Category: Reflections

ETL503 Reflections

Future Ready Librarians

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Being a future ready librarian means being active and engaged, predicting and responding to wants and needs, and advocating your role and services.

Make room for your students!

 

Reference

Tedx Talks. (2016, June 7). Changing the conversation about librarians: Mark Ray. Ted x El Cajon Salon. [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IniFUB7worY

 

[Reflection: Module 7]

Collections Policy

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A collection development policy provides the framework that identifies the purpose, goals, scope and contents of the library’s collection (Oberg & Schultz-Jones, 2015). It is a public document created in consultation with the school community, which ensures quality decisions and consistency in collection development. Debowski (2001) recommends including the following items in a collection management policy:

  • Purpose statement; including, users/target audience, and collection goals, which can refer to ALIA principles
  • Selection principles; including, staff responsible for selection, resource formats, other limitations including language needs, duplications, cooperative acquisition, selection criteria, donations and gifts, lost items, purchasing and recording
  • Acquisition policy; including short statements related to, selection tools, priorities, suppliers, and other decision-making factors
  • Collection evaluation policy; including, collection appraisal
  • Deselection or weeding criteria
  • Review of controversial resources; including, a challenge policy

Debowski (2012) included various formats that are now defunct; including, audio cassettes and, in many cases, CD-ROMs. Online subscriptions, databases, and e-Books could now be included in the range of formats listed, as they are current resources that many schools require access to.

 

References

Debowski, S. (2001). Collection management policies. In K. Dillon, J. Henri & J. McGregor (Eds.), Providing more with less: Collection management for school libraries (2nd ed.) (pp. 126-136). Wagga Wagga, NSW: Centre for Information Studies, Charles Sturt University. (e-reserve).

Oberg, D., & Schultz-Jones, B. (eds.). (2015). 4.3.1 Collection management policies and procedures. In IFLA School Library Guidelines, (2nd ed.), (pp. 33-34). Den Haag, Netherlands: IFLA.

 

[Reflection: Module 6.1]

Models and methods for collection evaluation

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Evaluation of collections assesses the extent to which library collections meet the goals of the library and the needs of the community it serves. There are various methods of evaluation that can be employed in school libraries. ALA identifies two categories of collection evaluation; collection-centered measures, and use-centered measures (Evans & Saponaro, 2014). A balanced way of evaluating the collection is to employ several of these methods and to ensure objective data is gathered in the mix. Grigg (2012) proposes methods of evaluating collections that are suitable for both print and digital resources. The methods and their usefulness in school library collection evaluation is outlined below:

Usage data: assessing circulation statistics.

  • Useful in determining the popularity of resources and the subject areas that are most borrowed and types of books used. This can be helpful in assessing how the collection meets learning needs and reading needs.

Overlap analysis: assessing duplications within journal collections.

  • Useful in minimising wasted dollars through unnecessary duplicate resources.

Survey instruments: quantitative method of collecting user feedback.

  • Useful in determining the users’ impression of the library and collection and the usefulness of the collection in meeting specific needs. This value of this method is increased when used in conjunction with another method of evaluation.

Benchmarking: comparing the collections of different libraries.

  • Useful in identifying potential gaps and strengths in comparison to other school libraries. This could be done during network meetings to provide suggestions and recommendations and collaborate with others in developing quality collections to meet the needs of the clientele.

Focus groups: qualitative method of collecting user feedback.

  • Useful in determining the strengths and weaknesses of a collection from the perspective of the library users. This method should be used in conjunction with other methods of evaluation, as the results may be bias or may only apply to a niche market.

Balanced scorecard methods: matching criteria or outcomes against circulation statistics.

  • Useful in assessing circulation statistics against particular goals; however, there is difficulty in developing realistic or accurate criteria and this does not account for the quality of the resource it only counts the use.

 

What are the practicalities of undertaking a collection evaluation within a school in terms of time, staffing, and priorities, as well as appropriateness of methodology?

Collection evaluation can be an expensive process in terms of staff time (Arizona State Library, n.d.); however, it is important to make time to ensure this process is undertaken. There are opportunities throughout the school year to allocate time to this process; for example, during staff days at the beginning of end of term, and during weeks when classes are limited (e.g. weeks 7-8) and TL time becomes available for other library management duties. This should be a priority when receiving assessment task sheets or unit outlines from teachers and when organising assignment help lessons. Methods must relate to all aspects of a school library; including, assessment and curriculum support, reading for pleasure, resources for teaching and other staff, resources to support the wider community. Additionally, the methodologies used should take advantage of the resources available to ensure the process is efficient; for example, using the OPAC to gather data and generate reports.

How does the need for, and possible benefits of an evaluation of the collection outweigh the difficulties of undertaking such an evaluation?

  • Despite the difficulties in undertaking collection evaluation it is vital in determining how and to what extent school libraries are meeting users’ needs and in cementing the library in the school context as a valuable commodity. As highlighted by Hernon, Dugan, and Matthews (2014), evaluation activities provide evidence of accountability and the opportunity to review and modify practices in a clear and formal manner. It also provides justification for changes in selection priorities and supports weeding or deselection decisions (Pattee, 2013). Collection evaluation is paramount in ensuring the collection’s usefulness and relevance to the school community.

Is it better to use a simple process with limited but useful outcomes, or to use the most appropriate methodology in terms of outcomes?

  • The answer to this question may change depending on the aspect of the collection needing to be evaluated – general or specific emphasis collections. Overall, the most appropriate methodology in terms of outcomes is the ideal method a TL would use when evaluating the collection; however, constraints including time and staffing may interfere with this. When evaluating the collection to meet curriculum needs, it is important to use the most appropriate methodology, as it is the role of the school library to meet these needs and assist teachers and students in understanding and navigating the new curriculum. If evaluation processes occur more regularly, they will become quicker and easier, as the process is streamlined and more regularly updated. Furthermore, the collection will more accurately reflect the library’s mission and changing needs of the community. Hernon, Dugan and Matthews (2014) even suggest that evaluation activities should become daily activities within libraries to review and improve services with the aim of meeting stated goals and objectives. The National Library of New Zealand recommends weeding monthly or quarterly, which could also be a useful time to undertake other evaluation processes (2012).

What are the current priority areas for evaluation in your school library collection?

  • Current priority areas for evaluation in my school library collection include, evaluation of the non-fiction collection in meeting curriculum needs of senior students studying the Arab Israeli Conflict, and Year 9 and 10 Science students undertaking new inquiry tasks requiring them to break down science claims and develop very specific research questions that require resources to support the question and their reading levels.

 

References

Arizona State Library. (n.d.). Collection assessment and mapping. Retrieved from https://www.azlibrary.gov/libdev/continuing-education/cdt/collection-assessment-mapping

Evans, G. E., & Saponaro, M. Z. (2014). Library and information science text: Collection management basics. Retrieved from https://ebookcentral-proquest-com.ezproxy.csu.edu.au

Griggs, K. (2012). Assessment and evaluation of e-book collections. In R. Kaplan (Ed.), Building and managing e-book collections: A how-to-do-it manual for librarians (pp. 127-137). Retrieved from https://ebookcentral-proquest-com.ezproxy.csu.edu.au

Hernon, P., Dugan, R. E., & Matthews, J. R. (2014). Getting started with evaluation. Retrieved from https://ebookcentral-proquest-com.ezproxy.csu.edu.au

National Library of New Zealand. (2012). Weeding your school library collection. Retrieved from https://natlib.govt.nz/schools/school-libraries/collections-and-resources/weeding-your-school-library-collection

Pattee, A. S. (2013). Developing library collections for today’s young adults. Retrieved from https://ebookcentral-proquest-com.ezproxy.csu.edu.au

 

[Reflection: Module 5.1]

Collection Analytics

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Formally analysing the collection using quantitative data is a powerful tool is assessing the value of the collection overall and identifying the areas in need of improvement. It also provides a means for better understanding the collection and its position in meeting library users’ needs. Collection analysis and mapping also provides a means of rectifying any bias that may be present in the collection to develop a more balanced collection overall. This also assists in collection development policies. Collection analytics provide a quantitative means with which to assess the collection, plan programs, assess budgetary requirements, compare libraries, evaluate the collection against curriculum requirements, develop library policies including collection development policies, and assist in weeding and deselection (Hart, 2003).

Hart (2003) suggests collecting data through LMS reports. Specifically, Hart mentions counting the number of resources in each Dewey class, calculating the average date of publication in each class, and collecting circulation statistics to determine “where supply was meeting demand” (Hart, 2003, p. 89). This data is then collated in a spreadsheet and analysed against a specific set of questions. Graphs are created to compare interrelated aspects of the collection; for example, age of the collection with the percentage of the collection by Dewey class, and number of titles with circulation. This last element of incorporating circulation statistics clearly allows libraries to identify how the needs of the users are being met and whether resources need to be increased and updated, and whether promotion is needed to increase readership related to particular curriculum areas.

TES recommends undertaking collection mapping that includes determining the average number of books per student in the general emphasis and specific emphasis collections, once the data is collected it can then be analysed in the following ways:

  • Examine strong sections to determine if the collection is evenly distributed,
  • Consider limiting selection in strong sections,
  • To improve weak sections, consider selecting from retrospective selection bibliographies and watch for new items,
  • Compare weak sections against the curriculum to be certain materials are needed,
  • Develop strategies to promote strong sections,
  • Compare the results with circulation statistics (Tangient LLC, 2018).

The Arizona State Library (n.d.) suggests first considering the library’s purpose and mission. This is used to provide a framework or focus for the collection analysis process. The data collected will be assessed against these standards. The types of quantitative data collected includes, number of titles, age and timeliness of materials, use, and per capita measures. These are also compared with qualitative data such as observations of use to better interpret the quantitative data.

 

References

Arizona State Library. (n.d.). Collection assessment and mapping. Retrieved from https://www.azlibrary.gov/libdev/continuing-education/cdt/collection-assessment-mapping

Hart, A. (2003). Collection analysis: powerful ways to collect, analyze, and present your data. In C. Andronik (Ed.), School Library Management (5th ed.) (pp. 88-91). Worthington, Ohio: Linworth.

Tangient LLC. (2018). Collection mapping. Retrieved from http://libraryadmin.wikispaces.com/Collection+Mapping

 

[Reflection: Module 5.1]

Copyright

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What is copyright?

Copyright protects works not ideas, concepts, styles or techniques. Rights relating to creative works that entitle the owner to reproduce, show or perform the material in public. Copyright owners also have the right to “prevent others from reproducing or communicating their work without their permission” (National Copyright Unit, 2016, para. 2). Owners may sell these rights to others.

In Australia, copyright is automatic and does not need to be applied for. Additionally, no copyright notice is required to be displayed.

Copyright in schools:

Fair dealings

An exemption to copyright infringement: A reasonable portion may be used for research, study, criticism/review, news, parody or satire without permission.

Reasonable portion

An article from a periodical

More than one article on the same subject from a periodical

15 pages of a literary work from an anthology

10% of the pages or 1 chapter in a literary, dramatic or musical work in hard copy and electronic form

These same limits apply to material published on the LMS. The copyright owner must be acknowledged. Referencing is required.

Teachers may not make multiple copies of a work for their students’ research or study. Multiple copies may be made using statutory educational licences; specifically, the Statutory Text and Artistic License, with application and payment through the Copyright Agency Limited (CAL). This covers hard and electronic copies. Each year a sample of schools are audited to determine the license fees payable to CAL. These licences cover photocopying, scanning, emailing, and publication on the school intranet.

Films played for non-educational purposes is allowed if the school is covered by the Co-Curricular Licence with Roadshow Public Performance Licensing or must gain permission from the non-theatrical distributor (National Copyright Unit, 2016).

The Music department is responsible for APRA and AMCOS education licences.

Students with disabilities

Accessible format copies may be made for students with a disability. There are no restrictions on the format that can be created. An attempt must be made to obtain a commercially available copy first.

Web Content Accessibility Guidelines apply to all institutions and organisations in Australia and is required under the law.

Reflection Questions

What licences do we have?

Who pays for these? Which budget?

Forum 4.1 Quiz Questions

Teacher: Your Year 10 students want to listen to music as a class while completing their work during your lesson. Is it okay for you to stream music from your iTunes account and broadcast it over the projector speakers?

Student: You’re creating a multimodal presentation that must include images. Is it okay for you to include pictures found from Google Images?

 

References

National Copyright Unit. 2016. Smartcopying. Retrieved from http://www.smartcopying.edu.au/

 

[Forum Reflection: Module 4.1]

Budget and Collection Management: Teacher Librarian’s role 

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Teacher Librarian as:

Collaborator:

  • With the business manager to review and determine the annual budget
  • With the library manager (library technician) to discuss collection budget needs and assess circulation data
  • With department heads to review and determine textbook needs
  • With students to discuss their needs

Steward:

  • Conducting needs-based surveys with staff and students
  • Conducting curriculum and collection mapping activities
  • Approving purchases
  • Presenting at and attending department meetings and leadership meetings
  • Presenting resources in library newsletter

Thinker:

  • Problem-solving to find the best budget outcome
  • Working closely with department heads to make use of their budgets for resources specific to their work and needs e.g. textbooks and department specific apps
  • Pooling budgets together
  • Fundraising and grants
  • Promoting book donations from the community

 

Reference:

Lamb, A. & Johnson, H. L. (2012). Program administration: Budget management. Retrieved from http://eduscapes.com/sms/administration/budget.html.

 

[Reflection: Module 3.1]

Promotion and Recommendation Selection Aids

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Strengths and Weakness

Promotions
Audible Book Depository Booktopia Scholastic
Strengths Provides a sample of the audio recording to assess quality. Provides suggested search terms while typing.

Provides embedded Google Books preview.

Provides links to related books.

 Can filter by Lexile reading level.
Weaknesses Limited resources available.

Filter by category is not always accurate. E.g. filtered by “Drama & Poetry” and the result did not contain information on either category.

Cannot filter by reading level.

 Cannot filter by reading level.

Limited resources available.

American site, so limited Australian content.

 

 

Recommendations
Diigo OZTL NET PearlTrees
Strengths

Easy to navigate through links provided.

Format of resources easy to see.

Can be curated by reputable sources.

 Reviews from TLs

Easy to search.

Digital media embedded or easily accessed via hyperlink.
Weaknesses

Broken or dead links.

Can be difficult to find the curator’s qualifications/authority in resource selection.

Time consuming to scroll through results and read all communication to find resources.

Resources aren’t always listed clearly.

Mostly teaching resources rather than learning/student resources.

Does not recognise boolean operators, so searching can end with irrelevant results.

 

[Reflection: Module 2.5]

Social curation tools

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Curation has long been a part of the role of a Teacher Librarian; however, new platforms and resources have emerged in response to the proliferation of digital resources. Excitedly, Teacher Librarians can take advantage of digital tools to promote and publicise the work of the library and curate resources for the purposes of pleasure and learning. These curation tools can be text-based, visual, or hybrid, which combine the use of text and visual media (Robertson, 2012). Social curation allows participants to collaborate and share digital content based around different themes (Rouse, 2012); however, concerns may arise relating to privacy and copyright. Educase mentions that many curation tools have limited privacy controls, which may be an issue if the curation tool was linked to the school’s Library Management System or if students require access (2012). Since this was published, many sites now offer enhance privacy settings whereby the curated resources can be shared via invite only, as is the case with Pinterest. Despite this advance with Pinterest privacy controls, the accessibility is still an issue, as individuals must be invited to the board and both parties must follow each other on Pinterest. Furthermore, breaches of copyright are more likely to occur when using social curation tools, as the original owner of the content is often not acknowledged due to the click-and-share mentality of these sites (Educase, 2012).

Curation tools:

Diigo: a text-based curation bookmarking tool whereby users collect, annotate and archive webpages. The collections can be kept private, shared with a group or shared publicly.

Thinglink: a visual curation tool whereby users annotate an image or video and embed curated content. Users may only set their Thinglink as public or unlisted.

Pinterest: a visual curation tool whereby users can create and share topic-based collections.

Scoop.it: a hybrid curation tool whereby users can curate articles, documents, pictures, videos or social media streams under a topic. It is free for personal use. Users may publish to one of Scoop.it’s partners; including, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, WordPress, Mail Chimp, or the topic can be private.

Flipboard: a hybrid tool that curates popular articles about a theme or topic as an online magazine. Users may only set their magazine as public or private.

LibGuides: a content management system that can be used to curate a range of sources including; books, documents, images, videos and webpages. Assignment Help Pages may be curated to present a collection of resources to students in relation to their assessment tasks.

Other curations tool, which may be useful for school libraries include Flickr and Instagram. Flickr is a useful tool in curating visual images and is used well by National Library of Australia to present primary sources from Australia’s history. Instagram is also used by National Library of Australia to present aspects of their collection. Instagram may also be a useful creation tool for libraries to promote their services.

  • Diigo Text Curation Tool Reference: Harrison, N. (2018). My library [Image]. Retrieved from https://www.diigo.com/user/noniharrison

 

 

Review of Curation Channel

ThingLink: Iowa Children’s Choice Award

 

Curation Tool
Criteria Review
Tags Tags are not clearly marked for the public to see.
Ability to post to multiple channels ThingLink can be shared through an embed code or link or can be directly shared through Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Google+, Tumblr, Tackk, Email or Edmodo.
Adequate space to provide comments, evaluations or reviews No space for user interaction.
Ease of dealing with images Very easy to upload images, as it is a visual curation tool.
Ability to label with license information References can be easily added to the description of image and each annotation. Issues surrounding “cloning” other users’ ThinkLinks without the original author’s information included. Does not include the ability to search for Creative Commons material on the site.
Available as an app for curation on the go on a mobile device App available for Apple and Android for free.
Compatibility with devices and browsers used by students and staff Compatible with all browsers and devices.
Visual appeal Annotations provide interaction and are signified by a neat dot, which keeps the overall image tidy. The visual appeal is high, as the ThingLink is essentially a full image or video.
Content
Topic Relevant to library promotion and book promotion.
Readability Due to large quantity of books review, the text description beneath each is small and difficult to read.
Design Inviting and appealing. Use of images to draw readers in.
Interactivity Annotations provide embedded videos, reviews or trailers for each book. Easy to access.
Ability to repost Can be easily reposted using the options inbuilt in ThingLink.

 

References:

Educause. (2012). 7 things you should know about social content curation. Retrieved from https://library.educause.edu/~/media/files/library/2012/10/eli7089-pdf.pdf

Kral, M. (2017). Iowa children’s choice award 2017-2018. Retrieved from https://www.thinglink.com/scene/930881240087658499

Robertson, N. D. (2012). Content curation and the school librarian. Knowledge Quest, 41(2), E1-5. Retrieved from

Rouse, M. (2012). Social curation. Retrieved from http://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/social-curation

 

[Reflection: Module 2.3]

eBooks

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Selection and Management Issues: eBooks

eBooks can pose additional selection and management issues than their print counterpart. Traditional selection criteria apply to the evaluation of eBooks; however, the management of digital resources is more complex. Three issues of related to selection and management include; functionality and quality, accessibility, and licensing.

 

Functionality and Quality

Specific issues related to the selection of eBooks are the functionality and quality of the digital resource. Firstly, libraries must consider if the eBook is presented in a way that is intuitive, enhances the reading experience and is delivered via a reliable platform. When selecting eBooks, it is also important to note that some titles may be restricted by publishers, while other titles may not be available as an eBook. Selection can also be an overwhelming and sometimes fruitless process due to the vast quantity of eBooks available. As suggested by McKay et al., there is limited guidance in the digital world to point to high-quality resources (2012). This can cause the selection process to be cumbersome, as Teacher Librarians encounter a significant volume of eBooks of varying quality; particularly, those that are free. Luckily, major libraries such as State Library of Victoria have curated collections as well as companies such as Goodreads, who provide reviews and recommendations, which assist in the selection of quality resources.

 

Accessibility

In a BYOD school environment, issues of accessibility may be present. Some platforms can cross devices; however, many cannot. Furthermore, if these schools create their own eBooks, issues of accessibility exist, as the eBook can be effectively read on one type of device but not on another (ALIA, 2013). This also causes problems when loading e-readers on to these devices, as there will be different e-readers for different devices. For example, the Writing and Citing eBook I created for my employer can be read effectively through iTunes on MacBooks; however, for PC users to access the eBook, the interactivity had to be edited down and after extensive testing it was found that the best platform for the eBook to be read was the Readium app through Google Chrome. This work-around has been successful; although, it is time-consuming and not an ideal way to deliver material across a school, as there are different sets of instructions for different devices and different levels of quality.

 

Licensing

Licensing models differ between publishers and it is vital to know and understanding the licensing agreement between publisher and school. Considerations include; number of concurrent users, number of loans, and changing or expiring license terms and renewal periods. Additionally, libraries must purchase eBooks through “suppliers that have negotiated DRM [digital rights management] with publishers and can pass the rights on to libraries” (National Library of New Zealand, n.d.). In essence, the library does not own the purchased eBook, so the issue exists whereby the library only has access while they are subscribed to the digital distributor. DRM also stipulates the number of borrowers of an eBook at any one time and the time period it can be borrowed for (ALIA, 2013). These policies assist in the protection of material; however, also pose restrictions on access. To increase access, as library must subscribe to a higher plan, which can be costly. The cost of purchasing eBooks can be higher than the retail price and higher still if multiple users are allowed.

 

References

Australian Library and Information Association [ALIA]. (2013). Ebooks and elending issues paper. Retrieved from http://www.alia.org.au/sites/default/files/documents/advocacy/Ebooks%20and%20Elending%20Issues%20Paper%20FINAL.pdf

McKay, D., Buchana, G., Vanderschantz, N., Timpany, C., Cunningham, S.J., & Hinze, A. (2012). Judging a book by its cover: interface elements that affect reader selection of ebooks. Proceedings of the 24th Australian Computer-Human Interaction Conference, 381-390. doi:10.1145/2414536.2414597

National Library of New Zealand. (n.d.). Ebooks in the school library. Retrieved from https://natlib.govt.nz/schools/school-libraries/collections-and-resources/selecting-resources-for-your-collection/ebooks-in-the-school-library

 

[Reflection: Module 2.3]

Selection Decision-Making Models

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The selection model developed by Hughes-Hassell and Mancall incorporates a simplistic view of resource evaluation and selection (2005). A model or framework that allows more flexibility to align with different circumstances may be more appropriate in meeting the needs of school libraries. More comprehensive resource selection criteria are outlined by the New South Wales Department of Education, which includes a range of evaluative questions to assess the appropriateness of potential resources (2017). These questions range from potential use of the resource to scope, quality, durability and price (New South Wales Department of Education, 2017). Additionally, the Queensland Department of Education provides a set of four selection criteria, which include; resource appropriateness for target audience, information accuracy and currency, suitability and relevance for the curriculum, and student outcomes (2012). Underpinning a decision-making model should be collaboration and consultation throughout all stages. As identified by the Australian School Library Association, Teacher Librarians must collaborate with their colleagues in a range of situations to evaluate the effectiveness of practices and resources in enhancing the outcomes of students (2014). Specifically, “Highly accomplished teacher librarians work co-operatively with staff to develop, recommend, organise and manage appropriate print and online resources to support student learning” (2014, p.11). As such, I have developed a draft selection decision-making model that will developed over time, as I am sure my understanding of this topic will expand.

Draft Selection Decision-Making Model
Flow chart showing draft 1 of selection decision-making model
Draft 1 of selection decision-making model

 

References

Hughes-Hassell, S., & Mancall, J. C. (2005). Collection management for youth: responding to the needs of learners. Retrieved from https://ebookcentral-proquest-com.ezproxy.csu.edu.au

New South Wales Department of Education. (2017). Choosing resources: Criteria for choosing resources: Curriculum materials. Retrieved from https://education.nsw.gov.au/teaching-and-learning/curriculum/learning-across-the-curriculum/school-libraries/teaching-and-learning/information-skills/resources/choosing-resources

Queensland Department of Education. (2012). Collection development and management. Retrieved from http://education.qld.gov.au/library/support/collection-dev.html

 

[Reflection: Module 2.1]