Fall+Department+Retreat+Notes

October 23 Library Department Retreat Minutes 11:30-3PM Present: Ben Goulet, Carolyn Hilles, Christine Smith, Brooke Strachan Lunch discussion focused on the changes occurring at Cushing Academy and the impact this sort of "e-thinking" and bookless library movement may have on school libraries. These important and program altering changes seem to affect Upper School/High School libraries more regularly than Middle and Lower School programs where independent reading and print based research continue to have a place in the program and service mission. The purpose of this retreat was to continue the work of the N-12 scope and sequence which we reviewed in the spring with meetings and revisions continuing throughout the spring; take a thoughtful look at the NEASC questions as they relate to the library programs and begin to write a (draft) response. The NEASC questions prompted thoughtful discussion. The library voice should be unified, look for commonalities in teaching practices and programming and illustrate those skills and strategies by division that are developmentally appropriate. Using the ideas submitted on the wiki, Christine will craft a departmental response to the questions. Discussion of the Wikipedia article was insightful as we discussed the importance of faculty "buy-in" to the theme that these information skills are the most essential for 21st century learners and should be a planned part of any curriculum. They should be taught consistently at all grade levels. This lead to further discussion of our N-12 scope of skills and the sequence in which they are introduced. Each librarian worked with representative members of their divisions seeking input and commitment to the skills and projects taught. Each created an authentic set of skills integrated with the current projects that are research based. The Department agreed that there should be two documents produced, one that enumerates the skills sequentially and the content areas in which they are included and the other a one page document for library stake holders, faculty, parents, administrators, that highlights the essential literacy skills. Thirty minutes of the retreat was reserved for Carolyn to present LibGuides to the Department. Carolyn attended a workshop on assessment at LYRASIS, a library consortium. LibGuides were a key part of the presentation.Used regularly by college reference librarians they direct students toward the best resources available. This is a 2.0 application giving the librarians flexibility while creating a one stop location for recommended resources; journals, books, weblinks,databases, video clips,etc. LibGuides may be searched on Google. Next departmental meeting scheduled for November 18th at 10AM.