After reading the comments in
discussion three about Riedling's approach to creating a reference
library, I began to muse on the function of idealism in our education
system. I know that the average school library does not have the
humanpower or the budget to keep up with Riedling's five year
turnover for reference materials, however, by having a document like
Reference skills for the School Library Media Specialist,
the TL has expert evidence to support the need for continued or
increased funding to a library programme.
My
classmate Diane Liao raised the following question in her post
“Riedling made a
comment when discussing timeliness and permanence: "Printed
resources are often considered to be out of date before they reach
the student" (Riedling 20). If this is the case, are print
sources on their way out? As I said above, if students have access to
encyclopedias and atlases online (which are paid for by the school
board), why buy the print versions?”
In
response, I brought up the issue of poor computer access and whether
out of date print resources were better than un-accessible resources.
I wanted to look at these two questions through the frame of
idealism. In Riedling's perfect world, there is access to budget and
the technology. I believe this is possible in our school system, but
that it takes a lot of forethought and advocacy. During my library
461 course, I was able to visit the Vancouver Technical library, where there
is a fully functional computer lab in the LRC. The head librarian's
ability to anticipate the technological changes that were about to
arrive led her to push for a lab in the library. Her foresight has
enabled her and her students to stay ahead of the curve when it comes
to accessing reference resources online. By imagining an ideal
library, Joanne is able to create a functional library that meets the
needs of the students and teachers at her school.
I know that this post has strayed away from the idea of building a reference collection, but I feel one must have a functional library in order to build a functional collection.
Yes, for years I've said that the TL is some ways is only as good as the collection - you certainly can't flog poor quality and get away with it. Also, it is about going to where the puck is, rather than playing catch-up. This also explains why someone like me who is mighty old must stay on top of what are the current issues in school libraries and not merely rely on my previous experience. BTW, the best way to do that is to be subscribed to the international list-servs. These are the schools who really need English content libraries and have the funds to address that need.
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