EDMD+7120-+Information+Sources,+Services,+and+Instruction

Semester: Spring 2010
Summary: This course provided information regarding the selection, evaluation, and use of both print and online reference resources. Students learned how to use and apply information skills, how to recognize quality resources, and the various reference services to be provided to patrons (e.g., reference interview).

Roles of the Media Specialist

 * Program Administrator:** This course caused me to work in this role because for the core collection development project, I had to take into consideration what the patrons did not have access to and make recommendations . I also learned about various selection tools (e.g., Booklist), reputable reference publishers, and how to evaluate items based on such items as authority and scope. I also had to learn to take a given budget into consideration when selecting resources. When working on the core collection development project, this often meant that some of the more expensive, high-quality resources had to be discarded so that our limited budget could be stretched further.


 * Information Specialist:** This was the role I felt this course addressed the most. We reviewed searching skills (e.g., Boolean, truncation, wildcard, etc.), the advanced search features of Google and academic databases (e.g., Academic Search Premier), and how to evaluate print and electronic resources for quality using the following items: 1) scope; 2) authority; 3) viewpoint and objectivity; 4) writing style; 5) recency; 6) arrangement and entry; 7) index; 8) format; 9) cost; and 10) bibliographies. These skills are important for me as a media specialist because I will be responsible for providing both students and teachers with reference materials that meet their curriculum and personal inquiry needs. I will also be the leader in teaching 21st Century Skills via collaborative integrative lessons and therefore I must have a strong understanding of the various search strategies and appropriate reference resources. We also learned about the reference interview which I believe will be helpful for working with younger students who are not as experienced with the research process.


 * Instructional Partner:** This class required me to think about information skills and how they would be used in a collaborative environment. For this course I designed a collaborative lesson focusing on important figures of ancient Greece. This project required me to think in terms of the various information skills guidelines such as the Big 6, ALCOS standards, and Literacy Partners standards.


 * Teacher:** This course encouraged me to consider how reference sources should be integrated into lessons to create students who are not only skillful researchers, but ethical users of information as well. In designing my collaborative lesson, I recognized that since students would be using music and images owned by others for their PhotoStory that the media specialist would need to review copyright law. I also created a webliography of authoritative resources that already gave permission to students to use the images for school work.

Work Samples


The homework assignments for this course often had me complete the assignments from the students' perspective. The almanac, handbooks, manuals, and directories exercise required me to use my information searching skills to search through both print and electronic of the various resources. This exercise allowed me to evaluate my own skills and what I needed improvement on. I admit that even though I know natural word searches are not usually effective, I often revert to them out of laziness. As an information specialist, I need to evaluate my skills and make sure that I am constantly improving upon them in order to ensure my students are getting the best instruction. This exercise also allowed me to compare electronic and print versions of the various resources as well as determine which is best consulted for a certain type of question (e.g., the almanacs were effective in answering ready reference questions).





The core reference collection project was challenging because the library my partner and I worked with (Smiths Station High School) had experienced severe cutbacks as a result of the poor economy. Meanwhile, the school was adding to its elective programs which meant that the library reference collection had to be expanded to meet the needs of these courses. Most of the time I spent on this project was in the roles of information specialist and program administrator. I used a free trial to Booklist and searched the School Library Journal website to find reviews on items and then went to bookstores and libraries to evaluate the item in person using the aforementioned 9 points. Many of the items were selected based on the reputation of the publisher. Since we were working with a limited budget and felt that electronic resources should be included to help students develop 21st Century Skills, we also included a number of websites in our collection.