org.ezproxy.csu.edu.au/10.1080/15367967.2018.1423982

Caton-Hughes, H., & Hughes, B. (2017). The Inclusive Leader at the Centre of an Interconnected World, Breaking the Zero-Sum Game (Building Leadership Bridges), p. 245-267. https://doi.org/10.1108/978-1-78743-185-020171016

Colvin, G. (2000). Managing in the info era. Fortune, 141(5). Retrieved from https://archive.fortune.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/2000/03/06/275231/index.htm

Gleeson, B. (2015). 5 Ways to lead your team more effectively. Forbes. Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/sites/brentgleeson/2015/02/18/5-ways-to-lead-your-team-more-effectively/#25c4c859767f

O’Rourke, J. (2019, August 31 a). Thoughts on working in a group for a case study. [Blog post]. Retrieved from https://thinkspace.csu.edu.au/judyo54/2019/08/31/thoughts-on-working-in-a-group-for-a-case-study/

O’Rourke, J. (2019 31 July 8:39 b). Trust. [Blog post]. Retrieved from

https://interact2.csu.edu.au/webapps/discussionboard/do/message?action=list_messages&course_id=_42385_1&nav=discussion_board_entry&conf_id=_78888_1&forum_id=_164191_1&message_id=_2396746_1

August 31, 2019
by judyo54
0 comments

thoughts on working in a group for a case study

I have participated in a variety of groups in previous courses. I know from past collaborations that I am usually one of the first students to communicate to get the ball rolling– I am always time poor and want to try and keep ahead in case of unforeseen distractions. “The command and control leadership style is goal –oriented, authoritative and decisive”, (Sloane, 2019). This style of leadership seems appropriate to describe the leadership role I adopted to get the group working and communicating. I work full time and don’t have spare time and sometimes it is hard to motivate myself to study when I do have time if I have had a busy week at work. With this task, it was a bit confusing at first to find the best way of communicating and to know which application suited the purpose. In the end, we picked one way of working and the group responded and commenced working on the task.

“Being a well-performing follower is just as important as being a well-performing leader”, (Kelley, 1988, as cited in Martin, 2018). I can be a follower on occasion; especially if I am unsure of the task or have less time than usual. For this particular case study, I was one of the first of the group to make contact and start things off. I decided that I would take responsibility for this study as all members of the group have to take a turns in posting the final strategy suggestion. All but one student was responsive and readily contributed content. I edited and completed the response and posted within the timeframe. We did not communicate a great deal but the members of the group worked efficiently on the task and it was completed within the deadline and I felt satisfied that we had collaborated sufficiently to post our strategy. According to Zott, (2011), “A leader motivates and supports others to work together for a common goal, usually in line with a bigger strategic goal”, which aptly describes our group process.

Martin, J. (2018). What Do Academic Librarians Value in a Leader? Reflections on Past Positive Library Leaders and a Consideration of Future Library Leaders. College and Research Libraries, 79(6), 799-821.

Sloane, P. (2019). How fast should an idea move from selected to implemented? Innovation management. Retrieved from https://innovationmanagement.se/imtool-articles/the-innovative-leader-vs-the-command-and-control-leader/.

Zott, D. (2011). How leaders emerge in real time. inCite, 32(4), 12. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.csu.edu.au/login.aspx?direct=true&db=lih&AN=68942676&site=ehost-live

July 26, 2019
by judyo54
0 comments

How does the content of Colvin’s article relate to the school library?

Colvin (Colvin, n.d.) outlines Frederick Taylor’s ‘scientific management’ theory (also called the classical management theory) that emphasises efficiency and rewards workers for increased productivity
One of the premises is that workers only need to know what is required to do their part of the job
The approach treats workers like robots
Colvin discusses our new understanding that we are increasingly becoming knowledge workers
He espouses the value of working in teams and the importance of project work
Colvin refers to the importance of our ability to use information and technology appropriately
He makes the point about armies and religion being the only big organisations until the 20^th century as the only model available
As the world becomes more information based, businesses increasingly require workers who have these skill but more importantly, can be creative, use judgement and imagination as well as be able to build relationships to achieve goals.

Sir Ken Robinson (Robinson, 2014) outlines the need for change in our approach to education as he describes how the current system is still rooted in the values and methods of the industrial revolution. Added to this, is the outdated mindset of governments towards education that has failed to embrace more flexible and creative platforms. Criticism of Taylor’s theory, which is now considered outmoded, could be compared to Sir Ken’s analysis of current educational thinking – students treated as non-humans, inflexibility of systems and the lack of ability to individualise learning and instead creating ‘batch’ teaching.

Given this context and the overwhelming need for change leads me think about how school libraries can lead the charge and the change to provide knowledge and information to our workers of tomorrow. The school library can enhance the opportunities for students to develop information skills and information literacy, (NSW Department of Education, 2015). In this way, school libraries will become (if not already) the main player in facilitating the development of students’ skills as well as providing the environment where students can use these skills competently and with confidence. Teacher Librarians should have a very important role to play in ensuring and advocating for information services to be provided while providing a platform for the school community to develop these skills.

Calvin acknowledges the importance of building skills of collaboration and the skills needed for knowledge workers of the future. He also mentions the importance of being a competent user of technology. These are all areas that a TL can be involved in as part of the responsibility of delivering an information service and in the future, this role will potentially become even more important as a key contributor to achieving these competencies.

References

Caramela, S. (2019). Management Theory of Frederick Taylor. business.com. Retrieved from https://www.business.com/articles/management-theory-of-frederick-taylor/

Colvin, G. (2000). Managing in the info era. Fortune, 141(5). Retrieved from https://archive.fortune.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/2000/03/06/275231/index.htm

New South Wales Department of Education. (2015). Information skills in the school: engaging learners in constructing knowledge. Retrieved from https://education.nsw.gov.au/teaching-and-learning/curriculum/learning-across-the-curriculum/school-libraries/media/documents/infoskills.pdf

Robinson, K. (2010, October 14). Changing education paradigms. [Video file].Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zDZFcDGpL4U

May 26, 2019
by judyo54
0 comments

reflections on collection development and the future of school library collections

This subject has provided me with a lot to think about – especially how I can apply what I am learning and understanding to my practice. Knowing that ‘it is the responsibility of the teacher librarian to develop a balanced collection’ is a good starting point (O’Keefe, 2019). I have a much deeper awareness about the selection process – should the library be looking at digital rather than physical to move us into the 21^st Century? Fiction v nonfiction is another area which ‘necessitates decision and thought ‘, (Zwar, 2019) and has motivated me to review this part of the KHS collection. Important to remember that the reading achievements of students is underpinned by “appropriate fiction and nonfiction resources’ (blogme) and that the love of reading (another TL role and responsibility) is “positively associated with success and learning “. I am certainly more aware of matching resources to specific need and how important it is to have resources that underpin teaching and learning and I agree with Mary Rule (2019) that “The TL has a role in locating and suggesting resources for a unit of work”.

I have been thinking about how I can measure and evaluate the school collection to demonstrate value for money and advocate for a reasonable budget. The budget is important and key to the collection’s maintenance and has to be negotiated and managed carefully “A realistic budget is required to enable school library programs and services to adequately and equitably serve the whole school,” (ALIA, 2017).

This subject has alerted me to the importance of having a school library collection development policy (CDP); from an organisational viewpoint (public assets need to be managed to maintain their value) and because the CDP represents and reflects the school vision and makes a clear policy statement regarding the provision of, and access to a diverse range of resources in various formats, (ALIA, 2017). I really understand the importance of having a selection criteria policy and appreciated the clarity of a flowchart displaying the decision process, (O’Keefe, 2019) Collaborating with a committee or members of the school community ensures the ‘appropriateness’ as well as a balanced collection that adheres to the criteria for physical and digital resources, (O’Keefe, 2019). Resourcing the curriculum is an important part of the selection process and one possible way to make sure resources are accurate and relevant is to ‘gather all the scope and sequences’, (Murray, 2019).

I understand how the CDP has to be focused on KHS and I am more confident to write a CDP for the school. I feel that writing the policy reaffirms my focus on being a TL: supporting teaching and learning, providing access to diverse resources in a variety of formats and focuses on encouraging the love of reading. These elements are echoed in McIlvenny’s (2018) presentation that sees libraries as a centre of knowledge creation and TLs as instructional leaders in “achieving best practice in learning’.

Figueroa (2018) identifies various components in a ‘Future Ready Librarians Framework’, that requires acknowledging trends and changes that align with your library’s priorities. He sees the importance of aligning future programs and services with the collections’ purpose and values. Changing technologies will play a large part in the future and I see the need to constantly update my skills in this area in order to be able to be a leader and teacher of change within the school. Many commentators discuss the importance of individualised learning in the future and Duvall (2018) suggests the ‘decentralized library’ providing library activities wherever they are needed to suit the diverse needs of students who are the ‘now’ generation. This is an idea that could work very well in my current school. I am really interested in her idea of a pop up library as part of ‘fresh outreach perspectives’ that includes’ roving reference’ and ‘serendipitous encounters’ that continues to connect students to relevant resources, (Duvall, 2018). E-books can provide access on a 24/7 basis and a ‘pedagogical innovation’ (O’Connell, Bales & Mitchell, 2015) and this is another area that I need to investigate. The KHS collection has subscribed to a provider of e-books for fiction only as faculty attitudes to non-fiction e-books has not been enthusiastic due to cost and prior investment made in physical resources which were needed when the curriculum changed.

I think the future will require a TL to keep abreast of an ever changing world and its effect on a school collection so that collaboration with faculties will be even more important to ensure that resources are aligned with the curriculum and are accessible to students when and where they need them.

References

Australian Library and Information Association. (2017). A manual for developing policies and procedures in Australian school library resource centres. Retrieved from https://www.alia.org.au/sites/default/files/ALIA%20Schools%20policies%20and%20procedures%20manual_FINAL.pdf

Beene, S., Jackson, A.S., Kostelecky, S. & Quinn, T. (2019). Reach Out! Highlighting Collections and Expanding Outreach to Non-Traditional Communities across Academia. The Reference Librarian, 60(1), 29-50. https://doi.org/10.1080/02763877.2018.1547891

Duvall, S. (2018). The future of school libraries. Knowledge Quest. 46 (4), 6-7.

Figueroa, M. (2018). Futuring for future ready librarians. Knowledge Quest. 46(4), 14-17.

McIlvenny, L. (2018). Future focused library master. [PowerPoint slides]. Retrieved from https://www.slideshare.net/LeonieMcIlvenny/future-focused-library-master

Murray, I. (2019, April 6). Collaborative resource selection. [Online discussion comment]. Retrieved from Charles Sturt University website: https://interact2.csu.edu.au/webapps/discussionboard/do/message?action=list_messages&course_id=_42383_1&nav=discussion_board_entry&conf_id=_78886_1&forum_id=_147532_1&message_id=_2225735_1

O’Connell, J., Bales, J., & Mitchell, P. (2015). [R]Evolution in reading cultures: 2020 vision for school libraries. The Australian Library Journal, (64)3, 194-208. https://doi.org/10.1080/00049670.2015.1048043

O’Keefe, A. (2019, March 12). Definition of collection management or development. [Blog post]. Retrieved from http://thinkspace.csu.edu.au/aok1/

Rule, M. (2019, April 27). ETL503: Budget and collection management. [Blog post]. Retrieved from http://thinkspace.csu.edu.au/missrule/

Zwar, T (2019, April 25). The school library collection: some thoughts. [Blog post]. Retrieved from http://thinkspace.csu.edu.au/adivergentpath/

judyo54blog

Thoughts on working and studying as a TL

The digital learning environment

literary responses

expanding the repertoire of children’s literature

future of children’s books

reflection on ETL504 – leadership

leadership in groups

How does the content of Colvin’s article relate to the school library?

reflections on collection development and the future of school library collections