“If, (...), it is more important to teach students the life long skills necessary to ‘seek out, analyze and use information’ rather than simply present or regurgitate information, then perhaps, what information students find is less important than how they find and apply it.” (Oxley, 2023).
For most of my life, I’ve never really understood the importance of the reference section of a library. When I was young, it was the basement of the library where I would have to go and sit because I wasn’t allowed to take the books home. There may have been something I needed, but I always wanted to get back to the ‘good’ books that I could take home and read all the way through. Somehow, not being allowed to borrow books made that section feel less worthy than other areas of the library. When I started working in my school library, I was relieved when we reduced the amount of books in the section - they were outdated, rarely looked at and students were accessing most of this information through our online databases.
I now have a much deeper understanding of the important role Reference Services play. It is so much more than the resources they hold; of equal, if not more importance is the services that are provided which lead students to become information literate. I have always viewed the teaching of information and digital literacy skills as an important part of my role, I just didn't understand their connection to Reference Services. If students don’t develop these skills, how can we expect them to navigate a world of increasing amounts of information which have varying levels of accuracy, bias, and perspectives.
“Today, when a school library collection includes many digital resources available onsite or through external commercial databases and licensed reference materials, conventional school library collection standards are difficult to develop and apply” (IFLA, p.35)
I went down a bit of a rabbit-hole trying to find more up to date guidelines than what was provided in ‘Achieving Information Literacy’. For instance, while Asselin stated that an exemplary library would have held a physical collection of 70 - 85% non-fiction items (Asselin, p. 28), the School Library Journal highlighted a more recent trend of increased spending on fiction books, while non-fiction has decreased.
Cynthia Houston’s presentation at the IASL Tokyo Conference in 2016 provided a clearer picture as she talked about the changing nature of the reference section and how a librarian may address this section going forward. She also highlighted some resources to look for more current guidelines and suggestions on developing your reference section going forward. I was particularly interested in the National Library of New Zealand, which highlighted a mix of online and physical resources to add to a collection.
Physical library collections will always exist as they hold an important function in supporting a diverse learning community, but they are not the only source of information. As librarians, we need to consider the needs of our community members and curriculum and find a balance of resources and support to “make information gathering effective and efficient - and create information-literate, socially responsible, lifelong learners.” (Riedling & Houston, p. 105).
Citations:
“Information Literacy”. ALA’s Literacy Clearinghouse. https://literacy.ala.org/information-literacy/ Accessed 30 January 2023.
Asselin, Marlene, et al. Achieving Information Literacy: Standards for School Library Programs in Canada. Canadian Association for School Libraries, 2006.
Houston, Cynthia. “Reinventing your Reference Collection”. International Association of School Librarianship, 2016. https://iasl-online.org/resources/Pictures/PP02_HoustonC_2016IASLTokyo.pdf. Accessed 29 January 2023.
IFLA School Libraries Section Standing Committee. “IFLA School Library Guidelines”, 2nd Revised edition, International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions, June 2015, https://www.ifla.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/assets/school-libraries-resource-centers/publications/ifla-school-library-guidelines.pdf. Endorsed by the IFLA Professional Committee. Accessed 30 January 2023.
Kletter, Melanie. "During Covid Libraries Prioritized Electronic Resources, Fiction. SLJ 2021 Spending Survey”, March 25, 2021. School Library Journal. https://www.slj.com/story/During-covid-libraries-prioritized-electronic-resources-fiction-slj-2021-spending-survey Accessed January 27, 2023.
Oxley, Kristie. (2023). “Lesson 4: Print and/or Electronic Reference Materials”. In LIBE 467: Information Services 1. UBC. https://canvas.ubc.ca/courses/115685/pages/lesson-4-print-and-slash-or-electronic-reference-materials?module_item_id=5213148. Accessed 29 January 2023.
Riedling, Ann Marlow, and Cynthia Houston. Reference Skills for the School Librarian: Tools and Tips, 4th ed., Santa Barbara, Libraries Unlimited, an imprint of ABC CLIO, 2019.
