Circulating Ideas | the librarian interview podcast What’s our future – school libraries and librarians It disturbs me that we are not seriously thinking about the future of school libraries. This statement will receive incensed objections; teacher librarians are, after all, talking about changes in what we do and how we do it at conferences and in their own libraries. We talk about some of these changes in my own school library – delivering ebooks, providing transferable skills such as critical literacies to our students, delivering online resources. Well shoot me down if I upset you but I still think we’re not getting it. We can’t make changes to our libraries and continue to hold onto the way we’ve always done it. I seriously think we’ll be out of a job soon unless we move along with public libraries and transform what we’re doing. I don’t know about you but I can’t stop thinking about this topic. Just this morning I asked Jenny Luca on Twitter what she would be speaking about at the SLAQ2012 conference. What are the core services of libraries now and in ten year’s time? Like this:
Whatever Mathers Library surveys Library surveys are a useful way to align your library resources and services to meet teacher and student needs. Contents Purpose of your survey: what you want to find outDeciding on who to survey - and whyTips on how to create a good surveyCollection development surveysInformation literacy surveysLibrary use and environment surveysTeacher surveysSurvey methods Purpose of your survey: what you want to find out Have specific goals and purposes in mind before you create your survey. For example, information on favourite genres and authors could be used to: Develop your collection (fiction, non-fiction, magazines, online resources)Engage reluctant readers by shoulder-tapping them with a selection of books they may enjoyInspire displays and shelving decisions Surveying students on their attitudes toward reading at the beginning and end of a year / unit can be a useful way to: Deciding on who to survey - and why Always keep your purpose in mind when deciding who to survey. Teacher surveys
Using Primary Sources on the Web | Reference & User Services Association (RUSA) This brief guide is designed to help students and researchers find and evaluate primary sources available online. Keep in mind as you use this website, the Web is always changing and evolving. If you have questions, please consult your instructor or librarian. Primary sources are the evidence of history, original records or objects created by participants or observers at the time historical events occurred or even well after events, as in memoirs and oral histories. Primary sources may include but are not limited to: letters, manuscripts, diaries, journals, newspapers, maps, speeches, interviews, documents produced by government agencies, photographs, audio or video recordings, born-digital items (e.g. emails), research data, and objects or artifacts (such as works of art or ancient roads, buildings, tools, and weapons). These sources serve as the raw materials historians use to interpret and analyze the past. Additional Explanations and Examples of Primary Sources Benjamin, Jules R.