21st century information organisation and the school library

Discuss the theory of information organisation, how this has changed and what information organisation entails in the 21st century information landscape. Relate your discussion to the broad information profession and more specifically, to the school setting and role of the teacher librarian.

Theory of information organisation

The nature of information organisation theory has developed throughout the history of libraries in response to information growth, user retrieval needs and library management practices (Hider & Harvey, 2008, p. 3; Liu, 2007, p. 147-167; Taylor, 2004, p. 1-23). The increasing availability of information dictated that information specialists develop effective description methodologies to catalogue a complex range of resources (Hider, 2013, p. 1-14). Therefore, the objective of information organisation is to ensure resources are described and catalogued effectively to provide quality bibliographic information to library users, and thus, improved selection and access (Hider, 2013, p. xi-xiii; Richardson, 2017).

Effective resource description requires that the content and format of resources be described using data elements that are most useful for the intended user, specific to the library context (Hider, 2012, p. 1-14). These elements, called metadata, represent values of the resource, for example its title, author or subject (Chowdhury & Chowdhury, 2013, p. 139-155; Greenberg, 2003, p. 1876-1888; Hider, 2012, p. 4-8; Witten, Bainbridge & Nichols, 2009, p. 285). As information resource formats have developed, metadata elements have also evolved to facilitate user access. Throughout history, up until the late 20th century, resources were primarily physical in nature. As technology has advanced and resource formats have changed, metadata elements have evolved to facilitate description of and access to digital resources (Combes, 2012; Witten et al, 2009, p. 285).

The theory of information organisation has significant implications for the information profession. These include the standardisation of resource description, bibliographic organisation and the management of resources and catalogues. The standards used to create metadata have developed or changed as resource characteristics, library practices and academic thinking have become more sophisticated. Several standards have been employed since the 1800’s, including Cutter’s Rules for a Printed Catalog, the Anglo-American Cataloguing Rules first and second editions, and the International Standard Bibliographic Description (Hider, 2012, p. 109-114). The current standard for bibliographic description is Resource Description and Access, which emphasises the description of resource content using controlled vocabulary, is compatible with other description formats, and is considered better suited to the modern online information environment (Hider, 2012, p. 114-122).

Information organisation theory impacts effective management of resources within libraries. This involves organisation of physical and digital spaces including shelving and catalogue databases (Chowdhury & Chowdhury, 2013, p. 71-110). Use of labels; for example, resource placement within subject areas, Dewey Decimal Classification call numbers, or hyperlinks within the library catalogue (Chowdhury & Chowdhury, 2013, p. 71-110; Hider, 2012, p. 33-57) arrange resources for easily location. Catalogues must be maintained, particularly entries for digital material such as audio files and hyperlinks. Technology developments such as file formats or website updates can render catalogue metadata useless if not regularly updated.

Application of information theory within school libraries centres on teacher librarian’s facilitation of user access to resources. The ultimate function of metadata is “to provide effective user access to information resources” (Hider, 2012, p. 12), therefore users must be able to use the library catalogue to find, identify, select, obtain and navigate resources to meet their information needs (Hider, 2012, p, 18-31). To this end, teacher librarians take a lead role in building the capacity, information literacy and digital citizenship of themselves, fellow staff, students and the school community (Combes, 2009; Combes, 2008). To achieve this, teacher librarians engage in explicit and scaffolded teaching and learning, professional workshops or webinars, one-on-one support, or mentoring (Combes, 2009). Accessing specialist support, such as that available through Softlink, the Schools Catalogue Information Service (SCIS) or local teacher librarian networks can be valuable (SCIS, 2013; Softlink, 2017a).

Changes in the information landscape

The last century has seen dramatic changes to information organisation. The development of computers, the internet and information communication technologies (ICT) has revolutionised the way people access and share information. The public release of the internet and developments in ICT such as smart phones and social media have revolutionised the way people access and share information (Combes, 2008; Hider, 2013, p. xi-xiii). Huge amounts of content in multiple formats is easily available to users at home, work and through use of mobile devices. These developments have also had implications for how users consume, create and communicate information through social media platforms for example use of YouTube to view, create, and share video content.

These changes in the information landscape have had dramatic implications for information professionals. The migration of library card catalogues to integrated library systems and online public access catalogues (OPAC) proved a significant development (Combes, 2008). The introduction of OPAC systems has supported greater ease of use by patrons and library staff, reducing the amount of time required to create, locate and use bibliographic records. The developments in ICT, whilst often challenging, have presented an opportunity for libraries and librarians to evolve and demonstrate leadership within the profession (Combes, 2009; Todd, 1994, p. 27-35; Wall, 2016, p. 30-39; Wall and Bonanno, 2014a, p. 20-28; Wall and Bonanno, 2014b, p, 18-30). The development in technology has made it necessary for information professionals to build their capacity and to apply critical and creative thinking to remain relevant (Hutchinson, 2017).

Changes to the information landscape have provided opportunities and challenges for school libraries and teacher librarians. Opportunities include the use of network services such as SCIS for cataloguing and selection aids, and greater accuracy of OPAC user reports to meet needs (Chadwick, 2015). SCIS provides over one million records for school-related resources and most Australian education departments pay a subscription to this service to access the breadth of quality print and electronic data (Chadwick, 2015). Additionally, this resource supports school libraries and teacher librarians by reducing catalogue workload and providing a high-quality reference for print and digital resource selection. OPAC systems such as Oliver version five (Softlink, 2017b) have the capability to generate a range of resource and user reports. These can be used effectively by the teacher librarian and school library staff for collection development and management purposes to better meet user needs.

A challenge posed by changes in the information landscape for school libraries and teacher librarians is anticipation of latest trends to provide information resources and devices that meet user needs. In the fast-paced information landscape, it has been difficult for teacher librarians to keep up, particularly in relation to digital resources and related teaching and learning pedagogies. Commitment is required to engage with professional reading and networks to remain informed of current best practice (Softlink, 2016, p. 26-32; The New Media Consortium and The Consortium for School Networking, 2016; Wall, 2016, p. 30-39). Management of library budgets, subscriptions, pedagogical leadership by the teacher librarian (Digital Promise, 2016; Wall and Bonanno, 2014a, p. 20-28; Wall and Bonanno, 2014b, p, 18-30) and support of leadership within the school are also required to meet this challenge.

Information organisation for the 21st century

In the twenty years since the internet was made publically available, modern culture has developed into an information society, where a “vast amount of information is generated daily” (Combes, 2012). An information society develops when economic and social function rely on access to information (Combes, 2008; Hider, 2013, p. xi-xiii). There has been expediential growth of information in multiple formats particularly digital resources such as websites, and audio-visual content which has resulted in what many would call “information overload” (Herring, 2017).

Despite information and communication technologies, including social media, being heavily integrated into modern life, there is a misconception that this information is reliable and that young people, so called “digital natives”, are naturally skilled information users (Combes, 2007, p. 17-20; Herring, 2017). Research indicates that this is not automatically true and that despite being surrounded by information, users cannot always locate relevant, high quality information or evaluate it effectively to meet their needs. Research also indicates that modern information users exercise an over reliance on search engines such as Google and do not utilise a breath of critical information searching behaviours (Bearden, 2016, p. 1-12; Combes, 2007, p. 17-20).

The rise of the information society has created a significant challenge for the information profession; that is, how to remain relevant in competition with the internet and search engines. Many users are reluctant to use library services when they can access the internet at home, or may not be confident in their ability to use the library catalogue. However, this challenge should be viewed as an opportunity for librarians to evolve (Todd, 1994) and offer a specialised service and improve the experience offered to patrons. Modern libraries are working to make themselves community hubs that offer a wide range of information services and innovations (Herring, 2017; Marie, 2007, p. 23-28; Richardson, 2017). This includes, but is not limited to use of social media, adding depth to the library catalogue through addition of user-generated content such as tags, reading lists and book reviews (Herring, 2017; Richardson, 2017) and facilitating education, training and interest workshops. These initiatives build the capacity and participation of patrons so they are more confident in their use of search techniques, information literacy and thus, library services.

Teacher librarians are well placed to offer specialised information expertise within the school library and wider community. As professionals with qualifications additional to those of classroom teachers, they make valuable contributions during collaborative planning as well as to teaching, learning and assessment (FitzGerald, 2015, p. 4-17; Hutchinson, 2017). A school-wide perspective, and detailed knowledge of the Australian Curriculum; for example, cross-curriculum priorities and skills with information and communication technologies, make modern teacher librarians an invaluable resource in schools (FitzGerald, 2015, p. 4-17; Herring, 2017; Lupton, 2014, p. 8-29; Wall, 2016, p. 30-39).

It is essential that students engage in teaching and learning that develops digital literacy and citizenship (Bearden, 2016, p. 1-12; Digital Promise, 2016; FitzGerald, 2015, p. 4-17; Herring, 2017; Lupton, 2014, p. 8-29; Todd, 1994). Research indicates that students benefit from explicit teaching of critical and information literacy skills, for data security, communication protocols, search and evaluation techniques (Bearden, 2016, p. 1-12; Combes, 200, p. 17-20; Digital Promise, 2016). Competence in these areas allow students to use information and technology critically and creatively to engage learning and collaborate with others (Herring, 2017; Hutchinson, 2017). Such skills have been identified as necessary for success in future work environments (Combes, 2012; NMC CoSN, 2016; Wall and Bonanno, 2014a, p. 20-28; Wall and Bonanno, 2014b, p, 18-30). Within the information society of the 21st century and into the future, teacher librarians are dynamic professionals supporting the information needs of the school community.

References

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© Emma Cox 2017