eResources and DRC

As I do throughout the year, I have been meeting with school staff, specialists and student teachers to share with them the range of materials we have here in the district. In an hour and a half, I do a quick over view of the eResources we have available (Worldbook, EBSCO, Gale Virtual Reference Library, and more), explain how to search for and reserve material from our online DRC catalog, and then lead the participants through a tour of the physical resources. I am always gratified to hear the feedback: "Wow! We have so much great stuff here!" The other spin-off is that the attendees get to meet the DRC staff. (Click the "eResources" link to access the presentation.)

The 21st Century Librarian - take two

The Learning Commons, and more

In this session,we spent time unpacking the concept of the "Learning Commons" with a look at what this idea could bring to school libraries (both Elementary and High School). While the original concept is an import from the University/College context, it provides a way of rethinking the role of school libraries to make them more relevant to teachers and students. I provided some links to readings and interviews to deepen our understanding of this notion. An important "take-away" from the session was that it is not so much a place, as an idea, and even if the physical location can't be reworked substantially, changes in attitude and communication can still accomplish some of the goals of the LC.

We also spent some time considering the future of non-fiction reference (databases, encyclopedias, eReference texts), custom searches (build your own), eBooks (Orca, EBSCO, Follett), and enhanced 856 tags.

http://goo.gl/r1UNz