Competency 5 cont. -LIBRARY LITERATURE AND BOOKS IN PRINT

Naive Question: In a school library, what are the duties of the librarian in regards to curriculum?

I chose this question because I believe there are many misconceptions of the role of a librarian plays in a school's curriculum. I have heard so many times that all librarian do is check-out and shelve books. In researching this question, my goal is to shine light on the job that librarians are really responsible for especially in regards to technology and curriculum.

Searching Library Literature

I first chose 3 facets to begin the searching process. On the database, I used the thesaurus feature to locate some key terms. Using the information I gathered, I created a Boolean statement. When creating my statement, I chose to keep it focused as a result of previous experiences. I know how important that first statement is in the overall searching experience.

Facets: duties, librarian, curriculum

1st facet - duties
*initial terms - responsibilities
**thesaurus terms - duties of librarians (616 records)

2nd facet - librarian
*initial terms - school librarian, library media specialist
**thesaurus terms - school librarian, children's librarian, media specialist, teacher-librarians

3rd facet - curriculum
*initial terms - lesson, lesson planning, reading curriculum
**thesaurus terms - school libraries/relationships with teachers and curriculum

Boolean Statement:
(duties of librarians) AND (school librarian) AND (curriculum)

Search Results:
I used subject headings when performing all searches.

1. ss1 (duties of librarians) AND (school librarian) AND (curriculum)

2. result - 22 records

3. notes - I expected more results than 22; however, I was satisfied with the actual results. I looked through the records and was able to find many that pertained to my question. However, I felt for learning purposes I need to try different searches.

1. ss2 - (duties) AND (librarians) AND (curriculum)

2. result - 49

3. Notes - This 2nd searched yielded 49 results which is still a good number of results without a lot of junk to weed through. For this search, I feel that the first search did a good job of focusing on my particular question. I did not see anything extra in this search that was needed.

1. ss3 - Although I didn't need to perform a third search, I noticed on the left had column a statement that said "new search by subject". It contained a list of suggestions for new searches. One of the suggestions was school librarians/relationships with teachers and curriculum. I chose this search to examine.

2. result - 1609

3. notes - This 3rd search provided a large number of results. I don't feel that the quantity of this search was better than the quality of my other two. As I scanned through the results, I did not find any new or better information. However, I do like this particular feature. Sometimes when using the thesaurus and searches, one can tend to be either too vague or too broad. This feature would be helpful in those situations.

My Selection:

One article that I found captivating was called The Librarian as 21st Century Leader which really explains the involvement librarians should have in the curriculum. It explained how librarians are experts in the information and technology field. Thus, it is reasonable that they should be involved in developing and integrating these programs in the school. I believe information such as this demonstrates the importance of the duties of librarians. We do so much more than shelve books.

Pulley, M. (2008) The Librarian as 21st Century Leader. Colorado Libraries, 34(1), 28-31.
Retrieved February 20, 2010, from Library Lit. & Inf. Full Text database.

Searching Books in Print

I searched this database using the same facets and key terms as noted above. I was a bit perplexed when I first began. I initially searched just using the keyword search, but the outcome was insufficient. I ultimately spent time learning the different searching capabilities of the database. I found that under the browse button I was able to search using the subject (all) heading. I typed in (school librarian) AND (duties) AND (curriculum). I got zero results. I decided to simplify my statement. I typed in school librarian duties. The first category was school libraries so I chose it. It contained 1476 results all dealing with school libraries in some capacity. I went back to the search feature and tried several different subject searches, but they contained no results. I went to the the school library results. Although there was a lot of information, I was able to find some that pertained to my question. One book I thought was interesting is call Tales out of the School Library: Developing Professional Dispositions by Gail Bush. It provides tips to help librarians meet the needs of students. Curriculum was a prominent topic. Another title that caught my eye is called School Libraries Head for the Edge: Rants, Recommendations and Reflections by Doug Johnson. So much in school curriculum today is focused on technology, and Johnson give readers an idea of what the new trends are and how to implement them.

Bush, Gail. (2009. Tales out of the School Library: Developing Professional Dispositions.
Connecticut: Libraries Unlimited Incorporated.

Johnson, Doug. (2009). School Libraries Head for the Edge: Rants, Recommendations and
Reflections: Connecticut: Libraries Unlimited, Incorporated.

Conclusion:

Searching both of these databases proved very helpful in finding information regarding librarians duties with a focus on curriculum. Although I had to take a different pat using Books in Print, I was satisfied with the end result. Both Library Literature and Books in Print were successful resources in my quest for information.

Competency 2 - RELATED BLOG

I spent many hours searching blog after blog before deciding on which one(s) to follow. I searched blogs using GoogleBlog, Technorati, and BlogSearch. The search engine I used to find the blogs I am posting today was Blog Search - http://blogsearch.google.com/?ui=blg. Specifically, I was looking at ways to help reluctant readers; however, I also broadened my search to include children's literature, children's authors, and elementary librarians. I was amazed at the amount of information at my fingertips.

Ultimately I chose two blogs that I feel are beneficial to me as an elementary school librarian. First, I really enjoyed the blog titled "Toon Books". Finding a way to hook reluctant readers can be very difficult. Graphic novels seem to be making gains in this arena. In my library, I have purchased a few of these books and have been monitoring their circulation. I am finding that they are incredibly popular. I was intrigued by an article featured on this blog that was written two years ago by Michelle Gorman for School Library Journal.

Towards the end of the article she states, "Teachers and librarians are also beginning to realize that these books are perfect for young readers who are making the transition from picture books to text-only titles. And with graphic novels' hypnotic power to pull kids into a story, they're also perfect for promoting recreational or free voluntary reading--one of the most effective ways to increase literacy and create lifelong readers." I will continue to follow this blog to help me see the correlation between reluctant readers and graphic novels.

Another blog I found interesting was written by children's book author, Trudi Trueit. She discusses many aspects that affect both readers and writers. There are recipes for writers in addition to information on how to help reluctant readers.

As we all know, so many reasons exist as to why someone has become a reluctant reader. Trueit states it nicely, "When kids feel pressured to read at a certain pace or level, reading becomes a chore. It only gets worse if they feel they are falling short of others’ expectations (or their own). Find out why books have lost their enchantment for your reluctant reader and then do what you can to rekindle the magic." What an enlightening statement!

Once we find out why someone is reluctant to read, then we can find ways to open that door. I never want to make a child feel pressured in any way. My goal is always to instill the love of reading. I look forward to other tips Trueit will write on her blog.