06-Assignment+Six+(Final+Reflection)


 * ** INTRODUCTION ** ||

Through the course of completing each module, I felt like small pieces of positive learning were occurring. In the busyness of the day-in, day-out, week-in, week-out grind, however, I didn’t have a chance to reflect and concretely know what these pieces of learning were.

That has now happened.

And, happily—and in a decided victory for linear thinkers everywhere—I have noticed that there exists at least one take-away from each of the five modules (and five assignments) completed throughout the course of the course.


 * ** 5 TAKE AWAYS ** ||


 * //**The importance of knowing “the basics” about each department’s curriculum, the general resources available to and used by that department, and the library-centered projects commonly done by each department.**// As Kay Bishop notes in her text //The Collection Program in Schools//, “It is extremely important to have knowledge about the students, teachers, and administrators who utilize the media center” (21).
 * Knowing the broad, general scope and aim of each department’s Provincial curriculum comes in handy in terms of “thinking like” that particular department. If I understand what a biology teacher must teach and do in her classroom and can, as such, predict her needs with regards to resources, I will be a much more effective TL.
 * Further, knowing my library’s general resources that are available to and used by each department is important: such familiarity allows me to quickly and efficiently serve that department’s teachers. Again: the ability to think like a teacher from any and all departments allows me to better function as a TL with any and all departments.
 * Finally, there seem to be “classic” library-centric projects that are done annually by each department; knowing each of these projects and being familiar with the resources needed and steps required to make the projects work is essential. A great tip in this area: my school’s TL showed me a few stands of filing cabinets that include clearly labeled files that each further include at least 1) an overview of the project, and 2) paper resources required (and able to be annually reused!) for the project. This “TL trick” strikes me as a great example of a logical, simple, and efficient use of available resources and space (and allows the TL—and forces a new TL—to be familiar with the annual projects).
 * //** The importance of taking time to objectively know the demographics of the students and community in which your library exists. **//
 * I understand the basics of “knowing your clientele,” or “knowing your patrons.” In any realm of work—business, teaching, managing—we must know who we work with and what their needs are. Beyond this general understanding, however, I have come to see the specific ways in which such an understanding benefits a TL immensely. Similar to understanding the needs of each department, as noted above, understanding the context in which my library exists allows me to predict the needs of my patrons (rather than always reacting to them). It is always better to be a step ahead than a step behind. Part of predicting, in this case, is the ability to be better organized throughout the entire process of delivering services.
 * //** The importance of becoming competent in using “Destiny,” the District’s OPAC (in addition to becoming competent in the use of a variety of database systems). **//
 * As it stands now, our library’s student helpers are more adept at using the OPAC than I am. While I do not worry about the process of becoming familiar with the system, per se (I know that I simply need to dedicate a little bit of time and experience to the program), I do feel a fairly strong impulse to become at least functionally literate in the use of it. I assume that once achieving a basic level of understanding with Destiny, I will then be able to more easily and more quickly learn the basic functionality of other systems.
 * //**Weeding is important; less is often more.**// As Bishop notes, “Many benefits come from wedding a collection, including the creation of more space, ensuring accurate materials, avoiding the cost of maintaining unwanted items, obtaining a reputation as a source of reliable information, and saving time in locating items” (124-125).
 * It is cliché, it feels like a stereotype as an English-teacher-wannabe-teacher-librarian, but it is true so I will state it regardless: I have a history of not wanting to “get rid of” books. As such, over the years—since I became familiar with the basic notion of weeding within a library context—I always assumed that the weeding process would be some sort of angst-filled existential dilemma, a necessary but loathed annual window of time during which the TL would likely either morph into a professional procrastinator or would become as friendly as a porcupine suffering from acute indigestion. However—and happily—that is not the case. In fact, having talked to TLs the past couple of years about weeding, and having now weeded myself, I feel fully ready—almost excited?—to weed. I now clearly recognize how important it is in regards to maintaining a clean, efficient, user-friendly library. I also now clearly see how important it is with regards to budgets: why would a school board or administrator budget for more library resources when a library (ne’er weeded) is already overflowing with materials? I remember learning about these basic ideas over two years ago in the LIBE 461 course and registering them as making good sense; I am glad to now see these ideas more fully and to understand their importance rather than merely comprehend their importance.
 * //** I need to learn more about potential vendors and the process of selecting, ordering, and acquiring resources. **//
 * I enjoyed the “selection of new materials” assignment and feel like I benefited from the steps involved. However, I noted that in the scope of the entire selection, ordering, and acquisition process, I need to learn more about the workings of vendors: which vendors most often fit my needs, which vendors fit my needs for specific purposes, etc. I suspect that this is learning that could easily occur with further conversations with the TL at my school and TLs throughout the district. One result of having done the “selection of new materials” assignment after the conclusion of the school year is the lost ability to have face-to-face interaction with colleagues and TLs.


 * ** CONNECTION TO PRACTICE ** ||

I have become a bigger-picture thinker (as both a teacher and a TL) as a result of this course. Understanding more about all the working parts of the collection cycle has afforded me a fuller understanding of the workings of the entire library. I looked forward to this course for some time as I knew that it covered topics that represented a particular hole in my knowledge of libraries.

Better understanding the thinking of TLs in general allows me to better use the library as a teacher. Because I now know how a TL thinks in terms of the regular cycle of assessing, weeding, selecting, and ordering materials, I will be more likely to—as an English teacher—actively think in terms of effectively using resources in the teaching and learning cycle that occurs in my current realm everyday.


 * ** CONCLUSION ** ||

Armed with a basic understanding of collection development after having completed the process in this course, I now feel more confident—and capable of—conversing with other District TLs on the topic of collection development. I expect that this freer flow of conversation will serve to heighten my general, big-picture understanding of the ins and outs of the life of a TL.


 * ** REFERENCES ** ||

Bishop, Kay, and Van Orden ,Phyllis. //The Collection Program in Schools: Concepts, Practices, and Information Sources.// Westport, CT: Libraries Unlimited, 2007. Print.