September 12-16
Reference Experiences

As an elementary librarian I was unsure of what reference services would look like in my setting. As I discussed in other posts it seemed almost a backwards step away from an open, constructivist learning commons. After reading these chapters I have a better understanding of what a reference experience will look like in my library as a "professional answer-er." While the statistic that librarians only answer questions correctly 50% of the time can be discouraging it is more important to note that the strategy for searching was correct 90% of the time. My role, especially as a librarian for younger students, will be do help students form high quality, high thinking questions and strategies to guide their search for information. This is so important for students to be able to do as a foundation for improving their information literacy skills in older grades. So, an important part of my reference service will be facilitating meta cognitive strategies in young students that help them understand what they know, want to know, need to know and where to start.


As I was reflecting on these wonderful conversations with curious young learners on a quest for knowledge I thought about the time it would take to really implement these services. In order to get the most bang for your reference buck it will be so important to be proactive in collabraoting with teachers on possible reference opportunities. A small amount of preplanning with a teacher will allow me to prepare pathfinders, and research possible resources to provide the best experience for my students. This will be a great advantage for everyone as opposed to a suprise visit by a group of students looking for information about a random topic. This will also allow me to teach the beginning information literacy topics and library skills through integrated, meanigful lessons instead of in isolation. Getting teachers to buy in and get on board with these services also serves as great advoacy for my program and it's impact on the acamdemic program. These experiences will take time to implement so the more teachers value the reference services of the library the more willing they will be to include the time in their day. Being an instructional partner in this area is so important in building a school population that is information literate, and in helping deter well meaning teachers from creating bad information habits in students.

Possible Ideas:

• Google Calendars for teachers to post monthly themes or projects for possible reference services
• Set up appointments or give passes for students when they come for services or reference help
  
• Educate faculty on reference services you can provide with sample topic lessons
• Videos or podcasts of frequently asked reference questions or services how to search a database etc
• Document reference experiences and resources found along the way to reflect on how to make things better