Looking back, moving forward

     The exploration and discovery of the Reference Collection of my library has been an eye-opening journey.

Look at me, I have seen!

     Ann Riedling's book, Reference Skills for the School Librarian provided guiding principles with which I analyzed my collection and the programs provided in the Library. This chart helped me organize my conclusions.

Collection is of an acceptable size for our school population	It is somewhat on the dated side - average age of Reference collection is 14 yrs.
We have Biographies, Factbooks and Handbooks in our Non-fiction collection - they are well used and more recent and they would lower the age of the collection if they were included in the Reference collection	Encyclopedias are old (2008, 2009) - should consider replacing them with more recent edition
Good selection of Dictionaries and Thesauri in French and English	Atlas need updating
Access to an excellent list of digital resources purchased by the District	Underutilized - need to be promoted and explored with teachers and classes

     The comparison between 2 resources, one print and the other digital was also a valuable exercise. L'Encyclopédie Découverte (2009), although dated and only occasionally used, is a essentially a good resource with beautiful pictures and written in age-appropriate language. It does not, however, support our new curriculum and has more of a "world" focus where as I was hoping it would have a "Canadian" flair to it.

     The digital resource I looked at was Idéllo (https://www.idello.org/en). This resource, newly recommended by ERAC, is excellent. I have been successful in my push to have the school purchase subscriptions for the staff. Yay! I now have to set up these accounts and promote this resource with the staff. They have been unhappy with the digital content available through the Discovery Ed resource, because everything is in English! I hope that Idéllo will fill a need.

     The role of the Teacher-Librarian as stated by the Greater Victoria School District is very detailed and accurately describes the many hats we wear. So much of what we do is behind the scene and unseen by others. It is very important for us to be advocates for our programs and to take the opportunity to showcase these whenever possible through the school monthly newsletter, displays and pictures.

     The reference services that are offered in a school are dependent on the resources in the collection AND the ability of the TL to make the connections necessary with the staff in order to collaborate. This collaboration is key to the programs offered, especially moving forward with our new curriculum. The Teacher-Librarian must keep in mind that every staff member will not be at the "same starting point" and will approach collaboration, new curricula, new technology from this point. The Concern Based Adoption Model  (CBAM) was very useful in helping me find the best way to approach staff members, to address their concerns and to help them move forward.

     The last section of the course focused on print reference resources. I believe that there should be a place in our collection for print reference resources such as encyclopedias, almanacs, handbooks, factbooks and dictionaries. I understand that some of these can be expensive (encyclopedias) but, especially in an Elementary School, these resources should play an important role in building and reinforcing research skills in our students.

     Our schools are not set up to have 1:1 device per student. Until then, we must use the resources at our disposition: print, digital in the computer lab, and digital when using the Chromecart.


from University of Washington

     This image represents my learning journey in this course. At this moment in time, I am looking for ways to improve my Reference collection, the Reference services I provide to students, teachers and classes as well as continuing to showcase the Library programs that are in place now and to advocate for more: time, funding and support!

     Although the above image effectively reflects the journey, I find the following image more inspiring!

Happy journey to you all! 😊

L'Encyclopedie Decouverte. Vol. 1-15. Chicago: World Book, 2009. Print.

Evaluating, Selecting and Acquiring Learning Resources: A Guide. ERAC, 2008. Web. 31 Jan. 2017.

https://eucaps.wsu.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/731/2015/07/CBAM-explanation.pdf

Holloway, Karel. "A Mesure of Concern." Learning Forward: The Professional Learning Association. National Staff Development Council, Feb.-Mar. 2003. Web. 1 Mar. 2017. https://learningforward.org/docs/tools-for-learning-schools/tools2-03.pdf?sfvrsn=2.

"Idello: Educational Website, Resources for Online Learning." IDÉLLO. Groupe Media TFO, n.d. Web. 24 Jan. 2017. https://www.idello.org/en.

http://quotesaboutfriendship.info/?page=/looking-back-moving-forward-quotes/

"Regulation 2224 Teacher Librarian." Greater Victoria School District No 61. Greater Victoria School District No 61, 28 Sept. 2000. Web. 12 Feb. 2017. https://www.sd61.bc.ca/our-district/documents/name/regulation-2224-teacher-librarian/.

Riedling, Ann Marlow, Loretta Shake, and Cynthia Houston. Reference skills for the school librarian: tools and tips. 3rd ed. Santa Barbara, CA: Linworth, an imprint of ABC-CLIO, LLC, 2013. Print.

http://www.washington.edu/teaching/2015/02/02/reflecting/  (image)

What Is a Teacher-Librarian. Document. BC Teacher-Librarians, 2017. Web. 12 Feb. 2017. http://www.bctf.ca/bctla/.