Part A: Attendance

Synchronously
24th August, 2020	Krystal Gagen-Spriggs, Mount Alvernia College, Queensland
25th August, 2020	Katie Haden, Supreme Court Library, Queensland
2nd September, 2020	Justine Hanna, Moonee Valley Libraries, Victoria
Non-Synchronously
26th August, 2020	Sally Turbitt, University of Newcastle MakerSpace

 

 

Part B: 1) Essay

A well-resourced information agency is a successful information agency. Discuss.

Introduction

Imputing variations of the search terms ‘well-resourced’ and ‘information agency’ into both the Charles Sturt Library Catalogue and Google will return hundreds of results, the majority of which discuss the impact of libraries. Almost none define what makes up a ‘well-resourced’ information agency. Instead, it is often left to the reader to look for commonalities among the libraries studied. The following report is a break-down of what this author believes are the commonalities of well-resourced and therefore successful information agencies: a qualified librarian; an interest and content-driven collection; and a dynamic space. In considering each of these aspects, real-life examples of three different libraries – special, school and academic – will be discussed.

A Qualified Librarian

Numerous studies have been carried out which demonstrate that a qualified — and effective — teacher librarian can make a positive impact on learning and teaching. Research suggests that the active presence of a teacher librarian (TL) in a school can have a beneficial effect on young people’s literacy learning (Bailey, Hall, & Gamble, 2007), while the absence of TL can be associated with a negative influence on students’ academic achievement (Dow, McMahon-Lakin, & Court, 2012). Students in a school with a qualified TL and a strong library programme also typically perform better in standardised testing (Lance & Kachel, 2018). Recent research has also focused on how teacher librarians support struggling readers (Merga, 2019), as well as champion student wellbeing (Merga, 2020). As such, qualified librarians are one of the core requirements of a successful and well-resourced library.

The positive impact that a qualified librarian can have is clearly demonstrated in the work and efforts of Krystal Gagen-Spriggs, a teacher librarian at Mount Alvernia College, an independent, single-sex private school in Brisbane, Queensland. Working in the College’s ‘iCentre’ since 2016, Gagen-Spriggs and her team run a literacy-focused program called Campfire, which is delivered to Years 7-9 in their fortnightly library lessons. During this informal lesson, Gagen-Spriggs delivers a series of ‘book talks’ and gives students the opportunity to read for pleasure. Alongside the regular classroom teacher, she also interviews each student about their reading habits and interests in an effort to better tailor her book recommendations and support students’ reading.

Data collected from students about the Campfire program revealed that over 48% would not read or visit a library without Campfire, while the number of students who read more than recommended 20 minutes per week — outside of curriculum requirements — rose by 24% from 2018 to 2019. Furthermore, 97% of the respondents revealed that the TL-led book talks encouraged them to read, while 88% found the TL’s recommendations helpful in choosing interesting reading material (Stower & Gagen-Spriggs, 2019). In fact, the Campfire program was so successful that in 2020, Gagen-Spriggs and her team — with the support of school administration and staff — chose to extend the program into Year 9.

An Interest and Content-Driven Collection 

The mission and goals of any information agency revolve around meeting the informational, educational, and recreational needs of its clientele (Gregory, 2019, p. 13). In this way, an information agency’s collection shares a common purpose or goal: to serve the community. This is why it often said that a library’s collection lies at the heart of a library. Therefore, to be considered well-resourced and thus successful, an information agency’s collection must be effectively developed and managed so that it is able to meet the needs of both actual and potential users (Disher, 2014).

The process of collection development is far from easy, however. No information agency has one intended user, and therefore, collection development must be held accountable to multiple users and non-users alike. Special libraries, however, have a unique benefit in that their intended audience has a uniting goal or common interest. Take for instance, Queensland’s Supreme Court Library, which principally serves the judiciary and legal profession.

Working in Collections at QSCL, Katie Haden oversees collections strategy and planning, as well as collection projects, policies, negotiations, and training. She also manages the Research and Education team, who is primarily responsible for delivering and supporting many of the core services of the Library, including delivering relevant information and content to the Library’s users. When questioned how the Library chooses resources to add and weed from their collection, Haden indicated that there is actually a collection subcommittee at QSCL, who is made up of judicial and legal professionals. As these individuals are immersed in the legal profession, collection development and weeding choices are often made by them, and then reviewed by a relevant librarian. As such, QSCL’s collection is almost entirely interest and content-driven, as the people responsible for making collection decisions are also actual and potential users of the Library. By doing this, the Library ensures that its collection meets user needs, but also ensures that the collection gets used by their clientele.

A Dynamic Space

In addition to employing suitably qualified people, and developing an interest and content-driven collection, an effective information agency must also provide flexible learning spaces that facilitate discussion, as well as both collaborative and independent learning (Sengupta, Blessinger, & Cox, 2020). In recent years, libraries have moved to include more innovative spaces where users are not just encouraged to learn, but also create. An example of such a space is known as a ‘Makerspace’.

Sally Turbitt, from the University of Newcastle Library, is the Library’s Makerspace coordinator. The Makerspace provides dedicated areas for 3D printing, sewing, soldering, and CAD design, as well as a variety of resources including tools, powered work spaces and games, to entice users into the space. When asked about how she and her team ensure the Makerspace meets users’ needs, Turbitt noted, “we talk with and listen to students who use the space [as part of their] studies [and personal lives], and then investigate what they ask for”. Although the space is, by Turbitt’s own admission, “well-resourced”, her and her team are careful to not confront users by putting everything out at once, instead they “always ensure a mix of resources are on display”.

By incorporating both the user’s personal and academic context into her understanding of their needs, Turbitt and her team are better equipped to ensure they resource a dynamic space that effectively facilitates learning and problem solving (Bawden & Robinson, 2013).

Conclusion

A successful information agency does not merely exist, nor does it exist in a vacuum. Qualified staff, a content and interest-driven collection, as well as a dynamic space are all part of what makes an information agency successful. Together, these elements ensure that an information agency is best equipped to meet the needs of its clientele, which in turn, encourages use and allows these institutions to move into the future. In this way, a successful information agency is really the sum of all its well-resourced parts.

 

Part B: 2) Reflection

As the only teacher librarian employed at a high school, it is easy to feel isolated from other information professionals. These study visits afforded me the opportunity to understand that even though information agencies may exist to serve different audiences and purposes, there are still some common practices and challenges that bind us together.

Gagen-Sprigg’s visit at Mount Alvernia College’s iCentre was perhaps the most helpful for me as an information professional, as her context is most similar to my own. Her discussion and success with the Campfire program has particularly inspired me. At my own school, we have a mandatory 20-minutes of pleasure reading per day, and I often observe books being mass-borrowed at the beginning of the school year, only for the books and the borrowers to never return. The benefits of pleasure reading are tenfold (Nippold, Duthrie, & Larsen, 2005), and after seeing Gagen-Sprigg’s success, I am definitely going to investigate the possibility of implementing a similar program at my own school so that I can better work toward building those relationships which are so crucial to the creation of a reading community (Blintz, 1993).

One thing that I particularly enjoyed from Haden’s presentation was the mention and brief description of the collection subcommittee who helps in the selection of resources. As the only TL employed in a school, collection management is my sole responsibility. Although we already have a recommendation box, I had approached Senior Executive at the school about forming an advisory board made up of students and staff where they were invited to weigh in on the selection process, as well as the activities, programmes and services afforded by the Library. I hoped that in doing this, the Library would become more meaningful and accessible to those who it is intended to serve (Nairn, 2001). This was pre-COVID, and while current guidelines don’t make forming and adjourning this advisory board possible, it is something I want to pursue in the future.

Turbitt’s discussion around the University of Newcastle’s Makerspace was particularly enlightening. The addition of makerspaces in school libraries have been increasingly steadily in recent years, but until Turbitt’s presentation, I did not truly understand what value makerspaces could add to academic and personal lives of students’, particularly in the cultivation of their soft skills. Although a makerspace is not something my school is looking to currently introduce, Turbitt’s description of creating a safe place for students’ to discover and make mistakes particularly resonated with me, as this is the vision for my own school library. Introducing elements of Turbitt’s makerspace – colouring and board games, for instance – may aid in the construction of this atmosphere.

These study visits proved that although I may already be an information professional immersed in the world of information agencies, I still have a lot to learn from the practice of others.

 

Word Count: 1609

 

References

Bailey, M., Hall, C., & Gamble, N. (2007). Promoting School Libraries and Schools Library Services: Problems and Partnerships. English in Education, 41(2), 75-81.

 

Bintz, W. P. (1993). Resistant Readers in Secondary Education: Some Insights and Implications, Journal of Reading, 36 (8), 604-615.

 

Disher, W. (2014). Crash Course in Collection Development. California, USA: Libraries Unlimited.

 

Dow, M. J., McMahon-Lakin, J., & Court, S. C. (2012). School Librarian Staffing Levels and Student Achievement as Represented in 2006-2009 Kansas Annual Yearly Progress Data. School Library Research, 15, 1-15.

 

Gregory, V. L. (2019). Collection Development and Management for 21st Century Library Collections. Chicago, USA: American Library Association.

 

Haden, K. (2020). Charles Sturt University Virtual Study Visit [Keynote Slides]. Retrieved from https://interact2.csu.edu.au/webapps/blackboard/execute/content/file?cmd=view&content_id=_3783468_1&course_id=_50448_1&framesetWrapped=true.

 

Lance, K. C., & Kachel, D. E. (2018). Why School Librarians Matter: What Years of Research Tell Us. Phi Delta Kappan, 99(7), 15-20. doi:10.1177/0031721718767854.

 

Lonsdale, M. (2003). Impact of School Libraries on Student Achievement: A Review of the Research. Camberwell, VIC: Australian Council for Educational Research.

 

Merga, M. (2019). How Do Librarians in Schools Support Struggling Readers? English in Education, 53(4), 145–60. https://doi.org/10.1080/04250494.2018.1558030.

 

Merga, M. (2020). How Can School Libraries Support Student Wellbeing? Evidence and Implications for Further Research. Journal of Library Administration, 60(6), 660-673. doi: 10.1080/01930826.2020.1773718.

 

Nippold, M. A., Duthie, J. K., Larsen, J. (2005). Literacy as a leisure activity: free-time preferences of older children and young adolescents, Language, speech, and hearing services in schools, 32(2), 93-102.

 

Sengupta, E., Blessinger, P., & Cox, M. D. (2020). Introduction to Designing Effective Library Learning Spaces in Higher Education. Innovations in Higher Education Teaching and Learning, 29, 3-12. https://doi.org/10.1108/S2055-364120200000029001

 

Supreme Court Library Queensland. (2018). About us [HTML webpage]. Retrieved from https://www.sclqld.org.au/about-us.

 

Stower, H. & Gagen-Spriggs, K. (2019). Using evidence-based practice to inform school library programs [PowerPoint slides]. Retrieved from https://lstudentsmtaqldedu-my.sharepoint.com/:p:/r/personal/gagek_staff_mta_qld_edu_au/_layouts/15/Doc.aspx?sourcedoc=%7BE97C1056-7D46-40F5-B24B-C4C52965CBC7%7D&file=ASLA%202019%20-%20Evidence%20based%20practice.pptx&action=edit&mobileredirect=true