Annual Activities Report
1996-1997
The objectives of the Instructional Resources Unit (IRU) are the provision of library media learning resources, reference services and information assistance for the purpose of facilitating the implementation of K-S4 programs and school division/district staff professional development. The Unit also provides leadership and consultation in the development of school-based library media services.
To accomplish these objectives, IRU is organized into seven interlocking teams: Reference and Information Services; Collection Management; Bibliographic Management; Materials Loan and Video Duplication; Resource Sharing; Marketing; and Unit Management. These teams, operating under the principles of total quality management and the philosophy of continuous improvement, are responsible for the activities and results described herein.
The Unit Management Team has the responsibility for handling systems development, the physical plant, human resources, volunteer administration, financial accountability, leadership activities and administrative assistance in support of all of the activities of the Unit for the achievement of quality services to teachers and administrators. Through an extensive volunteer program, the Unit provided over 4,300 hours of valuable work experience for students and other individuals preparing to re-enter the workforce. The Unit also coordinated the School Programs Division's bulk mailing system, distributing over 360,000 items to Manitoba schools and division offices. By coordinating the distribution of items sent to schools and providing distribution information for the items within each school, communication between School Programs Division and the schools has been made more efficient and effective.
Activity: Selection, Acquisition, Cataloguing and Circulation of Instructional Resources
The Collection Development Team identifies, selects and acquires materials for the collection in support of the work of the School Programs Division of the Department and the implementation of curricula and best practices for teachers from Kindergarten to Senior 4. Resources collected support three broad areas: curriculum implementation, education theory and practice and educational research; additionally, the selected materials reflect the multicultural nature of Canadian society and emphasize Canadian content which support, develop and enrich the Manitoba Kindergarten to Senior 4 program.
Guided by the 1996/97 Collection Development Plan, the following activities were undertaken: 6,000 books were selected and acquired; 1,000 titles in support of multiculturalism were acquired; 325 video recordings for Media Booking were purchased in support of curricula implementation and professional development; 8 new video programs were acquired with provincial duplication and distribution rights for the purpose of dubbing copies for schools; 10 new CD-ROM products were added; and, 600 paper and CD-ROM periodical subscriptions were maintained. Additionally, approximately 200 video programs were previewed for possible purchase. Potential donations to the collection were examined for suitability for to the collection. In terms of audiovisual donations, the chief source of free materials was the Cable in the Classroom initiative which yielded 300 video programs being added to the collection for loaning.
The main function of the Bibliographic Management Team is to acquire, organize, catalogue and process educational resources, such as books, videocassettes, CD-ROMs, computer software, CD's audiocassettes, and multimedia kits, so that educators may have access to these materials in a timely and efficient manner. Over 7,700 books and non-print materials and 600 periodical subscriptions were acquired during this time. Approximately 7,200 items were catalogued and processed, while over 8,900 cataloguing records were entered in the Library's automated system, thus enabling clients to search on-line and generate various bibliographies, and allowing staff to create select printed catalogues. Two print catalogues were produced during this time: Catalogue of Multimedia Resources, 1996, and Catalogue of Cable in the Classroom Video Resources, March 1997.
The Team also produced four issues of New Acquisitions Lists, and assisted in the development of five issues of What's New. Another function of the Team is to provide cataloguing assistance to educators and school library personnel upon request. In addition, the Team supplies departmental publications with cataloguing-in-publication information so that libraries may incorporate these documents quickly into their collections and make them readily accessible.
Activities of the Materials Loan and Video Duplication Team supported the provision of circulation and media booking. These included activities in the maintenance of the Library's collections, including shelving, shelf reading, and repair, as well as activities which assisted clientele in the loan of the Library's resources. Overall results of these activities included the loan of 98,242 books and small format audiovisual resources, the loan of 4,177 periodicals to Department Staff, the duplication of 612 periodical articles for teachers in the field, and the booking of 41,693 media resources of which 40,187 were successfully loaned. Inquiries regarding the services of the Team as well as other Library services resulted in 15,680 responses to the Library's clientele.
The result of the activities performed by these three teams - Collection Development, Bibliographic Management, and Materials Loan and Video Duplication - is learning resources support for the implementation of new and existing curricula from Kindergarten to Senior 4; the provision of a research based approach to curriculum development and implementation; and, access to professional development material in the support of best practices for educators.
Activity: Provision of Video Duplication Services
The Materials Loan and Video Duplication Team is responsible for the provision of video duplication services. IRU's collection of 1,526 master video programs are reviewed and acquired by the Collection Development Team. In 1996/97, 14,083 dubs of these masters were processed in 1,224 orders. The dubbing masters which are held in the Library cover a variety of subject areas at all grade levels and are for the support of the implementation of the Kindergarten to Senior 4 curricula. One example of the service is the subscription series CBC News in Review. During 1996/97, 103 schools subscribed to the service which, upon subscribing, automatically delivered eight times during the school year a one hour tape with a summary and analysis of four significant and timely news stories especially edited and placed in context for junior/senior high use. Accompanying each tape was a extensive teacher's guide with background information and suggestions for learning activities. The series has proved useful in many subject areas including media literacy and social studies.
Activity: Provision of Library Information Services and Reference Assistance
The Reference and Information Services Team serves clients by retrieving information in answer to clients' queries. The Team assists in gathering resources to support Manitoba educators' implementation of curricula as well as resources to help educators grow professionally and plan for best instructional practices. Information is accessed from the Library's Online Public Access Catalogue, other libraries' catalogues, various print and electronic reference tools, and the Internet. An increase in requests filled is a result expected from the team. It is expected that success in reaching this result should improve programs in schools as the knowledge base of those delivering those programs continues to grow. 23,000 ready reference questions and 6,256 in-depth reference questions were answered for clients. 450 CD-ROM searches were conducted. A service for schools with fewer than four classrooms which selects blocks of books for extended loan periods was provided for 74 schools at a total of 19,500 books. The expected result of this service is a maintenance of equity of opportunity for students in small schools. This reflects an increase of 6 schools and 4,000 books in one year.
New and revised bibliographies are developed by the team to assist clients and staff in timely and efficient searching for resources on a variety of topics. One new bibliography was developed and distributed to schools entitled: Manitoba Writers and Illustrators for Young People. Eight bibliographies were revised: Conflict Resolution, The Struggling Student, Activities with Books, The Internet, Human Rights, Asia Pacific, Sustainable Development, and English as a Second Language.
The Marketing Team produced five issues of What's New to inform teachers of new resources available for loan. A Catalogue of Multimedia Resources, 1996 and Cable in the Classroom Video Resources were also produced and distributed. The expected result of the production and distribution of bibliographies and catalogues is a better informed clientele and improved delivery of programs in schools.
The Resource Sharing Team provides interlibrary loans and reference assistance for the School Programs Division (SPD) staff and other Departmental staff and for local, provincial, federal and international libraries. During the 1996/97 year over 4,834 reference inquiries were handled, including 355 CD-ROM searches. Of the 631 items which were requested from IRU's Library by other libraries, 590 items were provided, resulting in a 93.5 % fill rate. 7% of these items were requested by libraries out of province. Instructional Resources Unit, in turn, requested 111 books and journal orders from other libraries for SPD staff.
Support for the Linking Libraries Initiative was provided by team members. The re-automation of the IRU and DREF (Direction des ressources educatives francaises) Libraries was spearheaded by this team. In March an upgrade to the current Library system was approved. An implementation plan for the new system is underway with a final installation date of August so that schools will be able to access the Libraries' collections via the Internet.
Members of the Resource Sharing Team were involved in the IRU web page design. Bibliographies and Library documents were encoded, uploaded and made available on the Department's web site.
Activity: Provision of Consultation to Schools/Divisions
An Addendum to the Licence Agreement between Manitoba Education, Citizenship and Youth, on behalf of education stakeholders on the Minister's Advisory Committee on Copyright, and Cancopy was concluded for the school years 1996/97 and 1997/98. With this licence agreement and the payment of a fee of $2.00 per full time equivalent student for each of the years, teachers are able to access copyright material as per the terms of the agreement. Literature was provided to the schools outlining the terms of the agreement. Bibliographic sampling will be conducted in 50 schools during Spring, 1997. Under the terms of the agreement, teachers are permitted easier access to copyright material; for example, up to 10% of a book in multiple copies may be photocopied for classroom use. The result of this activity is that, within reason, teachers are able to implement resource-based learning without violating Canadian copyright law.
The Reference Team provides instruction and demonstration of the OPAC and other electronic tools for clients, consultation on the use of resources, as well as tours and orientations of the Library. Training and informing clientele in these ways results in greater satisfaction in the selection of resources. 2,200 OPAC demonstrations, 40 consultations, and 15 tours and workshops were conducted. Among the consultations conducted were several for school library personnel to assist them in developing resource based learning programs and improve library media service in their schools.
Reference Services in the areas of multicultural and anti-racist education included two workshops on the Holocaust, two on Black History month, and three on Anti-Bias/Anti-Racist education. In addition, over 75 consultations on portfolios, suggestions on teaching resources for units on Aboriginal, Anti-Bias Education, Black History, English as a Second Language, Human Rights, and the Holocaust were done. Over 300 in-depth reference queries were answered.
By incorporating diversity in classrooms teachers will develop attitudes and behaviours in students that respect all people, regardless of their differences.
Activity: Review of New and Renovated School Library Building Plans
During 1996/97, over 10 school building plans were reviewed where school libraries were new or under renovation. The purpose of these assessments is to ensure that school libraries conform to standards of construction, Departmental space guidelines and good operational conditions so that students and staff have excellent facilities.
After many years in development, IRU, in conjunction with the Public Schools Finance Board (PSFB), has finalized a document entitled Planning School Libraries: Guidelines for K-S4 Schools. It is intended to assist schools and school divisions/districts in their physical facilities work when formulating plans for effective school libraries in both new construction and renovation of existing facilitates. PSFB school library space allocations are clearly articulated. School architects should find this publication helpful in interpreting the role of the school library in a resource-based curriculum. Distribution of the document is planned for the spring 1997.
