LIBE 467: The Foundation of Reference Services

Hello! The blog has been revived for a new teacher-librarian course, LIBE 467 Information Services! In hitting the 1/3 mark in the course we’ve been asked to reflect on our first of three themes: the foundation of reference services. In establishing this foundation, the vast scope of responsibility placed on teacher-librarians’ shoulders continues to become more and more apparent. Among these responsibilities are knowledge of different research models; research skills expertise; knowledge of the School Library Learning Commons (SLLC’s) current reference section, including its gaps; the ability to select and evaluate new reference resources for purchase; and the ability to communicate how and where to conduct online research (Riedling, 2005). Keep in mind that these skills are only from the information literacy category of responsibilities for teacher-librarians, and don’t touch on the myriad of other duties and responsibilities expected of our SLLC leaders. 

collaboration graphic (n.d.)

    It can be a lot to take in, to see just a section of one’s duties laid out in list form, never mind a list of all of one’s duties. This holds true with many different careers though, especially those in the education sector. And in practice, I find that these duties are similar to reading a book or riding a bike – you’re not really thinking about all of the different things that you’re doing to complete the job, rather it all happens in stride. A key aspect to the job that Riedling doesn’t emphasize enough, but that one of my colleagues also pointed out in his blog reflection, is that while the list of duties for a teacher-librarian is lengthy, most of their responsibilities are collectively shared with others on their staff (Radford). Information literacy and the research process is something that is embedded into several subject areas, particularly English Language Arts, Social Studies, and the Sciences. While there are certainly schools where the teacher-librarian or media specialist teaches a designated class on different information literacy skills, oftentimes their knowledge and expertise is used to supplement that of the teacher’s, and to support the teacher in their work. 

    In an ideal world, the different knowledge, experiences, and perspectives held by the classroom teacher and the teacher-librarian can be used to present information to students in multiple ways, allowing students to glom on to the methods that they understand best and will be most successful applying. 

    My biggest takeaway from this first thematic unit is that familiarity with different research models is a great way to build a foundation as a literacy information educator. Figure 1.3 in Riedling’s book lays out three Research and Problem-Solving models (Kuhlthau, Eisenberg and Berkowitz, and Stripling and Pitts) in a way that shows how the various stages of each model overlap (p. 8). 

Figure 1.3: Overview of Three Research or Problem-Solving Models or Processes (Riedling, p. 8)

I personally find Kuhlthau’s process the easiest to conceptualize because of its wording, but I actually prefer Victoria, BC educator Trevor Mackenzie’s Inquiry Cycle model over the ones Riedling lists in her book. The sketch notes included in his books and presentations give a great visual of the various steps of the process.

Mackenzie & Bathurst-Hunt (n.d)

    Additionally, I appreciate how much time and thought the topic selection phase is shown to take. Mackenzie’s model has the potential to help students select a research topic that has enough substance without being overly broad. 

    At the end of it all though, and what Riedling was conveying with her “Overview” figure is that most of the different research models and processes that are widely used are incredibly similar. This is reassuring to current, new, and prospective teacher-librarians (like myself) who perhaps thrive in other aspects of the role but are less comfortable in their abilities as information literacy educators. Becoming familiar and gaining practice with the basics of the research process will help establish a foundation upon which we can become confident information literacy educators; having the different wording of the various models available is really more the cherry on top, and can be helpful in adapting to different teachers’ preferences and/or in helping students find the wording and process that makes the most sense to them so that they can progress to becoming information literate individuals.

References:

Collaboration Graphic. Aerie Consulting, www.aerieconsulting.com/hs-fs/hubfs/collaboration.jpg?width=1600&name=collaboration.jpg.

Mackenzie, Trevor. “The Inquiry Cycle.” Trevor Mackenzie, illustrated by Rebecca Bathurst-Hunt, www.trevormackenzie.com/sketchnotes.

Radford, Bill. “Information Literacy: Everybody’s Job.” Radford: Library Course Blogs, 31 Jan. 2023, radfordlibe.blogspot.com/2023/01/libe-467-theme-1-foundation-of.html. Accessed 6 Feb. 2023.

Riedling, Ann Marlow. Reference Skills for the School Library Media Specialist: Tools and Tips. Amsterdam, Netherlands, Adfo Books, 2005.