Guiding the library search by the English teacher.
Kupfer, David C.
Introduction
There is currently little professional literature for high school
English teachers teaching their own students how to use an online
catalog. Based on my conversations with library staff, scholarly
research into the subject, and my own experience, most "information
literacy" articles are aimed at the trained librarian, the
information specialist. For example, in the academic database Library
Literature and Info Science Full Text, one finds that there are only 11
articles, using the key words "teaching" and "high
school" and "English." Other subject/keyword combinations
produce little else relevant to English teacher search ability, and one
even finds that the English teacher may be considered a junior partner
to the "Teacher Librarian," (O'Sullivan, p. 5) the actual
school librarian conducting classes for students.
English teachers need their own information literacy, the ability
to use online databases skillfully to gather data quickly, accurately,
and relevantly. This skill is a supplement - not a replacement - to the
certified librarian. Librarians offer full lectures, but on a tight
schedule; English teachers can initiate brief in-class sessions to help
students to be "better searchers." Teachers can build their
own information literary skill, pass them on as the class engages in
literature searches and writing projects. Effective search strategy will
help students get pertinent information quicker, allowing for more time
to be spent on the writing of term papers. Search skills can be used in
the student's home, at a personal computer, if the student logs
into the school library. The result will be a student who absorbs sound
search strategy, what it takes to make a faster, complete search, when
preparing an argument for the paper.
Below is a sample search at the Guyer High School Library in
Denton, Texas.
This multi-word strategy, which can be used at any
catalog, requires "subject" and "keyword" searching.
Teachers should emphasize that a search can be narrowed
quickly once the student identifies the correct subject
area and prime words that needs to be searched.
Many researchers, including, O'Sullivan, argue
for this dual approach:
Using the keywords/search terms from their research question, the
teacher librarian stresses the importance of developing a comprehensive,
dynamic list of related keywords or synonyms, and in identifying the
appropriate subject headings for the key concepts in their research
question. (p. 7)
Bastone and others have recognized the need for students to go
beyond simple "keyword" searching, those with inconclusive or
overwhelming results (numerically, that is). I prefer encouraging the
subject heading strategy for students' "critical thinking
skills" (Bastone, p. 10), speeding up and improving the search, but
the search style is yours to make.
A high school English teacher should be able to teach the following
10 step, 10-minute mini-session, either as a prelude to a formal class
with a librarian or as a reminder to class after a basic but formal
introduction has been given. Notice that the emphasis is on isolating
the subject heading by using an initial keyword search. In the instance
below, students are taught to research literary theory, in particular,
critics who have written about an author, including Hawthorne, from a
documented perspective.
The quick search method can be demonstrated by an overhead
connected to the Internet within the classroom, a technology that most
high schools have today. Note that the teacher will go through a number
of connected sets, repeating, reviewing and even reversing, allowing
students to build research skills slowly. Materials should be located as
circulating or reference, emphasizing the accessibility of material in
either case.
1) The search begins at the Guyer Library Home Page, located at the
following site, http://www.dentonisd.org/512428294548/site/default.asp,
which can be accessed at the Guyer High School main web site, at
http://www.dentonisd.org/guyerhs/site/default.asp.
2) The 2 primary databases are on the left, the Search For A Book
(OPAC) and the Online Databases Home Access. The first database, the
actual catalog, will be the focus of this review - those desiring
greater school/home access should contact their school librarian for
further instruction, to set up database accounts and demonstrate
searching methods. The school catalog, however, should not require any
special account to access.
3) I start with a double keyword search, "criticism" and
"Hawthorne."
4) I find 4 titles and click on the first, Nathaniel Hawthorne:
Comprehensive Research And Study guide / edited and with an introduction
by Harold Bloom.
5) This allows me to find at least one relevant subject heading:
Hawthorne, Nathaniel, -- 1804-1864 -- Criticism and interpretation
- Handbooks, manuals, etc.
6) Now I would show the class the full screen result for the
"Criticism and interpretation" subject heading, which gives
the following title, A Historical Guide to Nathaniel Hawthorne / edited
by Larry J. Reynolds.
I would discuss the bottom of the catalog screen, to find an
availability for check-out:
Non-Fiction 813 HIS Checked In
7) Now I would use a critical search strategy to find more titles.
Since, I assume, we have discussed various literary theories in class,
we can now use key terms as subject heading searching. For example,
using "Historicism" as a subject produces:
Practicing New Historicism / Catherine Gallagher & Stephen
Greenblatt.
8) I can type in "criticism" as a subject, which should
look like "subject:(criticism)" in the box, and click on
"series" at the middle right of the catalog screen, giving me
many works to consult, including the multi-volume series, Dictionary of
Literary Biography, which includes 58 titles, including Modern American
Critics, 1920-1955 / Ed. by Gregory S. Jay. I would point out to
students that each step is producing results, though with some labor,
and that they should write down important titles when found.
9) From the title Modern American Critics, I can restructure the
search because I have found a new set of relevant subject headings:
Subjects:
Criticism -- History.
Criticism -- Bio-bibliography.
Critics -- Biography -- Dictionaries.
American literature -- History and criticism.
10) I click on the last Subject Heading, American literature --
History and criticism.
I would point out to class that with 61 hits, we probably need to
redo our search. It is always important to emphasize that good searching
takes patience and practice, even for professionals. I would then
return/click the following icon from our subjects in # 9:
Criticism -- History.
Now we have a more manageable list of 6 titles, including a
slightly newer, perhaps more relevant work, in the reference area:
Modern American Critics Since 1955 / Ed. by Gregory S. Jay.
Reference REF 920 MOD Checked In
Always navigate with the most "relevant" pattern, usually
some combination of key work, key word, primary author, and especially,
the primary subject heading. By virtual search, walking through each
step and explaining the strategy, the teacher builds confidence.
Students can work alone, search online for classics, and the
interpretations of those classics. The English teacher and Internet
become partners in student writing.
I have found that many students lack basic "information
literacy" skills that would help them to learn their subjects
better, prepare for tests better, and write better English. Particularly
important for English students is this capacity to quickly look up books
about the authors and subjects for investigating. When preparing for a
paper on literary theory, the information is not simply in the back of
the text, or in a laboratory, as it might be for a paper on some branch
of science. Whether investigating Historicism, Deconstruction, Gender
Theory, Queer Theory, Feminist Theory, Reader Response Criticism,
Marxist Theory, Formalism, or any prevalent literary schools, students
must have the skill to go to the basic expository information and then
find fuller, detailed works without getting frustrated from a circular
search. I often hear that - students cannot find the information looked
for, when in fact it is the tool, the facility to search, that they need
to develop.
It is refreshing to see that so many ideas in current literary
theories are expressed by students in class discussion and in class
papers, although in a more rudimentary form. For example, a class may be
reading a work on a great American author, and a student may ask,
"Why did the person write this way? I bet that the editor said,
'Make it like so, or else we won't publish you!'"
Different critical branches can help the student to decide how to answer
the question of "why is this written as it is?" and "what
does it mean?" Historicism can be used to point out that certain
commercial books were more "popular," best sellers at a
certain era, and the author may have been reacting to that. Gender
theory can help the student see that women were portrayed in certain
ways by the author's contemporaries, and that portrayal can be the
subject of a term paper. No literary theory can answer all questions,
which is better, because students will find quickly that searching leads
to more searching, and interesting discourse.
I have created a "bare bones" introduction to teaching
English teachers the fundamentals of an effective literary theory
search. All school librarians can create a similar guide sheet, saved
online for their teachers and/or students. Remember that the audience is
often not comfortable with anything but keyword searching. To speed up
efficiency, always encourage a minimal system of subject search, even if
the author/title is known. A 10-step procedure should get each student
started with a basic method for finding English texts and criticism in a
catalog. Of course, advanced placement classes may require additional
supervision by a trained librarian, along with the English teacher.
The library can be a helpmate in the student's growth. The
student can learn that online, the text lives beyond what was just read
or discussed in class. Interpretation of the literary canon can, at
times, be just as rewarding as reading the classic, if the right sources
are accessed.
Works Cited
Bastone, B. Skills For Life: Delivering Information Literacy
Skills. School Librarian. 59.1 (Spring 2011) p. 9-11. From Literature
Resource Center. Accessed 18 June 2011. E-Journal Full Text available
through Wilson database.
O'Sullivan, M. K., et. al., A Collaborative Approach To
Implementing 21st Century Skills in a High School Senior Research Class.
Education Libraries v. 33 no. 1 (Spring 2010) p. 3-9. Accessed 18 June
2011. E-Journal Full Text available through the Wilson database.
David C. Kupfer, MLS, MA, English Graduate student
College of Professional Education Texas Woman's University
Denton, TX 76205