LIBE 467 Lesson 12 - Managing the References Collection

Reflection: Role Description of a Teacher Librarian

Since I don’t have my own library or school, I can’t say if the role description is indicative of the teacher librarian role at my school.  From my experience as a TOC, I know that not all positions have scheduled time to plan collaboratively and cooperatively with classroom teachers.  The teacher librarian I have substituted for only has prep time and if she would like to collaborate with teachers, it would need to be done on her own personal time.  I think the learning resource management is the most essential, followed by leadership in resource-based learning, then closely behind with program and instruction.  Ideally, we would want to fulfill all the responsibilities, but are limited by budget and time.  Without adequate time or money, collaborating with teachers, supporting the integration of instructional technology and media literacy, and developing the potential of volunteer is quite challenging.  Trying to fulfill ALL the responsibilities can be overwhelming.  To lessen the stress, I imagine these responsibilities as goals; we’re trying to strive towards them.  We might not finish them all in a week or month, but hopefully by the end of the year we have met our goals.

Reflection: Budget Process

The Coquitlam school district uses a formula when calculating school library budgets.  There is a flat site amount (depends on if it is an elementary, middle or high school) and then an amount per enrolling student at the school.  The school principle has the authority to adjust the final budget amount.  For additional funds, the teacher librarian can hold book fairs or fundraisers to supplement his/her school library budget.  The school PAC can also be helpful in supplying money for library equipment.  I’m not sure how much money is allotted specifically for the reference material.  The teacher librarian I asked was unsure.

LIBE 467 Lesson 11 - Grey Literature and the World Wide Web

No activity, discussion or reflection for this lesson.

LIBE 467 Lesson 10 - Bibliographies, Biographies and Directories

Activity/Discussion: Comparing and Contrasting Index Interfaces

I found this discussion/activity very interesting.  I noticed that most databases use similar search tools, like the ones I looked at, Elsevier and EBSCO.  They have the same format, comparable search parameters and show a result list layout.  Some searches are better than other, but overall I didn’t notice a significant difference.  The most challenging part is using our research skills efficiently and correctly to find what you’re looking for.  It can be overwhelming getting thousands of hits and having to sift through all of them to find one article.

LIBE 467 Assignment #2

I chose to improve the Encyclopedia section of the reference collection in an elementary school library.

LIBE 467 Lesson 9 - Maps, Atlases and other Geographic Sources

Activity/Discussion: Comparing Atlases and Geographic Resources

            I wasn’t aware that there are so many online geographical resources available.  I will definitely keep this knowledge in mind for my next map related lesson or assignment.  It was interesting exploring the websites on the list and comparing their strengths and weakness.  For my 2 electronic websites I examined were Natural Resources Canada and National Geographic Education.  For my paper atlas I chose Scholastics Children’s Atlas of Canada and for my subscriber based resource I chose World Book Online.

In comparing my response to the Natural Resource Canada critique with my classmates, I noticed that some found it easy to use, while others, like myself, found it difficult to navigate.  I found it completely frustrating that some of the links were loading very slowly or not at all.  I wonder if I accessed the website when it was updating or having server issues. 

LIBE 467 Lesson 8 - Indexes, Abstracts and Full-Text Databases

Activity: Local Library Databases and School Library Databases

The Coquitlam school district library has access to several online indexes: (School District No. 43, 2012)

·         EBSCO

·         Gale

·         ProQuest

The Vancouver Public Library (VPL) has many online indexes available to its members: (Vancouver Public Library, 2012)

·         Art Index Retrospective

·         Biography and Genealogy Master Index

·         British Columbia Index

·         Canadian Business and Current Affairs

·         Canadian Music Periodical Index

·         E-Journal Portal

·         Education Resources Information Centre (ERIC)

·         Gale Literary Index

·         Index To How To Do It Information

·         MEDLINE/PubMed

·         Newspaper Clippings Collection Index

·         Readers’ Guide Retrospective

·         Theses Canada

·         Vancouver Building Register

·         Vancouver City Council Minutes Index

As you can see, the school district index list is small and all educationally based in comparison to the VPL collection.  The VPL has access to a wide range of different subject indexes and databases.  The public library database provides a supplement to the school library database.  There is minimal overlap in subject and information between the indexes found in the two libraries.  Although the public library offers many indexes, it tries to appeal to the general population and therefore unable to provide specialized indexes focussed on students’ needs, like in the district library.  Most of the indexes listed on the public library website are not applicable for most students.  The resources are not children friendly and the information is not highly readable or digestible for young children, but they could be used by older students doing specialized research.  

School District No. 43. (2012). Student resources. Retrieved from

http://www.sd43.bc.ca/Resources/StudentResources/Pages/default.aspx

Vancouver Public Library. (2012). Indexes. Retrieved from

http://www.vpl.ca/electronic_databases/cat/C366

Discussion: Database Licensing Costs

Reading my classmates’ posts, I noticed that most online databases are paid for by the district and not from each individual school’s budget (like in our district). I too had difficulty finding database licensing pricing.

I really appreciate Kassan’s suggestion about using TumbleBooks.  I have never heard about it and the concept sounded really interesting.  I explored the website and I think it would be wonderful for an elementary school library.  I signed up for a free trial and I can’t wait to try it out.