Research Guides: Making the Personal Connection @your library

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Research Guides Making the Personal Connection
_at_your library

• Ruth Hall
• ACL Library
• Earl Haig Secondary School
• TDSB

Tina Antoniou ACL Social Science Earl Haig
Secondary School TDSB
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Our story Where did this begin?

• Both creating our own research handouts
• Began to realize we would benefit from handouts
  with a common look and feel
• Started talking about a template
• Decided to edit and adapt the work we had already
  done stopped creating from scratch

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Results of our collaboration

• Deepened our practice (effectiveness)
• Saved time (efficiency)
• Gave students instant recognition of a tool and
  how to use it (connection)
• Expanded our program outside of the library
  (extension)

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Why are we here today?

• To share the results of our collaboration in
  creating customized research tools
• To demonstrate the benefits of creating a common
  set of research tools which can be adapted across
  grades and subject areas

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Wheres the connection?

• Personalizing research guides and making them a
  dynamic part of your library program exemplifies
  the creative side of librarianship where you are
• constantly rearranging, rethinking,
  rebuilding,seeing things inside out -
  Cynthia Archer

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Research guides Whats out there?

• G.E.A.R.S.
• Koechlin Zwaans Info Power Packs
• TDSBs Research Success _at_your library
• Thames River Valley

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Why use Research Guides?

• Create a common framework for teaching research
  and information literacy skills
• Establish a consistent approach
• Clearly identify stages in the research process

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How have they been used?

• As black line masters
• In TDSB, the most commonly used were
• KWL chart
• Evaluating a web site
• Note taking sheets
• Documentation information
• Wanted to make the guide an active teaching tool

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What did we do?

• Began with basic model from a guide
• Consulted multiple guides and gathered ideas
• Added on
• to meet assignment requirements
• to meet needs of different ages, subjects and
  levels
• Created unique products where we found a need
• Samples for each research stage

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Where do we go from here?

• Design rubrics
• brainstorming
• logging sources
• notes
• citations/works cited lists
• Be the evaluator
• Market these products to teachers

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Tips (KISS)

• Maintain a consistent header/footer
• Use a symbol or graphic to identify a document
  with the library
• Place copies of handouts at circulation desk
• Associate a certain paper colour with each
  handout or stage of the research process
• Create handouts you can easily SELL to
  departments (include a rubric or sample student
  work)
• Whenever possible COLLABORATE

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Questions and comments

• ?

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Source List

• Gauntley, Tim, Jo-Anne LaForty and Esther
  Rosenfeld. Research Success _at_ Your Library A
  Guide for Secondary Students. Toronto Toronto
  District School Board, 2005.