Author: Theingi Tun

Weeding my elephant

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I endeavour to weed regularly. The criteria to deselect is based on what is mouldy, old, damaged, lost and beyond repair. Though I find it hard to let go of material sometime. I would rather cull it only when I know there is certain replacement or an extra copy available. I am always weary of culling a book only to find out that it is totally irreplaceable. I would try my best to repair it first and return it to the shelves.

According to the readings in Module 5 of ETL503, weeding should be done regularly as part of the collection management process. The time to weed should be regularly scheduled as well as the section to focus on. The whole collection should be reviewed annually in a continuous process.

Weeding should be part of the collection management policy. Rules for weeding must be established to make sure the collection is still viable and current. Too much weeding without replacement and the collection would be no longer meet the requirements. Not much weeding would mean irrelevant resources just cluttering the shelves.

Vanuk (2015) in “The Weeding Handbook” states it is a good practice to weed. It gives the TL a chance to evaluate the collection and to find if there are any gaps or outdated materials. Weeding gives you an increased knowledge of the collection and a chance to purge. Though it goes against the grain of the TL to remove information, it must be kept in mind that the information delivered needs to be of good quality. It should be a continuous flow process so that patrons do not see a sudden withdrawal of resources. The whole process also engenders to promote the aesthetic feel of the library.

CREW is a cyclical process of Continuous Review, Evaluation and Weeding. According to Larson (2012), Crewing Children’s material is important for the following reasons. Children are susceptible to the information presented in books. Without guidance to find the correct source of information, they are very unlikely to check if it is out of date or inaccurate and incomplete. Why would they check it against other sources when the book was found in the library? They do not always have the knowledge base to navigate the information pathway that many adults are still struggling to do so. Imagine a reference section that has not been regularly updated, which the students would use in their research assignments. This is a very compelling argument for weeding unreliable and outdated information on the shelves.

Weeding the collection is a good way to evaluate the gaps and strengths. Whilst going through the shelves, the A book may be found that has been completely ignored for years. If a TL recognises it’s worth and brings it to connect to the right child, it could a make a world of difference. A series of books that are popular but has seen better days need to be assessed for repair or replacement before it falls apart in the hands of users.

Digital collections should not be ignored. Just like the physical collection, weeding is required of e-books because the collection needs to be current and meeting the requirements of the community. The user aspect of what is returning when a database search is done should be considered.

The quality of a library collections and its appearance reflects upon the quality of the library and the TL. Hence the persons who oversee collection development should also be part of the weeding and deselection policy development. A truly effective weeding process strengthens the collection through content relevance and appearance of the shelves. Thus it needs the involvement of all the stakeholders and judgement of the person who understands the collection and the community it targets.

A book should not be judged by its cover. However, the collection could be judged by its ability to serve the community.

 

 

Rebecca, V. (2015). The Weeding Handbook : A Shelf-by-Shelf Guide  [Book]. ALA Editions.

Larson, J. (2012). CREW: a weeding manual for modern libraries. Austin, TX: Texas State Library and Archives Commission. https://www.tsl.texas.gov/sites/default/files/public/tslac/ld/ld/pubs/crew/crewmethod12.pdf

 

The evidence of my elephant

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How do I show/demonstrate/encase the effect the library has on the community? How do I showcase the ways it impacts students’ perception of their world of information?

There is no easy answer. Like all processes that assess and evaluate the learning outcomes of students, it is a not a simple linear process. Evidence based practice is a dynamic process that needs to be adapted to show all the sides of my elephant and what it can do. I need to communicate to the community all its abilities and provide evidence of learner transformative processes and engender credibility and accountability.

Evidence gathered can be categorised into three parts: evidence for practice, evidence in practice and evidence of practice. This is what we do as teachers all the time. It is something that we now must apply to the informational practices we empower as librarians. Evidence for practice, is the research that I read for professional development that lays the framework to identify best practice. Evidence in practice, is much like a formative assessment, where the data gathered is based on the research literature combined with the knowledge of putting it in practice. Due to identification of different learning needs, achievement support, gaps in knowledge, and diverse classroom protocols, this part can be transformational and cyclical. Moreover, the data and observations generated could also contribute to the end picture. Evidence of practice, is the formational effect of the actions and practices. The evidence that demonstrates the impact on the learners due to the library activities that promoted knowledge building.

Evidence based practise is reflective. It is founded on the interpretation and integration of research derived evidence.

Based on this knowledge, the AITSL standards could be used in conjunction with these steps of gathering evidence. For example, AITSL standard 5 relates to assessing, providing feedback and reporting to student learning. Each substandard also expands and gives examples of what kind of evidence can be gathered and built upon to demonstrate the achievement of standards. This is not limited to only this standard. The evidence building process relates to all the standards and would be a good foundation as evidence for practice.

All this is a cyclical process. The information generated impacts the practice and demonstrates the outcomes. This in turn becomes a framework for making decisions and further actions that could be applied. The evidence generated powers the TL’s decision-making process on how to create services and collaborative practices to meet school goals.

I need to show the trail my elephant is leaving. That is my evidence.

 

Todd, R. J. (2015). Evidence-based practice and school libraries. Knowledge quest : journal of the American Association of School Librarians, 43(3), 8.

 

The ‘e’ in My Elephant

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The answer seemed simple. If the school’s budget allows it, and if there is the support of the principal and staff, e-book collections seem the way to go. No more book coverings, mending, overdue notices, and lost or misplaced resources. Stocktaking would be a breeze.

I recall the first days of the pandemic when we were advised how to quarantine returned books. We had a section in the library with yellow tape, and each shelf was dated with the return date so that the books on the shelf can go back to the shelf after 72 hours of return. I thought e-books would make things so much easier.

I then started reading about the challenges of licensing and equity issues of an e-book collection.

Before I start developing such a collection, I need to make sure that all that the collection would be accessible and relevant to the needs of my school community. This includes technical support and log in procedures. The new resources also need to integrate with the current system of delivery. I really must look at all aspects of ‘e’ in the library collection.

E-books do not mean less work. It just means a different form of collection development and management.

To ‘e’ or not to ‘e’? That is the question.

 

 

Johnson, S., O.G, E., J., G., Lammers, G., Sipe, L., & Zilper, N. (2012). Key Issues for E-Resource Collection Development: A Guide for Libraries. International Federation of Library associations and Institutions.

Morris, C., & Sibert, L. (2010). Acquiring e-books. In S. Polanka (Ed.), No shelf required : E-books in libraries [ALA Editions version (pp. 95-124). American Library Association. http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/csuau/detail.action?docID=598919

 

 

Are TLs an endangered species?

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I just watched the powerful speech by Karen Bonanno. At the end, I wanted to stand up and applaud.

Not only is she an excellent orator, but she also really addressed the five-finger plan for a TL who ever doubted their role.

This is my takeaway from the speech.

Find my own rhetoric and ways to resonate with my audience. Begin with this in mind. To find my own rhetoric start with establishing my eminence. What can people expect I will bring to the table/school/library? Focus on one thing. It might take a while but spreading myself everywhere could establish nothing. This leads to the brand I want to establish. The difference I could make in my role and what I stand for.   The relationships that I can build in my school community include those who want my help, input and collaboration and those who do not. I will cater for both. In the end it’s the little things that I do that count.

The change I make for my metamorphosis does not have to be a large amount every day. 1% of growth and 5 mins of learning can be what makes the difference in my seismic shift.

If we grow and adapt and become visible, we can take ourselves out of the endangered list. Embrace it and become the new and the essential. It is in our hands (or fingers). We can learn to fly. We build our own wings.

The Information Elephant

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Information is like the elephant in my parable. What defines it depends on the perspective.

How it is conceived, multiplied, transferred, and accommodated depends on the environmental conditions of the landscape. For example, in the digital landscape my elephant can be pure binary form, in the print landscape it could be a beautiful hardcover book, In the landscape of senses it could be the crescendo of a birdsong. Like all living, growing organisms it grows adapts and changes.

How it is traded, promoted, selected, challenged and utilised depends on the strata and culture of society it is born into. It could be censored and shackled depending on the society’s views of what is acceptable or not. It could also be celebrated, revered just because a select few deem it to be worthy of being so. What we see on the internet is just the tip of a trunk or swish of a tail. No one has seen the whole.

It is still in its infancy and having a growth spurt. We can no longer be ignorant of the elephant in the room.

Assessment 1 – TLs of the past, present and future

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I had little insight into the true nature of teacher librarianship when I first started teaching, even though I did have some exposure to a few TLs along my journey.

The first was the TL at my daughter’s school. I volunteered as a parent helper during her library sessions a I saw her teach ICT and help children with their borrowing and returns. I saw her set up such a welcoming interactive environment where students could just go and enjoy the library. They even had a knitting circle. She would display pictures of the children enjoying the library, on the school website so that parents and carers can see and share the experience.

The next was the TL at a school where I was a classroom teacher. She would support our teaching and learning, provide books for the classrooms, ran RFF classes, inform about new resources, coordinate book fairs and Premier’s Reading Challenges, arrange author visits and many other things that a TL would do. I must admit all this was taken for granted and I was even a bit intimidated by her.

Times have changed. Fast forward a few years, and I am now a TL at a primary school. I also job shared with some wonderful TLs who supported me so much on my journey. Having been in the role for three years, I understand and have so much more insight into what the role entails.

A teacher librarian’s role is a diverse one. They are responsible for developing the library collection according to the school library policy. TLs ascertain that the policy is up to date and is reflective of the needs of the school community. They maintain the collection and support the circulation needs of the students and staff. TLs are responsible for the set-up of procedures, rules and expectations of behaviour in the library, and engender connectedness between classroom and library. They create, deliver, access and report on library units of work across all stages. TLs attend profession development related to the role, such as copyright issues and advise their colleagues on related matters. They market and coordinate whole school events such as book fairs, Book Week, and Premier’s Reading Challenge. TLs run library at lunchtime activities such as Coding Club to promote the library as an inclusive place for diversity of learners. They train, mentor and supervise library monitors to provide leadership roles to Year 6 students. TLs are the point of contact and deal with all parental enquiries regarding all library related matters. They apply for budgets and resources that they think would be beneficial for the collection. It’s an extensive list. In honour of all the teacher librarians past, present and future, I am certain it’s not complete.

I reflect and assess my growing list of duties each year and try to improve the experience of the library for my whole school community.

I am there, early in the morning to set up, anticipating the needs of my school. I am there, late in the day, walking through the shelves. Tidying, preparing, thinking, accessing, growing and still learning. Every single day.

 

Are we there yet?

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Are we there yet?

I just read the very amusing and apt article by Floridi (2007).

His prediction is that distinctions of online and offline will disappear and that we will become ‘Inforgs’, connected informational organisms.

His vision of the future  is such that the intrinsic nature of how we live will be reconstructed and how we interact with even dead things like buildings and cars will change. He says ‘Itentities’ will start talking to each other. The world will be fully interactive, and everything will be connected all the time. We will synchronise everything. Our natural state is to be so connected that we will be uncomfortable when we cannot be. He finally predicts Google in Real life where we can find our glasses and staplers just by asking or calling.

I think we are almost there. We can now talk to our Google home and turn on our lights and control the atmosphere.  Siri can be called upon while we are in the car, and we can command her to send a message. Our gadgets already talk to each other through many apps. We try to synchronise everything through the cloud. Health apps help us monitor our blood sugar levels and our heart rate. Our smart watches tell us to walk when we sit down for too long. The Google home assistant tells us what the weather is like our suburb and the recipe of our favourite cake. We can teach and learn in virtual environments. We can take a class we are teaching to a museum in Singapore through a virtual tour. We feel the urge to share anything through social media. Social interactions online become the measure of our ability to connect, and the validation of our being.

Just look at us at this moment. We are doing a ‘blog’ to reflect what we have learnt. We connect with our learning community online because this is our ‘infosphere’.

We are almost there. But I still can’t find my glasses.

 

Floridi, L. (2007). A look into the future impact of ICT on our lives. The Information Society, 23(1), 59-64.

Mingalarbar!

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Welcome to my blog! Where is the elephant? How can it fly?  That depends on where you look, how you look and when you look.

Since young, I have always been fascinated by the parable of “Blind men and the Elephant” . It has resonated with me throughout years and has lead me to consider many different perspectives contributing to the whole. As I embark on this new learning journey, I will have many faceted views of the readings and other materials we counter along the way. My perspectives will no doubt be different from my cohorts and even me at another stage in life. I also got this idea from the beautiful book “Elephants Have Wings” by Susanne Garvey. It is about a journey of discovery and again a reference to the parable.

My elephant will fly. I perceived its wings. Waiting to be discovered.

Sources

  1. Blind men and an elephant – Wikipedia. En.wikipedia.org. (2022). Retrieved 5 March 2022, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blind_men_and_an_elephant.

  2. Gervay, S. (2014). Elephants Have Wings. Flying Elephants Media.

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