Final Thoughts

Some final thoughts from beginning to end:

I looked back to my initial posting in September and am struck by the significance of one of Reidling's statements I had quoted then. "The half of knowledge is knowing where to find it." This still summarizes the challenges for all learners, highlights the tasks for all teacher-librarians, and now, describes the skills and resources I feel more able to provide. If I were approached by a teacher or a student with, "I have a question. Where do I find the answer?", I know I would be able to refer him/her to a more effective and useful resource. Still, Riedling says that it's not enough for students just to access information in print or on-line. Students also need to be able to "evaluate, organize, and use information" in order to create knowledge. The teacher part of the teacher-librarian would help students become life-long learners by teaching information literacy. An inquiry-based research model guides students to access information and then requires students to evaluate, organize, and ethically use knowledge. While a number of teachers and teacher-librarians have commented on the time-consuming nature of this research process, it is a worthwhile and necessary one. I also feel much more prepared for, and aware of, the teacher-librarian responsibilities to provide library reference sources and library reference services. These are some of the specifics of my learning experience this term.

The first lesson defined what a reference source is and identified the various types of resources available. Angela M and Chantal V highlighted the value of learning formal terms for reference materials as it “adds credence and weight to what you do on a daily basis as a TL." Now that I am nearing completion of this course, I also understand that knowing reference terms helps a TL communicate effectively with colleagues and this knowledge also assists the TL in choosing appropriate resources for particular questions and research projects.

With regard to the research models, I tend to agree with Angela M’s recommendation that younger students be encouraged to use “Research Quest” because of the student-friendly language. At the same time, I think that this model is a bit wordy and for reluctant readers might be a barrier to the actual research. Roberta M echoes the importance of keeping the research model “simple, clean, and concise.” We don’t want students to get lost in the process of accessing information. They need to keep their mind on their question and the purpose of their research.

Learning about actual school library budgets and reference collections was certainly eye opening. Wayne H for example works in a school of 1450, has a library budget of $20,000, but has an outdated print collection as most of the budget is allocated for the electronic resources. Joanne E also reported that the school library print encyclopedias are also dated and that there is no budget to replace these aging materials. Shawna H reported that “too many of (print resources) in her elementary school are too old to be of any use. This is even with an annual budget of $18 - $20 thousand. “The average date of publication for reference materials in our library is 1988. There are only seven bibliographical resources in the library and their average date of publication is 1987. The Canadian Encyclopedia is from the first printing in 1985. The New Medical and Health Encyclopedia is from 1982.” Given this data, The Acheiving Information Literacy guidelines seem dated, as the requirement for print resources almost in all cases exceeded what school libraries generally have. While budgets do impact the size of the collection, it is surprising that print resources are not also updated. As Robin Henry said in her article, “Another Opinion...” the mission of the TL is to “use the most appropriate source to help patrons be effective users of ideas and information....” Print reference resources sometimes are the most appropriate and sometimes the most appropriate are online or electronic sources. That is why libraries should have both formats. Integration of reference resources is another interesting consideration. Judith C from Charles Best integrates her reference materials as much as possible. Rita K also partially integrates reference books so that they circulate, but she keeps the large books out of circulation. This makes sense to me.

Reidling’s evaluation of reference resources criteria provides a practical guide for resource selection. Paul C who is also a classroom teacher comments that the “concise, user-friendly evaluation and selection criteria would enable a “novice TL (to) feel comfortable choosing quality reference material.” As a classroom teacher these types of guides will prove to be invaluable when I am a TL. Like Paul C, I also value the “wealth” of reference resources Reidling suggests for each type of resource.

The Wikipedia debate was one of the most controversial of this course. Its format and goals are radical. Most in our cohort finally agreed that Wikipedia is a great first source and that information literacy is all about teaching students to be evaluators. As Tara M said, “Because (Wikipedia)is popular with students, teachers should use this as an opportunity to teach students how to critically evaluate information.” Angela M echoed Bennington’s view that TLs should “capitalize on the opportunity to use the resource as a teaching example as well as to make the profession and its skills more relevant to students.” In addition, Gloria P pointed out that “Wikipedia is actually well policed. Her teacher-librarian decided to prove a point to students and inserted an incorrect statement about Vermeer on his Wiki entry (Gloria called it vandalism,and I agree...) At any rate, it took 25 days for that statement to be corrected. Her students noted that Vermeer isn't exactly a hot topic so that a correction in 25 days time was pretty good.(other changes to the page had been made over that period of time according to its history.) The point in Gloria's opinion is that there are responsible people editing and checking changes so Wikipedia is worthy of our use and a great information literacy tool. While I wouldn’t agree with this librarian's method of testing for "accuracy", I believe that information literacy, with a resource-based learning approach, would ensure that students locate "accurate" information, or least identify what is most often agreed upon.

The topic of databases brought up lots of discussion and debate. While many schools and school libraries have subscriptions for EBSCO databases paid for by the district, for example, many TLs reported that few teachers and students use them. While I agree with Tara M that teachers have not been shown or taught how to use them, Rita K noted that a TL’s limited hours restricts his/her ability to become an expert on their use, and provide the necessary professional development. Wayne H also noted that EBSCO Host gives access to a “scope of resources far beyond the ability or needs of most high school students.” In fact, he suggests that many students become frustrated with EBSCO searches because it is so time-consuming without giving up needed information. As a result students revert to Google. Consequently, he recommends that TLs give students lots of time for research and he also often asks students to begin their research with print resources before moving to online databases. This seems like good practice, especially if students are new to using databases. Searching "Table of Contents" and "Indexes" in print resources first might also give students key phrases and words that would help to narrow the topic and yield better results. I also think that teacher-librarians and students in the library program need to take the time to familiarize themselves with these resources. We need to be reminded of what it is like to wrestle with searching on a web site or database, because this is exactly what we expect our students, and teachers who collaborate with us, to do. What a great opportunity to model problem-solving with determination! Roberta M also added that in research it's the process, and not the product, that is the most important. TL's can offer teachers and students instruction in becoming information literate.

This course has offered a vast amount of information about reference resources and research models. I have learned a great deal about the diverse types and formats of reference materials and have a greater appreciation for Open Access materials and Wikipedia especially. It seems to me that rather than simply being a "gate-keeper" of information, the Teacher-Librarian is charged with teaching students how to be information literate, and therefore, to bring an evaluative mind to everything they read and source. This is a challenge I look forward to accepting at some time in the future. What an excting time to be entering the profession!