Lesson Two

I found the information in this lesson diverse. From sites packed full of book review, to how to pick a good book for your library, then onto the future of libraries. Perhaps the intention of this lesson was to be a general overview to set the stage for the rest of the course. In particular, I found the following resources worthy of book marking for future reference:

Book and Audio Visual Selection Guide from Portage La Prairie School Division will be a good source of information for many library courses and in my future as librarian giving me a solid foundation from which to justify choices

Flash DDS tour will be useful when explaining/reviewing with grade 8's and older how to use the library.

Places to find book reviews for teachers is a great website of a variety of sources from which to glean reviews of the newest, latest, and best books for all ages.

Online Dictionary for Library and Information Science is another worthy keeper, as there are many terms which I still wonder about. I still laugh that on my first day as Librarian I called the CUPE help desk to ask what a MARC record was! She must have had a chuckle

A larger portion of this lesson contained some pertinent thoughts on Access, both physical and intellectual. Some considerations I have had are as follows:

Privacy: posting overdue lists or emailing parents overdue items? To what extent does publishing these types of lists invade students privacy. Physical access to the collection, in many schools has been sorely limited. My daughter only has access to her school library on Tuesdays during her book exchange time. At my school, I open the library at 8am and usually stays till 330 and in exchange I do not do bus duty. I leave the library unlocked when I am not there in my teaching blocks and at lunch, because I view it as a student space, not just my space. We do not have a security system, but ironically last year my library lost fewer books than some in the district, which have security, and more librarian/clerk presence.

Another wonder I have is about a student's right to information: i.e. is a student allowed to check out a book on gay marriage when parents disagree? I wonder if there are policies to guide these types of issues.

Our English department purchased a number of DVD's for us to use to supplement our programs. These DVDs are stored and catalogued in the library. I wonder if student should be allowed to access such audio-visuals, as they are in the public library system?

Flip this Library summarizes much of my thinking over the past year and a half. The changes we are seeing in how students access information and learn are becoming more profound. The draw of online courses is huge. At one of our high schools more than 70% of students are taking Planning 10 through SIDES (South Island Distance Education School), which is a financial loss to the district, many have also discovered the online PE loophole as well. More and more students are taking the opportunity to pick up electives and learn at their own pace. I really wonder where school will be in the future.

The lesson readings state: "Digital resources and the Internet are now acceptable and powerful components of our school library collections." It seems that while a library website used to be a bonus, the icing on the cake, in fact now the website needs to be a portal to digital resources. It seems a shame that librarians all over the province have to create their own websites though, as much is being replicated.  Schools and technology coordinators will have to look at "providing for anytime anywhere learning" such as digital access to resources. When I questioned the way we would be housing digital books, I was snickered at, and the comment was given that we "never will" (this was from the district technology guy). I wonder how we will store digital resources, and I wonder if we will develop closer ties to the public library system and teach students how to find digital books via that portal.

In conclusion, the statement "Better organization can also mean that we can spend more time on the creative aspects of our role" (course work) summarizes the importance of understanding how the system is organized. If we are easily able to find information, then we are better able to use it. The library system is one way to make sense of the world, and it is a way that has worked well. It will be interesting to see how the DDS survives in a digital world where we are used to information popping up in a new window vs. having to physically find it.