I was reading an article in March/April 2015 American Libraries about the evolution of library media education programs to meet the needs of 21st century libraries and patrons. In "The Future of MLS: Rethinking Librarian Education," authors Bertot and Sarin talk about the University of Maryland's program focused on "Re-Envisioning the MLS."
They started with two key questions: What should an MLS program look like in four years? And what types of students should we recruit into the profession?
They believe that as the needs of libraries and library patrons change, the role of the librarian will also change--and require new skills and abilities.
This brings to mind my teacher education program. It included a fascinating class in which we learned to run the 16mm projector, including splicing film with tape if it breaks; the appropriate methods for cleaning chalkboards and erasers (which involves the student who needs a little break outside); and running the duplex machine.
Now, for those of you who might not know what some of those things are...keep that to yourself.
The point is, the needs of a profession change, and just like weeding a library, we need to weed our educations if we are going to move into that brave new world.
If you were in charge of the Library Media endorsement, or an MLS program at a university, what would you teach now that would help school librarians the most? What do you wish you'd learned in class rather than 'on the fly' and on the job? How would you update the learning of new LTTs coming into the field?
More focus on evaluating information, matching information to relevance, the core, assessment,
ReplyDeleteTo be up front, I have a Master of Education of Curriculum and Instruction with a focus in School Library Media and a minor focus in Technology Integration. Okay, that being said there have been times in the past when I wish I had obtained an MLS, because most school library jobs put that as a requirement. BUT, I have come to value the approach I took to school librarianship, because I received a foundational understanding of education and teaching which is vastly important when we look at our profession as one of co-teaching and modeling best research/technology practices for other educators and students.
ReplyDeleteSo, the changes I would make to a Library Media/Master's program would be for future LTTs to learn the value of having a whole school vision by building relationships with faculty/staff for greatest impact on student learning. Future LTTs should gain skills in collaboration and co-teaching with the emphasis on modeling to the teacher and students research/technology communication skills. LTTs should learn how to develop rubrics that they can share with teachers to implement the skills they are teaching and ensure accountability when students leave library.
Also, future LTTs absolutely need to understand how to put critical thinking by essential questioning at the fore-front of the research process, instead of fact regurgitation. In order to accomplish this task, LTTs will change the focus from the product to the learning process, which will require increased patience while teachers learn to change their mindsets about research as well.
Lastly, educational technology integration needs to be woven throughout an LTT program. The focus should not be put on technology tools, as we know change constantly, but on how to use technology for effective two way communication and collaboration (think SAMR model).
**If I had another wish, it would be to have LTTs co-teach with professors in a variety of college teacher preparation programs. So, that future teachers also value the success that comes for collaboration and problem solving by co-teaching with a school librarian.
Joke= LTTs need to learn how to have 9 lives.
ReplyDeleteActually, although my masters' degree was in special education, I would still have liked to have more work on how to use/build library lessons to connect to the content area core. Also, I agree with Michelle that we needed to have technology integration, how to use the tools for student work and communication. Then, you are going to laugh, but I wish someone would have talked to me about the AV needs, such as - yes, it is your job to keep a supply of smartboard projector bulbs, how to work the audio system in the auditorium, and how to use other people's devices connected to the system when they come to do assemblies.
ReplyDeleteI don’t know how much of the specifics of my MLIS classes – that was 25 years ago. Add to that the fact that I followed the Public Library rather than the Educational Library track, and had to go back to get those courses when I became a teacher, and I get very mixed up as to what was when. I don’t think that familiarity with old technology is such a bad thing. Though I have yet to run a 16mm projector, I have been asked about record players (and their needles), cassette players, and I still routinely have to change light bulbs in overhead projectors. And all the other AV stuff mentioned above too. I remember that in one MLIS class we talked about the difficulty of when information stored in older formats becomes less accessible because we lose the ability to keep the old machines running. All that said – what I wish is that someone had told me:
ReplyDeleteHow to stretch a book budget by 100% to buy more materials.
How to manage the student with special needs (autistic, emotionally deficient, oppositionally defiant, behaviorally challenged, etc.) with just me and no aide. (I would guess it comes with good classroom management, but somehow the library environment is not quite the same as the classroom environment, and our goal is that it should never be so.)
How to deal with teachers who dismiss the library as not having what they or their students need, even though they have never been in it.
How to incorporate technology – and more importantly, helping me to continue to improve in incorporating technology.
How to persuade a principal that I am more than “Support Staff”.
I know that all these are not within the scope of an MLIS program, and many fall on me. But to have the background support – or to even know that I would have to deal with these issues would have been helpful.
I don’t know that the detailed cataloging class was of great benefit, but I am glad that I can make use of a DDC manual, since so many books come with imaginative cataloging. The Philosophy of Librarianship class at least gave me some grounding, though I think I learned more from my discussions about the Ethics of Public Service to Minorities (a subject very much needed for school and public librarians) from the discussions I had with a student of Public Administration. Computer classes helped but the Statistics classes really only taught me that statistics is a legal way of lying.
I agree with the comments listed before. Technology is a big area that needs to be continually updated. Particularly since we are the technology teachers. I would like to see specific help with smart boards, sound systems, projectors, pesky computer issues, printer issues, and technology issues that are specific to the students.
ReplyDeleteCollaboration with teachers is an area that should be taught. As an LTT it would be good to know what the core curriculum main topics are at any given time and I feel that with collaboration with all the teachers this would be a natural outcome.
Learning about books that tie into the core would be a valuable as well.
Wow. I love what has been said. I just read the article attached and I am LOL. Finding a quiet refuge sounds heavenly to me today. Adaptable makes me LOL also. Today I had classes while the free medical clinic and the WEBA testing people were here.
ReplyDeleteI just completed my media endorsement last year and I thought we were given a lot of tech training. However, I'm still often asked questions, to which I don't know the answer. I am always able to find the answer after some research. This will be our lot regardless of how much tech we get in school. Technology is always changing and that rate of change will only escalate. I loved the Noodle training.
ReplyDeleteGood sound teaching practice should be studied along with innovative practices in technology and information. It is really hard to imagine what the "job" will be in the future. I think the program should be aimed at candidate for a wide variety of library services positions. So, the MLS type of program would be now what I wish I had attended. Many of the specifics can be learned "on the job" but how to handle and select the best information sources should be a big part of the program.
ReplyDeleteI really think that new LTTs need to be trained in how to learn. That's what we're asked to do for our students...teach them HOW to learn. Be flexible. Move with the times. Technology is such an important part of this job. New LTTs need to be up on what is the latest technology (as much as possible), but there's no way a college can teach a technology that won't exist for another 5-10 years. But they can teach LTTs that they need to be willing to embrace whatever comes their way and know how to evaluate it to see if it's a good fit for the curriculum and their students.
ReplyDeleteWhat? They don't teach you how to run a 16 mm projector anymore. Oh my! It really is time for me to hang up my scanner. I think the best think a MLS program for school librarians to teach is flexibility and adaptability. The job I do today in no way resembles the job I did 21 years ago when I first became a librarian. And that job in no way resembled the training I had received in my media endorsement program 17 years prior to that. They need to know that the library is a living organism that will change and evolve right before their eyes. They will need to be able to stay abreast of all kinds of new things. Most importantly they need to build a network where they can reach out to others who do their job for support and ideas. I love that as a district team we are always willing to help and share with one another, and that we are willing to learn new technology and ways of teaching the things we do. Thanks to Tiffany for introducing us to noodle tools. To bad she doesn't have the magic wand that would provided us enough computers for each child to use when they come to the library to learn how to use this great resource.
ReplyDeleteTo begin with, with the course I took on cataloging didn’t help me. I think a brief discussion of cataloging is needed. I’m under the impression that other districts do like ours and have one expert (Lonnie) who sets up the online cataloging and the librarian just needs to attach records or send information into the expert if a record doesn’t exist. This course seemed antiquated.
ReplyDeleteI think much more time should be spent on methods of researching. For one, teaching best methods of searching the web, knowing the different sources of information on the web (evaluating), and to know more about which sites work well for students (including and outside of Pioneer Online, which I do love). I feel like my understanding of online research is a bit mucky. In college, we were finding our information from books; online information was too new. Over the years, my learning has been scattered, not a cohesive building of knowledge in finding information.
I think a MLS in library science should involve a lot of experience with technology, from uploading, downloading and editing film, to educational social media sites, like Edmodo.
I also think such a program could benefit from teaching about child development, at least connected to literacy, especially if someone will find themselves working with children in a public libraries. A librarian who isn’t familiar with children might not know what is appropriate or would interest (or “fit”) children at different ages and needs. Helping children to navigate shelves is big.
Okay. It’s Friday and I want to get out of here before six, so I’d better stop now.
I think a marketing course should be added, as part of providing for our continued employment and worth in our communities, we need to have the skills to market for events, showcase our achievements, and highlight the value we add to our schools/communities. Its up to us to prove how valuable libraries and the information literacy skills/technology skills we teach are, so it would be great to have more tools to do that with.
ReplyDeleteI think there needs to be classes specifically geared towards school librarianship. For example, many schools are utilizing alternative methods of book organization that are more beneficial to teachers and students being able to find the items they need quickly, since our time is more limited. Of course, many public libraries are going this direction as well, since its more user friendly. Like Linda, my extensive cataloging class was pretty useless, unless i wanted to work as a cataloger for the actual library of congress. (yup it was that detailed).
I also agree with Linda on learning more of the technology, especially the free and low cost technology, because schools have such limited funds. While I am on it, a great resource for teaching a variety of web skills including web safety is common sense media, I use their games/videos and great lesson plans for keyword searches, web safety, keeping personal information safe, and more. https://www.commonsensemedia.org/educators
Though cataloging may seem antiquated, I think that it really is needed to some degree. I find more and more often that the CIP number given by the publisher is just PURE D WRONG. For instance the books I just received about Islam that the CIP put in Christianity, the story of the Greek Gods giving Midas the Golden Touch put in legends rather that mythology (it did talk specifically about the Gods), and my favorite - the book about the making of the movie Dinosaur by Disney put in the 567 (Dinosaurs) rather than 791 (Movies). If we want our libraries to be taken seriously, and to be considered professional, we have to keep a constant vigilance to be sure we have collections that are professional in their categorization of knowledge. Don't rely on someone else to do it for you - especially a publisher.
ReplyDeleteJoseph: I used to work as a librarian at a publishing company and send the CIP data for our books (pre-publication) to the LOC. If I remember correctly, the form I submitted to them had our (the publisher's) suggestions for subject headings, but ultimately we relied on the LOC librarians to review our books and assign subject headings.
ReplyDeleteFrom time to time we would spar. Sometimes we (the publisher) would win, and other times, the LOC would. We each had our reasons for wanting the subject headings we wanted.
One thing I did take away from that experience was that LOC librarians often (correct me if I'm wrong) have PhDs in their subject areas and usually know their stuff. However, like us all, sometimes they make mistakes.
What is valiant and **rock star** about librarians is that we are on the front lines of information. If/when we come across misinformation, we can help correct and clarify, whether in a CIP or Internet, book or blog. We are kind of like a mix between Harry Potter, Encyclopedia Brown, and Thomas from The Maze Runner.
Who ever it is that does the cataloging, my point is - "Don't rely on someone else to put a book in the right place for your collection. You are the one who knows your collection, and you should be looking at what comes in, and deciding where to put it. Especially when we are trying to teach information searching and retrieval skills to others. Your collection should reflect what you are trying to teach - logical, clear organization.
DeleteI have a MLS with a focus in children’s library services. A required course in my grad program was “History of the Book” – it was one of my favorite classes and served as a fine foundation for librarianship. Older technology (Cuneiform! Books on tape!) is not always a bad thing, just curious in the passing of time as we adopt and adapt to newer technologies.
ReplyDeleteLike other LTTs, I, too, come from a public librarian background, which helped me learn the importance of community, collection development, and creating strong, relatable programs.
A few focus areas for future LTTs that come to mind:
1. Education: Edu-tech skills such as understanding and using DOK, SLOs, assessments, and advocacy (student-, school- and community-wide), and then determining how/when/why to use technology to implement them.
2. Technology: Integrating technology into lessons, school-wide. Creating short, effective research lessons (as others in this thread have said). Learning how to become a technology and resource leader at your school. If we librarians aren’t leaders, then who?
3. Collaboration: Working with teachers on curriculum, K-12. Working with administrators to implement and run effective school-wide tech training (Noodle Tools!) and programs (eg: RTS). More than anything: BEING A PART OF THE BUZZ with teachers, administration, parents, and community. This is vital. If we are not partners in the discussion, where are we? Not at the table.
Also:
Marianne: I agree with you it’s important to teach LTTs how to learn.
Jeane: Yes! Libraries are living organisms!
I have a Masters in Information Studies with a focus on school librarianship. In one of my first classes, we read an article about the library being dead. I remember discussing it with my classmates and feeling discouraged that anyone felt that, but it helped me to see the importance of being flexible and changing with the times to stay current in a changing world.
ReplyDeleteI think the most important skills to learn in a school librarianship program are:
1. Researching Skills- Learning how to find and evaluate information on the internet so you can teach others. Knowing how to use databases to find information. Knowing how to use advanced searching methods in databases. Knowing how to synthesize the information I find. All the skills we teach students- I want to be a master researcher.
2. Technology- How to use technology for finding information, for teaching, for collaborating.
3. Leadership skills- We have to be a leader in our school, communities, district. If we're not leaders, then someone will come in and tell us what we have to be doing. It's important to have a say in what's going on in the library, what's going on with funding, what's going on with curriculum and scheduling, and what's going on with our teachers and students.
4. Marketing- I agree with Stephanie on this. We have to be able to show what value that we have and be able to let principals, the district, and the community know how we are affecting students and teachers learning and growth. I didn't have a very good education in this and wish I would have learned better marketing skills.
SO - did anyone see this article in Tuesdays (Mar. 17) Tribune. It is a reprint of an OP-ED piece from the Chicago Tribune, and says a lot about the relevancy of our profession. I've put it in the next post - since I am restricted on the number of characters.
ReplyDeleteI do agree that marketing is important - we need to be able to articulate what we do and why it is important to society. And there are many who already do - such as the study released in Colorado that showed that the greatest factor influencing student growth was having a certified or degreed librarian in the elementary schools. Maybe what should be taught as part of the Library certification process is not so much advocacy for self, but for others - that is that we promote what is best for the students, and our role in education as major part of that. Then maybe we will be heard. It is easy to say that libraries are important, and to ignore them, but it is hard to say that libraries are essential to children, and then to ignore us.
SALT LAKE DESERET NEWS, TUESDAY, MARCH 17, 2015 - Sorry I had the wrong newspaper before:
ReplyDelete"What Others Say:
Paper books, alive and well
The following editorial was published recently in the Chicago Tribune:
For years, we’ve been hearing that print is dead and the electronic reading
medium is the future — the whole future. And it’s not hard to imagine a day when
no tree has to die for people to get all the reading they could want.
Half of Americans have already sprung for e-reading devices, where they can
consume books, magazines, newspapers and other virtual fare. They are
lightweight; they can hold large libraries in a small space; they can light up in the
dark; and they can provide audio and video.
But there is one important group of people who would much rather do their
reading in traditional formats. Not crotchety geezers living in the past, but teens
and young adults, who confess a marked bias for doing things the way their great-
grandparents did them.
A poll last year found that twothirds of youngsters ages 6 to 17 prefer to read
actual paper books. A Pew study found that 78 percent of those from ages 18 to
24 have read a print book in the past year — compared with 21 percent who
have read an e-book. This inclination is somewhat surprising, because young
people are less likely than their elders to read newspapers and magazines in
print.
The University of Washington did a pilot study that provided e-textbooks free —
and found that 1 of every 4 students bought the physical textbooks anyway.
Asked what format they would have chosen absent the free e-book option, only 2
percent of the students said they would have gotten the digital version, with three-
quarters opting for a hard copy.
That’s right. A lot of undergrads, given the choice between a free e-book on a
device that weighs next to nothing, would rather spend money or go to the library
so they can stuff their backpacks with bulky, heavy volumes.
Why? The e-reader’s ready access to the Internet can be a major distraction.
Email and You-Tube aren’t conducive to serious study. Naomi Baron, a
linguistics professor at American University, did a survey of college students in
several countries and found that 92 percent say they concentrate best reading a
physical book.
Some young adults articulate strong feelings on the topic. “It’s my worst
nightmare that some Christmas I’ll get a Kindle and have to pretend I like it,” says
one recent university graduate of our acquaintance.
She likes the satisfaction of finishing a book, placing it on a shelf alongside
others and letting it quietly remind her of its contents. “I have a growing collection
and I intend to add to it,” she says.
Baron says that of the college students polled in Slovakia, “1 out of 10 talked
about the smell of books. There really is a physical, tactile, kinesthetic
component to reading.”
For many young people, and a few older ones, an e-book is a bit like seeing a
loved one on Skype: It’s a useful option, but nothing beats a physical connection."
I taught a couple of library classes for distance ed. and the assignments and activities the students like the most were the ones that were having them look at the activities that they would be doing in the library. For example they took a nonfiction shelf in the school library and looked at the books that needed weeding and why they would weed them. Or another one was to come up with a schedule for either student or other library aides. Reading book reviews and coming up with a book order to match a budget. I don't remember doing any of those types of activities in my classes. I was very green when I started in the library and everything was new and learned while doing. The biggest thing I found that I had to do for my library classes was read about the philosophies of libraries. I don't remember looking at curriculum (except for media on an older or high school or college age level), budgets, educating the public on my role as a teacher, financing or scheduling.
ReplyDeleteI think one of the best things that could be done is adding instruction to regular education and administrator courses that provide insight and understanding as to the critical role the school librarian and school library program can make to the school.
Now just a comment about ebooks from a little different point of view. Ebooks as well as the hands on physical books are both important to have. I have found that with the problems I have with my eyes that I can track the words and lines much easier on an ebook. Yes, I love the physical contact with a book, and the pictures and reading a book in a cozy nook or chair, is the best. It is hard to cuddle up with a good tablet or iPad and your children or grandchildren. However, if you're wondering if you'll be able to enjoy reading a book at all at times, because the print is too small or it takes to long to get through the page....well all I can say is, it has given me my books back when I can pick up my iPad, check out the books from the library, enlarge the print a bit, and read. I'm not alone in feeling this way...check out this article: http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2012/11/study-in-macular-degeneration-ipads-are-better-than-print/265120/ which found that: "Reading speed and comfort drastically improved for people who used backlit e-readers."