LIBE 467: Evaluation of Reference Services Plan

Introduction

An evaluation of a school learning library common’s (SLLC) reference collection serves to help a teacher librarian (TL) determine whether their library is serving its information literacy skills purpose and mission to the community it serves.  Resource-based learning must involve the TL, teachers, and students in the usage of high quality print and non-print resources (UBC, 2022).  Riedling (2013) says “In order to create and maintain a school reference collection that meets the informational needs of students, effective selection and evaluation of resources by the school librarian is essential”. The following report documents my evaluation of the current reference resources and services at my school library, as well as my plan to improve the reference services available to my community.

Methods of Evaluation Used

In order to evaluate the reference resources at my library I have used both qualitative and quantitative methods.  The quantitative methods I have used include statistical data from Follett for age and circulation.  I have also compared my collection to the accepted standards presented by CASL’s (2006) Achieving Information Literacy document and Reidling’s (2013) suggestions for reference evaluation. These two resources were used to create a rubric (Figure 1) to determine if each reference resource is below standard, acceptable, or exemplary. 

I have also used qualitative data such as appearances of resources, location of collection, and conversations with colleagues about the effectiveness of our current reference collection. A brief self-evaluation of my role in delivering and maintaining these services is also apart of my evaluation.

Figure 1: Rubric used for evaluating references

Data

Table 1: Evaluation of Print and Digital Encyclopedias at Robertson Elementary

Table 2: Evaluation of References at Robertson Elementary

Table 3: Evaluation of Dictionaries and Thesauruses at Robertson Elementary

Table 4: Evaluation of Atlas’s at Robertson Elementary

Evaluation of Reference Resources and Services

Based on my evaluation of the reference resource section of my library, I have determined that this section is severely ‘Below Standards’.  CASL (2006) states that the resources available through the library must support resource-based teaching and learning, developing research skills, and the development of information literacy skills.  At this point, my collection only accomplishes these goals minimally, if at all. 

The first thing of note is the placement of the reference collection. Figures 2 and 3 show that my reference collection is ‘stored’ on the top shelf of my bookshelves. It is high up and most adults need a stool to access these books.

Figures 2 and 3: Robertson Elementary School’s reference section can be seen on top of these bookshelves

The current reference resources in my library are an average of 21.2 years old. Most of these resources can be weeded due to this fact alone.  Reidling (2013) suggests that encyclopedias should not be more than 5 years old.  She also suggests that dictionaries should be constantly revised inorder to stay current. There are always new words, revised definitions of older words, and deletions/additions. Due to the age of the collection, the accuracy and bias of resources that are this old are automatically in question.  Reidling (2013) suggests that most print resources are considered out of date before a student ever holds them.  If the resource isn’t current, it likely has inaccurate, outdated information and biases from our past.

While outdated, most of the references do have reputable publishers such as Oxford, Merriam-Webster, and World Book.  While this is a positive it doesn’t make up for the age of the books and the need to replace these materials with more current versions from the same publishers.  The format of the majority of the resources is also a strong point of them, likely because of their reputable publishers.  Their bindings have held strong and they are in good condition.  The layout and navigation tools of the books are generally easy to use.  While the pictures are outdated, they also serve the purpose of drawing in the reader to the various topics.

While I evaluated the digital reference tools that I have access to as exemplary, I would say that they are below standards in their accessibility and availability to my community.  I do not have a virtual learning commons or website to promote these resources.  Students and staff would need to go to the Chilliwack School District Website to find the resources and then they would need to access the username and password from the tech department or myself.  

Currently, I am not fulfilling the role of a TL who provides references services and information literacy instruction to my school community. Two main reasons for this are allotted time and budget. I am only in the library for less than two days a week and find that it is just barely enough time to squeeze in classroom check-outs. Teachers who have requested me to support them in these areas have to give up their check-out times in order to do so.  Our budget is too small to maintain a current print resource collection that is exemplary. In evaluating myself, I would also say that I do not yet feel confident on how to teach resource-based learning and information literacy skills. 

Rationale for Change

Based on my evaluation of the reference resources and services at my school, change and growth in this area will be an essential next step for my SLLC. The references are extremely out of date, there are no policies and practices that support the maintenance of the reference collection, and information literacy skills are not yet being taught. This is affecting student learning because our oldest students are doing research projects using Wikipedia and writing out exactly the words they find.  These students are not asking questions or evaluating the websites that they are using. They are not searching for other sources to support what they are learning, nor do they know how to do so. They read the first google site that pops up in their searches and leave it at that.  

I would suggest taking several steps in promoting change to the reference services offered in my SLLC.  First, I can move forward by developing policies and practices that create a systematic system for reviews, weeding, and adding new resources (Reidling, 2013). Next, developing a plan to weed and replace current references. And finally, but increasing access to the resources we do have through promotion, usage, and the teaching of information literacy skills.

Plan for Change

• Weed and replace reference resources: Using the evaluation of the resources in my library, determine what will go, what will stay, and look for replacements.  Riedling (2013) says that it is “more important to have a small but relevant and up-to-date collection of materials than a large collection that is neither useful nor of good quality”. 
  • Timeline: my goal is to complete this step before the end of June 2022.
    • Scholastic Dictionary and Thesaurus – These are easily replaceable through scholastic and free as I have money from my book fair to spend there.
    • Atlas and Dictionaries – I have opted to NOT weed the class sets of the Webster’s English Dictionary, Webster’s Backpack Thesaurus, and The Classroom Atlas of Canada and the World.  While they are outdated, at this point they are our only class sets available for teachers to use if they are looking for one of these resources to show the class. I will keep them until I am able to replace them with a better option.
    • Encyclopedias – At this point due to the lack of budget and lack of interest from my staff, I do not plan to keep my encyclopedia sets up-to-date.  I plan to weed them in the next couple months due to their age.  I also plan to make the digital encyclopedias more available to my community by creating a virtual library learning commons (VLLC) and sharing the passwords and links with the school in a user-friendly way.
• Improve digital access by creating Virtual Library Learning Commons (VLLC): Create a virtual learning commons to promote online learning resources that are available to my community.
  • Timeline: Work on this during the summer with a goal of having it ready to go in September 2022
    • Share usernames and passwords with teachers and students
    • Begin to use World Book Early Learning and World Book Kids with some classes to become more familiar with what it offers
• Improve physical access by creating a print reference resource shelf: After I’ve weeded and replace the resources (see step 1), I will bring the reference resources out of storage and give them a self with staff and students can access them. 
  • Timeline: September-December 2022
• TL training and Collaboration Opportunities: Seek after training and become confident in my ability to teach information literacy skills and resource-based learning.
  • Timeline: ongoing
    • Contact mentor TL and Chilliwack Teacher Librarians Association (CTLA) to learn what they do for teaching information literacy skills
    • Using the Big6 and Super3 models – develop simple lessons to teach to classes in regards to information literacy
    • Collaborate with teachers to team-teach research inquiry projects that develop information literacy skills
• Create policies and practices that support maintaining a strong reference resources and services: 
  • Timeline – This will be completed by June 2022
    • Create systematic procedures and schedules for reviews, weeding, and adding new resources (Reidling, 2013)
    • Develop policies that promote these systems

Conclusion

It is time for a major overhaul of the reference resources and services provided in the Robertson Elementary School SLLC.  As I move forward with my plan to weed and replace resources, I must keep in mind that sometimes less is more.  “Up-to-date references are needed to provide effective reference services, but it is impressive what some teacher-librarians have done with very little. It is teacher librarians’ responsibility to use whatever constitutes their collection as effectively as possible” (UBC, 2022). Finding a few quality resources that are within my budget is the essential first step.  Using what is already available, such as the online versions of World Book, is also a great starting place.  Riedling (2013) suggests that a Teacher Librarian’s (TL) top priority should be to provide students and teachers with a high quality collection.  Reference materials should be exemplary in areas of accuracy, authority, bias, format, currency, and accessibility.  It is more important to have a small but high quality collection than a large collection. 

Riedling (2013) suggests that “As school librarians, we must embrace the continual changes, not resist them. We must move forward to make the school libraries of tomorrow purposeful and exciting. We must make information gathering effective and efficient-and create information-literate, socially responsible, lifelong learners.” 

Works Cited

Canadian Association for School Libraries (CASL) 2003. Achieving Information Literacy Standards for School Library Programs in Canada. Retrieved from http://accessola2.com/SLIC-Site/slic/ail110217.pdf

Canadian School Libraries (2021). Learning Learning. Retrieved from https://llsop.canadianschoollibraries.ca/

Mardis, Marcia A. (2016). The Collection Program in Schools: Concepts and Practices, 6th Edition : Concepts and Practices. Vol. Sixth edition, Libraries Unlimited.

Mathison, Audrey (2016). Why we desperately need school librarians in a digital world. Retrieved from https://www.mcall.com/opinion/mc-school-library-important-mathison-yv-1107-20161106-story.html

Riedling, A. M., & Houston, C. (2013). Reference skills for the school librarian: Tools and tips. Libraries Unlimited.

The University of British Columbia (UBC). (2022). Theme 1: Learning Material. In LIBE 467: Information Services. Vancouver, BC: UBC

LIBE 467: Using Collaboration to Evolve Our Practice

Introduction

The Leading Learning Framework’s (2021) first standard for a School Library Learning Commons (SLLC) is “Facilitating collaborative engagement to cultivate and empower a community of learners”.  An established SLLC is one where the TL collaborates with teachers to engage learners in participatory learning. The SLLC should drive “school wide collaborative teaching and learning” (Leading Learning, 2021). For this assignment, I am striving to strengthen my understanding of how purposeful collaboration with individual teachers can help lead them to the next level of skill integration, particularly in the area of reference based learning, information literacy skills, and technology integration.  

First, I am discussing two fictitious teachers who work in different elementary schools, Mrs. Jen and Mrs. Kate.  I will give background on who they are as a teacher, their work assignment, experiences, and methods they use in the classroom.  I will then design a plan to take each of these teachers to the next level of using print and non-print reference resources in their practice.  I will use two tools to help in my evaluation of where each teacher is at.  First, I will use the Concerns-Based Adoption Model (CBAM) to identify where the teacher is at in their use of the reference services in a library.  Second, I will use the Substitution, Augmentation, Modification, and Redefinition (SAMR) model (Figure 1) to assess the teacher’s use of technology in teaching information literacy.  I will then use these same models to create a plan to take each teacher to the next level.

In addition to these two tools, CBAM and SAMR, I will constantly be referring back to the Leading Learning rubrics to ensure that I am striving to also move my SLLC to the next level in its ability to serve the school community.

Figure 1: SAMR graphic by Sylvia Duckworth

Teacher 1 – Mrs. Jen

Mrs. Jen has just started her first full time position in a grade 3 classroom.  She has been TTOCing in many classrooms and schools over the past couple years.  Mrs. Jen is passionate about engaging students in place-based and resource-based learning activities, but finds it frustrating to meet all the student needs in these situations and feels a sense of chaos.  This makes it difficult her her to identify when learning occurs with her students.  Mrs. Jen’s focus for the year has been developing classroom management skills to help support her students who have a difficult time being a part of the community.  Mrs. Jen is eager to use technology in her classroom but has a difficult time using it for much more than showing videos and images to support learners.  She uses Ipads for math and literacy activities, but that is about it.  She feels like her lack of experience around using technology in the classroom makes her anxious around trying anything more than she is already doing.  The students in her classroom have not received information literacy skills lessons and do not have access to any print or non-print reference resources.  She mostly provides photocopied learning resources when doing research.  She has provided some online research time using google and Wikipedia. 

Mrs. Jen has reached out to her TL for support in these areas.  She understands the importance of information literacy and critical thinking, but is uncertain how to teach these skills (and uncertain if she, herself, even has strong skills in these areas).  

Evaluation of Mrs. Jen

Mrs. Jen is at the Augmentation level of technology integration using the SMAR model.  She is using online technology as a replacement or substitute for print resources.  For example, instead of creating a report on paper, her students can use the computer to create their papers. She is also using it in some unique ways such as to teach literacy and math skills in an enjoyable way to her students.

Mrs. Jen’s use of the library reference materials and services are at an ‘Preparation’ and  ‘Orientation’ level (CBAM model). She is keen to learn and try new things.  She knows she needs help and is reaching out and making plans to learn the processes and skills needed to successfully implement an information literacy program. She is focusing on her own needs and focusing on questions such as “How does this new approach work for my learners?”

The Plan

In hopes of moving Mrs. Jen forward in areas of technology integration, I would encourage her to use technology to transform her student’s learning experiences.  Rather than using technology to create individual research assignments, Mrs. Jen could have students work collaboratively using Microsoft 360 or Google Docs.  She could also look into some simple apps that allow students to collaborate on ideas such as ‘Padlet’ or ‘Flipgrid’. Another area Mrs. Jen might consider is allowing the students to created blogs so that they can share their work with others and receive comments on their work.  This would help Mrs. Jen shift towards ‘modification’ in the SAMR model.  

In order to move Mrs. Jen to the Mechanical and Routine phases of the CBAM model, I would recommend a mentorship relationship with a more experienced teacher or TL.  This would give her the opportunity to learn from others, deepening her understanding of the task at hand through experience and research.  I like how Figure 2, ‘The Role of Mentoring and Coaching in Improving Teaching and Learning’ shows how supportive and safe this type of learning is.  It is based on trust and confidentiality. Mentorship would also provide her with a person in her life to provide logistical help and support, as well as conversations about what worked and what did not.  This is a powerful way to practice self-reflection. 

A TL with a solid framework of how to teach information literacy, such as The Big6 or The Super3 would be able to provide step by step examples of how to teach information literacy to their students. For Mrs. Jen, I would use the Big6 Model (Figure 3) and focus on Step 1 – Task Definition and Step 2 – Information Seeking Strategies. Helping her to design the task and set out her end goals would be crucial in ensuring she was using technology in a transformative way, and teaching information skills along the way. As a TL, I would offer to teach a lesson to her class on each of these steps. We could do some demonstrations and then I would encourage her to try them in her classroom as well.

Figure 2: Source: https://s3.wp.wsu.edu/uploads/sites/731/2015/07/CBAM-explanation.pdf

Figure 3: The Big 6 – Source https://thebig6.org/

Teacher 2 – Mrs. Kate

Mrs. Kate has been teaching elementary school for over 18 years. She has worked in a variety of schools in primarily grades 3-5.  She has a passion for student-led learning experiences, play-based learning, and outdoor education.  She often brings in inspiring guest speakers, provides endless STEM experiences, embraces blogging, and uses a variety of technology in her classroom including the school set of laptops and her class set of 10IPads.  She views herself and her students as lifelong learners, learning together.  When learning new knowledge and ideas, Mrs. Kate allows her students to use the ipads.  She often chooses websites for them to navigate through, but feels frazzled when the students veer away from these websites and end up using Wikipedia and Google Searches instead.  She knows she should be teaching them how to navigate this world, but is uncertain in her own Information Literacy Skills.  

Mrs. Kate shares her educational successes and setbacks regularly.  She often supports younger teachers in their journey playing the role of mentor and has had several UFV Teacher Candidates do practicums in her room.  Mrs. Kate has a strong relationship with her school TL and often uses the SLLC as a space to gather ideas, resources, and/or collaborate with others.  Recently, she has reached out to seek support in developing her students’ information literacy skills.  Her students are already used to using both print and non-print resources to help learn new knowledge, but have not been taught how to evaluate websites and sources.  When displaying their new ideas and knowledge, Mrs. Kate encourages students to use technology, print, audio, video, models or any other creative idea they have.  She feels that some students may be lost with having so many options and not enough guidance.  

Evaluation of Mrs. Kate

Mrs. Kate is at the Modification stage in the area of technology integration using the SMAR model. She is using technology to significantly redesign learning for her students and she is open to learning new ways of using it to enhance learning.  She is using online technology to transform learners’ experiences.  For example, instead of creating a report on paper, her students are using the web to find new information and ideas, and share this with others using a variety of apps, blogs, and activities. 

Mrs. Kate’s use of the library reference materials and services are at an ‘Refinement’ level (CBAM model). She is always ready to learn and refine her practice, and has a substantial base of understanding of learning to fall back on. She supports her colleagues in their own classrooms and refines her practice when she receives ideas from others.  She shares her ideas and information with others, including the TL.  They can often be found in deep conversations about her experiences in the classroom and passion for learning.  

The Plan

Mrs. Kate’s willingness to learn new things and collaborate with her colleagues puts her in an excellent position to move her teaching forward.  In respect to SAMR, Mrs. Kate would probably need some support from her TL, colleagues, and the tech department to begin to imagine tasks that have not been previously imagined.  Through collaboration, the team can begin to recreate learning experiences for students.

In order to move Mrs. Kate to the Integration phase of the CBAM model, I would recommend the admin providing time in schedules for in depth planning and collaboration.  This would give her the opportunity to learn from others, and build on others ideas to create exceptional learning experiences. A great starting place would be for the TL and Mrs. Kate to sit down and collaborate on a mini-unit teaching students the skills to evaluate websites and sources.  There is a great list of resources provided in Bartel’s (2022), ‘Information Literacy: Learning How to Learn’. This team could benefit from using a collaborative planning form to help articulate their vision.  Some great examples of collaborative planning forms can be found at Jigsaw Learning.  

Using the Big6 Model of learning (Figure 3), I would focus Mrs. Kate’s attention on Step 2 – Information Seeking Strategies. We would come up with ways for her students to evaluate the sources they find and determine which ones are the best for them to use. I would also want Mrs. Kate to focus on Step 5 – Synthesis – which gives students the opportunity to learn how to organize their information and learnings in a way that can be shared with others. Mrs. Kate will benefit greatly by being introduced to all the reference resources available to her online. As a TL, I can begin sending out this information to teachers via newsletters and emails. When collaborating with Mrs. Kate, encouraging her to use these sources in her classroom would be important.

Conclusion

 TLs have the opportunity to become the catalyst of growth in teachers. Based on the CBAM (2008), change and adaptation is a highly personal experience that is based on one’s feelings and skill level.  It often takes a catalyst to ignite the idea of change in a person and a TL may be able to fulfill this role by being supportive and collaborative.  Using collaboration and mentorship, we can begin to help teachers move through the phases of learning presented in the SAMR and CBAM models.  These can be pivotal moments in a teacher’s career.  If we remember at all times to think about all our learners, both teachers and students, then we can focus on learning together and moving forward to become the best that we can be.

Works Cited

Canadian Association for School Libraries (CASL) 2003. Achieving Information Literacy Standards for School Library Programs in Canada. Retrieved from http://accessola2.com/SLIC-Site/slic/ail110217.pdf

Canadian School Libraries (2021). Learning Learning. Retrieved from https://llsop.canadianschoollibraries.ca/

Huang, Po-Sen. Concern-Based Adoption Model. Retrieved from https://sites.google.com/site/ch7cbam/home/levels-of-use

Riedling, A. M., & Houston, C. (2013). Reference skills for the school librarian: Tools and tips. Libraries Unlimited.

The Concerns-Based Adoption Model (CBAM): A Model for Change in Individuals (2008). [PDF File]. Retrieved from https://s3.wp.wsu.edu/uploads/sites/731/2015/07/CBAM-explanation.pdf

Loucks-Horsley, Susan (1996). The concerns-based adoption model (CBAM): A model for change in individuals. Retrieved from https://s3.wp.wsu.edu/uploads/sites/731/2015/07/CBAM-explanation.pdf