dc.description.abstract | The Instructional Resources Center evolves from the traditional primary school libraries. With abundant information and improving internet technology, it nowadays not only works as traditional libraries but also takes responsibility for further missions and functions. It aims to deliver active service for readers and supports for teaching as the core in knowledge management.
This research, from the perspectives of the primary school teachers in Taipei City, is carried out to analyze and discuss the function and the role of the Instructional Resources Center. The purposes of this research are (1)Understanding of the expected important functions of IRC by current teachers making sure it is fit for teaching use; (2)Analyzing the role of IRC form the perspective of library experts to view its development and future suitability; (3) Combining current teachers and the perspective of library experts to develop a complete IRC role as reference to carry out for each primary school in Taipei.
In terms of the design of the research, quantification analysis and qualitative interview research methods are adopted. Firstly, it carried out a survey on current primary school teachers in Taipei City and the analysis shows that an ideal IRC of the primary school should be equipped with hybrid space and equipments, its administration ranking should ideally be raised to second level of campus subordinate to Office of Academic Affair, and should be reasonably staffed by three people, one of whom is qualified as Media specialist and teacher, and the others are full-time administrators (inclusive of a system administrator). 95 percent of the interviewees agree on the transformation of primary school libraries to IRCs. The expectations by the teachers of the function and the role of IRC include media production and teaching, increase in cultivation in information, promotion of life-learning, support for teaching, assistance to curriculum development, establishing reading habits, improvement in knowledge management, encouraging kids learning, and keeping the function of traditional libraries, which are nine major functions.
The qualitative interviewees are experts of primary school IRC and librarians in Taipei. The in-depth interviews were carried out based on the result of quantitative survey in order to modify the function and the role of IRC added with more feasibility fitted in with the reality. The analysis of the results is that primary school IRC should be self-aware its difference from the traditional library, which it provides support for teaching, promotion of reading within campus, and guides for kids’ learning. Library volunteers are part of organized staff but can still be effective assistance. “People’s volition” is the key to determining whether or not the operation of IRC is successful. In addition to librarians’, this also includes the volition of school leaders. In terms of a comprehensive development of IRC in Taipei City, the key to it is whether or not the increase in number of staff is successful to improve service quality.
The research has discovered that (1)The IRC is an ideal transformation of primary school libraries; (2)The arrangement of hybrid space and equipments can work multi-functionally; (3)The ideal administration ranking should be at the second level subordinate to Office of Academic Affair; (4)The reasonable staff for it should include a person who is qualified as media specialist and teacher, and two people who are full-time administrators (inclusive of one system administrator); (5)The IRC should recognize its role different from that of the traditional libraries, including active support for teaching, promotion of reading habits, and motivating school children to learn to establish their self-learning attitudes and habits; (6)The information teachers of IRC should be responsible to promote information education and to carry out media cultivation mission, including promoting information education to establish the IRC as the campus information center, and promoting media cultivation to teachers and students in the position as the media specialist; (7)Enhanced training for professional librarians is needed to reinforce the IRC’s occupational function; (8)Participation in curriculum development is the long-term goal of the IRC; (9)Promotion of lifetime learning improves knowledge management; (10)The development mode of the IRCs of small-sized schools should emphasize its attribute to present the main structure; (11)The key to determining whether or not the operation of primary school IRCs is successful depends on the volition of the principals and administrators; (12)The key of comprehensive promotion of primary school IRC in Taipei City depends on whether or not there is sufficient personnel; (13)Taipei City is the epitome of the whole country as the reference of experience for promoting primary school IRC to others.
Finally, four points are raised as follows as suggestion for the practical development of primary school IRCs. (1)Sufficient staff members should be arranged for the IRC to function and play its role; (2)Flexible increase in the administration ranking of IRC gives it more authority and missions; (3)Teachers should utilize books to improve their education knowledge in order to establish portable tool ability for school children; (4)Librarians should keep on improving their ability in face of campus readers enthusiastically and professionally. | en |