The eBook Option: What to do When Advocating for Your School Library Doesn’t Work

Photo by UNESCO

     BCTF’s website states that “many of our public school libraries in British Columbia are closed or only open part of the day.” For schools that have lost their library, or have received severe cuts to it, what do you do?

     I would say, right now in my studies, that the first step for a school-librarian would be to advocate for their school library (and if a school loses their school-librarian, then any teachers, parents, admin, students, or community members could do this). Briefly, this entails: a) making a case as to why the school library needs funding (including making a maintenance and growth budget), b) proposing to shift school budget funds away from specified, less urgently in need, areas and into the school library, and c) seeking elsewhere for funding (fundraisers, grants, foundations, organizations).

     If that first step doesn’t work, or yields insufficient funds, some developing countries (and likely rural communities as well) have come up with, through necessity, another option: eBooks on mobile devices.

     Around 67% or the world’s population own a cell phone (Statistica). For libraries that are insufficiently stocked, no longer current, inappropriately stocked (from donated books that don’t necessarily match the students’ reading levels, interests, or curricular needs), or non-existent(!), allowing students to bring their own devices, or stocking a library with a class’s worth of mobile devices (affordable, donated, or used cellphones, tablets, or eReaders) is a way to keep students reading. There are plenty of great free online resources (such as Britannica Kids), public library eBook collections, cheap eBook subscription services (such as Kindle Unlimited and Audible), eBook collections for schools (such as from Rakuten Overdrive), cheap bundles (such as from Humble Bundle), and, of course, there are the more expensive option of buying specific eBooks, which are still a fraction of the physical book’s cost.

     Personally, I think that even if one’s school library isn’t suffering, that having a classroom-set worth of mobile devices is a good thing as the device can: a) read books to developing readers, b) be used to teach (computer programming, photography, educational games, science, etc.), c) be paired with VR goggles for interactive and immersive learning/experiences, and d) hold large collections of quick-to-access books at their fingertips, which is especially useful if it’s on their own mobile device.

     A teacher-librarian’s school library may not currently be in jeopardy but being prepared in advance for the possibility allows them to transition to a better alternative, as it’s better to have a digital library than none or an inadequate one. In any case, having the back-up resources actually improves learning opportunities, so, even if a teacher-librarian doesn’t need to setup a mobile-technology learning environment, it’s optimal to do so (and what I plan on doing when I’m a teacher-librarian).

References

“Ebooks, Audiobooks & More for Your School.” Rakuten Overdrive, https://company.overdrive.com/education/k-12-schools/

Humble Bundle, https://humblebundle.com

“Inspire. Inform. Educate.” Britannica Kids, https://kids.britannica.com

“Kindleunlimited: Unlimited Reading. Unlimited Listening. Any Device.” Amazon, https://www.amazon.com/kindle-dbs/hz/signup?_encoding=UTF8&ref_=sv_kstore_2

“Number of mobile phone users worldwide from 2015 to 2020 (in billions).” Statista, https://www.statista.com/statistics/274774/forecast-of-mobile-phone-users-worldwide/

“School Libraries.” BCTF, https://bctf.ca/IssuesInEducation.aspx?id=13266

UNESCO. “Reading in the Mobile Era.” YouTube, YouTube, 22 Apr. 2014, www.youtube.com/watch?v=4gOtpCIl-Ng.

West, Mark, et al. Reading in the Mobile Era: a Study of Mobile Reading in Developing Countries. United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, Education Sector, 2014.

“Your first free audiobook is waiting.” Audible, www.audible.ca

The Levels of Teacher and Teacher-Librarian Collaboration

The Levels of Teacher and Teacher-Librarian Collaboration: A graphic I adapted from Montiel-Overall’s findings.

          The ultimate role of a teacher-librarian (TL) is to help students learn and enjoy learning. They are the guardians, facilitators, and instructors of knowledge. They help students. Yet, to be most effective in helping students, they can partner with teachers to share their knowledge of resources, technology, research skills, and teaching skills, either in the library or in the classroom. They can also work with admin and teachers to develop across-curriculum planned instruction. Using Latham and Gross’s overview of Montiel-Overall’s findings, as well as her own, I have broken down four levels of teacher and teacher-librarian (TL) collaboration:

1.     Co-ordinator: The first, and most basic, form of collaboration between a TL and a teacher is the TL co-ordinating resources, activities, and events for a class. This can include hosting book fairs, doing STEM activities, sharing and displaying student work, showing where resources are and how to use them, and having time allocated for student drop-in use. The TL doesn’t necessarily even have to communicate with the teacher to provide this level of class help, which is why I encourage teacher-librarians to extend collaboration with teachers to the next levels.

2.    Resource locator: This next step actually requires at least some basic communication with teachers, either by the teacher approaching the TL to find resources (physical or digital) to either help them prepare a unit or to prepare a presentation of resources for students to use in a research project, or by the TL’s conversations with the teacher to discover whether they could help them in any way by providing resources. It is crucially important for TL’s not to assume a teacher will approach them for help, as not all teachers consider this option; TL’s will likely need to take the initiative by offering this support and may need to build trust with the teacher first; level 1 support will help build this trust.

3.    Co-instructor: This level requires even more communication with teachers, to the extent of working with them to co-develop a lesson, unit, or assignment. In this scenario, a TL’s technological and research skills are specifically utilized for goals planned, presented, and possibly even assessed by both the teacher and TL.

4.    Across-Curriculum Co-Instructor: This, the most advanced, level requires support and co-ordination with the admin (for allocated planning time and involvement) and participation with every teacher in the school. At this level, the degrees and levels of technological and research skills, planned co-instruction, and level 1 and 2 support are worked out across every grade taught at the school, and, naturally, the teachers and admin should extend this opportunity to clarify what curricular content is taught at each level for split-grade classes. TL’s may need to take the initiative in planning this with their admin. This level also requires an ethos of school-wide teacher/admin collaboration, trust, and commitment, which, unfortunately, doesn’t necessarily exist in every school. At the very least, the TL can do what they can to slowly change this ethos through effective collaboration at levels 1 through 3 until the spirit of school collaboration catches on to allow this level to move forward (by leading by example).

References

Latham, Don, and Melissa Gross. “Collaborating for Success: Teachers and Librarians as Partners in Learning.” Voices From the Middle, vol. 24, no. 4, 2017, p. 64-66.

Montiel-Overall, Patricia. “Teacher and Teacher-Librarian Collaboration: Moving toward Integration.” Teacher Librarian, vol. 34, no. 2, 2006, p. 28-31.

Teaching Students How to Use Reference and Learning Resources

https://www.alamy.com/stock-photo-high-school-library-reading-room-26825966.html

     While reading Evaluating, Selecting and Managing Learning Resources: A Guide (2002), I noticed a glaring omission on how to promote a school’s learning resources. The document failed to list that students should be shown how to use these resources (p97; the document was updated in 2008). Perhaps it was too obvious to list; in any case, as Riedling remarks in her book, Reference Skills for the Skilled Librarian, “the average student may have no pre-knowledge of the type of resource(s) that will answer his or her question” (p101). This got me thinking that, as part of the teacher-librarian’s instruction to students on what the school library has to offer, it should include a fun interactive activity that gets students to use the library’s resources, perhaps as a sort of “treasure hunt” where groups of 2 need to find specific information out of each type of resource, thereby showing them what information each resource holds and familiarizing them with how to use it. Another great way to promote the use of learning resources is through a careful selection on each resource's usefulness, with such criteria being whether it entails and/or promotes: curriculum goals and pedagogy, critical and creative thinking, active learning, communication skills, accurate information, age-level appropriateness, and relevance (ERAC, 2008, p21-22). The teacher-librarian also needs to be able to provide help to the student looking for a learning resource, and the specific information within; this includes interviewing them while keeping in mind they may not know where to look, what they’re really looking for, what terminology would best help them find what they’re looking for, that they may be afraid of the teacher-librarian (or adults/authority figures in general) and may have less refined communication and verbal and nonverbal interpretation skills (Riedling, p101).

     As for deciding whether reference resources should be integrated with the general collection of non-fiction books or separated, I think it depends on the size of the library, its layout, who needs access to the reference resources (such as if other teachers need to quickly grab them), how they’re presented, and how much use they get out of their current placement (if little, then a change may be warranted). If they’re judged as most useful if integrated, I personally would clearly highlight the resource, such as with a shelf label and individually book-ending it so the resource “pops” and can therefore be quickly found by students and staff. If deigned most useful in its own separate section, Riedling suggests that the reference section have “easy access to technology, inviting spaces for social interaction, and spaces for individual inquiry” (p119). As for whether reference books should be able to be checked out, I propose that teachers should be able to check them out for a day (or a week for smaller schools). I make such a suggestion because reference books are usually expensive, can come in sets, and that when students visit a school’s library, they may need more time with the reference resource, so it's being exclusive to the library would be inconvenient. And, the reference resources that aren’t as expensive or in demand should be considered for student borrowing.

     Students should also be clearly informed, and have access to, all the online learning resources the school library has to offer. This should be pointed out by the teacher-librarian, including activities to their use, but also in pamphlets they give to students, parents, and teachers listing and describing online links, both paid for by the school and good free links. For instance, Britannica Kids as a terrific online encyclopedia for middle-school and high school students.

     The use of learning resources should also extend beyond the use for assignments. They can be used to introduce topics about one’s and others’ culture.

Resource collections should include materials that:

ο increase awareness of ethnic and cultural diversity
ο create sensitivity to and respect for differences and similarities within and among groups
ο affirm and enhance self-esteem through pride in heritage
ο promote cross-cultural understanding, citizenship, and racial harmony ο reflect and validate students’ cultural experiences (ERAC, 2008, p13)

     A teacher librarian could also read facts from a reference resource and then read a story based on those facts, thereby making the connection that stories can be written through research, promoting another reason to do research.

References

Britannica Kids, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., kids.britannica.com/.

Evaluating, Selecting and Managing Learning Resources: A Guide. ERAC, 2002.

Evaluating, Selecting and Managing Learning Resources: A Guide. ERAC, 2008.

Riedling, Ann Marlow, et al. Reference Skills for the School Librarian Tools and Tips. Linworth, 2013.