Evaluation Plan of Reference Services:

Our school has not been weeded very well over the last 20 years, so in turn our reference collection is also quite dated. I have weeded the non-fiction collection, which eliminated some of the older reference materials.  

All staff at my school engages in technology but at different degrees. However, not every teacher is familiar or utilizes the online reference sites our school subscribes too. I have been introducing the students to the sites, but with limited library instruction time some classes get more exposure than others. 

Our geographical resources are dated at our school. The newest Atlas we have is from 2003; two from 2000 and remaining are from 1996 and older. They do not have barcodes to be checked out and located in a dark corner of the library up high on a shelf. The books are very heavy, some looking fairly old with a brown plain covers and others looking slightly better yet with outdated information. I have purchased a globe for the library, which have been quite popular. 

We currently hold a varied collection of dated/ripped dictionaries. The teachers that usually use dictionaries have class sets in their classrooms that are a bit dated. Our encyclopedia collection included a set of world book from the 2000’s and some Canadian picture nature book set form the early 90’s. Both are not catalogued or barcoded to sign out. However, our non-fiction section is current, fun and has updated specific encyclopedia on space, cars, mammals, dogs, extreme weather, almanac, Guinness world book records etc. 

Areas Which Need Change and Rationale. 

Encyclopedias:

• The books have not been used since I arrived in September and the information is outdated. The text is small; the photos look old along with the feel and smell. When students browse the collection they should have confidence they are getting current and updated information. There is also an online version of world book, which is more interacted, appealing and easier to use for students. According to some of Reildings evaluation the collection does not meet the accuracy, format scope and objectivity criteria. Especially some of the articles referencing indigenous people and beliefs do not have objectivity. 

• Our atlas collection very similar to our encyclopedia collection does not meet Reildings evaluation and selection criteria. Especially under currency, all atlases at our school show do not have currency. Eastern Europe is not accurate, and most do not even have Nunavut as a territory. For example, as student wanted to take out an atlas about two months ago and there was no barcode on it, it was really big and not accurate. Students of all ages love looking at maps, atlas and globes. The information should be correct. Now with Google maps, national geographic atlas and the geography section in world book, we do not need class sets as we once did. So a few updated Atlases for check out to students with online options being utilized would address the learning needs of students.  

Atlases: 

Online Reference materials/sources: 

As our print materials become outdated quicker and quicker and are more expensive to update as often as they need to be online reference materials become a better option for our students and staff. Online reference materials our district subscribes to are easy to access and use. They have audio options articles at variety of reading levels, lots of pictures and videos along with links to creditable websites to gain further information. 

As students are doing more projects and inquiry, which require research, with all the options available to students we also want to guide students to “good” sources and a starting point. I often tell students by using the databases I recommend I am doing the some of the sifting for them opposed to Google where they have to do all the sifting themselves through different sources.

Action Plan: 

For the updates on encyclopedias and dictionaries I will begin by wedding the collection based on Reilding Evaluation criteria. This will eliminate a large amount of the materials. This should take only a couple hours because I have a pretty good idea of what materials need weeding. I will then purchase new atlases for example “ When on Earth” By: Rob Hoston, Canadian, and world atlases. At first these item would be promoted to classes as new non-fiction reference materials that can be checked out. (This also promotes them to teachers). Before book talking the books, I would show some online Atlas resources with national geographic and world book (again to promote to staff). The change will communicate through the promotion of online and new print materials. World book will not be replaced in the same way, so I will continue to promote the online version of world book in the library by continuing to show different features of the site online. I would be the only person involved making the change however staff and students would be aware of it from communications. Often with admin, when they are in the library area and not too busy I pull them in and show them a bit of the changes happening, they seem happy to be in the loop of what’s going on and why.  I am confident that this change can take place before June, as the time to do the task is reasonable and I have a budget that is very generous this year with money still available. The one consideration, which would take a bit of time, is after clearing the space moving the collection around to utilize the space and be less crowed. 

Online Reference materials/sources: 

I will continue to promote our online reference collection on an ongoing basis. The classes I teach computers to and have longer library blocks with are easier to teach the site to, because their teaching can be paired with projects and activities we are doing together. Having the staff buy into the online reference materials more would also help promote them to the students as well. Next month I am having our district library consultant give a lunch time pro-d talk at our school on some of the databases. Sometimes it is nice for the staff to hear another voice. 

References:

Library, QUT. "1.7.1 Reference material." QUT | Library | Study Smart | 1.7.1 Reference material. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 Apr. 2017.

Rachel "Make Your Own Moon Sand - Aka Moldable Mess!" Kids Activities Blog. N.p., 04 Sept. 2011. Web. 07 Apr. 2017.

Riedling, Ann, Reference skills for the school library media specialist: Tools and tips, (Third Edition). Linworth

"Welcome to School District #38." Welcome to School District #38. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 Apr. 2017.


"When on Earth? | Hardback." DK Publishing. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 Apr. 2017.

Blog Post: Theme Three

Blog Post Three: Knowledge to Gain Confidence

Encyclopaedias, Atlases, dictionaries, maps and indexes have all somewhat changed and evolved with the accessibility to the Internet. This course has been surprisingly interesting and helpful in learning about alternatives to print sources, different uses, costs, and how to evaluating these sources.

I began thinking about how before, I knew that the collection in my current and past library were old, but was hesitant to weed them out. I knew of other materials/ online versions to replace them. But that voice in my head saying they are classic, or were expensive kept me at arms length of doing something about the collection and space taken by these materials.

When it comes to having the newest picture books or chapter book in the library, I know how to source that out with ease. I know how to use my resources and people around me to buy these items. From asking students about their interests, going to the bookstore, recommendations from colleagues and other professionals, list from bloggers I respect, ideas from twitter and pro-d day events. Most Fiction and Non-Fiction purchasing and weeding is fun and easy to have  a conversation about.

But lets be realistic, when it comes to Encyclopaedias, Atlases, dictionaries, maps and indexes …. When is that last time at your school you’ve had a conversation in the staff room about the newest dictionary, or the online atlas. Not as much as the Fiction discussions that’s for sure.

Having discussions with each other and learning how to evaluate and getting new ideas on how to use or substitute reference materials has really helped me develop more confidence in

my own justifications in what to keep, what to purchase and what to promote more of in terms of reference materials in print and online.

We have old encyclopaedias, and now I feel like I have enough knowledge to confidently have them gone from our collections and replace with some specific encyclopaedias, as well as promote world book, which our school has free access to through our district. Since reading the Wikipedia articles I have more knowledge to talk to the students/staff about when and how to use Wikipedia and some of the cautions.

My reflection is a little more on the whole course than specifically unit three. But unit three offered specific information about reference materials that will help me inform others and make better choices around those materials in my collection.

References:

"Encyclopedia Cartoons and Comics." Encyclopedia Cartoons and Comics - funny pictures from CartoonStock. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 Apr. 2017.

Orlandini, Nicoletta. "40's." Pinterest. N.p., 09 Mar. 2014. Web. 03 Apr. 2017.

Travis Jonker on April 2, 2017, Elizabeth Bird on April 2, 2017, Travis Jonker on April 1, 2017, Robin Willis on March 31, 2017, Lori Henderson on March 31, 2017, Battle Commander on March 31, 2017, Battle Commander on March 30, 2017, and Amanda MacGregor on March 30, 2017. "Can We Make Peace with Wikipedia?" School Library Journal. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 Apr. 2017.