LIBE 467 Assignment 3: Evaluation Plan to Improve Reference Services

Analysis

The reference section of the Library Learning Commons is not a section of the library that is well used. When students work on research, they rarely consult the reference resources. The reference print materials are housed on shelves that span one side of the library. It is easily accessed but not very close to the circulation desk.

LLC Reference Resources 

It is evident simply by looking at the reference resources on the shelves that many are old, and some need repair. There many parts of our reference section that could do with an update. I chose to focus on the atlases. This is not a large section, but I felt the lessons I learned and the methods I employed would help me as I continued to evaluate larger sections of the library in the coming year. Riedling says, “A systematic basis for reviewing resources, weeding, as well as adding new materials to the reference collection should exist” (23).

                         

 

After selecting the atlases, I ran a report to find out the actual number of catalogued books we had in this section, the cost of each of the volumes, and the year they were purchased. According to the catalogue, records there are 25 atlases in the reference section of the library. An actual count found twenty-six. When I went through each atlas on the list, three were missing and four others did not show up on my list. Since there is no record of the missing atlases being checked out, they will be removed from the catalogue record. Ironically, the four atlases on the shelf but missing from the report were the only new atlases we have, the set of The Indigenous Peoples Atlas of Canada. When I looked up the record for the missing atlases, I found that the Holding Record had these atlases listed as Regular instead of Reference. This has been corrected and they now appear when I ran a new report. As well, the spine label on one of the other atlases was incorrectly labelled. If we decide to keep this resource, it will be corrected. 

Rational

Next, I looked at the currency and condition of the resources, using standards in Achieving Information Literacy (2003). 

Literacy (2003).

Resource	Below standard	Acceptable	Exemplary
Currency	Copyright dates within the last 10 years: less than 50% of the collection	Copyright dates within the last 10 years: 50-70% of the collection	Copyright dates within the last 10 years: 80% or more of the collection
Collection Maintenance	Significant number of the resources are worn, damaged, missing components or need repair.	Most materials are complete and in good repair. Some items are missing components	Materials are complete and in good repair.

Chart (Asselin, 2003, 33).

In the categories of Currency and Collection Management the atlas section is Below Standard. Of the 26 atlases, only four have copyright dates within the last 10 years. Many of the other atlases show signs of age. Some have copyright dates in the 1980’s and 1990’s. Our oldest one is a Canadian Oxford School Atlas from 1979. Given the age of the majority of atlases in the reference section, students might easily find and use inaccurate information when doing research. 

Some of these resources must be deselected. To find out about staff use and recommendations of the reference resources, I asked to attend the Social Studies department meeting. My plan was twofold. First, I was interested to learn if the teachers ever directed the students to do research that required a look at reference resources, and second to request input into the process of deselecting some of the current resources and selected new resources that teachers will promote and use with students.

The plan:

Teachers involved are the Social studies department head and social studies teachers specifically the three who teach geography, Canadian history and American history as well as the Teacher-Librarian.

        1.   October and November 2019

Work with the teachers in the social studies department to evaluate and then deselect atlases that are no longer appropriate for use with students. I was surprised that the teachers wanted to keep a few atlases that I would have discarded. Specifically, we kept two Canadian atlases with maps that do not contain Nunavut. The teachers plan to use them for showing the evolution of Canada. As well, the teachers wanted to keep all four of the historical atlases. Although events have occurred in the ensuing years, it was felt that the material was still relevant to curricula.
We considered the criteria from the British Columbia ERAC document (2008), Evaluating, Selecting and Acquiring Learning Resources: A Guide, to help us evaluate the resources.
"CO-2: is the content accurate?
Possible problems in content accuracy include:
• outdated information
• factual errors
• improper use of statistics
• inaccurate graphs or displays
• invalid or oversimplified models, examples, or simulations
• errors in spelling or grammar." (31).

As well, we followed Riedling’s recommendations regarding the evaluation of geographic resources, "Because these materials depend on graphic arts and mathematics as well, further issues should be noted regarding evaluation and selection. The basic criteria to be considered when evaluating geographic resources include publisher (authority), scale, currency, indexing and format" (80).

So far, we have deselected:

                The Canadian book of the Road, copyright 1980

                The Canadian Oxford School Atlas, copyright 1979

                National Geographic Atlas of the World, copyright 1990

                The World Book Atlas, copyright 1989

       2.  November and December 2019

Investigation of alternate resources to include in the library collection.Work with the teachers in the social studies department to select atlases that better reflect the needs of students as they work to achieve curricular outcomes. We are still working on this area. I introduced the teachers to online resources that are free such the Indigenous Map Tool

      3.  It is important that teachers know the resources available in the library learning commons. Several ways I plan to do this: book displays at staff meetings, show and tell at department meetings.

Most of the best conversations have taken place, not at the larger group meeting with all the teachers, but individually or in groups of two where I think teachers have been more comfortable expressing their opinions about why they want to keep certain volumes (to teach comparison).

 4. Most of the best conversations have taken place, not at the larger group meeting with all the teachers, but individually or in groups of two where I think teachers have been more comfortable expressing their opinions about why they want to keep certain volumes, for example to look at changes over time, or to have students discover the differences between old and new maps.

Other Considerations:

1. I was surprised to find so many inaccuracies, with regard to cataloging the resources, in a small sampling of books. The current Library Technician is new this year so discussing the errors of the past are a lot easier than it would be discussing the mistakes with the technician who made them. She is working fixing them.

2. As part of our professional development, all staff must complete a yearly plan for professional growth. A focus for my plan is deselecting of reference resources that are no longer useful and selecting of resources that will better serve our students. At the end of the year we revisit and evaluate how well we have met our goals. I am hoping that after working through this section, that I will be able to apply the skills I learned to the next sections.

3. The cost of many of the atlases, and many other reference resources, is substantial. I will have to allocate part of the budget ongoing to obtaining more current useful resources.

4. This is not a consideration just an observation. As I was going through the atlases, I noticed that in the Macmillan World Reference Atlas, copyright 1996, there were three people who did the job of Gazetteer, one of the words I did not know from lesson 1.

Works Cited


Asselin, M., Branch, J., & Oberg, D., (Eds) (2003). Achieving information literacy: Standards for school library programs in Canada. Ottawa, ON: Canadian School Library Association & The  Association for Teacher-Librarianship in Canada. 

ERAC. (2008). Evaluating, Selecting and Acquiring Learning Resources: A Guide. BC Ministry of Education. Retrieved from: https://bcerac.ca/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/ERAC_WB.pdf 

Riedling, A., Shake, L., Houston, C. (2013). Reference skills for the school library media specialist: Tools and tips, (Third Edition). Santa Barbara, CA: Linworth.