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Heeru Bhojwani
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Professional Development

Jun 25 2024

Why don’t Principals see Librarians as Multifaceted Educators?

By General, International School, Professional Development 4 Comments

Free CC0 public domain image source here

In today’s rapidly evolving educational landscape, the role of librarians has transcended the traditional boundaries of book management and information retrieval. These professionals are poised to become indispensable assets in the quest to empower students and enhance the overall academic experience.

Librarians as Multiskilled Individuals:

Librarians must be recognized as individuals with a diverse range of skills, ready to evolve and grow alongside the changing needs of schools. Beyond their expertise in managing library resources, they can:

1. Support Research Projects:

Librarians can guide students and teachers through complex research projects, providing valuable insights into information sources, data analysis, and effective research methodologies and working as partners in Students’ Research Projects including ethical use of AI tools as visibly stated in the AASL Standards.

2. Teach Design and Use of AI Tools

As artificial intelligence continues to shape the future of education, librarians can play a vital role in introducing and training students on the effective use of AI-powered tools for learning and productivity in partnership with teachers, as cited by Van Brummelen and all.

3. Teach EAL or Theory of Knowledge

According to L Carrol, Librarians can leverage their extensive knowledge and pedagogical skills to facilitate the teaching of English as an Additional Language (EAL) or the interdisciplinary subject of Theory of Knowledge, enriching the academic experience for students, as stated in the article, Librarians as Facilitators of Theory of Knowledge as recommended by the IBO.

4. Run Enrichment Programs

Librarians can design and implement engaging enrichment programs based on the diverse interests of the student body, fostering a love for learning and cultivating well-rounded individuals, like publication centers, media creation centers, emotional wellbeing activities or more can be encouraged and supported by the school administration.

Reasons Why School Heads May Not Share This Perspective

Despite the clear benefits of librarians as multifaceted professionals, some school heads may not fully embrace this vision. This reluctance can be attributed to several factors:

1. Lack of Understanding:

Some school leaders may have a limited understanding of the evolving role of librarians in modern educational settings, viewing them primarily as custodians of books rather than as strategic partners in academic advancement, as stated by Principal Scott Back in the Knowledge Quest post.

2. Budgetary Constraints

School budgets are often stretched thin, and investing in the professional development and expanded responsibilities of librarians may not be a top priority for some administrators.

3. Resistance to Change:

Implementing a new paradigm of librarian roles can be perceived as a significant organizational change, which some school heads may be hesitant to embrace due to a preference for maintaining established practices.

4. Scarce Evidence

While there is growing research highlighting the positive impact of librarians’ expanded roles, some school leaders may require more concrete evidence and case studies to fully recognize the potential of this approach.

By addressing these concerns and advocating for the multifaceted nature of librarians, school leaders can unlock a world of possibilities for their institutions, empowering both students and teachers to thrive in the ever-evolving landscape of education.

Aug 06 2023

Embracing AI Tools: A Librarian’s Guide

By AI, Professional Development No Comments

Bing Image Creator

In today’s rapidly evolving digital landscape, the role of a librarian has expanded beyond traditional book curation and cataloguing. As AI tools like ChatGPT, Bard, and Bing Chat continue to revolutionize the way we access and interact with information, librarians need to adapt to stay relevant and provide valuable resources to their patrons. 

How do you keep abreast with AI Tools:

  • Continuous Learning and Training: Educate yourself
    • Attend workshops, webinars, and conferences focused on AI and its applications in libraries.
    • Collaborate with experts in the field to gain insights into the latest AI trends.
    • Stay updated with relevant literature and research on AI’s impact on libraries.
  • Exploring AI Tools: Experiment
    • Take the time to explore and experiment with various AI tools like ChatGPT, Bard, and Bing Chat – there are no shortcuts
    • Understand the capabilities of each tool and identify potential use cases in a library setting.
  • Networking: Collaborate and ask Questions 
    • Join online communities, forums, and social media groups related to library technology and AI.
    • Engage in discussions and share experiences with other librarians who are integrating AI tools.
  • User-Centric Approach: How will it help my patrons and me
    • Regularly engage with library patrons to understand their needs and preferences.
    • Identify areas where AI tools can enhance user experience and provide personalized assistance.

Embracing AI Tools in Your Library: Test, Trial, Retest, and fine-tune

  • Teaching students and adults how to use AI tools as virtual assistants
    • Integrate AI chatbots like ChatGPT and Bing Chat into your lessons 
    • Learning about  tones and styles of writing
  • Enhancing Research: Practice using and playing to enhance
    • Offer workshops to teach patrons how to effectively use AI tools to conduct research and gather information.
    • Showcase how AI can aid in summarizing, extracting key points, and generating citations.
  • Data Management: Experiment and Trials
    • Explore AI solutions for efficient cataloguing and data organization, allowing librarians to focus on higher-level tasks.
    • Implement AI-powered tools to analyze usage patterns and make informed decisions about collection development.
  • Language Translation and Accessibility:
    • Integrate AI tools to aid in translating materials into various languages, promoting inclusivity.

Here are some resources to help us learn:

  1. Practical AI for Instructors and Students – Wharton School  (Part 1-4)
  2. AI tools on Wakelet
  3. Advanced Guide to ChatGPT Prompts
  4. 50 Prompts for Educators
  5. Chatgpt and Educators – Google Slides
  6. General information on AI
May 05 2023

Transforming Learning: Personalized Professional Development for Librarians

By NEP2020, Professional Development No Comments

According to EdWeek, the COVID-19 pandemic has significantly impacted professional development for educators.

Professional development has become more critical than ever, with teachers seeking to improve their skills and adapt to new technologies and teaching methods. The pandemic highlighted the need for ongoing, continuous professional development rather than episodic and intense training, says Kate Kopland from the University of Delaware.

There is a growing recognition that to meet the needs of the students, it is essential more than ever to stay with the current educational theories and technology tools.

According to Springer Nature, librarians must stay current on academic integrity, AI tools, and education theories because they are crucial in promoting reading, academic integrity and ethical behaviour on campus.

Liferarian Association conducted a recent survey, and here are the study results regarding how Librarians desire to continue to be professionally empowered and updated.

Librarians from the following boards took the survey:

  • CBSE Schools: 47.4%
  • IB Board: 25%
  • International & IGCSE: 14.5%
  • ICSE: 9.2%
  • State Board: 3.9%

How would Librarians want to stay relevant as lifelong learners in their profession?

  • Engage with content independently and discussions with experts – 57.9%
  • Attending conferences – 36.8%
  • Lecture format of content and best practices – 31.6%
  • Have a 1-1 program and design their learning with a coach – 23.7 %
  • Self-paced content with assignments – 23.7%

How many hours would Librarians like to invest in their professional development?

  • 50% voted to invest time during weekends
  • 50% voted to invest time during weekdays

Areas of topics for Professional Development for Librarians include the following:

  • Reading Activities to Incorporate during Library Class for Secondary School 48.7%
  • Reading Activities to incorporate during Library Class for Primary School 40.8%
  • Creating a digital presence 36.8%
  • Research Skills Advanced Course for Secondary School and Tech Tools 36.8%
  • Library Promotion 32.9%
  • Research Skills Basic Course for Primary School 28.9%
  • Mapping Curriculum 25%
  • Social media and networking 25%
  • Weeding 21.1%
  • Library Catalog Management – 19.7%
  • Extended Essay 19.7%
  • Library Budget 17.1%
  • Inventory 13.2%

As educators, we understand the importance of staying up-to-date with the latest trends and developments in our field. This is especially true for librarians, who play a vital role in helping students access reading and evaluate information in today’s digital age. Designing Your Own Learning: The Power of Personalized Professional Development for Librarians.

Unlock Your Potential: Personalized Professional Development for Librarians! A Great Opportunity
Personalized professional development is a great option because:

  1. It allows you to tailor your learning experience to your specific needs and interests. This means that you can focus on areas that are most relevant to your work as a librarian.
  2. Personalized professional development is also highly effective. By engaging in hands-on, interactive learning experiences, you can gain practical skills that you can immediately apply to your work. This type of learning is often more engaging and impactful than traditional, lecture-style training.
  3. In personalized professional development, you can connect with a community of like-minded educators who are also committed to improving their skills and knowledge. This can be a valuable source of support and inspiration as you work to enhance your practice.
  4. Personalized and relevant professional development is an investment in your own growth and development, as well as the growth and development of your students.

Explore the many opportunities available today and take advantage of them.
Liferarian Association is offering Personalized Professional Development at Your Fingertips!

If you are interested, please fill out this form, Librarians Unleashed. Check out the upcoming Liferarian Conference July 2023. & Liferarian Coursework 

Jan 08 2023

Are You a NEP Ready Librarian?

By NEP2020, Professional Development, Professional Learning No Comments

What are NEP 2020 expectations for Librarians?

When NEP 2020 was released, I expressed my views from a librarian’s perspective on the Impact of NEP 2020 on Teacher Librarians (India)

After that, I am considering how we can take this forward and how librarians can be NEP-ready to support and build all forms of literacies for students to become meta-literate.

What does NEP 2020 say for Libraries:

The National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 is a policy document released by the Government of India that outlines the vision and goals for the education sector in India. It covers many topics, including early childhood care and education, school education, higher education, and vocational education. The NEP 2020 has several provisions that relate to librarians and library management.

  1. Use of Technology

One of the key expectations of the NEP 2020 for librarians is to promote technology in library management and make libraries more accessible to users. This includes using digital platforms and tools to manage library collections and services and provide users with access to a wide range of electronic resources.

     2. Use of Open Education Resources.

Librarians are also expected to play a key role in promoting the use of open educational resources (OERs) and other free, high-quality resources available online.

     3. Ethical Use of Information

Computer Communication

Librarians to support Information and Media Literacy

The NEP 2020 also emphasizes the importance of librarians as information literacy educators. It encourages them to collaborate with teachers and other educators to teach students how to access, evaluate, and use information effectively. Librarians are expected to play a key role in helping students develop the skills they need to be responsible digital citizens and use information technology safely and ethically.

      4. Best Practices

Finally, the NEP 2020 expects librarians to be proactive and adaptable and stay up-to-date with the latest trends and developments in the library and information science field. This may involve continuing education, professional development opportunities, and staying informed about new technologies and best practices in library management.

NEP 01: 

Enjoyable and inspirational books for students at all levels will be developed, including through high-quality translation (technology assisted as needed) in all local and Indian languages, and will be made available extensively in both school and local public libraries.

 Recommendations:

Librarians believe that they work hard to ensure they curate the best collection of books, print and digital, based on the budgets offered to them. But the question arises what can we librarians do to raise the bar of enjoyment and inspiration? How can we make our read – aloud of picture books lead to critical thinking? How can we build motivation through stories? How can we engage students and use higher-order thinking questions & discussions with our students? How can we engage in collaborative teaching and learning? How can we use visible thinking routines to develop open-minded thinking and a spirit of empathy? Liferarian Association is coming up with different workshops under the label – Are you a NEP-ready Librarian? Please fill out this form if you are interested in joining the coursework for building Literacy

NEP 02 

Public and school libraries will be significantly expanded to build a culture of reading across the country.

 Recommendations:

  1. Make sure the library is well-stocked with various books that reflect the interests and diversity of the school community. This can include fiction, non-fiction, graphic novels, magazines, and more.
  2. Create a welcoming and comfortable space for students to read and study. This might include comfortable seating, plenty of natural light, and quiet areas for individual or small group work.
  3. Encourage students to visit the library regularly by offering regular programs and activities, such as book clubs, writing workshops, or author visits.
  4. Partner with teachers to integrate the library and its resources into the classroom. For example, the librarian could work with teachers to create reading lists or suggest books that tie into the curriculum.
  5. Promote the library and resources to the entire school community through newsletters, social media, and other communication channels.
  6. Make it easy for students to access books and other materials by offering flexible borrowing policies, online resources, and other convenient options.

NEP 03

Digital libraries will also be established. School libraries will be set up – particularly in villages – to serve the community during non-school hours, and book clubs may meet in public/school libraries to further facilitate and promote widespread reading.

 Recommendations:

  • Host book clubs for different age groups or interest areas, such as a mystery book club or a graphic novel book club.
  • Offer a summer reading program with incentives for students who read a certain number of books over the break.
  • Partner with local bookstores or libraries to host author events or book fairs.
  • Host a “reading marathon” where students, staff, and community members take turns reading aloud from a favorite book or series.
  • Create a “reading buddy” program where older students are paired with younger students to read together and discuss books.
  • Invite community members, such as local writers or business owners, to come and speak about their careers and the role reading has played in their success.
  • Host a “reading challenge” where students can earn prizes for reading a certain number of books in a given time period.
  • Offer a book swap program where students can bring in books they have already read and trade them for new ones.
  • Set up a “reading corner” in a high-traffic area of the school, such as the main office or cafeteria, with comfy chairs and a selection of books for students to browse and borrow.

NEP 04

A National Book Promotion Policy will be formulated, and extensive initiatives will be undertaken to ensure the availability, accessibility, quality, and readership of books across geographies, languages, levels, and genres.

Recommendations:

To meet the NEP 04, it is important to revise the library policy to include the following:

  • Increase budget for libraries
  • Introduce a virtual library website (not google slides)
  • Automatize the library collection using OPAC
  • Provide access to the catalog online in the library and outside
  • Curate a collection of print books and ebooks to reinforce 21st-century skills 
  • Open access to resources to ensure the availability of resources
  • Provide a variety of books in different languages
  • Provide different genres for all age groups of the school community
  • Invite volunteers 
  • Yearly professional development to be provided for Librarians (50 hours as recommended by CBSE)

I look forward to your comments or interested in joining the Are you a NEP Ready Librarian Coursework, please email me at librarymatters6@gmail.com, or you may fill out this form. (For more details, check out course 04)

Customized workshops are available for NEP Ready School Librarians email: ceo@liferarian.com or coachingliferarian@gmail.com 

Assisted by Ai

 

 

 

 

Jul 25 2021

Will Librarians Continue to Exist in 2030?

By Librarian's Role, Professional Development No Comments

Is the library profession going to be obsolete? Are librarians a dying breed? These questions have often been asked of me. Recently, I received a youtube video saying that librarianship is one of the dying careers and is not worth pursuing as a career. As I began to reflect on this, it got me thinking that if we describe a librarian role to be one, who hushes the students, controls the library space and has few or no visitors, is a room full of dusty books, all books locked in a cupboard with NO open access. Stamping books and manually using the card catalogue. Sure, such librarians will fail to exist, and definitely, there is no place for such librarians in the 21st century.

What kind of Librarians will exist now and in the future?

The kind of librarians that will exist will be multi-taskers, who are ready to evolve and modify their role to meet the school community’s needs. The librarian will look for opportunities to learn, grow and adapt to the changing needs of the school community. Schools will continue to have libraries because books form the basis of learning, no matter how many eBooks we have and the advancement in technology. Librarians will exist. Let’s analyze and look at what librarians do?

What do librarians do?

Librarians are specialists and specialize in these capacities.

  1. They purchase the best books that match the curriculum.
  2. They recommend databases to support student learning.
  3. They systematically maintain the collection of books called the library.
  4. They create, curate & maintain an eLibrary.
  5. They read voraciously.
  6. They help you identify stories that can support teachers by sharing titles and curating lists of relevant information and books that will help them successfully teach students.
  7. They can find books or information by digging into the web.
  8. They read aloud stories to children and fill their hearts and souls.
  9. They nurture readers with kindness and compassion; they are non-judgemental.
  10. They create an atmosphere in the library where reading and learning is pursued equitably and with good spirit.
  11. Librarians love technology; they will help you find credible information, teach you to cite it and support you in your research as a guide.
  12. They learn new technology tools to ensure they can participate and support students in creating media, infographics, eBooks, eMagazines, and podcasts to support student learning.

These librarians will exist and will continue to be in demand. In my opinion, being a librarian is one of the best roles in a school. You get to collaborate and co-teach with teachers, learn new skills, teach and learn with students, reach out to the parent community and finally nurture a learning atmosphere for all. 

Why Change and Adapt?

In dynamic education organizations, every educator evolves using new pedagogical practices adapting and adopting new roles and responsibilities. Educators like teachers are often seen in multiple positions, supervisors, running school activities and/or taking on administrative roles. Similarly, librarians adapt and change to the school community’s needs, adopting new practices through professional development. Some librarians have the role of a specialist with a packed class schedule, while other librarians have a flexible schedule allowing them to take on other teaching duties in the school. As a librarian, if we adapt and change to meet the school’s needs, what is wrong? I wonder why librarians shy away from accepting and taking on new roles? Socrates said the secret of change is not fighting the old but building the new. And, we all know that change is inevitable. To meet the school’s needs, why not change, adapt and learn new skills to stay current and relevant when many talk about the librarian’s role as a dying breed. Why NOT?

What new roles are librarians adopting?

Schools have different priorities and different styles of functioning. Looking around the librarian tribe, I have found that many librarians have adopted additional roles & responsibilities based on their areas of interest and skill set. They have diversified their positions and have not given up their primary functional role as a librarian.

Some of the roles librarians have adopted into their librarianship are as follows:

  • Leading and supporting social events at their school.
  • Teaching English as a second language.
  • Supporting students with learning difficulties or partnering with the special education team.
  • Participating in community services programs.
  • Adding an extra hand in administration duties in the school.
  • Building or supporting programs related to Unesco’s sustainable goals.
  • Teaming up with the technology team to deliver digital literacy programs.
  • Teaming with enrichment programs.
  • Partnering with the school’s social media team to share students successes.
  • Librarians are working as team members with literacy coaches or reading specialists to deepen literacy skills.
  • Librarians are also Extended Essay Coordinators.
  • Librarians are teachers of different subjects: Theory of Knowledge, Language teachers and even Indian Studies.

This Forbes article made me think of my role as a jack of all trades and master of none, but librarians are masters and specialists in their library profession. Being a jack of other trades has helped me discover new strengths, nurtured my curious mind, learned new subjects, and built a unique skill set.

How do you adopt new roles?

So, how does a librarian go about adopting other roles? Firstly, I would build up courage and reach out to the supervisor with a growth mindset and a strong desire and interest in learning and growing. As you begin to explore, you will either fall in love with the new work or not; if not, then it’s time to try another area of interest. Nudge yourself to grow, read and learn. 

99% of the time, it is fear of not trying that pulls one down. We often hear advice like – if you never try, you will never know. So, finally, LEAP and the NET will appear.

Mar 12 2021

Learning Never Stops for Librarians

By General, Librarian's Role, Library curriculum, Professional Development No Comments

 

School Librarians: Learning about eBooks, print books, information & media literacy.

In India, most professional development for national school librarians usually address technical aspects like the OPAC – Online public access catalogue or how to access the books, maintaining the stock of books, and rules for the libraries and purchase of books. During this pandemic, librarians learned different technology tools like google sites, pear deck, Kahoot and other tools to build their technology skills.

However, the Librarians role is changing. Librarians growth lies in the need to work in collaboration with teachers and the school curriculum. Librarians need to read and learn about books & stories and ways to support primary and secondary schools’ teaching and learning to remain relevant. If the librarian works in a progressive environment, professional development is the only way to help them stay relevant to the changing landscape. And, Liferarian Association provides the opportunity.

Professional Development for International School Librarians

International Schools are looking for librarians with multi-literacy skills, information and media literacy knowledge & skills to support elementary and secondary schools. 

Professional Development for Indian School Librarians

With the onset of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, Librarians can capitalize on this change in education policy and opt for an opportunity to learn about the curriculum. When included in the staff meetings, librarians can better understand the school curriculum’s needs, thus creating a relevant collection of books for literacy and nonfiction books to support the interdisciplinary approach, experiential learning, and project-based learning mentioned in the education policy. 

The Liferarian Association has initiated two practical courses to help build library skills and knowledge. 

Code 01: Extended essay and Research skills (5 synchronous sessions) – INR 5,500

In this course, participants will learn how to research and teach students how to formulate a research question. Teach students how to identify and cite resources correctly, and it’s importance. Participants will learn and receive practical ways to help students plan, reflect and learn to guide students research and project work.

Code 02: Liferarian’s School Library Course (6 synchronous sessions) – INR 6,500

In this course, participants will learn the importance of a library curriculum and create one relevant to their school. Learn how to read aloud stories by learning about the different literacy strategies like authors’ purpose, inference, analyzing the plot and more. During the writing session, librarians or educators will learn how to write and support creative writing through practical lessons and writing exercises. Besides literacy, participants will learn how to help research skills, project work within the school structure—learning about media, digital citizenship, and advocating for the ethical use of information by understanding copyright and plagiarism concepts. This course will include practical lessons and ideas to empower the librarians.

Some responses and feedback from the workshops were:

  • I didn’t know how important it was to connect with the school curriculum.
  • I now know a lot about copyright, media literacy and the importance of ethical use of information, and now I know how to teach my students.
  • During my classes in this international school, I can now teach information literacy skills.
  • I did not know there were so many aspects of literacy when you read aloud picture books. I now learned how important it is to have focused learning strategies.
  • I discovered that I like to write, and writing involves revisions and thinking.
  • I did not know the Librarians can do so much.

This coursework is for librarians who want to change the way educators think about librarians and evolving with other educators, as learning doesn’t stop. 

Oct 21 2020

Professional Growth and Learning

By Librarian's Role, Professional Development, Professional Learning 2 Comments

What is Professional Growth?

Growth and learning are essential facets of professional life. As I begin, reflecting on my personal, professional experience, I realize the only thing constant thing in my professional life is the desire to learn and grow so that I can continue to support the school community. I am grateful to the many people in my professional life, the professional development opportunities I have received to grow, learn and give back to the educational community.

Professional development is not collecting all the certificates to show and prove your growth. Yes, credentials are essential at initial points of your career. Certificates of courses are an incentive and motivation to continue to learn. Certificates do prove a point. As you begin to think and practise your craft of teaching, you understand that learning is an intrinsic part of professional life, where pursuing current practices, updated pedagogical approaches are the only essential aspect of growth.

CC-BY-SA-4.0 Redaksjonelt: Åse Elin Langeland

What do Librarians Learn?

As an elementary and secondary school librarian, I aimed to learn all about new literature that is available, for all children and literature for teenagers. Understanding their interests is important and giving them voice and choice, instead of downing students with what I thought was suitable for children.

Soon, I realized, librarians not only need to know about literature but understand how technology and technology were impacting the learning. Teachers and librarians are learning about information and media literacy, learning how to evaluate sources and teach students how to evaluate news and media. To stay relevant, learning and evolving is a process, and one cannot hold on to the laurels of the past.

Learning can be anything of your interest. I have dabbled in learning new tech tools to deliver and support teaching and learning. Tech tools should merely be the bells and whistles instead should be used to add meaning and value to the teaching, as taught by my teacher, Bernajean Porter.

Recently, I took a course on best practices for online teaching and learning; next, I learned how to create an online newspaper with my students. I took a course on writing blog posts while learning new strategies and techniques in writing. I read philosophy. I took short courses in teaching EAL (English as another language), and now I am taking a short study-course in understanding how one can support the high abilities students.

Are these related to my Library? Is this going to help me in the Library and Information Sciences? Working in a school as a librarian, I believe, it is essential to learn about the strategies and tools that teachers are using in their classes so that librarians can continue to be relevant in the changing needs of the educational landscape. Follow the Liferarian Blog to learn more

Where can Librarians Learn?

Liferarian Association is hosting a Virtual Conference with presenters who are practising librarians in various International Schools, being abreast with new technologies and pedagogies of teaching and learning, they too are active learners. Teaching and sharing is another facet of professional development when individuals hone their skills, deepen their understanding as they share with others.

Join the tribe and learn from this virtual conference on the 21st of November 2020. it is free, hosted by the Liferarian Association. This conference will include more than 20 presentations, author presentations and meet with some book distributors. Registrations will open on the 7th of November, 2020

I love what Gandhi said, ” Live as if you were to die tomorrow, Learn as if you were to live forever.”

Jun 22 2018

Teaching Research Skills

By General, Media Literacy & Information Literacy, Professional Development, Research Skills No Comments

Research Image by Gifer under Fair Use Guidelines

Recently, a fellow librarian from a local Indian school asked me – How can librarians teach and support students research skills? How can librarians engage and collaborate with teachers?

I believe the local curriculum in Indian schools have always encouraged project work, and I believe that librarians can seize this opportunity to teach students how to research explicitly. They can collaborate with the subject teachers to teach research skills to the students in a systematic manner, encouraging higher order thinking. The open-ended questions will help students to think and write rather than copy and pasting information from Wikimedia or other websites. The question often asked of me is – what research model can I as a librarian use and recommend? There are several research models, and they can be found on the internet. One of them is the Super 3 for lower elementary students and the Big 6 for older students.

I would recommend one to look at various models and select the one the one that best suits your students. You can always tweak/adapt a research model to meet your needs. Each of the research steps needs to be explicitly taught and practiced through mini-lessons.

Here are the research steps that you may want to consider:

  1. Framing open-ended questions
  2. Locating information and selecting appropriate print and digital resources
  3. Evaluate the sources using CRAAP or CARS
  4. Using information by reading, taking notes and paraphrasing
  5. Synthesizing the information
  6. Citing the sources used in the research
  7. Presenting and sharing
  8. Finally, reflecting on knowledge and presentation

It is during inquiry or project time when librarians can help students develop the 21st-century skills of collaboration and teamwork, critical thinking, research skills and communication while learning through the transdisciplinary approach.  Should you be looking for handholding sessions to help you demystify this process, please email me, and we can work together.

Mar 17 2018

Are Librarians Relevant in Today’s World?

By General, Information Literacy, Librarian's Role, Media Literacy & Information Literacy, Professional Development 3 Comments
Computer Communication

Literature, Information and Media Literacy – Computer Communication –  CC0 Public Domain

Are Librarian’s relevant in today’s world? What’s the role of librarians in schools? Do we really need librarians in schools and colleges? Or are they only keepers of books?

Libraries are the central hubs of learning. Libraries have been a storehouse of books and been synonymous with knowledge. And, therefore, to gain knowledge a student goes to an educational institution and visits the library to build on their learning experience. Now, things are different! Learning is happening everywhere.

With the advent of the Internet in 1986 in India and growing connection in every Indian state, we have come a long way with the acquisition of information. Information is now available at the fingertips of every individual who owns a smartphone. So, the question we need to ask all librarians is – Are Librarians obsolete in today’s world? Do we need a library or librarians to help us find information?

The answer to the questions is YES!  But, how can we as librarians, reinvent ourselves to stay relevant and feel accomplished in our job? The only answer is to LEARN. Find ways to stay relevant. Choose autonomy and courage to try new lessons with our students and equip ourselves. Today, as librarians we need to be Meta Literate. As librarians, we must have five primary objectives to guide our patrons, whoever they might be.  Tom Mackey & Trudi Jacobsen,  advocates Metaliteracy.

6 Primary Goals recommended are:

  1. To help individuals, evaluate all content critically and understand differences in articles, blogs, reprints, wikis, media products and websites
  2. We must learn and support personal digital privacy, encourage information ethics and protect intellectual proper in our technology environment
  3. Library Hubs or Learning Commons must provide a participatory environments for people with similar interests work collaboratively, and learn from each other through interest groups
  4. Another key role is to help learners with research strategies to help them in their personal, academic and/or professional inquiry.
  5. Support learners to become better communicators of information through reading, writing and/or creating media or infographics to convey meaning.
  6. Develop the art of reading and craft of writing for you and for other learners.

Dr. Albert Ryan an educator and a freelance writer, says, it is very important for students to learn about information and media literacy. Anubhati Yadav,  an advocate of media literacy claims that media literacy in schools is a must.

In my belief, since Librarians are the experts in curating, sharing and knowledge experts, it is therefore critical, for us to take this opportunity to update our skills in learning Literature and Writing workshops. And, learn about Information and Media Literacy in our new educational environment.

So, how we do that? There is no formal training in India for librarians or teachers to learn about Information and Media Literacy. It is urgent in our present scenario. There are many free courses of Information & Media Literacy available on Coursera,  UNESCO – Information and Media Literacy, AUB and other MOOCs Online There are several Massive Open Online Courses -free cost available.

All we need is to develop a mindset of growth.  We need courage and openness to learning. We want the consumers of information and media to make informed choices and not be carried away with propaganda and misinterpretation of media and news. All information gatherers learn not only from print but media, graphs, infographics, audio recordings, videos and a combination of all of the above, thus making them Metaliterate. This is one of the goals a librarian must keep in mind in supporting the learning community.