For this activity, I needed to look up two articles on Google Scholar about a topic – I choose genrefication – and then compared their content.

I have included my thoughts about what was included from the criteria for evaluating research table in the modules.

Pulsipher, L. (2024) Genrefication in Secondary School Libraries. The Information Warrior Journal Vol. 1 (1), 12. https://digitalcommons.wayne.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1011&context=tiwj 

1. Title is clearly stated 
2. The abstract includes the structure of the paper
3. The problem statement – “The Problem with Traditional Organization of Fiction”
4. Topic area – it is one that is discussed frequently and is of personal interest
5. Research questions – more of an explanation about history and current trend
6. Assumptions – does give challenges
7. Limitations – only discusses high school libraries 
8. Important terms – included 
9. Literature review – there are references to other sources, but no data collection 
10. Research design – is appropriate for the topic
11. Seems appropriate – it is a current topic
12. Data gathering – does not appear to be any data

16. Conclusion – short and concise

Axt, K. (2023). Genrefication: Making Children’s Collections Accessible. Open Educational Resource. https://digitalcommons.odu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1000&context=k12_languagearts_resources 

1. Title is clearly stated 
2. The abstract – no abstract but long introduction
3. The problem statement – “So what, exactly, is genrefication and, more importantly, why is it such a big deal for younger readers?” 
4. Topic area – it is one that is discussed frequently and is of personal interest
5. Research questions – more of an explanation about current trend
6. Assumptions – lots about the libraries role and jobs
7. Limitations – explains benefits and disadvantages
8. Important terms – included 
9. Literature review – there are references to other sources, but no data collection 
10. Research design – is appropriate for the topic
11. Seems appropriate – it is a current topic
12. Data gathering – does not appear to be any data

     16.  Conclusion – no conclusion

• Which paper was more coherent, consistent and comprehensive in describing the research procedure and finding?

Neither, both were approximately the same, and there were no findings, it was more of an article of the benefits and challenges of genrefication. It was left up to the reader to decide what they should do. 

• Which paper had a more constructive conclusion?

Pulsipher was the only one that had a conclusion. Axt finished the article with Building a community of readers.  

• In general, which paper provided you with a new insight about the topic?

Again, Pulsipher covered the history of genrefication, which I had not read about before.

The role of the Teacher Librarian is so vital to the school.

TL’s are there to support the teachers, they should facilitate training – I saw this in action on my placement last year, the teachers would come to the library to hold PD’s. The HOP would like to make changes to the staff room, but why not make changes to the library and hold staff meetings there, this way there is easy access to resources and the library can collaborate and share with the teachers. Our current library structure and layout is well behind the times, and really needs updating and major staff changes to bring it up to the 21st Century.

I don’t feel the library has a loud enough voice. It is classed as a specialist lesson, to give time release to the classroom teachers, but that’s it. It is not providing students with current skills to ensure they are leave school with the current technological skills.

I like this outline from Future Ready Librarians (Ford, 2016) that shows the people involved and the change process that could be followed when I am in the role.

The realm of realistic fiction is related to young adult literature and relates to what is happening in their lives. It is subdivided into sub genres, these being: 

• LGBTIQA
• Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people
• Multicultural Literature
• Historical fiction

Then we delve into the fiction that is not part of their world but takes them to another world.

• Fantasy Fiction
• Speculative Fiction
• Dystopian Fiction 
• Horror Fiction
• Steampunk

The young adult literature is something that I struggle with. I also know that some of these titles have the potential to be censored as I work in a Christian school. For some fantasy fiction we require parental approval before we can allow a student to borrow that book. I am certainly keen to further my knowledge of these genres.

I never thought that cataloguing was so in depth. This module explains the history of cataloguing and how it has developed over the years. Not having further experience in the last few years, I feel completely out of my depth. There appears to be so much and even understanding the process that a user goes through when searching for a particular resource. It didn’t occur that this could be something that was measured and then the library catalogue systems were based around it. 

FRBR – Functional Requirements for Bibliographic Records

The five elements based around FRBR as described by Hilder (2018): 

• Find
• Identify 
• Select 
• Obtain
• Explore 

I find these elements tricky to understand. When searching for a resource, these elements just naturally come into play. So when having to justify or explain an example of which of these elements is in play, for me is difficult. 

FRAD – Functional Requirements for Authority Data. 

Both of these are based around analysing bibliographic and authority data (Oliver, 2010). 

RDA – which is Resource Description and Analysis. When cataloguing, the format is different and  it is designed to provide some general rules and options and exceptions (Welsh and Batey, 2012). 

All of these metadata standards have their own differing set of qualities. It would be essential to see which works best in your own library. From memory, a lot of the work was already done and the process appeared to be quite easy. I don’t remember having to go into this much detail when cataloguing. 

And then there is MARC – Machine Readable Cataloguing. It is used to encode records to make it easier for computers to read them. I wonder whether MARC creates more work or is the information readily available? 

I feel that this topic is quite overwhelming for me at this stage. I wonder how often I will need to use these systems, though I do understand the importance of having this knowledge. It will be interesting to see what is used and what is already automated. 

Hider, P. (2018). Information resource description: Creating and managing metadata (2nd ed.). Facet. 

Oliver, C. (2010). FRBR and FRAD in RDA. In Introducing RDA: a guide to the basics (pp.13-36). ALA Editions. 

Welsh, A., & Batley, S. (2012). Bibliographic elements. In Practical cataloguing: AACR, RDA and MARC 21 (pp.17-48). Facet Publishing.

When it comes to the school collection there are many things that need to be considered. 

The budget. No one really likes talking about money but in this case it is a vital part of the library and what we can and can’t do. I found it interesting that you can’t compare two libraries because different payments and items assigned are going to be different for each library. Lamb and Johnson (2012) explain that a teacher librarian has to be a collaborator (works with others), steward (leader and doesn’t spend everything at once) and a thinker (knowing what is available). These are something that I will remember, as being in charge of a budget can be a very daunting task. I am curious if our current teacher librarian conducts an annual report. This seems to be a great way for the school leadership to understand what goes on in the library and where the funds go. It might also help them to realise what a vital part the library plays. 

Again, collaboration is the key when working in the library. I see this as an important part of knowing what resources the teachers need and knowing that the resource will be used. There is nothing worse than spending money on a resource that won’t get used. This is something that needs to be improved in our school. There is currently no collaboration between the TL and teachers and what resources would benefit the work we complete in the classroom. 

When it comes to ordering and suppliers, this process seems to be quite overwhelming and I will need to gain more understanding in the future and even see how it works within the school library. The discussion of physical versus ebooks seems to continue (in a good way) and there is so much to understand especially when it comes to ebooks. It certainly is not an easy decision and my opinion at this stage is you have to go with what works for your library and budget but you must be open to new opportunities. We can always seem to be doing the same thing, just because that is how it always has been.    

I would be keen to know about how our online items are recorded. In the Prep to Year 2 area our online readers and other online programs are managed by our coordinator and I don’t think the library would have any say about this. Is this something that needs to change and should the library be included? I know that we have access to Clickview but they is monitored by the library technician and she works closely with IT. More aspects to think about and investigate.

Lamb, A. & Johnson, H.L. (2012). Program administration: Budget management. The School Library Media Specialist.