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Information Literacy and Electronic Resources @ your Library

Information Literacy and Electronic Resources @ your Library. Markham Public Libraries Andrea Cecchetto Meg Kwasnicki . Session Outline. Developing Information Literacy service @ the Public Library Different service groups K-8 and Teens

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Information Literacy and Electronic Resources @ your Library

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  1. Information Literacy and Electronic Resources @ your Library Markham Public Libraries Andrea Cecchetto Meg Kwasnicki

  2. Session Outline • Developing Information Literacy service @ the Public Library • Different service groups K-8 and Teens • Foundations for Information Literacy as a core service of the Public library

  3. Markham Public Libraries Profile • 6 Branches – 5 main branches – 1 neighborhood • Growing suburban community – pop. 260,000 • High mobility – New Canadian community

  4. Developing IL: The Need • “I need a book on…” • Pioneers • Canada’s Trading partners • Prime Ministers • …etc… And we don’t have any

  5. Developing IL: The Need “But I’m not allowed to use the Internet!” Databases are perceived as “the Internet”

  6. Developing IL: The Need Kids in the INFORMATION AGE are Googleized Blindly searching where everyone has searched before

  7. Developing IL: The Need - Teens • Internet use is not restricted – teens prefer Google • Still looking for print – but specifically print • You can lead a horse to water…but you can’t make it use the online databases

  8. Developing IL: The Need - Reference Service • Training - Professional knowledge in this area inconsistent • E resource education complicated for a 5-10 min reference interview

  9. Developing IL: The Need Information Literacy… …is bigger than unused E-resources

  10. Research and Implementation

  11. Task Force – Enormity of the topic Information Literacy Theory is Everywhere • ACRL standards • K-12 standards OSLA • What about Dewey? OSLA K-12 Standards

  12. Task Force – Enormity of the topic Boils down to 4 major themes • Access • Evaluation • Relevance/Use • Understanding/Application

  13. Task Force –How to start? Dive in ? Build it Brick by Brick?

  14. Teen Services – Past Attempts at Info Lit • One-on-one tutorials • Effective communication but time intensive • In house programming • Good facilities, easy for staff but attendance is a problem • Classroom “training” • Poor absorption but captive audience

  15. Initial Assumptions: teens and research • If teens can use Google, they will • They underestimate the importance of good research • They overestimate their own research skills • They are not aware of the online databases

  16. The Horse’s Mouth: what the teens say Research Methods: • #1 challenge – research methods (defining research topics, identifying key concepts, applying research to topic) • Are not frustrated by research • Claim to use variety of sources

  17. Teen Survey Results con’t Library use: • Most use library; all have library card • Likes: variety of books (23%); organization (18%); quiet (14%) • Dislikes: time consuming (23%); materials unavailable/checked out (20%); don’t know how to find info (15%) • Basic library skills

  18. Teen Survey Results con’t Internet use: • Teachers allow use • Confident in quality of information – 63% • Poor search skills - keyword searches, dependent on Google • Do not know how to evaluate sites/determine quality of information

  19. Teen Survey Results con’t Online Databases: • High awareness; many have tried the DB • Ambivalent about DB – easy to use, found what they needed, don’t like them • Dislikes: irrelevant info; didn’t understand how to use them; access • Preferred training method: library class (19%)

  20. Input from the TAG • Need solutions “on demand” • Willingness to learn/improve • No incentive to improve research skills • Get out to the schools

  21. What the teachers have to say • Majority dissatisfied with students’ research • Research is important to 100% • Student Weaknesses: Website evaluation; Poor web research skills; dependency on web • Needs improvement: research beyond Google • Any training would help; preferably in the library – if transportation isn’t an issue

  22. Our New Assumptions • Competition with Google is not the issue • Teens lack foundations of IL – problem is beyond search skills • Need new approach to Online database instruction/promotion • Need for flexible, user-centric solutions

  23. Children’s services – Teacher Librarians Two focus groups elementary school Teacher Librarians York Region Catholic SB and York Region Public SB

  24. Teacher Librarians - Questions • Focus in schools for electronic resource instruction • Levels and abilities of different grade levels • Facilities in schools for electronic resource instruction/ ability to come to the library • Role of the public library Information literacy instruction

  25. eResource instruction in Schools • eResource and Internet alternatives top concern • TLs teach database use- school’s or Public library’s • Problematic – Resource inconsistency

  26. TLs - Levels and Abilities • K-12 Standards Designed by OSLA • Mid level grades 3-5s specific and focused • Intermediate level 6-8 - Database vs. Internet - • Abstract reasoning and evaluative skills

  27. Levels and Abilities – Grades 3-5 • Focus on a single application • logging in • Bookmarked lists • Single databases • Controlled searches • Research skills • Narrowing topic • Synonyms and Keywords

  28. Levels and Abilities – Grades 6-8 • Design cumulative curriculum over 4 weeks (1 hour/week) • Concepts build on one another • Website evaluation • Search engine mechanics • Database use and search skills

  29. Teacher Librarians - Interest with PL • Instructional Success = Tie into assignments & Good Grades • Awareness = Media tools and promotions from Public Library • Ideal = have Information Literacy skills tied into curriculum

  30. Solutions & Pilot Projects

  31. Awareness - Media • Posters – with Web Evaluation Criteria • Bookmarks – with login description and database description • Brochures – highlights only relevant databases

  32. Poster

  33. Bookmark HELP! I have a school Project. Use MPL Electronic databases! INFORMATION! YOUR TEACHER WILL APPROVE! Access to free Electronic magazines, newspapers, encyclopedias, photos, etc available from in the library or yourhome computer 24/7. E-Library Elementary Ebscohost Kids Search World Book Online LOGON TO: www.markhampubliclibraries

  34. Bookmark Backside E-Library Elementary A child friendly database containing newspaper and magazine articles, video clips and photographs. Ebscohost-Kids Search Easy to use and graphically appealing database. Search by topic such as geography, music, sports, health, and arts, etc. World Book Online Search a wide variety of topics in this electronic encyclopedia.

  35. Brochures • For Children - Specific and directive – one per age level or database • Screen captures, callouts and arrows, reduce text E.g. Click here for elibrary canada Click here for World book

  36. Website Layout: Recommended • Make database title and contents clear • Minimize use of Clicks – choices make for confusion • Task force to make recommendations for database access improvements

  37. MPL Website- under construction We will put the kid’s databases on the kid’s website. The list is challenging – too much text for young users

  38. Access issue –Host DatabasesLists upon lists

  39. We like it! Keep it Simple Whitby PL

  40. Login is individual Here there is one obvious login to bring to one location

  41. Application - Pilot Programmes • Grade 3s – EBSCO Kid’s Search • Grade 6s – Search engines, Web sites, Online Encyclopedias, Online Databases • Grade 8s – Research skills, Search Engines & Websites, Database Searching

  42. Outreach Goals Goal introduce EBSCO Kid’s search Search using a single keyword Thinking of synonyms Grade 3s – Two Sessions K-12 Guidelines • select information from a range of electronic resources • enter simple search words

  43. Kid’s Search – what it looks like Click this for pictures only Type your topic here!

  44. Synonym concept map

  45. Successes Demonstration Guide to use Results = positive feedback from students Challenges Each had different terms Research Preparation (not enough) Spelling Concept development Grade 3s

  46. Feedback from students & Teachers Positive responses: • Received expected results • Found interface intuitive • Thought they could teach it to other kids! Negative responses • Did not get expected results • Did not understand interface • Needed more practice

  47. K-12 Guidelines describe how information on specific Web sites is structured begin to search the Internet using single search engines retrieve information from databases Outreach Goals Introduce search engines Introduce website evaluation criteria Compare search engine quality Online encyclopedias Databases – controlled searching Grade 6s - Methodology

  48. World Book Online

  49. Successes Web - evaluation only Focused practice - computers Activities on worksheets Database activities Challenges Security settings @ schools – lock out library databases Convincing that QUALITY is better than QUANTITY Tire of same message pretty quickly Grade 6s - Three sessions

  50. Grade 8s – 3 sessions • Used input from TL, teens & teachers to plan • Five weeks with two classes, three sessions: • Introduction to research methods, library • Effective web-based research • Introduction to the online databases

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