Re-thinking the role of the teacher-librarian in a post literate society

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E-books

For everything you ever wanted to know about ebooks, this is a very informative slide presentation.

Ebooks in Australia

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Awesome Vodcast!

Watch this excellent vodcast by Mike Eisenberg on the role and image of the TL. He advocates for a "makeover" of the school library program to ensure the TL keeps their job. He has created a to-do list to help transform our image and programs and to transform how we are perceived and what we actually deliver. First on the to-do list is to GET AN ATTITUDE, second is to embrace the BRAND, the MISSION and the FUNCTION. I won't say any more but I would love to hear what other people think about what he has to say.

What People Don't Get About Working in a Library - The Atlantic

What People Don't Get About Working in a Library - The Atlantic

Click on the link to read. It seems like the majority of people, not just school communities, are ignorant about what really goes on in the library. Some major marketing of the profession as a whole is needed for this to change.

Show Me the Evidence!

Show Me The Evidence! (Mary Jo Langhorne 2005)

• There are various studies that show school library programs have a positive impact on student achievement.


• Evidence can be locally generated in a variety of ways.


• Data can be used to enhance budget requests. Budget requests need to be carefully correlated with building instructional goals. It helps to prepare the budget professionally with a spreadsheet. Base it on analysis of the data and include school curriculum and instructional goals.


• Use the data that is at your disposal now, not when cuts are being made.


• A great resource: School Libraries Work! (Scholastic) http://www2.scholastic.com/content/collateral_resources/pdf/s/slw3_2008.pdf


• It is up to us to recognise this as a golden opportunity to solicit support, be visible and gain ground.

My Thoughts: I saw this article as a call to action. We are told what sort of evidence we have at our disposal and practical ways that we can use it and share it with stakeholders. I felt a sense of urgency through the article - the time to act is NOW!

Evidence Based Practice

The next part of our studies on the role of the TL looks at accountability, evidence and research. This is important for TL students to look at as it's the way all schools are going in the wake of the current economic climate. If the TL as a species wants to survive, then we have to prove how we make a difference in student learning.
In the next few posts I'm going to jot down some important ideas that I've gained from various articles on EBP.

The Evidence-Based Manifesto - Ross Todd (School Library Journal, April 08)

• Evidence-based school librarianship is an approach that involves examining research-based evidence, school-librarian observed evidence and user-reported evidence. The TL uses this evidence in order to make decisions about programs, resources and services that aid the achievement of a school's mission and goals.


• As the goals usually centre of student achievement and quality teaching and learning, EBP should focus on these as well


• School librarian ship derives its mandate from a diverse body of theoretical and empirical knowledge and active engagement with this knowledge is what enables the profession to continually transform and improve.


• All students can learn through engagement with school libraries.


• The value of a school library can be measured.


• Accountability is an essential component of sustainable development of the school library profession.


• Accountability is a commitment to growth through examining process and practice.


• It involves a move from a "tell me" framework to a "show me" framework.


• It's not about survival of TLs, it's about survival of our students.


• EBP recognises multiple sources, types of evidence and ways of gathering evidence - this develops stronger claims.


• EB school librarianship uses research derived evidence to shape and direct what we do.


• School libraries need to systematically collect evidence.


• There are 3 dimensions to EBP in school libraries: evidence for practice, evidence in practice, evidence of practice.


• TLs need EBP to show why school libraries matter today and how they help students learn.


• EBP validates that QL outcomes can be achieved though the school library and that the school librarian is an important instructional partner.


• EBP means a shift from information inputs to knowledge and skills outputs.


• "Standards For the 21st Century Learner" (AASL) provides a framework for the evidence that should be generated. http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/aasl/guidelinesandstandards/learningstandards/AASL_LearningStandards.pdf


• There are challenges of EBP. We need to make it accessible and applicable so it can be integrated into practice.


• Locally generated evidence could be presented as a portfolio.


• EBP is no about scrambling to find additional time. It is about establishing priorities and making choices about the importance of school libraries and learning.
  

My personal thoughts on EBP:

EBP is essential for all TLs.It must be done looking at a variety of evidence types from a variety of sources. TLs must have a good understanding of the school's goals and mission and make sure their EBP follows along the same lines. Gathering evidence must be ongoing - not a one off. It must be about what is best for the students.

There's no substitute for books!

From today's SMH Heckler.


I CONFESS: for at least 27 of my almost 33 years, I have been a reader.

There are days when I can barely keep my eyes open because I've been up all night with my nose in a book.

There are days when I read instead of cleaning the house. And I've been known to cancel on friends because I'm close to the end of a novel.

I'm an addict. So you can understand my horror at hearing all this talk about the demise of the bookselling industry and the death of the book. People are buying online and using e-readers.

It's cheaper, apparently, and you don't even have to leave the house.

Despite the attraction of not leaving the house, I find online shopping unsatisfying. It's not that I lack fingers or a technical brain, but rather that I feel consistently nervous about giving out my credit card details online.

I do not want Amazon to keep a record of what I am reading. I do not want special-offer spam.

And I do not want to wait a week for the next instalment by Alexander McCall Smith to arrive in the post, potentially battered by heavy-handed post people and bad weather.

Besides, I want to hold a product before I spend money on it. I want to measure its size and weight, and I want to test how it feels in my hand. I like to make purchasing decisions with all senses engaged.

This is also how I want to read.

How will my e-book hold the red wine I spilt when I read about the union between Elizabeth and Darcy?

How am I to take my e-reader into the bath? What if it runs out of battery at the beach, or gets sand in it?

I have 20-20 vision and an iPad, but so far combined they don't a reading experience make. Sure, I can consume the story, but the story cannot consume me.

For one thing, my iPad is made of metal and plastic. It absorbs nothing: not coffee, not biscuit crumbs, not the large sigh I let out at the end of a particularly satisfying narrative.

And falling asleep on my iPad, I have discovered, isn't nearly as comfortable as flopping my head into a paperback.

The iPad smells of metal and plastic.

My books smell of wood and ink. I write notes in the margins. I underline things. While I can also do this on my iPad, I cannot capture the feeling that is made obvious by my shaky handwriting and thick red pen.

Books hold the memories we make when we read them, immortalising our experiences within their pages. Without pages, where do the memories go? Facebook?

Faith Sands

See, we have no need to worry about the future of libraries! There will always be people like this in the world!

What is the future of the library?

This video raises some interesting points.