The role of ICT in the school library
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ICT provision in the school library should be part of a coherent and
consistent whole-school policy. ICT provision through the library
benefits the school in several ways.
Access to information
ICT widens the range of material available in the school library and makes access to it much easier
The library is able to offer access to ICT resources before and after school as well as during the school day
If the school library catalogue
(OPAC) can be accessed via the Internet or school’s intranet,
information is available at the point of need
The library should provide a
range of ICT information sources including CD ROM, the Internet and
high quality licensed databases offering up-to-date, authoritative
information
Support for the development of research skills
The library’s involvement in research
skills training using ICT should be part of a whole-school programme
and fully integrated into the curriculum
Many of the research skills developed by students for use with print-based texts apply to electronic sources
Students who struggle to interact with traditional text-based material sometimes find it easier to access and use ICT sources
Support for literacy
The school library will use ICT to enhance its support for literacy and the promotion of reading for pleasure.
The library can offer online access to relevant websites devoted to reading, authors or books
The school librarian can co-ordinate students’ material for inclusion on the school’s intranet or the school’s webpages
Reports from the automated library management system can offer useful insights into students’ reading habits
Support for the preparation and presentation of work
Access in the school library to basic
computing applications such as word processing, data handling,
spreadsheets, multimedia presentation and authoring tools offers new
scope for staff and pupils to prepare and present information
E-mail enables students to communicate and exchange ideas
The role of the School Librarian
To ensure consistent practice throughout the
school, the librarian should be aware of how ICT is used to support all
areas of the curriculum. He or she should also work closely with
teaching staff and other educators to identify learning needs.
School librarians are information specialists and
should be, at the very least, competent users of ICT. Many are, in
fact, proficient users of ICT and offer teachers and students support
in a number of ways.
The school librarian supports teachers and students in several ways:
Evaluating the quality and suitability of sources
The
enormous quantity of information available can make identifying
relevant material a daunting and potentially time-wasting task. The
school librarian, when assessing sources to ensure that they meet the
curriculum needs of teachers and students, applies traditional
evaluation criteria extended to cover new aspects of electronic
resources. Because of the ephemeral nature of some of these materials,
this will be constantly reviewed and updated.
Disseminating information on useful resources
To ensure that the school community is aware of the full range of potentially useful sources the school librarian will:
Add Internet sites to Bookmarks or
Favourites. These may be included on the automated library management
system for view through OPAC
Provide annotations on websites/software
Provide reliable guides to relevant material
Providing guidance and support with research skills
The
school librarian will provide advice and guidance on all aspects of
research skills. The use of ICT in the research process places an
additional emphasis on the skills required for planning, searching and
evaluating information.
Planning a research task is even more important
when using online information than it is when working with traditional
sources. It is easy for students to waste time by adopting a
serendipitous approach or being lured into digressions. The provision
of an Internet planning form can help students in planning and
formulating queries. It is helpful to know which search engines are
best for a research task. The school librarian will have a good
knowledge of the range of search facilities available together with
their strengths and weaknesses and may provide guides to appropriate
search engines. The school librarian will also offer guidance on
effective search strategies. The school librarian will bookmark sites
or links to sites via the automated library management system.
Evaluation of sources to assess relevance and the
selection and rejection of information are also critical. The provision
of guidance on how to evaluate a website can provide students with a
set of useful criteria to apply.
Advising on copyright issues
For example, when material can be downloaded from the Internet and how to obtain permission to use downloaded material.
Offering support for reading
The school
librarian may co-ordinate the production of students' reviews on the
school’s intranet. The school librarian may provide opportunities for:
Contacting authors through their own or publishers’ websites
Joining an Internet activity
related to books and reading e.g. book raps, review sites, e-mail and
video conferencing as part of the Carnegie Shadowing scheme
The computerised library
management system can provide reports for teaching staff on, for
example, profiles of students’ reading and lists of the most popular
books, etc.
Producing high-quality presentations and publications
Presentation
software enables the school librarian to produce high quality,
interactive presentations to the school community. The use of ICT tools
enables the school librarian to produce high quality promotional
material for staff, students, parents, governors, etc. The quality of
shelf guiding, posters, booklists, guides etc. can be improved by the
use of word processing.
Producing web pages
The library could form a
significant part of the whole school website. By placing the school
library catalogue on the website, access to information is extended
beyond the physical confines of the library.
Effective library management
The use of an
automated library management system not only saves time on routine
operational tasks but can also produce library usage statistics to
support strategic planning.
Case study: Key Stage 3 and the library
Previous: Encouraging the reading habit
dc.title The role of ICT in the school library dc.description Guidance on how ICT can be put to good use in the school library, with notes on how the school librarian can help to ensure that ICT is used to support all areas of the curriculum.
dc.identifier nsonline.org.uk~121134~98688 dc.subject English dc.date 2008-09-02 10:04:08
