Ron Powell’s “Research” chapter, in the Portable MLIS, really got me thinking about different types of research and the pros and cons of each- depending on what type of results you are looking for. I come from a predominantly science-oriented background, so I have definitive (narrow?) ideas of what “research” means. To me it has meant
1. Develop the hypothesis.
2. Design and run the test method to challenge the hypothesis- with a very standard set of rules using controls, etc.
3. Evaluate the data and conclude if the hypothesis was able to be proven or not.
I would say this is a distinctly qualitative view of research! As I move into this new field, I realize I must now develop new ideas and skills, utilizing other research methods. To help flex this under-developed muscle, I imagine my research “problem” to be learning to meet the needs of my student patrons (a never ending research!). With this in mind, I mulled over the different research methods discussed by Powell, and how they relate to my research “problem.”
The first method Powell discusses is the survey. I thought of taking quick informal surveys of the children after a book talk- just a hands up if you enjoyed the story and some general questions about what they liked/ disliked about it. I also remembered from my librarian interview with Ms. St. John that she mentioned having games of voting a favorite book from a list, but in a “March Madness bracket style list,” where books are weeded out, with a final winner. Ms. St John also has the children play question/ answer games that are based on books. The children actually come up with the questions themselves, so this could really be a way on surveying what books the children are reading. I realize these are non-traditional survey methods, non-the-less, the end result of finding out what the students like (and getting them to read!) is still success. (Darlene St. John, 6/8/2009).
There are several different types if focus groups that I envision developing. One would be with some of the teachers in the school (maybe one from each grade, maybe all from one grade…) in order to have complementary goals for the curriculum. Another idea from Ms. St. John was a focus group of all the librarians within the school district. They did their group to standardize a technology curriculum.
As far as the Delphi- style, I would like to utilize other elementary school librarians to help develop my collection, especially the first year or two. There seems to be an overwhelming number of choices in children’s book selections, and the input of some other field experts could definitely be beneficial. I do realize, however, that ethnography would need to be factored into the expert choices, in that their group of students may be different in culture, etc.
One last method that I anticipate great things from is the technology centered method. This is a great way of tracking (quantitatively!) what books/genres/authors are being checked out the most.
In science research, as I stated earlier, one must evaluate the data to see if the hypothesis will hold true. Although I have no hypothesis here, I still realize the value of analyzing all the input from these various methods. One is for myself, to know that I am giving 100% to my job, but also for the teachers and librarians that have collaborated with me in these projects. Certainly, the rationales that Powell presents apply here- personal growth and improved service, but also possibly budget justifications.
Powell states that “Research in LIS…has not been as rigorous… as would be ideal.” (p. 177). For my purposes here, though, informal as they may be, I feel that they could be informative, revealing, and ultimately a tremendous help in my achieving success at knowing the needs of my student patrons.
Interview with Darlene St. John, June 8, 2009.
Powell, R. (2008). Research In K. Haycock, & B. E. Sheldon (Eds.), The Portable MLIS: Insights from the Experts (pp. 168-178), Westport, CT: Libraries Unlimited
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Chapter 14, The Portable MLIS
As I read Mary Chelton's chapter on readers advisory services, I kept thinking about my interview with a librarian (Darlene St. John, June 8th), as well as some of the librarian blogs that I have started following. This chapter really excited me- engaging people in reading and the joy of books is the whole reason I am in this program, and Chelton discusses many of the things that I am eagerly anticipating.
One thing Chelton discusses is reading groups. I have been thinking about parent/student reading groups as a way of letting children explore some more controversial works. I know that being in a school setting, the controversial readings may not happen, but still to have a reading group where parents and students are involved seems like a great opportunity to both introduce new material and to help families connect! I have also been reading a lot in blogs about clubs and groups that meet in the libraries before and/or after school, and that seems like a great chance to develop some reading groups, too.
Another thought that went along with involving parents was utilization of the the school web-page. I perused the library web page of some local elementary schools, and found one in particular (West Genesee School District- East Hill Elementary) that had class projects posted that looked like they utilized such Web 2.0 resources as Flickr and podcasts. Every single child had a project posted for their parents to see. Electronic resources could also be used to have the kids develop a newsletter- giving them a chance to learn about things like graphics. Ms. St. John has her children write up a newsletter, but she dislikes the copying associated with it (can you believe that was her least favorite part of her job?!?!) so I thought maybe the newsletter could be posted on-line for other students and parents alike to see.
Chelton also briefly mentions author visits (pg. 163), which also made me think back to my interview with Ms. St. John. She had mentioned bringing in several different people, such as authors, as a way of engaging the children. I also found a web page where you can hire authors to fly in and speak. I realize though that some schools may have tighter budgets, and that these possibilities may not work. But what about getting the high school kids to come in and read to the younger kids something that they have authored? Or doing book talks?
One last item Chelton mentions that I am eagerly anticipating are the displays. I can't wait to start going through the collection and combining books in different ways to generate curiosity. After finishing this chapter, I went on-line and searched for library displays (some are even pictured on Flickr). One librarian mentioned pulling some old books out, dusting them off for a display, and they have been getting checked out regularly ever since! I definitely think that "merchandising" the collection is especially important with young children.
One thing that Chelton does not mention is the use of games, current events and contests to draw in children. Ms. St. John uses a lot of these type things- book voting contests based on sports, question games based on books, etc. to draw in the children. What a great way to get kids to read, even though they have not really asked for reading advice!
I am so excited to be learning about all the interactive programs that today's librarians are developing that I can only say one thing- I can't wait!
West Genesee School District- East Hill Elementary Retrieved June 16, 2009, from http://blackboard.ocmboces.org/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp?tab=courses&url=%2Fbin%2Fcommon%2Fcourse.pl%3Fcourse_id%3D_4368_1
Interview with Darlene St. John, June 8, 2009.
Chelton, M. (2008). Readers Advisory Services: How to Help Users Find a "Good Book." In K. Haycock, & B. E. Sheldon (Eds.), The Portable MLIS: Insights from the Experts (pp. 159-167), Westport, CT: Libraries Unlimited
One thing Chelton discusses is reading groups. I have been thinking about parent/student reading groups as a way of letting children explore some more controversial works. I know that being in a school setting, the controversial readings may not happen, but still to have a reading group where parents and students are involved seems like a great opportunity to both introduce new material and to help families connect! I have also been reading a lot in blogs about clubs and groups that meet in the libraries before and/or after school, and that seems like a great chance to develop some reading groups, too.
Another thought that went along with involving parents was utilization of the the school web-page. I perused the library web page of some local elementary schools, and found one in particular (West Genesee School District- East Hill Elementary) that had class projects posted that looked like they utilized such Web 2.0 resources as Flickr and podcasts. Every single child had a project posted for their parents to see. Electronic resources could also be used to have the kids develop a newsletter- giving them a chance to learn about things like graphics. Ms. St. John has her children write up a newsletter, but she dislikes the copying associated with it (can you believe that was her least favorite part of her job?!?!) so I thought maybe the newsletter could be posted on-line for other students and parents alike to see.
Chelton also briefly mentions author visits (pg. 163), which also made me think back to my interview with Ms. St. John. She had mentioned bringing in several different people, such as authors, as a way of engaging the children. I also found a web page where you can hire authors to fly in and speak. I realize though that some schools may have tighter budgets, and that these possibilities may not work. But what about getting the high school kids to come in and read to the younger kids something that they have authored? Or doing book talks?
One last item Chelton mentions that I am eagerly anticipating are the displays. I can't wait to start going through the collection and combining books in different ways to generate curiosity. After finishing this chapter, I went on-line and searched for library displays (some are even pictured on Flickr). One librarian mentioned pulling some old books out, dusting them off for a display, and they have been getting checked out regularly ever since! I definitely think that "merchandising" the collection is especially important with young children.
One thing that Chelton does not mention is the use of games, current events and contests to draw in children. Ms. St. John uses a lot of these type things- book voting contests based on sports, question games based on books, etc. to draw in the children. What a great way to get kids to read, even though they have not really asked for reading advice!
I am so excited to be learning about all the interactive programs that today's librarians are developing that I can only say one thing- I can't wait!
West Genesee School District- East Hill Elementary Retrieved June 16, 2009, from http://blackboard.ocmboces.org/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp?tab=courses&url=%2Fbin%2Fcommon%2Fcourse.pl%3Fcourse_id%3D_4368_1
Interview with Darlene St. John, June 8, 2009.
Chelton, M. (2008). Readers Advisory Services: How to Help Users Find a "Good Book." In K. Haycock, & B. E. Sheldon (Eds.), The Portable MLIS: Insights from the Experts (pp. 159-167), Westport, CT: Libraries Unlimited
Monday, June 15, 2009
Chapter 11, The Portable MLIS
The ability to use databases effectively is an important aspect of a librarian's job. We are in a service oriented field, and most of our clients expect us to be able to aid them in their searches. Upon reading Judith Weedman's "Information Retrieval: Designing, Querying, and Evaluating Information Systems," I quickly realized that gathering "all but only relevant data" (p. 123) can be very complex. Weedman breaks it down into three areas: design, use and evaluation, all three of which, as I read, I looked at in reference to our search assignment.
Weedman states that "Understanding how a system is designed is crucial to understanding how to use and evaluate it (p. 115). She mentions knowing the mechanics of the search engines- all the parts of the algorithm that the database uses to rank it's output. When doing our search assignment, it was obvious that the systems (Ebsco and Wilson) we sampled are different, both in their algorithms used for ranking, and also in their pools of information to pull from. For example, it seemed that I would get a lot more international sources from Ebsco than from Wilson. Although these algorithms are "trade secrets," I believe the more you familiarize yourself with each system, the more you will have an inherent understanding of their capabilities.
Weedman also discusses the importance of making your search fit the system (p. 120). Typing in general words such as children, media, and literacy, gained me very different results in Ebsco and Wilson. Part of refining the search is knowing how I want those words to relate to one another. Do we want to know how literate children are in certain medias, or do we want to know how literacy is affected by media? One thing the databases did was to list other subject phrases that were similar to the search. I found this to be a great aid to help figure out the direction of the search, even with unclear goals in the beginning. Weedman also discusses that searchers need varied approaches and to be knowledgeable about the systems they are working with. I could really see that while doing the search assignment. When I first started , it felt like I was stabbing in the dark, but each time I go back to the databases, I gain another useful nugget of information. Querying databases is definitely a craft that combines skill and a certain level of thinking outside the box.
In the last area, evaluating, Weedman compares relevance to beauty- in the eye of the beholder (p. 123). How true! You could have twenty different people start with a general search of media, literacy and children, and in the end, wind up with twenty different positive outcomes. Weedman focuses on evaluating the search engines and the databases and leaves out evaluating the user. However, in my situation- a student learning to become a searcher that others rely on- it is my journey to be evaluating the user. A lot of work needs to go into learning how to maximize the databases available, and to also learn efficient ways to evaluate new databases. It is my job to see that my client's searches end up with the relevancy they desire.
In conclusion, I am learning that information retrieval is indeed a skilled art that is undervalued right now by our young. Getting people to take the time to evaluate databases, when Google and Yahoo are so accessible and fruitful, is and will continue to be a challenge for today's librarians. Teaching about reliable sources of information and how to develop a good search strategy should be started and emphasized at a young age. I know of a very bright high school student (now on a full scholarship to Colgate) who was recently devastated to learn that Wikipedia is not an infallible sourse of information! That is why librarians (like me!) need to lead the way in educating our young on proper information retrieval.
Weedman, J. (2008). Information Retrieval: Designing, Querying, and Evaluating Information Systems. In K. Haycock, & B. E. Sheldon (Eds.), The Portable MLIS: Insights from the Experts (pp. 112-126), Westport, CT: Libraries Unlimited
Weedman states that "Understanding how a system is designed is crucial to understanding how to use and evaluate it (p. 115). She mentions knowing the mechanics of the search engines- all the parts of the algorithm that the database uses to rank it's output. When doing our search assignment, it was obvious that the systems (Ebsco and Wilson) we sampled are different, both in their algorithms used for ranking, and also in their pools of information to pull from. For example, it seemed that I would get a lot more international sources from Ebsco than from Wilson. Although these algorithms are "trade secrets," I believe the more you familiarize yourself with each system, the more you will have an inherent understanding of their capabilities.
Weedman also discusses the importance of making your search fit the system (p. 120). Typing in general words such as children, media, and literacy, gained me very different results in Ebsco and Wilson. Part of refining the search is knowing how I want those words to relate to one another. Do we want to know how literate children are in certain medias, or do we want to know how literacy is affected by media? One thing the databases did was to list other subject phrases that were similar to the search. I found this to be a great aid to help figure out the direction of the search, even with unclear goals in the beginning. Weedman also discusses that searchers need varied approaches and to be knowledgeable about the systems they are working with. I could really see that while doing the search assignment. When I first started , it felt like I was stabbing in the dark, but each time I go back to the databases, I gain another useful nugget of information. Querying databases is definitely a craft that combines skill and a certain level of thinking outside the box.
In the last area, evaluating, Weedman compares relevance to beauty- in the eye of the beholder (p. 123). How true! You could have twenty different people start with a general search of media, literacy and children, and in the end, wind up with twenty different positive outcomes. Weedman focuses on evaluating the search engines and the databases and leaves out evaluating the user. However, in my situation- a student learning to become a searcher that others rely on- it is my journey to be evaluating the user. A lot of work needs to go into learning how to maximize the databases available, and to also learn efficient ways to evaluate new databases. It is my job to see that my client's searches end up with the relevancy they desire.
In conclusion, I am learning that information retrieval is indeed a skilled art that is undervalued right now by our young. Getting people to take the time to evaluate databases, when Google and Yahoo are so accessible and fruitful, is and will continue to be a challenge for today's librarians. Teaching about reliable sources of information and how to develop a good search strategy should be started and emphasized at a young age. I know of a very bright high school student (now on a full scholarship to Colgate) who was recently devastated to learn that Wikipedia is not an infallible sourse of information! That is why librarians (like me!) need to lead the way in educating our young on proper information retrieval.
Weedman, J. (2008). Information Retrieval: Designing, Querying, and Evaluating Information Systems. In K. Haycock, & B. E. Sheldon (Eds.), The Portable MLIS: Insights from the Experts (pp. 112-126), Westport, CT: Libraries Unlimited
Thursday, June 4, 2009
The Portable MLIS, Chapter 9, Evans, G. E.
The biggest point that I came away with from reading G. Edward Evan's Chapter 9 of The Portable MLIS is that communication skills are an absolute requirement of an outstanding librarian. Although Evan's lists seven key areas as stand alone points, I feel that five in particular are integral in the developing librarian's communication skills.
It all comes down, really, to Evan's first area of "know/learn your service communities needs and interests." (pg. 88-90.) This is a multi-faceted area in a school setting. You have many factions of the community: the students, teachers, parents, and even those making the budget decisions. Each one of these factions may have very different ideas of what is needed, acceptable or beneficial material. For example, some parents may not want controversial material allowed, while teachers may disagree about specific subject matter or sources for information. As the librarian, you must consider all of the represented cultures, reading levels, ages and interests of the students. And with the growing emphasis on standardized testing, comparative needs should be given detailed attention. Evans states that using benchmarking can help to increase budget support (pg. 89), and that is something to really take note of, with budget cuts seeming to be across the board these days. By being able to back up your requests with statistics from other schools, you may get that additional funding. With all of these factors to consider, I understand why Evans says that newcomers to collection development rely heavily on normative needs (pg. 88)- it is a basis to start with until you get to know all of your community needs more intimately. I think it is important to learn these needs, using such ideas as questionnaires to students, parents and teachers, as well as comparisons to other schools, to name only a few. The ability to communicate (and do it well) with all sorts of people in all sorts of positions in respect to the library collection choices is fundamental to developing a successful collection.
Knowing your community is really the foundation of some of the other areas that Evans discusses. Expecting change, being flexible, scanning the environment, building relationships, engaging in collaborative ideas, and accessing information are all based on knowing who your community envelops and exactly what their needs are. Expecting change in an ever-changing community and being flexible is an exciting prospect of becoming a librarian, and I look forward to developing both my own life- long learning skills, and also those of the students and my co-workers. The next, engage in scanning, is directly linked to expecting change. When you are continuously scanning the environment, you should certainly get the heads up that change is occurring. The trick will be learning to scan all the relevant areas in your community (such as ethnicity as Evans points out, but also changing interests of children, new educational material, different teaching techniques in new staff members, and new technology), and knowing how to accommodate these changes in the best way on a limited budget!
Scanning and expecting change are two ways in which to get to know your community. Building relationships and engaging in collaborative activities are also facets of knowing your community. A tremendous part of building relationships professionally is to work collaboratively on programs. Again, there are so many different groups to build relations with: parents, teachers, vendors, and of course, the students themselves, that it is vitally important to be “scanning” these relationships, too, ensuring that the wants and needs of all the groups are not going to go unnoticed. Collaborative projects that incorporate two or more of these groups will help unify all of the benefits of a library within a school. When I went to my son’s open house at school, we visited the library as a family, and we were the only ones there! I think open house can be time to bring students, parents, and teachers together to start the dialogue, the importance of which can not be overstated. When else can you have everyone in the same building?!? Using posters, games, contests, free coffee- anything to get the families in there! This dovetails nicely with Evan’s last point of accessing the information. You may have the best collection out there, but if the community is not accessing it, the information is useless.
I hope that forging close relations with all aspects of my school community, listening to everyone’s needs, working together on projects and being flexible and open to change will help open the lines of communication. I will strive to have a close knit library community of the children, their parents and my coworkers, and to utilize all of our resources to the fullest. It is very important to me to not be a “status- quo” librarian, but to be an innovative, pro- active leader in my school community. I believe that really great communication skills using these areas of collection development are an integral part of these goals.
Evans, G. E., (2008). Reflections on Creating Information Service Collections. In K. Haycock, & B. E. Sheldon (Eds.), The Portable MLIS: Insights from the Experts (pp. 87-97), Westport, CT: Libraries Unlimited
It all comes down, really, to Evan's first area of "know/learn your service communities needs and interests." (pg. 88-90.) This is a multi-faceted area in a school setting. You have many factions of the community: the students, teachers, parents, and even those making the budget decisions. Each one of these factions may have very different ideas of what is needed, acceptable or beneficial material. For example, some parents may not want controversial material allowed, while teachers may disagree about specific subject matter or sources for information. As the librarian, you must consider all of the represented cultures, reading levels, ages and interests of the students. And with the growing emphasis on standardized testing, comparative needs should be given detailed attention. Evans states that using benchmarking can help to increase budget support (pg. 89), and that is something to really take note of, with budget cuts seeming to be across the board these days. By being able to back up your requests with statistics from other schools, you may get that additional funding. With all of these factors to consider, I understand why Evans says that newcomers to collection development rely heavily on normative needs (pg. 88)- it is a basis to start with until you get to know all of your community needs more intimately. I think it is important to learn these needs, using such ideas as questionnaires to students, parents and teachers, as well as comparisons to other schools, to name only a few. The ability to communicate (and do it well) with all sorts of people in all sorts of positions in respect to the library collection choices is fundamental to developing a successful collection.
Knowing your community is really the foundation of some of the other areas that Evans discusses. Expecting change, being flexible, scanning the environment, building relationships, engaging in collaborative ideas, and accessing information are all based on knowing who your community envelops and exactly what their needs are. Expecting change in an ever-changing community and being flexible is an exciting prospect of becoming a librarian, and I look forward to developing both my own life- long learning skills, and also those of the students and my co-workers. The next, engage in scanning, is directly linked to expecting change. When you are continuously scanning the environment, you should certainly get the heads up that change is occurring. The trick will be learning to scan all the relevant areas in your community (such as ethnicity as Evans points out, but also changing interests of children, new educational material, different teaching techniques in new staff members, and new technology), and knowing how to accommodate these changes in the best way on a limited budget!
Scanning and expecting change are two ways in which to get to know your community. Building relationships and engaging in collaborative activities are also facets of knowing your community. A tremendous part of building relationships professionally is to work collaboratively on programs. Again, there are so many different groups to build relations with: parents, teachers, vendors, and of course, the students themselves, that it is vitally important to be “scanning” these relationships, too, ensuring that the wants and needs of all the groups are not going to go unnoticed. Collaborative projects that incorporate two or more of these groups will help unify all of the benefits of a library within a school. When I went to my son’s open house at school, we visited the library as a family, and we were the only ones there! I think open house can be time to bring students, parents, and teachers together to start the dialogue, the importance of which can not be overstated. When else can you have everyone in the same building?!? Using posters, games, contests, free coffee- anything to get the families in there! This dovetails nicely with Evan’s last point of accessing the information. You may have the best collection out there, but if the community is not accessing it, the information is useless.
I hope that forging close relations with all aspects of my school community, listening to everyone’s needs, working together on projects and being flexible and open to change will help open the lines of communication. I will strive to have a close knit library community of the children, their parents and my coworkers, and to utilize all of our resources to the fullest. It is very important to me to not be a “status- quo” librarian, but to be an innovative, pro- active leader in my school community. I believe that really great communication skills using these areas of collection development are an integral part of these goals.
Evans, G. E., (2008). Reflections on Creating Information Service Collections. In K. Haycock, & B. E. Sheldon (Eds.), The Portable MLIS: Insights from the Experts (pp. 87-97), Westport, CT: Libraries Unlimited
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