— Summer 1997 —
— Summer
1997 —
Every year, a particularly bittersweet burden falls upon the Editor of The Link: announcing who has been named recipient of the SIRS/ECIS Information Exchange Award. Our joy and pleasure at being able to announce the name of the "winner" is tinged with sadness that we were not able to award this unique professional development opportunity to ALL of the wonderfully qualified, energetic and enthusiastic applicants! It is with elation that we announce Anne Kurt has been given the nod this year. As with other years, something made one letter of application stand out from the very worthy pack. Could it be the challenge of supporting a colleague who is setting up a new library virtually from scratch? Or perhaps her determination to forge informal links with other "foreign" school librarians in her part of the world, building up a valuable peer support network? Or perhaps the sheer enthusiasm of this relative newcomer to the profession to set the highest possible standards for her students, and for herself? Since the voting and deliberations of the judges are secret, we may never know. But what is certain is that a worthy name is added to the list of past recipients of this innovative and personalized programme for professional development and growth, made possible by the continuing financial, logistical and organizational support of SIRS.
Editor's note: This is an excerpt from a long letter we got from Michelle, detailing her recent trip to Florida as recipient of the SIRS/ECIS Information Exchange Award. In this issue, overflowing with text, it seems a bit of a shame to abbreviate her very interesting letter . . . but it would be even more of a shame to hold it until a future issue! If you'd like more information about any of this, get in touch with her soon; a little bird has told us that she may be at a different school next year!
My first visit was to the John I Leonard High School, which is part of ... the Florida Model School Consortia Act. These schools pool their resources and liaise with a variety of other bodies such as local businesses, universities, Department of Education and so on, aiming toward "the improvement of student learning as developed by educationally and fiscally sound policies.". . . . [Librarian Jane Kunf and I] discussed children's reading and she stated that pupils are extremely poor at selecting fiction for leisure reading. The fiction section was adequately stocked and in a prominent position but students were not selecting and reading. I was relieved to find that someone else has similar concerns [about] how to develop a culture of reading amongst teenagers. The Olympic Heights Community High School, also in the consortia, is where I met Media Specialist Al Desorbo....Al has a background in technical media and created and supervises a television studio, within the library building, from which students televise to each classroom. At the recent ECIS Recruitment Fair, I was asked if I was capable of using television recording equipment and video production. Maybe this is an area school librarians may find they have to consider more seriously!
It was at Florida Atlantic University that I met . . . Elliot Gertel, Judaica Librarian. The aim of this section of the library is to become one of the major collections of Judaica literature in the United States, if not beyond. In a small room, off a corridor, I was introduced to two Jewish gentlemen, both concentration camp survivors. They worked voluntarily repairing old books for the collection. They were self taught and repaired the books with skill, care and commitment. This meticulous preservation was most thought provoking, especially after such an immersion into library technology.
I was also fortunate enough to spend some time in the various SIRS departments. I found it interesting to observe so many aspects of the business conducted "in house," such as film processing, printing ail materials, graphic design artists, Web page designer, etc. . . . I thoroughly enjoyed all the visits, which were so carefully arranged for me. . . . My sincerest thanks to Eleanor and Elliot Goldstein and everyone at SIRS.
Help! They've changed the series order of C.S. Lewis' Chronicles of Narnia books. The older books, as well as Fiction Sequels by Vicki Anderson, list The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe as #1. On a newer edition of that book, they list The Magician's Nephew as #1, the The Lion . . . as #2. The new #3 book is The Horse and His Boy, which was #5 under the old system. Prince Caspian becomes #4, The Voyage of the "Dawn Treader" #5, the Silver Chair #6, and #7 stays The Last Battle. Does anyone know anything about this? Surely it wasn't done with his approval, as he died in 1963!
This award, which is to the value of US$400 for the winner to spend on any technology that will be beneficial to their library, will be given to the international School library that sends in a submission showing the implementation of an innovative idea which is actively working to encourage and promote life-long learning skills amongst the students.
The award is based on the successful award scheme being sponsored by Winnebago through the various state Library Associations in the USA. Winnebago is to be thanked for its generous sponsorship.
It is open to all schools who are current members of ECIS, whether primary or secondary. Closing date is September 1st, 1997 and the winner will be announced in time for the ECIS November conference. For further information, contact Vivienne Locke, Committee Chair.
In an attempt to insure a higher profile within the larger international professional community for International School librarians, the Board of the International Association of School Librarianship has announced that Richard Barter will be the founding Chair of a Special Interest Group for International Schools within IASL.
OK, that's the official blurb. As past Chair of the ECIS Library Committee, and through my involvement with THE LINK, and other publishing initiatives, I have long hoped to make our community less insular, more part of our global profession. To do this, I need your help! Join with me and my colleagues at IASL, as we plan and build a professional support structure to meet your needs. It's still not too late to register for the upcoming July IASL conference. Get in touch, and let me know how I can introduce you to IASL, and vice versa!
Richard Barter, Assistant Director
American School of Las Palmas
Apartado 15_Tafira Alta
35017 Las Palmas de Gran Canaria Spain
Fax: (34) (28) 43 00 17
e-mail: rick@idecnet.com
Vivienne Locke
Curriculum Support Librarian
International School of the Hague
Theo Mann-Bouwmeesterlaan 75
2597 GV The Hague
(The Netherlands)
Phone: (31) (70) 328 14 50
Fax: (31 ) (70) 328 20 49
The ECIS Committee on Library & Information services has been hard at work planning an interesting and inspiring ECIS Annual Conference, 20-23 November, 1997, in the Hague. The Committee is pleased to announce that the well known author/publisher Aidan Chambers has accepted an invitation to speak at the conference. Mr. Chambers is well known in European book circles for his writing for children and young adults and, with his wife, as founder of the Thimble Press, producing the magazine SIGNAL. He was the co-recipient of the Eleanor Farjeon Award for outstanding services to (British) children's books in 1982, and since 1985 has been awarded the Silver Pencil (Holland) on three different occasions. Our second guest speaker will be Dr. Sigrun Klara Hannesdottir, President of the International Association of School Librarianship (IASL). From Iceland, she is very well known in international circles for her many projects with the International Federation of Library Associations (IFLA), in Scandinavia, and for the Icelandic Ministry of Education. She is Professor in Library & Information Science at the Faculty of Social Science, University of Iceland. We are hoping to provide a very special conference to help celebrate the twentieth year of our subject committee in ECIS (The Link, too! ed.) Make a note of the dates now, and contact me for more information about any of the services and activities of the Committee.
As my last act as Editor of The Link, I am going to ignore Vivenne Locke's request that I print her testimonial to my diligence and brilliance. I would rather use the available space to "introduce" my successor. My "Baby" will be in good hands! Hope to see you all at IASL!!!-Rick
Ken Vessey, Librarian
St. John's International School
Dreve Richelle
1410 Waterloo (Belgium)
Phone: (32) (2) 352 0610
fax: (32) (2) 352 0620
e-mail 72233.3322@compuserve.com
It's finally at our school: distributed, school-wide access to the Internet. Every desktop a doorway to the world outside. Is this the scenario at your school yet? How do you handle training? At ISA we are struggling to cope with this. When distributed access to the Internet becomes available this year, we knew we had to provide a comprehensive training program before cyber-anarchy reigned! What we did in the ninth and tenth grades was set up a month-long "Web Workshop." Among the topics covered were:
We used an online Internet tutorial for the basic navigation, and I structured the research section around class assignments. For instance, we had students search different keyword engines for the same topic, and capitalize/hyphenate/space the term differently on the same search engine. We wanted students to understand that there is not one correct way into the information available on the Internet, and to learn to rely on the help aids available.
Was this successful? In many ways, yes. Most importantly, there was teamwork between the librarian and the computer teacher. Although the workshops took place in the lab, I taught the workshops. This helped the students understand the link between off- and online research. We also exposed students to subject directories so they could see there were other ways of getting information.
Much work still has to be done, however. Students are still using the Internet for absolutely everything, and while in the library I am around to nudge them toward other sources. Sometimes I feel like Sisyphus. The next step, after the training sessions, must be to work with the teachers to team-plan research opportunities and require that students utilize a variety of sources. In a recent project we did just this. "The last lot of projects on China were a big improvement on their previous attempts at research," wrote the teacher. "I really think the process of working through each reference section helped." How are you handling training? Write me, and I'll include Your ideas in a future column.
Somerton Book Centre, the well-known UK book supplier, can now provide USMARC data, compatable with the major UD automation systems (Mandarin, Winnebago, etc.). Ask them for a demo!
A recent article in The Guardian is typical of many dealing with the new stress-inducer: Information overload. The case studies, managers and executives all, were so bombarded with e-mail messages, faxes, and telephone calls that they could not get on with their jobs. Not so long ago, of course, a secretary would filter the important from the non-important, pass on to her manager what he (or she) needed to deal with and type up the reply, pass on to others what others needed to deal with, deal with some herself, and file the rest in the "round filing-cabinet." Today, the wonders of technology have liberated managers from their secretaries as they tackle their own work AND the work once performed by a secretary. It's not information overload-it's work overload. (1)
That is not to say that information overload does not exist, because it does. And like stress, it can be good and it can be bad. If you can handle it, then there is no problem. Information overload is bad when you, your health, or your work suffer.
Think back: do you remember your first visit to a large library? Some people react with unbounded joy: the universe is so huge! There is so much to choose from and they cannot wait to get started. Others feel bewilderment and even fear: the universe is so huge! There is so much to choose from and they do not know where to start or how to get started. Those who experience the second of these reactions often become reluctant readers, a reader who can read-but doesn't. They're not literate but they're not illiterate. Some authorities call them aliterate.(2)
One method used in schools to help those who cannot cope with a large library is to present a smaller section of books, perhaps in a classroom library, perhaps in a special section of the school library. There is nothing new in this tactic; a recent study suggests why the strategy may work for some (but not all) reluctant readers. Mackey and Johnston call them "book resistant readers." They suggest that readers who are overwhelmed by the sheer size of a library have not learned the strategies by which more practiced readers narrow their choices and make their selections. Such techniques include reading more by a known author, getting a friend's recommendation, following a genre or a series, looking at covers, and so on. The researchers enjoyed success when getting readers to discuss their personal selection strategies, and success when presenting book-resistant readers with a limited selection.(3)
Just as some readers can suffer because they are overwhelmed with choice, information seekers can also suffer from too much choice. Modern electronic communications such as CD-ROM and the Internet may have liberated many from having too little information for their needs, but others suffer from having too much. Many students find it tempting indiscriminately to print out (or download and print out later) every "hit" found on the CD-ROM, to chase up and print or download hypertext link after link on the web. Others freeze, faced with a surfeit of choice. Net-capturing software which chases up those links, automatically downloading to the searcher's computer, compounds the problem. It may be a great time-saver, but it can lead to a veritable deluge of data.
The skilled information seeker is aware that, quick reference apart, research is not about finding and it is not about finding out. It is about finding evidence, working from what is already known, posing a hypothesis, and setting out to find the evidence to prove or disprove that hypothesis, perhaps suggesting lines for further investigation. A basic skill is using the right tool for the job. Electronic resources can be as inaccurate or out-of-date as any book, and a great deal harder to use. Researchers need search strategies, and many rapidly learn that, unless they have a good reference to follow up, the Internet is the information resource of last resort.
Electronic information seekers need to understand how boolean logic can be used to narrow, widen or refine a search. They also need to appreciate the differences between keyword search and a subject search, and to understand the limitations of each. Even with these skills, seekers still find a huge number of hits. Students need to be encouraged to think about and to use a variety of techniques for scanning possible leads: speedreading and skimming, using headlines and titles, subject headings and summaries, using a search engine's ranking function when available and so on.
Students should understand the issues of authorship and authority. They need practice in quick-checking for currency and accuracy and relevance given. As an instance, the four line Alta-Vista record provides an enormous number of clues for the aware, including the title, first few lines, date, size, and address of the file. All can be of significance and guide the searcher.
Experienced researchers have a feel for how much time a search is worth, and know when and how to give up and use what they've got. They match the search time available for the project. Once the problem is solved, they know there is no need to search further. Some searchers do need to understand that they may not be able to use everything that they do have. There are diminishing returns on new information, and much of it is not new at all. If students are truly overwhelmed with information when doing an open-ended project, then it is probably necessary to narrow the questions and the field of research. On the other hand, if information on a topic is not to be found, it may not be due to a failure in searching technique: the information may not exist, or it may not be publicly available. And this, too, is of significance and worth noting.
Awareness of possibilities comes through teaching and discussion and sharing of techniques. Why is one article or information source chosen and another rejected? Why choose one search term and not another? That's what it boils down to: learning how to learn. It is all basic information skills, study skills, and time management. Once a learner has begun to master the skills, they can be applied in any information situation, regardless of the resource or medium. Geography teacher Jack Kenny understands this. Declaring that (CD-ROM) technology has made finding and finding out all too easy, but that this alone is not learning, he says, "This is what librarians have talked about for years; we need information skills. Everyone needs information skills... In this information world, these skills are as vital as reading or writing."(4)
Mine is no doubt a simplistic view, for I have discussed only a few aspects of information overload. Nevertheless, it is clear that a structured, practiced information strategy will do much to keep information overload at bay.
(1). See, for instance, Victor Keegan, "Just too much:
why information overload is making us ill," The Guardian 2, 5 November
1996, pp 1-3.
(2). See, for instance, Dr. G. Kylene Beers, "No time, no interest, no
way!: the three voices of aliteracy," School Library Journal, Part 1: February
1996, pp 30-33; Part 2: March 1996, 110-113.
(3). Margaret Mackey and Ingrid Johnston, "The book resisters: ways of
approaching reluctant teenage readers," School Libraries Worldwide, vol.
2 (1) 1996, pp 25-38.
(4). Jack Kenny, "The spin of a disc," Times Educational Supplement,
Geography Extra, 18 October 1996, pVIII.
Your CommitteeCoralie Clark completed her two years as Committee Chairman, and in keeping with what has become committee practice, stepped down. She remains on the committee, and the new Chariman is John Royce. Anthony Tilke has joined the Committee and is taking over as editor of The Link. Please contact any one member of the Committee if you have concerns, requests, ideas or suggestions as to how the Committee can support you. John Royce (Chair), Robert College, email: jroyce@robcol.k12.tr |
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The Link is the newsletter of the ECIS Committee
on Library and Information Services
and is edited by Anthony Tilke, Yokohama International Schools. Email: tilkea@yis.ac.jp; fax 81 45 621 0379 |