FROM JANUARY 17TH
Wade's reading "The school library..." (2005) really resonated with me.
Part of my wanting to become a TL, and gaining a position as one in 2011, was to try and promote this idea of the library being the hub of learning in a school (p. 14).
Students at my school seem uninterested in the library except when it is raining. I, myself, only sought the help of the librarian when I needed a particular resource for a particular lesson. Never have I considered what support the librarian could give in terms of enhancing student learning in programming and assessment.
The thought of integrating digital and physical resources is really exciting, as is the idea of having a virtual library. Personally I cannot see everything going digital, there is still a place for print, but merging the two really appeals to me.
One of my ideas for the library I will be working in is creating a wiki for it. On the wiki students could see the collection, be given links to other other local libraries, and access tutorials on how to maximise their learning through study and research skills. There could be a page for each KLA or each year group with assessments and associated resources.
I think libraries have an exciting future and I want to be part of it.
Friday, February 11, 2011
ETL503 - Collection Policy
FROM JANUARY 17TH
I'm finding it difficult to discern between policy and procedure. It seems incomplete to me to state what will be done and why, without saying how.
The most fascinating thing about this module has been how to deal with complaints and attempts at censorship. It seems the best thing to do is ti have clear policy on the matter and to justify your selections with clear criteria, and the inclusion of controversial resources with ALIA and ASLA documents.
But what happens when the principal doesn't back you up? Because even if they have been part of the policy writing process, sometimes for them it may be easier to listen to the loudest and most influential voice.
I think the most challenging thing raised in this module and the second assessment is how to write a flexible policy that can be used over a period of time (say 3 years) and also make it specific to the context of the library.
I'm finding it difficult to discern between policy and procedure. It seems incomplete to me to state what will be done and why, without saying how.
The most fascinating thing about this module has been how to deal with complaints and attempts at censorship. It seems the best thing to do is ti have clear policy on the matter and to justify your selections with clear criteria, and the inclusion of controversial resources with ALIA and ASLA documents.
But what happens when the principal doesn't back you up? Because even if they have been part of the policy writing process, sometimes for them it may be easier to listen to the loudest and most influential voice.
I think the most challenging thing raised in this module and the second assessment is how to write a flexible policy that can be used over a period of time (say 3 years) and also make it specific to the context of the library.
ETL503 - Collection evaluation
FROM JANUARY 17TH
The things that really stood out to me about collection evaluation come from Hughes-Hassall and Mancall's 2005 text 'Selecting resources for learning.'
While it does seem important that resources shouldn't be too old or out of date, I think what is most important is that the resources are meeting the needs of those that use them.
In the selection criteria they propose "emphasis in all selection decisions is on whether the resources match learner characteristics and address the teaching context" (p. 43) transposes neatly into a criteria for evaluation also.
It also seems very right to me that the learners, their needs and context, should always be on the mind of the TL.
The things that really stood out to me about collection evaluation come from Hughes-Hassall and Mancall's 2005 text 'Selecting resources for learning.'
While it does seem important that resources shouldn't be too old or out of date, I think what is most important is that the resources are meeting the needs of those that use them.
In the selection criteria they propose "emphasis in all selection decisions is on whether the resources match learner characteristics and address the teaching context" (p. 43) transposes neatly into a criteria for evaluation also.
It also seems very right to me that the learners, their needs and context, should always be on the mind of the TL.
ETL503 - Weeding
FROM JANUARY 2ND
In the last week of school, last year now, I helped the librarian conduct some end of year weeding. She chooses this time as she feels it is the only time when she can close the library without impeaching on student and teacher needs.
She uses two criteria: physical condition and age.
Books that are no longer appealing or relevant are discarded. They are put in the dumpster. It took all my will power not to resuce these books for my own personal collection.
I think getting rid of books is going to be the hardest thing for me to do.
In the last week of school, last year now, I helped the librarian conduct some end of year weeding. She chooses this time as she feels it is the only time when she can close the library without impeaching on student and teacher needs.
She uses two criteria: physical condition and age.
Books that are no longer appealing or relevant are discarded. They are put in the dumpster. It took all my will power not to resuce these books for my own personal collection.
I think getting rid of books is going to be the hardest thing for me to do.
The end of Semester One!
It seems a long time between posts.
Christmas has come and gone and I have completed two massive assignments.
I feel really good about EER500. I think if my goal wasn't to become a TL I could definitely be an educational researcher.
And while ETL503 seemed a more relevant course, I feel less good about it. I feel like a did a good job on the collection policy, and have even shown it to the principal for use in my own school and its library, but I just didn't get a good vibe from the first assignment.
I have a couple of forum posts that I want to publish here, and will, if I can find them on interact.
Christmas has come and gone and I have completed two massive assignments.
I feel really good about EER500. I think if my goal wasn't to become a TL I could definitely be an educational researcher.
And while ETL503 seemed a more relevant course, I feel less good about it. I feel like a did a good job on the collection policy, and have even shown it to the principal for use in my own school and its library, but I just didn't get a good vibe from the first assignment.
I have a couple of forum posts that I want to publish here, and will, if I can find them on interact.
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
ETL503 - Budgeting
I think that budget management is something well within my capabilities. I think the hard thing about budgets will be lobbying for more money. Obviously the librarian thinks that spending money in the library is important but not everyone will view it that way. The other thing that I think will be hard is justifying the spending. As before it will be easy for the librarian to see the purchases as important but others might not.
If the process of selection and acquisition is done properly and well, then the budget should justify itself.
Some of Lamb and Johnson’s ideas are very pertinent for budgeting in my school. Initial expenditure seems to have waned and nobody really wants to go in our library anymore because it and the books look old. The only time that lots of students are in there is when it is raining. The other thing is that at the moment spending in our library is focused on fiction. For non-fiction and teacher texts KLA’s usually purchase their own books with their own budgets. Fiction is the focus as this is what students and teachers have identified as a want.
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
ETL503 - Acquisition
I think of all the things we have looked at so far Acquisition seems the easiest. And while you have to spend your money wisely by finding the best place to source materials, once you have established those sources as regular and reliable then I guess you would just keep going back to them.
At my school the current TL using a variety of suppliers for different text types. It seems like a quite complicated process on the suppliers side, but for the librarian things like Booko and The Book Depository seem like a nice central starting place for a librarian. However, I don’t see how this is very different from buying your books from a conglomerate bookstore.
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