Encyclopedias - Are they valid tools or a lost cause?

Before getting my temporary position at the school I am at currently, I always believed that print references were still valid and used in elementary school libraries.  Now that I am at a school and am being exposed to reality, I am having a hard time 'selling' print encyclopedias to students and to teachers.  I never thought that a reference section would collect so much dust and be ignored as much as mine is.  I joked today with a class about how many students had even touched a 'real' print encyclopedia.  Honestly, not many had.   Even the encyclopedia companies are having a hard time keeping up their print encyclopedias.  A recent article in the New York Times announced that Encyclopedia Britannica will not be printing anymore encyclopedias, instead they will be focusing on their website. The article described how many American families use to put themselves in debt just to own a set of Encyclopedia Britannica's. Now the company cannot even afford to keep producing encyclopedias because of lack of sales and public interest.

 In this modern time there just seems to be no use for expensive print encyclopedias. So should they even be in libraries, especially elementary school libraries? I say yes, but only if they get used.  There is no point in having sets of encyclopedias that just sit on a shelf and never get used.  The person who has the most power over the encyclopedias fate is the teacher librarian.  Maybe encyclopedias will not have the same significance as they once did for research purposes.  However, they still can be used for comparisons and checking for accuracy (in some cases at least). The question still remains: are encyclopedias worth having in a school library or is it better to have a set of i-pads? The choice lies with the teacher librarian.

Article: http://mediadecoder.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/03/13/after-244-years-encyclopaedia-britannica-stops-the-presses/

Are we fighting a losing battle? Reference vs. Non-fiction

Yes and no.  Yes because I feel there is a great divide in an elementary school when it comes to seeking information.  Intermediate students and teachers instantly go to the internet for project-specific information. I know this because I work closely with most of my grade 4-7 teachers and they very rarely seek my help when researching for projects. I suggest and lure them as best I can but it is a losing battle: tech rules.  On the other hand, my primary teachers are very dependent on our (very oudated) non-fiction section and often will take out 20 books at a time for one topic.  Some of the primary boys rely on the non-fiction section for their pleasure reading, without it they would refuse to take books out.

I think one question that is an important one to ask is what kind of non-fiction books are being purchased for the library? Without Ripley's Beleive it or not, National Geographics Weird but true and other fact books like them it would be hard to keep kids in the non-fiction area.  The Basher series is also hugely popular in my library right now.  They are these small, cartoonish books that can simplify very tricky topics like Physics, Geometry, Planet Earth...Thank goodness there are non-fiction books that are being made for all levels and all grades. 

I know that the concept of 'wonder' is a hot topic with some of the primary teachers so I have been hunting for the very information books that Reidling described as important: the ones that answer questions.  It has been interesting because they are out there, we as TLs just need to stop and look for them.  I recently bought a book called 'Just a Second'  by Steve Jenkins and it is a very unique way to look at time.  It looks at a second and what else takes a second; for example "A hummingbird beats its wings 50 times" and "A rattlesnake shakes its tail in warning 60 times." It looks at a small amount of time like one second and continues until one year.  An interesting book to help kids visualize time and think about time in a bigger picture.  If you are buying non-fiction books instead of reference materials you may be able to win the losing battle, but is there that much of a difference?

Do you have a bias?

I must say that I am pretty open minded to many things and in my previous (rant-ish) posting about wikipedia I am sure many people rolled their eyes and thought I was a bit of a nut.  However, it is the truth.  All information may not have been created equally, but it can at leat create teachable moments and be used as a springboard  to a better understanding of whatever has been assigned (ie. project, inquiry question).  Right now I am team teaching with a colleague of mine and we are in the process of (trying) to teach Information Quest to a grade 6/7 class.  The teacher is not a fan of the format of Information Quest, because he feels it is too wordy for his students.  I like the bones of it, but need to tweak it so I can teach it better. So far him and I have been teaching many little mini lessons on how to focus your question, how to find appropriate material and how to filter through that material.  It has been a bit hit and miss to say the least.  Considering we are both new to this, I think we are doing all right.  Thank goodness his students have not realized yet that they are guinea pigs in this experiement of sorts.  I will say this though...we have used wikipedia and google search several times.

Confession of an information junkie...

I like Wikipedia...even if it is not considered valid and/or accurate.  I feel it can be a good start to get some general questions answered and it can be the springboard to accessing other information. It is constanlty improving and updating information.  If a 'need for information' and finding an appropriate 'question' is considered the hardest when using the 'Research Process' for researching, is wikipedia not a great place for those students who are so ill prepared? I also like the idea that students are given the task of creating their own wiki pages.  Then wikipedia becomes a great model. It is certainly should never be the only place a student goes for research, however, it could maybe be the first.  It is also a great way to help teach students to filter and check whether the info is correct or valid.  What would we do without wikipedia?

Lesson 1: Information Literacy and Reference Services in Schools

Current School Library Information Services

How effective is my current school libraries information services? I have no idea yet.  Having only been in the position for a few months I feel that I am only just getting a good grasp of what information services means, let alone being able to acess its value in our school.  I will say that our reference section is collecting some epic dust. Maybe no one has done much research yet? Maybe they only use websites now.  I know that Richmond Schools have access to many information catalogues like EBSCO for kids, Infotopia, Worldbook...however, I cannot tell you how much it is used.  What I do know is that I am excited to find out! I have a plan to work on inquiry projects with the students who come for prep relief (Grades 1, 1/2 and 2/3).  I also will be working with some of the Grade 6/7 teachers on the 'Information Quest' research model.  I will continue to blog on my progress.  Wish me luck!

Reference Skills

I am supposed to write about what I know already and unfortunately I feel as if it is not much.  Having only taken one course so far (for the diploma program) and just recently started in a temporary position as a part-time TL, I feel very green indeed.  having just read the glossary, there are many things that I will learn from this class.   Teaching research and reference skills are such an important part of a TLs job from K-7 (I am in an elementary school).  I have to teach several preps on a Thursday and I have decided to do mini inquiry based projects with them.  I know this course will help me with these mini projects. 

My goal - to help all ages filter and choose appropriate reference materials to answer their questions.