Bundles

ETL 503 Module 2.2a
Pros and Cons of Buying Bundled Sets.
Bundled sets are sets of resources that schools can subscribe to.
My school library subscribes to Standing Orders.I  have however only chosen to subscribe to a portion of the subscription.
Pros

• Convenient
• Time Saving
• Uses professional expertise of selectors
• Up to date new releases and recommended titles for PRC or CBCA lists.
• Helpful when starting out as Tl and need to devote more time to management etc.
• Online resources to support titles,
• Companies will credit or exchange if a book is unsuitable.

 Cons

• Only selected publishers are represented.
• TL has no control over what is sent to the library.
• Only some of the resources may be utilised by the students. (Not suitable for reading levels, interests or ESL needs of students.)
•  Can end up with multiple copies of titles due to having no control over what is ordered.

For me I think the benefits outweigh the negatives. I have doubled up on some texts and found that some of the selected texts have yet to be borrowed however.
Considering all of these aspects has made me more aware of better catering for the needs of my ESL students.

ETL 503 Module 2 Censorship. A Complex Issue

Censorship can be overt or covert. TL's must be very aware of covert censorship.
Points from 'Covert Censorship in Libraries: A Discussion Paper' Moody(2004)
 Sources of Censorship:
* Vendor/ publisher bias
* Outsourcing acquisitions
* Citation rates
* Pressure from funding bodies
* Self censorship and community standards
* Innacurate or slow cataloguing
* Exclusion of socially unpleasant materials

 I am wondering if some of these issues are more pertinent to secondary and academic libraries. Particularly issues such as citation rates. TL's must be pro freedom of information and promote access to information. I am more aware after reading the articles on censorship about the danger of hidden and covert agendas which if not aware could influence our selection. I can recall instances where I have debated with myself and colleagues whether to read or show video images which may be confronting or uncomfortable to a particular age group due to the shared programming with another untrained TL. I work in a k - 6 primary school. I have struggled with the decisions to be made at times. At one time I chose to censor a video which I thought to be uneccessary. Another colleagues opinion was different and the video was not censored . The topics with which I have debated censorship issues with recently have been in relation WWII (Holocaust Experiences), Poverty in Africa and Refugee topics. The age of the students and level of maturity were certainly things I  considered, but so were the personal experiences of the students. I find this issue rather tricky as a TL and also as parent. I am constantly debating and justifying censorship in regards to movies which my children aged 8 and 12 want to see at the cinema. Therefore I rely more heavily on reviews, age  guidelines and personal experiences of friends, parents and other trained and experienced TL's.

Currently I am considering how to handle the censorship issue with the book 'After' by Morris Gleitzman. This book has just been shortlisted for the CBCA Awards and I am wondering what to do as i have done before with the particular age group category of 'Younger Readers". It is recommended for 12 year old readers. Should it be included in the collection. I know this series is not in my primary schools collection due to the previous librarian's choice . Am I  guilty of uneccessary censorship myself? My year seven daughter has been reading and studying the series and has just finished the entire series.Her opinion of 'After' is that it would not be suitable for year 6. In her opinion the students would not want or need the level of information in the book. A fair point perhaps when we consider the following quote. "Librarians therefore have an important role to play in the maintenance of a democracy, because when librarians do their jobs properly, they connect people with the information they want and need." Moody (2004).

ETL 503 Module 1
 What is involved in managing collections?
Collection management according to Module 1 material refers to a set of activities relating to the identification (identifying potential and available resources) selection (choosing which of these resources will be obtained for the collection) acquisition (obtaining resources) evaluation (reviewing the value of the existing collection and existing resources), and deselection (weeding out and disposing of resources).

The process of collection management should be focused and have a context. It involves planning and organisation and benefits from the TL's knowledge and experience. The definition of collection management according to Kennedy (2006) is to select, acquire, evaluate, preserve and deselect library materials. Despite the huge amount of information available, there appears to be a blurring of the definitions of collection management and development and they way they can be differentiated. It seems that development is an older term and that the preferred term is management.

 Balancing the Collection
My reflections on e -books vs p - books are similar to the views held by many others in the course that our collections must really reflect the needs of our learning community. Shifting to digital is more complex than merely selecting and acquiring digital resources. There are issues to consider including the availability and accessibility for low socio-economic communities. I think about my own school's learning community and there would be a number of students who only have access to computers at school. Students will rely upon the physical version. As educators we must ensure all students have equitable access to quality resources for learning. Technology has and will continue to drive change but finding the right balance is essential. There is still a need for the physical version of the book.

Module 1 Collection in Context

ETL 503 Module 1
My reflections.
What is the school libraries role in resourcing the curriculum?

 "A major challenge, and a significant opportunity, for school libraries is change."ETL 503 module 1 Introduction.
 This sums it up for me. Change is inevitable. It all depends on how we view these changes. How are schools going to successfully make these changes work for all the stakeholders? There are a number of constraints placed upon schools but changes in resources and how we resource school libraries is like the double edged sword - exciting and overwhelming. Only today I have been overwhelmed and confused when looking at purchasing / upgrading computers, and delving into the various devices available for accessing e books and resources. You really have to take your time and do your research. the evolution is happening as we blog. Change is occurring so fast that I think we need to take a small step back in  on order to make the best choices. I found Shatkin's article- 'What to Watch for in 2013' very informative and interesting. The future is still uncertain with e books and the implications on publishing.
There are five trends identified by Shatzkin. They are:
1.That sales from print to digital have and are predicted to slow.
2 The type of e book determines its success . "For immersive reading — books that are all text where you basically start on the first page and read through to the last — the “adjustment” to ebooks is both technically simple and uncomplicated for the consumer. The inherent issue is that precisely the same intellectual output in both formats, which works fine for immersive reading, almost never does for complex books." This then will have different impacts on sales of e - reading devices.
3 Mergers among publishers may be conducive to supply and as such subscription services from large companies may become available.
4. Platforms may determine the types of e books which are published.
5. "Marketing for publishers will be a constant exercise in learning and reinvention, and increasingly difficult to separate from editorial." This will impact on libraries in the future .

 Johnson, D. (2010). Libraries for a Post-Literate Society. Connections Issue 72, pp. 1-2 "Pundits are remarking that online reading is changing their personal reading behaviours. As the Jobs quote above suggests, we are rapidly becoming a post-literate society."

I found this article one of the most interesting so far. Such an interesting concept which until now I hadn't given much thought to. I have since given copies to other teachers and non teaching friends. " I would modify that definition and define the post-literate as those who can read but who choose to meet their primary information and recreational needs through audio, video, graphics and gaming. Print for the post-literate is relegated to brief personal messages, short informational needs, and other functional, highly pragmatic uses such as instructions, signage and time-management device entries - each often highly supplemented by graphics. The post-literate's need for extended works or larger amounts of information is met through visual and/or auditory formats." Johnson (2010) School libraries need to consider whether or not this is true and address the needs of our supposed post literate learners accordingly. I think that to a certain degree this is true. The reading content for many has changed. I reflect on my own family as an example. We are still novel and book reading individuals. According to the articleTL's   have a certain bias toward books. The exception is with my youngest 8 year old who spends more time reading from game screens than books. I would have to say we all spend more time than ever reading from screens. I have also noticed generally when I visit other peoples homes, we are the exception with coffee tables and shelves stacked with books of all kinds while sometimes it's hard finding any books on some peoples shelves. Maybe they are all stored away neatly on their e - readers.

Pru Mitchell's,  'Resourcing 21st Century Online Australian Curriculum: The Role of School Libraries' When asking the question about how effectively schools are addressing resourcing for 21st century. I think we are are still adopting a let's wait and see approach. The Australian curriculum is still in its infancy and a new English curriculum being implemented. Currently inservicing is still underway and it appears at first glance that these two documents do not work alongside each other easily. In fact there is some confusion about how to combine the two documents. It is therefore difficult at this stage to determine resource needs. Mitchell's quote, "There is however a danger that in our efforts to achieve a national consistency, realise economics of scale and deliver curriculum resources in extremely tight timelines, we may simply be dishing up replacement to the ready - to - serve text book, but in an online format." I agree with Pru Mitchell that this is possible and am also concerned that in the interest of national consistency we could easily lose sight of the needs of our individual learning communities.

ETL 503 Resourcing the Curriculum

Well here I am diving in again. Took a break from study last year as we had some big travel plans which went well (mostly). Off to a bit of a late start this semester. I think this subject should prove to be practical and useful in terms of being able to put things into practice. I am fortunate to be teaching in a school library which is very keen to add to their collection with a generous budget. I began working at a new small primary school library last term and am absolutely loving having my own library to manage. The principal and staff are very supportive and the students are terrific. The only down side has been that due to a drop in student numbers this year, the DET have made the decision take a days allocation away from our school. This has been very disheartening for the entire school. Such a shame for us all! So frustrating that I am doing all this study and work to become a better TL only to have my teaching and admin time further whittled away. Lessons are so rushed now. Time to get promoting and improve our student numbers again! I was hoping to get myself moving and more organised by now but life seems to suck all my available free time away. I have sorted a computer shortage problem at home and purchased a laptop today to greedily claim for my study purposes. That has to be a step in the right direction. Now onto those readings!

Critical Synthesis ETL 401 - Part C

Over the course of this semester and study of ETL401 I have been exposed to an overwhelming amount of information on the complex and often undervalued roles of the teacher librarian. Whilst reading the articles and participating in the forum discussions I have reflected and altered my own somewhat narrow view of the TL and applied this new knowledge to my own school and its learning needs. My view like so many others has been shaped by stereotypes and ignorance.
“Some of the comments reinforce the stereotypical view of librarians as stated in Melissa Purcell’s article that TL's merely check out books.” Clark(2011)What’s My Role? I believed that the teacher librarian was the gatekeeper and her role was to manage and deliver resources to support the curriculum. They provided a service to classroom teachers and students. I was disappointed that many teachers and principals also held the view stated by Oberg (2006) “in some worst case scenarios "principals believe that teacher librarians are not leaders or proactive educators but service providers who merely respond to teacher or student requests.” This to me is evident by the fact that many schools use the RFF model for library instruction.

I have faced a number of challenges and will continue to do so in regards to the TL roles and time management. My biggest challenge was and will be managing all the roles, particularly the leadership role. “I realise now that with slight panic that the expectations I had of myself as Teacher Librarian; need to be re examined. All those roles! I have been focusing more on the role of the teacher and realise how my skills as a leader, resource manager and collaborator have a long way to go. Can I do it? Realistically.” Clark (2001) Dreaming of Herrings.

I have grown to understand the many obstacles facing TL’s, not only in successful collaboration but in the need for principal and executive support as discussed by Oberg (2006) and Hartzel (1997). “The only way to change principal perceptions is to assault them directly, repeatedly and from a multiplicity of directions. Reshaping takes time and effort.’ This was confronting for me to consider I may have to display more confidence and assertive behaviour as a collaborator and leader.

What I have come to understand since then is that you begin slowly and ‘work with the willing’ as other students posts have stated, use Evidence Based Practice as discussed by Todd(2009) and others writings. We must provide proof that the TL has a positive affect on student learning outcomes. Clark (2011) Evidence Based Practice. Kramer and Diekman’s( 2010) simple equation of ‘Evidence = Assessment= Advocacy’ made a lot of sense to me, although I wasn’t quite sure how to put it into practice as I didn’t have a deep knowledge or understanding of the concept. This article made me aware of the importance of advocacy in the profession in promoting the role of TL for future survival.

When I began to search and construct my own information throughout the course and for assignments I became aware of Kuhlthau’s information seeking process and the typical uncertainty and anxiety that she identifies. These feelings were sometimes captured in my blog entries as in ‘Assignment 1 and Referencing’ although I did not excessively blog about uncertain ideas, feelings and frustrations for fear of seeming too negative or unknowledgeable. The role of TL is much more complex and vast than I assumed and my concerns were that I may not have the qualities and competencies to achieve success. My depth of knowledge was really quite shallow. “The more you learn the more you become aware of your ignorance.” Senge (2007)p10.

Another important aspect discussed on the forum was priorities. In one of my postings for Topic 2- ‘Priorities’(2011, August 15). I agreed that “students needs must drive our priorities in the library but with the focus on proving our worth and justifying our positions to administrators and others, it is easy to lose sight of those who have most at stake, our students.” Clark (2011). Doug Johnson’s website offered some interesting ideas to consider and explore. “We need to redefine our roles… Student interest rather than set curriculum has begun to drive our learning.’ Johnson (2008)

Developing a clearer understanding of information literacy, its theories and practices has been overwhelming and motivating. “Students are prepared to participate in a world and workforce which involve change and these important skills of being a participant who can collaborate critically and creatively are extremely important.” Boss & Krauss (2007)
We as TL’s must collaborate and assist others to become information literate to enable success for lifelong learning. “For effective transfer of information literacy to other KLA’s requires all staff not just the TL to have a responsibility to teach IL as part of the research process.” Clark (2011) Information and Transfer
In summary this subject has enhanced my professional knowledge and allowed me to think critically about myself and the roles of the teacher librarian. The readings, discussions and exposure to exceptional role models like Joyce Valenza, have motivated and inspired me to reshape my role as TL in the twenty first century library.

References
Babblejabber. What’s My Role?(2011, August 14)[Blogpost] retrieved from
http://mvlisa-babblejabber.blogspot.com/
Babblejabber. Dreaming of Herrings. (2011,27th July)[Blogpost] retrieved from
http://mvlisa-babblejabber.blogspot.com/
Babblejabber. Evidence Based Practice (2011, 14th August)[Blogpost] retrieved from
http://mvlisa-babblejabber.blogspot.com/
Babblejabber. Assignment 1 and Referencing(2011, 22 August)[Blogpost] retrieved from http://mvlisa-babblejabber.blogspot.com/

NB: Other references are in assignment reference list. Hope this is correct.

Doug Johnson's Article

I really enjoyed reading 'The Seven Most Critical challenges Facing our Profession' by Doug Johnson (2002).It's a fitting article to finish ETL 401 with.
1.Enhance collaborative efforts.
2.Demonstrate effectiveness through accountability.
3.Remain experts in technolgy and assist others.
4.Fight to retain our profesional status.
5.Encourage other teachers to the profession.
6.Keep our core values when pushed into providing service model.
7.Stay connected with other TL's.

I wholeheartedly agree with number 7. I have always wanted more opportunity to network and share ideas and learn from other Tl's.
Doug Johnson has the knack of simply summing it all up in a positive way.

The future is exciting but daunting. I know the amount of time needed to commit to further study and to being the best I can be in my profession and for my family. So the juggling act will continue. There is still so much reading to do and new technologies and ideas to explore.

I have had to finish assignment 2 early due to school holidays.
Looking forward to just reading a book in the next two weeks ! Wishing everyone else well in assigment 2 and hope to see some familiar names soon.