So, one of the potential reflection questions that I came across in ETL503 regarding responsibility for resource selection was Who should have the final say on what is included [in a collection]? Why? In my experience in school libraries, the Teacher-Librarian (TL) selects resources for the library. I had never questioned it or considered that there would be an argument for anyone else to be involved. After some further reading it becomes clear that selecting resources can involve many people – school administrators, teachers, students, parents and other community members, to name a few (Jenkinson, 2002). In fact, the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) states that not only is collection building a collaborative endeavour, but that such collaboration should be made clear in a school library’s policy (2015, p. 34). This is supported by a joint statement between the Australian Library and Information Association and the Australian School Library Association that states a collection policy should contain an element that includes responsibilities for collaborative decision making when selecting resources (Australian Library and Information Association, 2016 para. 6).
Mostly Harmless
A reflective journal of a student teacher librarian
Page 2 of 3
A library collection is never static. It grows, it changes, it evolves. A library collection should reflect the needs of its users (Evans & Saponaro, 2012), and support the teaching and learning of the curriculum (New South Wales Department of Education, 2019; Australian Library and Information Association & Australian School Library Association). In a school library setting, where there is a constant incoming and outgoing of new and graduating students as well as different teaching and learning styles this is particularly pertinent. The users’ needs are likely to be ever-so different from one cohort to the next. Add to this, issues around potential national and state educational policy changes as well as curriculum and syllabus updates, not to mention specific course and subject revisions, introductions of new and different texts for study etc. and it becomes quite clear that a library collection is in a constant state of flux. New resources are added, old resources are discarded all the time. However, there is a little more to it than that. Maintaining a library collection involves careful consideration not only about what goes into the collection (collection development), but also the ongoing decisions associated with what to do with it once it is added (collection management).
The culmination of my learning journey in ETL401 involves a reflective practice task whereby I am to provide a critical reflection of how my thinking (particularly around inquiry learning) has expanded. Considering reflection is a fundamental component of Guided Inquiry and that “reflection and thinking about the ideas encountered…[will] enable students to construct knowledge and meaning” (Kuhlthau, Maniotes & Caspari, 2007, p.25), this seems like a pertinent task. Reflection, as I have learned, is an important part of the inquiry process and one that I had overlooked when commencing my studies.
I’ve had a brief look ahead into the modules for ETL401 and am looking forward to the near future as I can see that we will be starting to learn about Guided Inquiry. I’m actually quite lucky, as I’ve been told that my school will be implementing a policy that will see every faculty delivering one Guided Inquiry Design (GID) unit for a stage 4 class at some point during the year. That means that, fortuitously, what I’m learning in my modules will be running directly parallel to what I will be working on professionally. Better get a head start!
I should also mention that I’ve been lucky enough to attend some professional learning in guided inquiry, specifically Guided Inquiry Design, in the form of a half-day workshop delivered by Leslie Maniotes – she literally (co)wrote the foundational books on Guided Inquiry (Kuhlthau, Maniotes, Caspari, 2015; 2012) and is lead author of the Guided Inquiry design in Action books (Maniotes, 2017). With this in mind I thought I’d share a few of the notes/insights I received on the day.
Responding to Bonanno’s “A profession at the tipping point (revisited)”
So, I’ve been asked to read and consider Karen Bonanno’s article A profession at the tipping point (revisited) and summarise in 100 words or less what I see as the ‘take home message’ with regard to answering the question “Are school librarians an endangered species”.
I’ll add my notes below, mainly because I feel like a 100 word summary probably won’t do justice to the article. I’m allowing myself the usual +/- 10% even though that wasn’t specifically stated in the task description – it’s my blog, I make the rules!
Anyway, 100 words, here we go…
I recently was looking for something light to read regarding libraries and library services. Something related to my course, Introduction to Teacher Librarianship, but that wasn’t a heavy-handed journal article. I wanted something engaging and approachable, something that may introduce me to a new idea or concept or that would still make me think but without having to enter “study mode”. I stumbled across an article by the MIT (prestigious!) Technology Review, titled “The Death of Libraries?” that grabbed my attention.
Immediately I checked the publication date, hoping that this wasn’t a recent article. The death of libraries, oh no! Am I entering a “dying profession”? I’ve heard this term being thrown out there once or twice before.
In today’s world the concept of having ready access to information at all times connotes the use of digital platforms and the internet. Of course, one may have constant access to textbooks if they happen to have them sitting on the bookshelf, however, they may not necessarily be the most recent, appropriate or relevant textbooks for what you require. I think usually, most people would automatically think of accessing information online. Even hardcopy print resources that are still published will also have an online presence. Professional and peer reviewed journals can be accessed online – you don’t even need to spend money, open an account or pay for a license if you don’t want; just get a (free) library card. For example, the NSW State Library will give you access to their range of online databases to anyone who takes a few minutes to fill out an easy online form for a library card. Also, professional organisations’ newsletters and articles, newspapers and magazines all have online versions of their publications. Granted, these aren’t always free, but a lot of it is, and, if you wanted it, nobody’s going to stop you from doing what needs to be done to sign up – I’m sure they’re not publishing digital content so that people never consume their material. So, when considering the ease of access to information via the internet, a few benefits and a few negatives come to mind:
The concept of information is much more complex than one may initially think. Certainly after reading through Module 2.1: Definitions of Information, I have a better understanding of this. When posed with the question “what is information” I may have previously overlooked the classic definition of information as objective data and skipped straight to a more semantic opinion of information as transferable knowledge that conveys meaning and understanding. I may have then snuck a look at a dictionary definition along the lines of what the Oxford Dictionary or Macmillan Dictionary defines, although, these definitions mention facts, of which I would argue that perhaps information doesn’t need to be factual in order to simply exist as information. I suppose this would lead to the category of misinformation. In any case, I had not thought much on the idea that information may be defined as semantic and classic and the differences between these categories.
Schools are diverse and multi-faceted environments and the people inhabiting these environments are equally as diverse and varied in their understanding of an individual role within a school. Certainly, my personal understanding of the role of a Teacher Librarian (TL) may be very different from others. I have been lucky enough that the majority of schools I have worked in have been supportive of the TL and I have seen how the role can encompass many different aspects.
There are many who see the TL as a leader or manager of a large space within the school. This in itself may derive certain connotations. For example, it can be a respite for students who experience social or learning difficulties as a place away from the classroom or school play areas; it can be purely a study and research space within a school; a resource area for printing assignments, study notes or emailing; or a social space to relax, play games and pass the time.
Welcome to my blog space. This is where I will be sharing my thoughts, ideas and understanding as I progress through the Masters of Education (Teacher Librarianship) course. When choosing the title and look of the blog I thought it would be an interesting idea to use one of my favourite books, “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy” by Douglas Adams, as inspiration. Therefore, I figured that “Mostly Harmless”, the revised description of Earth as it appears in the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, could be an amusing title (to me anyway).
Will my posts arouse critical thought? Will they inspire people to comment and speak out? Will they provoke riots in the street? Probably not. They’re more likely to be “mostly harmless” – the rambling product of too much (or too little) coffee in the morning. I do hope to produce the odd gem of wisdom or Eureka moment though. In any case, at the very least it is a fun play on words that also pays homage to Adams’ work.
In the creation of the content for this blog I aim to appropriately credit all sources that I use. My work will be shared under an ‘Attribution-Non- Commercial-Share Alike’ creative commons licence which allows others to “remix, tweak, and build upon your work non-commercially, as long as they credit you and license their new creations under the identical terms” (“About the Licences”, 2015).
The header image used in my blog site is a photograph of the Milky Way. I chose this as it fits with the overall theme of the blog, being inspired by “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy”. It has no known copyright and is from Pexels media library. The photograph has been marked as available for personal and commercial reuse with no attribution required.
References:
- About the Licences. (2015, October 09). Retrieved March 10, 2019, from https://creativecommons.org/licenses/
- Fidanov, H. (2018, July 18). Milky Way Galaxy during Nighttime. Retrieved March 10, 2019, from https://www.pexels.com/photo/milky-way-galaxy-during-nighttime-1252890/
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