LIBE 467 Assignment #3

 Evaluation Plan to Improve Reference Services

Background:

Lakeview Elementary School is a small school located in a tiny village outside of a medium-sized city.  There are currently 70 students, 4 teachers, and 4 non-enrolling teachers at this kindergarten to grade 5 school. This is my first teacher librarian position.  I am at the school 2 days per week and the school secretary spends 5 hours per week assisting in the library but does not have any library training and is not available at times when students are in the library.  Due to the size of the school, this library learning commons has an exceptionally small budget.  Unfortunately, there has not been trained teacher librarians or library assistants in this library in over two decades and the collection has been unintentionally neglected as a result. Being here temporarily has posed a great challenge as I have been working tirelessly on the collection but know this will require long term attention.

Evaluation:

Collection

The reference print collection in this library consists of a small selection of subject specific encyclopedias which are shelved throughout the non-fiction section and fact books, such as The Guinness World Records books. After weeding many outdated materials early in the school year that were designed for an adult audience, the remaining print books meet Reidling's and Houston's criteria of authority, arrangement and presentation and accessibility, but do not meet the standards for timeliness which also affects content scope and accuracy (2019). With the exception of a new atlas which I purchased after assignment 1, all of these materials are outdated and excessively so. After running a collection analysis of the non-fiction section, a final report indicated there are 2259 non-fiction books and the average publication date is 1998 (Insignia Report, 2022).  Please note in the following figure, the items per student is in relation to the entire print collection including both fiction and non-fiction. 

 

Insignia Report, 2022

 

The digital reference collection is provided by the school district and is accessible to all schools through the BC Digital Classroom.  Resources provided through the school district for elementary schools include:

• A variety of kids' magazines, including Scholastic News, and LadyBug
• World Book Kids, World Book Timelines, World Book Early Learning, World Book Science Power, World Book Advanced, World Book Discover 
• National Geographic Kids
• Canoe Kids

Most staff members were not aware of these resources at the beginning of the school year and were introduced to them during a fall staff meeting. From recent conversations with staff, it appears these resources are still not being utilized.

Policies

The school district has a general selection policy for learning resources, but there is currently no library policy manual. The following screenshot outlines selection criteria for educators in the district. The policy also notes that selection and removal of inappropriate materials needs to be an ongoing task (School District 67, 2019).

 

School District 67, 2019

 

Services

Students attend library blocks once per week at which time the teacher librarian reads a story to students, teaches a brief lesson and signs out books. Most lessons are designed around literature or technology including but not limited to: genre studies, author studies, the district online catalogue, locating materials, and sharing book reviews. There are two learning commons blocks each week which up until now have been used for one-on-one reading support. Collaboration with teachers has been minimal at this point. My primary role has been supporting teachers with locating resources useful for lessons and while I have offered collaborative planning and teaching opportunities, I have not had much success. 

Rationale for Changes:

According to the Canadian Association for School Libraries' Standards for School Library Programs in Canada, the reference collection would be considered below standards (2003). The collection, while large and electronically catalogued, is extremely outdated (2003).

This collection is a prime example of how quantity does not elevate a collection when the materials are of poor quality (Reidling and Houston, 2019). To ensure the collection meets curricular standards, collaborative evaluation and selection are important considerations (CASL, 2003). In efforts to revitalize the non-fiction section, I have requested input from staff as to which sections to prioritize for purchases, however, feedback has been limited.

As Reiding and Houston argue, quality reference services require resources be provided in a variety of formats (2019). While there is a quality digital collection, it is not being used to its potential. To ensure it is used more frequently, I need to continue promoting these resources to teachers and teach students to use these materials more consistently. By providing access to a variety of formats, teacher librarians can better support the needs of diverse learners (UBCa, 2022). Through collaborative efforts, the teacher librarian can promote the collection and support the classroom teacher by assisting in teaching and integrating resources into lessons.  As stated in Lesson 5, a collaborative approach with the teacher librarian and the classroom teacher to literacy instruction and reference services improves student achievement (UBCb, 2022).

Staffing levels are also considered below standard as there is only one teacher librarian who works at a 0.4 and no librarian technician for an elementary school with a population below 299 students (CASL, 2003). While the secretary is able to provide some assistance such as shelving and labeling books, the lack of training and allotted schedule are insufficient to meaningfully impact student learning. Unfortunately, these limitations are beyond my control but my concerns were conveyed earlier in the year to administration. I will remind the principal of these concerns prior to school year ending in hopes for possible changes next year. 
 

As Reidling and Houston argue, all schools should have a policy manual that provides information on collection development to provide guidance for evaluation, selection, recommendations, maintenance, etc (2019). To improve reference services and to ensure proper selection and weeding continue, I need to create an outline of current policies, as well as recommendations for the future as I will unlikely be in this position next year. I have made extensive changes to the collection this year but this will be an ongoing work in progress for the future.

Timeline for Changes:

Changes will be ongoing and the following timeline provides only those changes that are attainable in the remaining school year while I am in this position. From September through until now, I have been working to weed the collection and make difficult decisions as to which print materials should be kept so there are still materials remaining on the shelf.  I will ensure efforts are documented so the future teacher librarian is aware of the progress made this year as well as goals for the future. As the staff is small, communication of changes will be delivered directly during daily interactions and at the monthly staff meeting.  Proposals such as the readathon will be directed towards the principal for approval.

 

 Improving Reference Services Timeline  (Click to view original)

 

 

Conclusion: 

I do not see any obvious obstacles associated with the execution of this plan, but overall the continued promotion of digital resources and finding the balance of having print materials accessible to students while removing materials that cannot be immediately replaced will remain a challenge for a while to come. To improve reference services, I need to focus primarily on the collection itself and ensure staff and students have the resources available to meet their needs. In addition to building a quality print collection, I need to increase my efforts to promote the digital collection and tap into this valuable resource through collaborative opportunities with teachers. This is especially significant at a time when the print collection is inadequate. To ensure this process is continued in the future, I need to devise at least a rudimentary policy to guide future librarians in the collection development process.

 References:

Achieving information literacy (2003.). Canadian Association for Libraries. Retrieved March 27, 2022, from http://accessola2.com/SLIC-Site/slic/ail110217.pdf

BC Digital Classroom. Focused Education. (n.d.). Retrieved March 21, 2022, from https://focusedresources.ca/en/district-access-iframe

Guinness World Records Kids. Guinness World Records. (n.d.). Retrieved March 22, 2022, from https://kids.guinnessworldrecords.com/ 

 

Insignia (n.d.). Retrieved March 23, 2022, from https://www.insigniasoftware.com/insignia/Index.aspx

National Geographic Kids. Natgeo. (n.d.). Retrieved March 25, 2022, from https://natgeo-gale-com.bc.idm.oclc.org/natgeo/archive/?p=NGMK&u=bcdc

Policies and administrative procedures (n.d.) School District No. 67 (Okanagan Skaha). Retrieved March 23, 2022, from https://www.sd67.bc.ca/apps/pages/index.jsp?uREC_ID=1102400&type=d&pREC_ID=1374527

Riedling, A. M., & Houston, C. (2019). Reference skills for the school librarian: Tools and tips. Libraries Unlimited.

 
University of British Columbia (2022a). Lesson 7: Evaluating reference services. Retrieved March 23, 2022 from https://canvas.ubc.ca/courses/84997/pages/lesson-5-the-reference-interview-cooperative- program-planning-and-teaching-for-personalized-inquiry?module_item_id=3995258

University of British Columbia (2022b). Lesson 5: The Reference Interview: Cooperative Program Planning and Teaching for Personalized Inquiry. Retrieved March 26, 2022 from https://canvas.ubc.ca/courses/84997/pages/lesson-5-the-reference-interview-cooperative-program- planning-and-teaching-for-personalized-inquiry?module_item_id=3995258