Boost library use and affirm the value of teacher-librarians with LearnPath

Too much information to process?

One of the challenges of today’s media-saturated world is finding ways to effectively manage the vast amounts of data and information at our disposal. This challenge is well documented by researchers, who have given it names such as ‘information overload’, ‘cognitive overload’ and ‘infobesity’, as its effects are comparable to physical obesity, which results from consuming more than our bodies’ processing systems can handle.

Many schools employ teacher-librarians, who can help library users filter through the junk and identify the best information for their needs – much like a dietician or health coach might develop tailored eating plans to help people make better food choices.

Teacher librarians are experts in content curation

With their specific training in both teaching and librarianship, they have a unique perspective that allows them to link teaching and curriculum objectives with appropriate resources from their collections and beyond. They put significant time and effort into curating high quality, up to date collections that meet the needs of teachers and students, and the importance of their role in schools cannot be understated.

However, library staff can find it difficult to convince stakeholders that the library, not just Google, is still the best place to find the information they need. Many students struggle with media literacy and require guidance for identifying reliable resources. More and more, they are looking for a one-stop answer to their information challenges.

A specialist tool for information specialists

To address this, Softlink has developed LearnPath, an information curating tool that enables schools to provide students with direct access to quality information and resources targeted to their learning needs.

LearnPath integrates seamlessly with Oliver v5 to help schools unlock the full potential of the library collection. Its intuitive interface allows teacher-librarians to quickly and easily create learning guides on any topic, facilitating more effective collaboration with teaching staff. With access to your curated guides, teachers will find it so much easier to plan lessons and engage students. They will view you as a partner for meeting shared pedagogical objectives.

Oliver v5 and LearnPath offer the ideal suite of tools to complement and draw attention to teacher-librarians’ unique set of knowledge and skills, which contribute to building future-ready schools. To find out more about LearnPath, visit this page or email sales@softlinkint.com

Find out more about LearnPath

• See LearnPath in action by watching our short (1.27min) demo video
• Trevanna Cooper, CBC Fremantle’s Teacher Librarian, describes how the college library promotes innovative thinking and helps students avoid research overwhelm with Softlink’s information curating tool, LearnPath
• Click here to learn more about how LearnPath can support digital learning

Editors note: This blog was originally published in October 2017, updated in September 2021 for freshness, accuracy, and relevancy.