Although my practicum ended, somehow the project has turned into an independent study. I'm excited that it will be more real-life work than my practicum and hopefully I'll get to visit a few reservations. It's definitely a summary of my studies in that I'm combining best practice and harsh reality. So, this blog will serve as a way to give updates about how that progresses and to post any useful links or information I find along the way. I can't imagine that the entries will be as long or insightful as I'd like since I'm taking five courses this semester, but anything is more coherent than the ten second summary I keep giving.
Happy beginning of school!
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Monday, August 3, 2009
On a lighter note...
http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colbert-report-videos/189691/october-28-2008/sherman-alexie
Colbert: "I don't think I can get away with that..."
Alexie: "No, you can't."
Sunday, August 2, 2009
The Perks of Being Accessible
I intended to spend my summer doing an independent study project. For me, one of the challenges of this project that I have been working on is to appreciate the difference between study and librarianship. Unlike my previous work, this project hopefully isn't going to sit on a shelf. Somehow, I have to make this information accessible to others.
My first thought was to make a bibliography in Ref Works, but doing so would sharply limit access to people with a knowledge of Ref Works and those who were given the account information. So, in reality, it would be mostly for myself. Much of the information I have is in print only as well, and I want to keep all of the information together while respecting the original creators of those bibliographies. So, the solution that works for this particular project is to twofold: to set up links on this site and maintain a bibliography binder for the reference desk.
The binder is a thing of beauty. I started it for myself, but then I realized it would be a great thing for other people to use as well. The different sets of evaluation criteria paired with the bibliographies would definitely help someone who only has a short time to look over the books. Although there is plenty of overlap on the bibliographies I have gathered, by no means is there a consensus. Each one has a different perspective and agenda for including and excluding certain works. Some emphasize materials most suitable for classroom use while others focus on the background of the author and illustrator. It's a starting point rather than a comprehensive resource.
To be honest, I'm not sure what comes next. I can count on one hand the holdings of many of the works on these bibliographies, and my little librarian heart breaks because they are good books. They should be in public libraries where children can get their sticky crayon marks all over them (and read them, of course). Again, that's not my project or within my training. There are a lot of reasons this isn't happening, and every single one of them is bigger than me. I'm just trying to develop a tangible way to connect librarians and teachers with materials that would help them to consider these materials. More than anything, teachers and librarians need someone to excite them about these materials. They need someone to push them to take the first step, because as I've found, once you set out, it's not the bleak trudge through the desert of obligation they might initially consider it to be.
Site of the day: MN Dept of Education: K-12 Curriculum Frameworks
http://education.state.mn.us/MDE/Academic_Excellence/Indian_Education/K12_Curriculum/index.html
(I would also say that the DPI resources (see previous posts) are preferable.)
My first thought was to make a bibliography in Ref Works, but doing so would sharply limit access to people with a knowledge of Ref Works and those who were given the account information. So, in reality, it would be mostly for myself. Much of the information I have is in print only as well, and I want to keep all of the information together while respecting the original creators of those bibliographies. So, the solution that works for this particular project is to twofold: to set up links on this site and maintain a bibliography binder for the reference desk.
The binder is a thing of beauty. I started it for myself, but then I realized it would be a great thing for other people to use as well. The different sets of evaluation criteria paired with the bibliographies would definitely help someone who only has a short time to look over the books. Although there is plenty of overlap on the bibliographies I have gathered, by no means is there a consensus. Each one has a different perspective and agenda for including and excluding certain works. Some emphasize materials most suitable for classroom use while others focus on the background of the author and illustrator. It's a starting point rather than a comprehensive resource.
To be honest, I'm not sure what comes next. I can count on one hand the holdings of many of the works on these bibliographies, and my little librarian heart breaks because they are good books. They should be in public libraries where children can get their sticky crayon marks all over them (and read them, of course). Again, that's not my project or within my training. There are a lot of reasons this isn't happening, and every single one of them is bigger than me. I'm just trying to develop a tangible way to connect librarians and teachers with materials that would help them to consider these materials. More than anything, teachers and librarians need someone to excite them about these materials. They need someone to push them to take the first step, because as I've found, once you set out, it's not the bleak trudge through the desert of obligation they might initially consider it to be.
Site of the day: MN Dept of Education: K-12 Curriculum Frameworks
http://education.state.mn.us/MDE/Academic_Excellence/Indian_Education/K12_Curriculum/index.html
(I would also say that the DPI resources (see previous posts) are preferable.)
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