Reflections

As this course draws to a close, I breathe a sigh of relief. I made it!  I had the mindset that the course would be dealing mainly with physical access to the library. I had never heard of MARC records along with a lot of the terminology. I have developed a newfound appreciation for those who create these records and am very thankful my district has full, centralized cataloguing.  

This course enabled me to have a better understanding of the role “behind the scenes so to speak” of the teacher-librarian.  It provided me with important questions to explore and challenged me to rethink how a school library should be organized both physical and virtual.

I must admit it was intimidating being one of the few non teacher-librarians in the course.   I think my participation was good as I posted in both the discussion forum and my blog each week, read every comment and contributed when I could.  I found it difficult making comments with no library experience.  Many seemed to draw on their experiences in their own school library.  However,  their comments helped me make sense of the lessons and confirm my understanding.  It was reassuring to know there were people online to help.  The online discussions also provided me with a glimpse of what is going on in other school libraries and I came away with insightful ideas to keep in mind for when I am in the position of teacher-librarian. 

I had never really considered digital access in terms of the school library before.  Through the lessons, I developed a better understanding of why this is important.

Looking back on my posts, I see how my views and vision have changed from someone who was skeptical about the need for digital access in the library to someone who recognizes that in this day and age, this is key in supporting information literacy and helping students access resources independently.  Creating a Library website doesn't seem such a daunting task,  too.

While I am still in the classroom, I believe I can better serve my students as I now have the knowledge to successfully navigate the school’s online catalogue.  I  feel more confident in exploring with the students the district’s online databases along with searching successfully and safely on the Internet.  Once in the position of teacher-librarian,  I can hopefully share my knowledge with the wider school community. 

In terms of the physical access to the library, having a more in-depth look at our school library has allowed me to see where improvements to access could be made. I have a deeper understanding of how things such as signage, displays, and shelving affect access to resources.

While there is still much to learn,  I am excited about the prospect of one day working in a school library and putting into practice the knowledge I have gained through this course.