ISLG Presentation March 2014

1. Navigating the procurement and use of e-resources in
secondary schools

2. Motivations and Interests

3. Today’s talk
 Outline research methods
 Provide an overview of current cross-curricular e-
resources and examine their purpose and role
 Consider factors affecting the implementation of e-
resources
 Looking ahead- 3 predictions

4. Survey: definitions and method
 Cross-curricular e-resources- interpreted broadly, to
include subscription and free content.
 Cross-curricular refers to resources which are not
subject specific, such as reference works, image
galleries, journal databases and newspaper archives.
 Approached SLA branches nation-wide alongside
those with a known interest in the area.

5. What e-resources are being used?

6. Survey results: sufficient provision?
 Currently limited high-quality resources aimed at
GCSE and pre-GCSE level
 More in additional languages which our students
have as first languages like Somali, Polish, Lithuanian
and more translation tools for EAL
 More resources that are free or offered at a very
reduced price for schools, wider availability of
consortia buying
 More resources for teaching Information Literacy
 Wider availability of e-textbooks

7. Opening up the conversation
 Free to access material- is it meeting our needs?
Usability, interface, language level?
 Clipbank- discussing requirements and shaping
content.
 Library networks- SLN, discussion
forums, meetings, user groups

8. Where to go for advice?

9. IFLA: Key Issues for e-resource Collection
Development (2012)
Key areas to address
 Technical feasibility
 Functionality and reliability
 Vendor support
 Supply
 Licensing
 Currency
 Value for money
 Accuracy and completeness
 Duplication

10. Survey results: important factors
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
Cost
Engageareluctantgroup
Governmentpolicy
Mostappropriateformat
Relevancetothecurriculum
Schoolculture
SufficientICTcapacityandsupport
Sufficientknowledgetoimplement…
Userrecommendation
Wholeschoolpolicy,e.g.School…
Very important
Quite important
Not very important
Not important at all

11. Sufficient knowledge
 Digital Natives vs. Digital Immigrants
 CPD- SLA/SLG/Twitter/SLN/CPD23/TACCLE
 User knowledge- patron driven acquisition models

12. Sufficient ICT Capacity
 How should it be measured? Hardware provision vs.
BYOD
 Wi-Fi infrastructure
 ICT as a communication method- learning
platforms, VLEs and digital signage

13. Relevance to Curriculum
 Value-added- packaging material e.g.
bookmarking, learning platform, content creation.
 Free resources- GLAM/Wiki Projects

14. Cost
Academy Independe
nt
(Secondary)
Independent
(Prep)
State Other Total
Up to £1,000 4 1 2 7
£1,001-£3,000 4 1 6 11
£3,001-£5,000 7 1 3 11
£5,001-£10,000 7 7 7 1 22
£10,001-
£15,000
2 1 3
£15,001-
£20,000
1 3 4
£20,001+ 1 1 2
No specific
allocation
1 1
Total 24 16 1 19 1 61

15. Looking ahead
 Changes in curriculum will alter use of cross-
curricular e-resources
 ‘Hybrid’ staffing- changing role of the school
librarian
 Subscription vs. Open Access debate will filter
down to school-level

16. Conclusions
We can't go over it.
We can't go under it.
Oh no!
We've got to go
through it.