Reflection

Image Courtesy of Kim de Blecourt

The final theme of our course focused on types of reference resources.  While Aaron and others have called this final part of the class a little "dry" or boring, that wasn't my experience. I enjoyed thinking more deeply about the various types of reference materials and found the final theme beneficial to my understanding of my role in "managing and maintaining" these resources, in providing "programming and instruction", and for "leadership in resource-based learning" (Lesson 6: Managing the Reference Collection, and "The Role of the Teacher Librarian" as outlined by the Greater Victoria School District). The last theme, along with the final assignment helped me to consolidate a lot of information introduced earlier in the class.  I appreciated the design of the course in that each of the three assignments required practical application of course content and forced me to both review and interact with my learning in a deeper way. I also appreciate the meta-cognitive learning opportunity embedded in these reflective blog posts.  This is the stage of learning I most often neglect when designing assignments for my own students.  I am promising myself to put more effort into this part of planning and time allocation.  I remember that most of the inquiry models we looked at in theme one of our course ended in reflection.   

The poster below identifies many of the resources discussed in the final theme, though it doesn't mention thesauri, yearbooks, bibliographies, biographies, directories, or other geographical types of information.  It also doesn't allow the viewer to see a difference between the surface web or the deep web, or to understand that all reference materials are non-fiction.  Nevertheless, I like visuals and found this image useful in thinking about the broad range of reference materials available.

Image Courtesy of Information Goddess at Teachers Pay Teachers

Something which has emerged from discussion in this course is the tension between print and digital resources.  Time and again students in this course, including myself, have waxed nostalgically for a time when print resources held a more prominent place in their learning; yet we also clearly acknowledge the ease or convenience inherent in using on-line resources.  Furthermore, digital resources don't require space on the shelf, and they can be accessed by more users at the same time.  The ebscopost article, "Print vs. Digital: Can Both Formats Co-exist with Popular Magazines" also points out that digital resources are frequently more cost efficient (less expensive per use) and easier to keep current.  They can be interactive, can include video clips and other animated images embedded within the text (As witnessed in Lesson 13's Maps, Atlases's and Other Geographic Sources activity and discussion), and information is easy to share on social media. On the other hand, some research indicates that "many readers still prefer to read printed materials....[and] results from a U.S. and U.K. survey highlight that 88 percent of respondents indicated that they understood, retained or used information better when they read print or paper compared to lower percentages (64 percent or less) when reading on electronic devices.  When given a choice, 81 percent indicated that they prefer to read print on paper" (Print vs Digital: Can Both Formats Co-exist with Popular Magazines).  Finally, not all materials are in digital format, so if access is limited to only digital resources, much information will be missed.  

Image Courtesy of Ebscopost "Print vs Digital" 

Our course does not advocate for one format over the other.  The Achieving Information Literacy document describes the "information literate citizen" as someone able to "analyse information critically in all its formats and in all media contexts," while Riedling cites the American Association of School Librarians document Empowering Learners: Guidelines for School Librarian Media Programs (2009): "The school librarian empowers users of information by collaborating with students and teachers; providing instruction in information skills; providing access to materials in all formats; providing instructional leadership in the school education program"(8).  It becomes evident that a variety of reference materials are required.  The challenge is to convince administrators that print resources are still a worthy investment.  Whatever the resource type, a librarian must be prepared to evaluate the bibliographic source to know if it is "legitimate, authoritative, and based on accurate material" (52),  Each source should be evaluated on its cost, accuracy, comprehensiveness, ease of use, and currency, as well as host of other criteria dependent on the resource type (Reidling). 

The second challenge I see is in helping students and staff understand the value of searching for information beyond what is immediately and conveniently accessible using Google; hence, Lesson 8: "Digital Resources, the Web, and Grey Literature" and Lesson 9: Indexes, Abstracts, and Full-text Databases."  While I have always understood the value of peer reviewed academic articles over information found on-line, I don't think many of my students did (or do).  These lessons, as well as Lesson 11's discussion about Wikipedia and other crowd-sources sites provide further rational for using a variety of sources, not only the "surface web." Chris Harris suggests these three guidelines inform the use of wikis and other general encyclopedias:   

1) At least three sources are required to verify research
2) General encyclopedias like Wikipedia are a great place to get started, however...
3) Serious research projects cannot cite general knowledge encyclopedias ("Can we Make Peace with Wikipedia?").  

While a Google search is a fine place to begin researching, it should not be the end of the search. Otherwise what might be the most accurate and useful for an inquiry may be missed.  Riedling writes that a librarian's job is to "weight the good, the bad, and the indifferent data to locate accurate sources to meet the information needs of students and to assist them students in determining what they need out of the even-growing masses of print and electronic information"(4). 

In his article, "Digital Libraries: A vision for the 21st Century," Richard M. Dougherty writes, "The popularity of the Web among all categories of information seekers has rapidly altered the information-gathering habits of most information seekers.  Possibly more importantly, it has altered the attitudes and expectations of information seekers...[who] expect to find what they want quickly, easily, and without waiting"(3).  Dougherty concludes that libraries "desperately need leaders who can provide vision, enthusiasm, a willingness to take risks, and commitment to the future"(10)  or students will simply "bypass the library and go directly to the Web" (10).  It is necessary for librarian professionals to "adapt [their] skills to the new world of information"(10).   This leads me to a final reflection on the course - that one of the most essential roles of the 21st century librarian is that of advocacy.  Librarians have an important role to play in the development of information literacy, but without advocacy it is a role we will not be allowed to play.  We must be prepared to market our services and to provide services which best meet the needs of students.  The video I have included here is one library's effort to make students aware of what a reference librarian can do for them. 

 I hope this course has been as useful to everyone else as it has been to me.  It was wonderful being in discussion with so many passionate people who seem up to Dougherty's challenge of providing "vision, enthusiasms, a willingness to take risks, and commitment to the future."  Best wishes for your future studies and work in your libraries.    

Work Cited:

American Library Association. "Evaluating Information: Information Literacy." libguides.ala.org, 2019. Web. Accessed February 2019. 

Canadian Association for School Libraries.  Achieving Information Literacy: Standards for School Library Programs in Canada. Ottawa: 2006. Web. Accessed February 2019.

Cleary, Liam. “Surface, Deep, and Dark Webs – What’s the difference?” liamcleary.com, 31 August 2018. Web. Accessed April 2019.

de Blecourt, Kim. “Poster: Resources." Resources. Kimdeblecourt.com. Web. April 2019.

Dougherty, Richard. “Reference Work: How we got to where we are and where we are going from here.” Digital Libraries: A vision for the 21^st Century: A Festchrift in Honor of Wendy Lougee on the Occasion f other Bedparture from the University of Michigan. University of Michigan Library, 2003. Web. Accessed February 2019.

“Graphic: Types of Reference Materials.” Teachers Pay Teachers, teacherpayteacher.com. Web. 04 April 2019.  

Harris, C. “Can we make peace with Wikipedia?” School Library Journal, 53(6), 2017. Web. Accessed March 2019.

Muller, Aaron. LIBE 467 63 C Information Services. Canvas. Web. Accessed January to April 2019.

“Print vs. Digital: Can Both Formats Co-exist with Popular Magazines?” Technology. Ebscohost.com. 27 July 2016.  

Riedling, Ann. Reference skills for the school library media specialist: Tools and tips. (Third Edition) Santa Barbara, LA: Linworth, 2013.

Muller, Aaron. LIBE 467 63 C Information Services. Canvas. Web. Accessed January to April 2019.

Stetson Library. “Reference Librarians Do Exist (and They’re Awesome).” On-line Video. YouTube. YouTube. 9 Jan 2014. Web. Accessed March 2019.