Topic: What role does technology play in the relationship information agencies develop with their users? (1200 words)

The current global pandemic has made it clear that the role of technology in 21^st century is highly significant. In these unprecedented times, technology has made it possible for students to learn from home and for professionals to work from home. The move to remote learning for schools during Covid 19 has seen students and educators rely heavily on digital technologies like never before. Students and teachers might find a bit overwhelming to manage change. However, technology can now be seen as a tool and a catalyst for change as it has made education more accessible and flexible.

In keeping up with 21^st century the role of all the information agencies have changed through the use of electronic technology from library curators to information and research facilities. Effective integration of technology into subject area gives opportunity to Technology-enabled learning and also allows learners to tap resources and expertise anywhere in the world. Technology will clearly have a massive impact on the library and information sector and will need to focus on the user experience, not only in terms of content, but also how the service looks and feels in the real world and online. (ALIA, 2014).

Almost all the information agencies had Online Public Access Catalogues (OPAC) and eBooks, audio books and databases that meets the needs of their users. This allows the users with round the clock access to information. Some of the agencies have a contact us form for the query that were answered in less than 48 hours. Lee (Softlink, 2018) states in her blog that libraries should have a message encouraging visitors to register, with clear instructions for contact and registration. Lee (2018) also emphasises that modern library management systems make it easy to create a visually appealing experience for the user, without having a graphics design qualification.

Technology can connect users without any geographical boundaries. Effective integration of technology into subject area gives opportunity to personalised learning or experiences that are more engaging and relevant. Technology can help classrooms move beyond the four walls and help students connect through tools such as Skype to learn and interacts with students from all over the world. Technology acts a bridge between tangible and abstract learning allowing easy access to resources.

For instance, Mount Alvernia College believes that we as teacher librarians should keep ourselves updated with technology so that we are able to provide support to our students in a safe environment. They also have a function on their library website called ‘Ask a Librarian’ tab that they think is very user friendly. It is a BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) school where students have the option to buy computers through a company that has a tech on site as a tech support person. Students are taught every year how to search catalogue, how to use tags and there are also research guides to assist students. The school also has research guides and the teacher librarian believes that the research guide for each school might look different depending on how the students engage with the catalogue/library resources.

Another speaker, Anna Griffiths from Special Libraries at Albury Wodonga Health points out that most of the library users are multi modal, however, it is important to keep the demographics of users in mind. Digital transformation may be a tough thing for some users. Technology in a regional area can sometimes be a challenge due to connectivity issues.

Lake Tuggeranong College, Canberra has chrome books for students. There are also standalone desktops available to give equity of digital access to learning. The college website has a key resource called ‘Digital backpack’ that gives students’ access to lot of useful resources such as clickview, Oliver, Google Drive, different databases to gain quality information. The College also conducts various ‘Key to success’ webinars for students. Through the bibliographic statistics table that was shown, it is evident that the college has a wide collection of ebooks, audio books, kobe ebooks for textbooks. All of this is available through SORA overdrive app. Google forms are used to get students feedback. It was very interesting to know that the last question was an open ended question- ‘What else do you want us to know’? This allows students to give an opinion on the topic that was not listed in the question list. The speakers at Lake Tuggeranong College gave an understanding of how important it is to teach students’ research skills as it underpins the Australian Curriculum and General Capabilities. Technology can provide users to access resources at any time. Lori stated that students submit assignments at unearthly hours and therefore it is necessary to be able to make available great websites for students and also professional learning for teachers. We need to teach students how to evaluate which sources (books, blogs, tweets, websites, databases, etc.) are most appropriate for their research.

Another important topic for this study visit was advocacy. Since in many parts of the world, libraries and librarians are increasingly becoming an endangered species, it is very important, more than ever, that we start advocating our roles as teacher librarian. Australian school libraries’ staffing and resources have been in decline for many years now, particularly in primary schools (Tarica, 2010; Hay, 2013; Mitchell & Weldon, 2016; Softlink, 2015; Softlink, 2016; Softlink, 2017). Holly Godfree stresses the importance of advocating the role of a qualified teacher librarian. In the article on School Libraries Matter: The missing piece in the education puzzle ( 2018), Godfree and Neilson, clearly states without a teacher librarian, no information or digital literacy skills will be taught and no collaborative teaching and planning will happen. In this digital age, it is very essential to teach students right from Kindergarten the information skills such as note taking, plagiarism, referencing.

Virtual study visit also gave a positive insight on shelving fiction through genres that motivates user with a visible increase in circulation.

Lack of budget was a common problem for all the information agencies. Kari stated that, the IT infrastructure we have in place is a challenge in day to day operations. Technology is moving quickly and our systems aren’t agile enough to move at the same pace. Funding is always a challenge and COVID-19 may exacerbate this challenge but equally could present opportunities. However, all the speakers managed and purchased resources within the given budget. Library is used by whole organisation and therefore libraries need to be a priority in regards to computer technology infrastructure and hardware. This allows equitable access to resources and information.

Technology can also help people to stay connected with their Professional Learning Networks where learning happens in an informal manner through exchange of ideas and opinion e.g. Twitter. Through all this, we can see the connecting role of technology and the relationship between information agencies and their users.

Reflection

The virtual study visit was an alternative to actual study visit that was offered by the University. At first I thought it would not be same as the face to face experience, but I must admit that it was a quality experience. All the speakers were terrific in giving insights about their role and about the institution. Unlike every year, this year all our study visits for this session were online. It was an unusual experience to have virtual study visits but I have thoroughly enjoyed it. This was only possible because of technology and therefore it is clearly evident that technology is an integral part of all the information agencies. TL’s in order to continue to be resourceful to our students and teachers need to keep up with the trends and use of current technology. If not experts, but able to know the basics of Google suite, MS Office. Knowing how to use eBooks, podcasts, databases, online streaming resources, teach about digital literacy.

Before undertaking any new project, it is necessary to be mindful of Cultural differences. For example, in Generification. Communication via digital means really needs to be approached carefully, because our interactions might lack the face to face nuances that show we are trying to be respectful or that we are unsure if a question is appropriate.

Students need to be taught to be digital natives. It is incorrect to assume that they are digitally literate.

My main takeaway from this study visit is being versatile with can do attitude is an important skill in our profession that can build a positive work environment. Libraries are a flexible, dynamic learning space that provides access to physical and digital resources where users gain information and uses web tools to empower learning through creativity, discovery, inquiry, cooperation, and collaboration.

References

Alia.org.au. 2020. [online] Available at: https://www.alia.org.au/sites/default/files/documents/advocacy/ALIA-Future-of-the-Profession-ALL.pdf [Accessed 11 May 2020].

Godfree, H. and Neilson, O., 2020. [online] Studentsneedschoollibraries.org.au. Available at: https://studentsneedschoollibraries.org.au/wp-content/uploads/Holly-Godfree-and-Olivia-Neilson-ACCESS-March-2018-editors-note.pdf [Accessed 16 May 2020].

Lee, K., 2020. The Role of Technology in Library Outreach – The Library Homepage – Softlink – Library Software and Services. [Online] Softlink – Library Software and Services. Available at: https://ic.softlinkint.com/blog/the-role-of-technology-in-library-outreach-the-library-homepage [Accessed 17 May 2020].