Part 5 Scenarios and Exercises for School Library Media Specialists

In the final unit, I learned about the three primary categories of reference for a LMS (readers'/information service, selection and evaluation of reference materials, user instruction). In addition, it gave me perspective of real-world examples of what happens in the MC. I can definitely see how the first scenario would happen. In essence, a sum of money was left to the MC and the online database, Newsbank, was purchased. The LMS is having a hard time convincing the patrons (students and teachers) to use this new database. Since we are all creatures of habit, I can see how this would happen. The questions presented are all practical ways that Newsbank could be put at the forefront. Again, in the third search, this is something that concerns me. Basically, all the students want to use the Internet for their research, and the LMS wants the students to use a variety of sources. It is up to me to convince these students that there are valuable sources outside of the Internet. I have contemplated this issue a lot recently and was relieved to hear that at Auburn, students are required to have a certain number of references in print. The final scenario that seems to be of great interest to me is about DEAR (Drop Everything and Read). I'm a big believer in DEAR. At my son's school, they have DEAR time every afternoon for each grade. Thusly, during the summer I've instituted DEAR time at home. Granted, my son doesn't want to participate every day (he still has to, though!), but I can tell a difference in his reading and his desire to read the more time he spends on it. If this is effective in kindergarten, I can only imagine how effective it would be during high school! The greatest advantage of DEAR time is it gives students the opportunity to read for pleasure. Of course, for those students that can't read well, this time may not be used effectively. I feel, however, that the advantages definitely outweigh the risks.