I walked (clicked?) into this course with a rather outdated view of references resources thinking of the dusty old, forgotten books that you weren't allowed to remove from the library. With that view in mind, I wasn't entirely sure how this course could possibly be useful for our techno-centered research methods that we are finding in our schools today. First of all, I wasn't exactly sure what reference materials even were; sure, Encyclopedias and Dictionaries - but what else? I was pleased to find that our very first lesson answered this query: "[reference materials] can be defined as materials, from book to periodical to photograph, designed to be consulted for definite items of information rather than to be examined consecutively." (Riedling, 18). While seeming quite straightforward, I still found my head to be a bit muddled with that definition until we worked with it a bit more doing discussion topics on specific reference materials - ie. this theme helped clear things up for me!
Secondly, it was becoming increasingly rare in my personal school experience to actually consult a physical book / journal for reference - why have a whole course around this topic if it wasn't being used anymore? I was delighted to find, as I have been throughout my LIBE Diploma thus far, that our instructors are staying very current in terms of teaching practices, methodologies, and what actually works today. What that meant for this course is that instead of just discussing which print Encyclopedia is worth purchasing, we discussed whether it made more sense to make a one-time purchase of an Encyclopedia set, or commit to an annual subscription of an online version, as well as explore the merits of crowd-sourced references such as Wikipedia. So for the purpose of brevity (something I am working on - I promise!), I'm going to just touch on a few of the highlights from this theme.
Digital Resources, the Deep Web
This lesson if anything has taught me the vital role that reference resources play over simply "Googling it". I admit that I had not fully bought in until I realized how much information is available but often locked through database barriers and secured networks. This secure information - published journals and the like - is the kind of quality information that we want our students using to conduct their research. This video is gives an excellent explanation of what the deep web is in just over two minutes. Databases
I was once again pleasantly surprised by the discussion thread for this week. We were encouraged to check out our local library's research offerings - something I had never even considered prior to this week's lesson! I was very impressed that with just the use of my library card login I had access to many research journals, full documentaries and more! This was an important reminder of the tools that are available to us if we just seek them out - I had not considered using the public library to access databases - an eye opener!
Encyclopedias
The video below really sums up my thoughts and the take-aways from this course in terms of Wikipedia's credibility and usefulness. It's short - and excellent: watch it!
Final Thoughts
I had no idea that in the world of reference services there would be so much new knowledge and practice! I love that as a Teacher-Librarian you are being forced to change and adapt to the new situations in the teaching world but also the tech world. All in all I've learned a ton (mostly in this course specifically!) and found that each discussion topic and assignment added some knowledge, tools and value in my journey to being a Teacher-Librarian. I am so glad that this course has far-surpassed my expectations - and I have learned that once again, it is best not to judge a course by its title.
Bibliography
Databases | Penticton Public Library. (2018). Penticton Public Library. Retrieved March 7, 2018. http://www.pentictonlibrary.ca/databases
Riedling, A. M., Shake, L., & Houston, C. (2013). Reference skills for the school librarian: Tools and tips(3rd ed.). Santa Barbara: California.
Seeker. "Is Wikipedia a Credible Source?". October 2013. Web. March 4, 2018. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jHrGsxSpM5E
I agree that the Library and references are changing. It is a bit ironic that often the view of the Library is something old and unchanging but in reality it has changed as much if not more than schools in general.
ReplyDeleteGood point about "Google it", it is often left aside by the academics, but reality tells us different.
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