Jan 10 2010
Positive start to the New Year!
Despite our “Big Freeze” here in the UK and the dark & gloomy short days of the Winter months, I have good reasons to be feeling very positive and optimistic about one tiny school library! Reading about wider issues with public libraries in particular, the blogosphere is all a-Twitter about this issue at the moment, you could be feeling that we are at the beginning of the end for libraries. But our library at Dixie is at the beginning of the beginning. We have created a lovely space and are improving the book collection by leaps and bounds. Now we have to get the Library used – for reading development work, for information literacy teaching, for encouraging the use of new and developing technologies.
So, from next week we are bringing in classes from Years 6 to 8 for one English lesson per week to support reading development. This is nothing new, of course. This kind of work is the meat and drink of school libraries. But it is new in my school. Yes, classes were occasionally brought into the old Library and I know that teachers did their best to enthuse about books and reading. Now they have a new element – not just an improving collection to choose from, but an experienced and knowledgeable…… Librarian! I passionately believe that we are the key element in developing reading for pleasure in schools and improving literacy. So let’s see what happens!
Other teachers are also starting to talk to me about using the Library and Librarian to help improve student’s learning. The key issues, as seem to be the case in most schools, are the:
- Cut-and-paste culture amongst students
- Quality of homework/coursework produced
- Lack of resource lists and referencing
- Plagiarism
- Lack of ability to select and evaluate information
Again, none of this is new or startling, but having a Librarian in post is new in our school. Teachers are beginning to talk to me about how I can help them and so I feel optimistic that I can make a difference….
….and that’s what it’s all about, isn’t it?
Hi Anne
I am so envious! I had a school library like the one you describe – we had a lovely airy space, a great collection of up to date, relevant Nf and fiction, two qualified and passionate librarians (job share) and a full programme of information lessons, book talks and research lessons. We were used by most depts and there was a strong reading culture.
Now, only the fiction and the librarians remain, while the nf is in boxes in a storeroom waiting to be squashed back into half the space along with the fiction.
What happened? Rarely cover happened – and our Head turned the library into a cover space used for cover lessons 5 periods out of 5 every day. No more book talks in the library, no more library lessons, induction courses or research lessons. The nf was boxed up, the shelves ripped out and replaced with 30 desktop computers and 30 laptops, so that up to 60 pupils could have cover lessons at a time. No sixth formers come to work or read in the library during lesson times any more and even at break and lunchtimes borrowing is well down.
I am trying to move into cyberspace and create a library on the VLE – so all the best with your dixie library and I hope this never happens to you.
Corrine, I’m so sorry to hear what has been happening to you and your library. Unfortunately, your story is all too common. Here, I am lucky to be working with a Head who is also a friend and who shares a common vision of what we are trying to achieve in this school. The way some headteachers treat their libraries and librarians is nothing short of scandalous!
Hi Corinne, this post resonates strongly with one of the essays I have written this semester on learning and the role of librarians. I once heard an anecdote from a teacher: “Is this all your own work?” Student: “Oh ,yes! I cut and pasted it all by myself!”
The issue of evaluation of material is also a being discussed in our course, and there is evidence that students (tertiary as well as primary and secondary) commonly accept the first resource they come across.
Referencing is another issue that arises on occasion, and that can sometimes be tricky even for an old hand at it! Students do need to be taught at least the basic principles, if not one specific referencing style. If they are using Endnote or Zotero, they still have to know that the output is correct!
Following is an excerpt from my essay. The two articles referenced go into some detail on this issue, and make for very interesting reading. All the best, John
It is widely assumed that the Information Technology / “digital revolution” skills of the “Net Generation” (post ~1985) are excellent. Timmers (2010) and Combes (2007) recognise that although students are expected to be information literate, the reality is that many are not. These include findings that students mainly use Google and Yahoo to search, and refer to peers or teachers for assistance more often than to librarians. The literature also finds that students have few skills in evaluation, do not use tools such as Boolean, and sometimes commit plagiarism without being aware of it.
“[they are]…intuitive visual learners, have fast response times, and are independent learners, know what they want and have good digital literacy skills… although the Net Generation is comfortable in the digital world, they actually have very little evaluative skill, accept the first answers they find, and do not use even simple Boolean parameters” (Combes 2007, p. 17) .
Combes, B 2007, ‘Techno-savvy or Just Techno-oriented?: What Does the Research Tell Us about the Information-seeking Behaviour of the ‘Net Generation?’, Access, vol. 21, no. 2, pp. 17-20.
Timmers, CF & Cees, AWG 2010, ‘Developing scales for information-seeking behaviour’, Journal of Documentation, vol. 66, no. 1, pp. 46-69.
p.s. I meant Hi Anne!