Tag Archives: community involvement

CSU Library

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Go to the CSU Library and explore the library site. How does this library change information sources to information resources? Record 5 items in your notes and consider relevance in the school library context.

 

I am unable to access the physical CSU library due to location, so i evaluated the library website. As CSU is a university with a special interest and skill in distance education, I feel that this is an appropriate method of observing the services offered to distance students like myself. I have grouped my observations into 5 groups:

  1. organisation of information sources by subject
  2. educational offerings such as tutorials and workshops
  3. book-based and digital resource lending
  4. Ask A Librarian service
  5. community services such as access for high schools and alumni

The CSU library offers students studying particular subjects curated readings that are searchable by subject as well as by topic, author and keywords. This service includes reserve and e-reserve, reading lists, industry specific database access, but also includes teams of librarians dedicated to particular disciplines. The CSU library employs:

These teams are responsible for selection and deselection and curation of discipline-specific resources. Employing focused teams of specialist librarians allows the library to ensure it is providing the most comprehensive, up-to-date, relevant resources for students and academic staff. These teams can collaborate with teaching staff on course development and resource provision to ensure the collection is as relevant and current as possible and meets the needs of students and academic staff alike. In school libraries, this is done on a much smaller scale. Usually the teacher librarian collaborates with class teachers or subject teams to do the same job as the faculty teams at CSU library: ensuring teachers and students have access to current, relevant resources.

The CSU library offers students workshops, tutorials and recorded webinars on aspects of information literacy, including assignment writing advice, research assistance, digital citizenship advice etc. Students can access this information at point of need or can peruse more general subjects at their leisure. In the school library, these skills are often taught in library lessons or during one-on-one student assistance or booked classes. In high schools, it may be appropriate to include some similar resources on the library website.

The print and digital collection is made available to students and staff of the university through the Primo interface. Using authorised access points along with browsing options, library users can discover resources that suit their needs and can request these resources be posted or digitised for distance students. Providing access to a variety of databases as well as interlibrary loans provides access to a greater variety of resources than would be available in a traditional print-based lending library. Teacher librarians can work to form community partnerships with local public libraries as well as specialist collections such as the Henry Parkes Equity Centre Library in order to increase the offerings for the school community.

The Ask A Librarian service assists students and staff by providing research assistance and providing help to intellectually access the information resources available through the library. By responding to requests for information not only with the answer to the question, but with an explanation as to how that answer was obtained, librarians can model for patrons how information seeking can be undertaken. Teacher librarians do this in schools everyday, though usually in person. Recently the Softlink team added an “Ask the library” button to the LMS Oliver, allowing students to ask questions remotely, which may be particularly useful for students who wish to investigate sensitive or personal subjects.

The CSU library offers access to its collections and services for alumni and high school students, increasing the information opportunities for students and, simultaneously raising the profile of the university and university library in the community.

With whom the buck stops

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The NSW Department of Education in its Library Policy tells us that it is the teacher librarian, on behalf of the Principal, who is responsible for selection and acquisition of resources. Yet, should it be solely the teacher librarian who is making selection (and deselection) decisions? Of course not. Teacher librarians have a unique skill set in that they have the capacity to source, evaluate and make available resources their colleagues may not otherwise have found. Teacher librarians strive to stay abreast of developments in curriculum and the publishing industry as well as common digital resource providers so that they might identify and make available the most up to date resources available. But they are not usually subject specialists in all subjects. Class teachers and leaders have an intimate knowledge of their curriculum, their students and how the two might most beneficially be brought together. Teachers and leaders have insight into how resources might best be used with their students. It is sensible, therefore to include class teachers and leaders in decisions regarding selection and, particularly, deselection, of resources. At the end of the day, though, teacher librarians are intimately acquainted with the school library collection and are in the best position to know how a new or existing resource will fit within the context of the current collection and within the vision for the future collection. Teacher librarians are responsible for the budget of the library and, should therefore, in my opinion, have the final say as to which resources are purchased. The teacher librarian must be prepared to be influenced by the arguments and suggestions of other members of staff and of the wider school community but must approach those suggestions, requests and arguments with a critical eye, evaluating their merit within the context of the existing collection. It is this contextual evaluation that gives me pause when considering the possibility of patron-driven acquisition models that allow patrons (in this case students and staff) to trigger purchases on behalf of the library without regard to the context of the existing collection and without consideration being given to other budgetary considerations the teacher librarian might be grappling with.

How then might teacher librarians encourage community involvement in selection and deselection decision making? Students can be given the opportunity to suggest or request specific resources by completing a suggestion box slip or similar or by sending an email request to the teacher librarian directly. Teacher librarians on a fixed schedule can use a lesson here or there to ask students to produce a book talk about a book they have experienced outside of school and that they would recommend to others. Students could use their book club or book fair literature to ask the library to purchase particular books. Teacher librarians might consider asking student leaders (in my school we call the library monitors Reader Leaders) to provide suggestions and hold focus groups at particular times of year (eg in book week) to seek student input.

Some schools hold planning sessions for grade or stage teams to prepare teaching programs for the following term. This occasion could be used to seek teacher feedback on potential new resources identified and considered for purchase. It could also be an opportunity for teachers to request specific resources that they want to use. A suggestion form similar to that offered to students could be offered to staff and parents also. An online slip, such as a Google Form could be available to the entire school community via Orbit or the school website or app if in use.