Evaluation Plan for Improving Reference Services in a Rural BC Secondary School

“To spend a day in a school library is to witness what all the research says about quality education in the 21st century: educators and students engaged in research, collaboration, communication, problem solving, and creativity” (Riedling, 2019, p. 4).

Context:

This school had been without a library and a teacher librarian for four years. The fiction books had simply been moved to a large classroom and there were no reference materials remaining. Students could access them, but there were no services provided. This school was the victim of a growing scenario where we have seen “big cuts in teacher-librarian time and, some would say, diminished respect for the role of the teacher-librarian” (Beaudry, 2024, Lesson 7). When a new principal arrived, he rectified the situation and I was assigned the role of TL in this school; given the school size, I only had .375 fte. The library, quite simply, was a blank slate.

Evaluation and Rationale: 

Given that one of the key roles of a TL is to be the “information specialist” and facilitate reference services, this school was not meeting an important aspect of the students’ education. Teachers were working in isolation; there was no coordination, no one acting as a “quarterback” for research. Nor was there any certainty that students were developing information literacy. While there were computers, iPads, and Chromebooks in the school, some teachers rarely used them. It is therefore conceivable that some students graduated with next to no information literacy. Many students learned only from textbooks and teacher lecture. For those whose teachers did include online research in their pedagogy, there is no way of being certain if it was adequate. I recall working with a grade 12 (who I considered to be a strong student), watching her engage in a Google search. She simply made note of information from the search page. She didn’t even visit the site. This indicated to me that she had not been taught how to assess the reliability and relevance of online material- one of the most basic information literacy skills. The students had access to digital tools, but largely lacked instruction to make use of them or to appreciate the scope of what was available to them. Consequently, their independence as learners was compromised and the breadth of their education was limited. Quite simply, they were missing out on all the good stuff mentioned in the Riedling quote above.

My initial focus was on weeding and updating the collection, and then on designing use of the space. The next step is to implement a plan for reference services for this school that had none. Because this scenario was so egregious, I am therefore choosing to devote my limited fte to the development of plan that focuses on the development of a digital LLC and an accompanying continuum of skills to “support the development of student information skills, literacy development and the entire curriculum” (Beaudry, 2024, Lesson 7). The lack of library services in the school went hand in hand with outdated pedagogy; consequently, this focus will further help student learning by facilitating potential for an expansion of inquiry projects. An effective TL will help create “resource-based learning opportunities” that “improve[s] research skills and foster[s] self-confidence in finding information by integrating library skills as part of subject curriculum” (Nolan, 1989, as cited in Partido State University, 2012).

I am focusing on the digital LLC first for two reasons:

• Starting from nothing, this is where I can have the most noticeable impact. There is a tremendous amount of information online that is available at no cost. Because navigating this vast amount of information is complex, this further underscores the need for reference services. Students need to know how to access what is available to them and to learn that there is a difference between “googling” and “researching.” Besides the scope of what is available, an online LLC is further valuable because students are also able to access it from anywhere at anytime, increasing the utility of what I am working on.
• In a small school, we have a limited budget and therefore need to be very mindful of how funds are spent. Reference materials are often very expensive and would be taxing on such a limited budget, and “sound decisions related to the selection of resources based on available budgets” is an important aspect of the job (Beaudry, 2024, Lesson 6). That said, there is value in having a thoughtful selection of print materials on hand to meet a variety of learning needs, so this is one area I would revisit in the future. I would not see myself purchasing a set of encyclopedias given the cost weighed against the use they would receive. However, some dictionaries and perhaps targeted anthologies (based on discussions with subject specialists) would be considered (Beaudry, 2024, Lesson 6). Because of the limited budget I am working with, I would include in my planned continuum of skills, orientation with the public library. It is within walking distance of the school and they welcome classes. I would accompany students and familiarize them with the reference materials available to them. For older students, I would orient them with the EBSCO database available to them via the library computers. With a public library card, they can also access it at home. Acquiring a library card would be part of the orientation process.

Plan: 

• This is a two-year plan to create a basic roadmap for ensuring students at the school receive essential reference services to help develop their information literacy skills and meet their reference needs. The first year would be the consultation, development and curation, and the second year would be the roll-out.
• As TL, I will begin by meeting with departments to gauge their needs: what topics are commonly studied? What types of projects are they interested in working with students on? This is also an opportunity for me to build strong working relationships, offering to assist with project development, curate resources, and co-teach. Busy teachers appreciate help, and this is the perfect opportunity to build capacity in the teaching staff by offering to help develop inquiry projects (Riedling, 2019, p. 9). 
• Using my own professional knowledge along with exemplars from other BC TLs (CLA, 2014, p. 35), I will develop a continuum of information literacy skills for students in grades 8-12, with the goal that graduating students would be prepared to embark on post-secondary studies and function as “educated citizens” as defined by the Ministry of Education (Province of British Columbia, 2023).
• I would then use LibGuides to develop a digital LLC for the school. The cost of just over $1000 a year for the licensing is justified in a cost-benefit analysis in that it will enhance the education of all students, both at home and at school. My initial focus would be on three aspects:
  1. A “How to” page of resources to support them in conducting research, covering such things as citations and formatting, strategies for assessing digital resources, and research tips.
  2. A curated collection of useful resources for different curricular areas (informed by my department conversations), such as World War II resources under a Social Studies page.
  3. Curated resources to support the instruction of the continuum of skills, such as creative commons sites, free databases, and useful resources such as the Canadian Encyclopedia.
• Schedule in-class co-teaching as an actionable means of instructing the developed continuum of skills. This coaching and mentoring firstly helps in the professional development of teachers, “strengthen[ing] service to users” of the reference resources (Riedling, 2019, p. 8). Furthermore, by targeting a particular mandatory class (ie: Social Studies 8, etc.), I would ensure delivery to all students. Having engaged in this process in consultation with the departments would facilitate planning for this delivery as well as communicate the plan to enhance services. As this is a seismic change for a school with previously nothing formal in place, it is essential to at least engage with all students early on to expose them to the online LLC and provide direction in how it will be of use to them.

To conclude, successful delivery of reference services will “lead the student to appropriate and accurate resources and foster the student’s information literacy skills for socially responsible, lifelong learning” (Riedling, 2019, p. 95). In the 21st century, the ability to access, assess, and avail oneself of information is an essential skill- as important as literacy and numeracy, and is embedded in the BC curriculum. It is therefore inconceivable that a school was functioning without a library for years. I look forward to rectifying this and offering the students of this community the education they deserve.

References