Library+Services

__Library Services__ In our research, we found that there are few library services specifically designed for teachers. However, there are various existing services, mainly digital resources, that also addresses the information seeking behavior and needs of teachers. We found that there is a wide variety of electronic resources specifically designed for educational use, but they are underutilized (Perrault, 2007). This is due to various reasons: ease of use, quantity and quality of information, and relevance. Below are some specific resources that address the needs of teachers:

> Discovery Education offers a range of free classroom resources that "complement and extend learning beyond the bell." Teachers, parents, administrators can search by grade and or subject. Resources include lesson plans, digital images, connections to standards across the curriculum, organizing and management tools, professional development and training. One of the widely used resources is the Discovery Streaming where teachers can select from hundreds of thousands of digital videos to show their students. " School districts in Maryland encourage teachers to set up free individual accounts as the site is easy to use, full of relevant content, and geared towards meeting national standards.
 * **[|Discovery Education]:**


 * **[|PBS Teachers] **PBS Teachers offers preK-12 educational resources. Classroom materials for a wide range of subjects and grade levels are available. There are plenty of lesson plans, teaching activities, on-demand video assets, and interactive games and simulations. These resources are correlated to state and national educational standards and are tied to PBS' on-air and online programming like NOVA, Nature, Cyberchase, Between the Lions and more. Professional development for educators such as graduate level courses is available through PBS TeacherLine. PBS TeacherLine also offers Peer Connection through which teachers can engage in online communication, collaboration, and even mentorship.

> NSDL is a freely accessible, online collection of digital resources primarily targeted to STEM educators. It includes lesson plans, activities, reference and instructional materials, tutorials, and more. Metadata records for this online resource are very complete, specific, and designed for teachers. For example, the “education level” field in a single metadata record includes both specific grade levels, such as “Grade 6,” and broader levels, including “upper elementary,” “elementary school,” and “middle school.” Similarly, the “resource type” field frequently includes several descriptors. Users may also search by standards. Links generally take users to an outside source, but the link opens in a new page, which makes it easier for users as they can return to their search results quickly because the results remain open in a separate page. Users may browse the collection, or create their own search strings.
 *  **[|National Science Digital Library]** :


 * **[|Gateway to 21st Century Skills] ** This online resource, formerly known as GEM, attempts to organize information according to teachers’ information needs and behavior by including in metadata records criteria such as topic, subject, learning objective, and grade level (similar to NSDL). Resource descriptions in metadata records are relatively comprehensive. Submissions for inclusion on the site are peer-reviewed. Anyone may access the site, however, membership is required in order to submit resources. Users may browse resources or search by keyword.


 * **[|The Instructional Architect] **This online resource allows teachers to both search for resources and submit resources that they have developed. The site is not organized nearly as well as the previously discussed resources, and is not particularly user-friendly. It is also rather limited in terms of resources contained in the collection.


 * **Textbooks and Journals:**Textbook publishers frequently include supplementary material, such as worksheets and handouts, either with the instructor’s copy of the text or via their websites.


 * **[|State resources]:**<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #000000; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline;"> Maryland public school teachers and students have access to a number of online databases that are accessible on and off campus. These resources are geared to students in pre-k through 12th grade. Visit [] for more information.


 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">**County online resources**: <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">May vary by county. Most include: Britannica Online, SIRS, <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">and Pebble-Go, and [|TumbleBooks]. Visit <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">[|http://mocoresources.weebly.com] <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #000000; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline;">for more information.


 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">**[|International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE)]**: <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #000000; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline;">The ISTE website provides access to national educational technology standards, and opportunities to connect with colleagues. They also offer a print version of national educational technology standards.


 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">**[|National Education Association (NEA)]**:<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #000000; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline;"> Online access to lesson plans, classroom management, teaching strategies, advice and support. Can browse lessons by grade range and subject area, or perform a keyword search.


 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">**[|National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM)]** : An o<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #000000; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline;">nline resource that provides access to standards, lessons, resources, journals and books. Must be a member of NCTM to access certain portions of the website.


 * <span class="wiki_link_ext">**[|International Reading Association]**: The website includes l<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">esson plans, reading lists, resources by topic (e.g., assessment, beginning readers). Teachers can search by facets for lesson plans, including grade level, lesson plan type, learning objective, and theme. A keyword search is also available.


 * **<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Professional Libraries: **<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #000000; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Most counties offer professional libraries that cater exclusively to faculty members. These libraries align their resources with curriculum and pedagogy needs. They help faculty members locate the resources they need and send the resources to them via a pony post delivery.

> <span class="wiki_link_ext" style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">ERIC contains a wealth of educational literature, but does not provide an option to search exclusively for lesson plans or materials needed to meet teachers' classroom needs. It is, however, a good resource for information related to padogogy and methodology. Also, the site has minimal full-text documents, meaning that teachers will have to go to other sites/sources to find the actual material. ERIC's subscription database contains many more full-text articles, but teachers would be required to locate a facility that subscribes to this database in order to access it.
 * **[|Educational Resource Information Center (ERIC)]**