Post 13 - Libraries and Education

While listening to this week's LIS 2600 lecture, I was intrigued by the discussion about libraries and library services in the digital age. One comment made by Dr. Tomer (I believe) was about librarians' fear of losing control over the library in the digital age. Personally, I feel as though librarians remain steadfast in the gatekeeper model to maintain job security (as many would if their job were being threatened). In a digital age, if the librarian loses control of the research and resources available, he/she becomes obsolete because anyone schooled in digital media or computing becomes the expert. After stating this, though, I don't truly believe it, but it seems to be the assumed idea.

Instead, I think libraries develop and change with the culture and demands of the society based on the needs of the patrons they serve, which brings me to the school library because I truly believe that the school library is one of the most important factors in the transition to the digital age. Education is constantly changing to meet the demands of the job market, thus a school library must be constantly changing and adjusting resources in order to provide students and teachers with the necessary means to meet state and national standards of proficiency. If the school library does not provide the databases and technology for research then the students cannot meet the required technology standards. In this example, it is the library and teachers who collaborate to provide students with the necessary education to actively participate in the digital community and world. Without the collaboration, students cannot acquire the skills necessary to find success in the 21st century.

At the same time though, the school librarian must also monitor and/or limit digital access because he/she serves the public and public education has specific rules that must be followed in order to remain in public education. This is where the conversation about utilizing online communities come in to the library debate, especially within school libraries. As Dr. Tomer mentioned, many schools disconnect the reader review feature of the Destiny system because their is no gateway for monitoring the reviews posted. In this case, the limitations placed on students to participate in a digital community come due to the rules around public education. Although we want students to have freedoms in school, we, as teachers/librarians, must also protect students at the same time, which is why speech is often limited in schools. One way to open a digital community within the school library is to utilize an educational blogging or wiki site where the administrator (teacher/librarian) must okay each post before it is made public. In this case, the digital community is available to students, while also upholding the mission of public education and protection of the students involved.

One other idea mentioned during the discussion was publicizing the services of the library. Again, the school library (if the librarian is a great librarian) does an excellent job of publicizing services because the librarian collaborates with teachers on projects and research in order to publicize the resources and information available within the library. This collaboration may be through programming, teaching, coursework, or just book exchange that highlights new books or genres. Any way it happens though, the school librarian is constantly publicizing the library because he/she is working with the staff and involving them in the library.

(As a side note, I'm currently working on my book orders for the fall. I will not purchase any nonfiction until I meet with each individual department in order to find out from them where they want to see holes filled in or new materials they would like in the collection. Also, I continually meet with the faculty to develop the library website and Destiny features to allow student access to online materials either through Destiny Quest, Edline, or the website. This development and continuous collaboration keeps the teachers wanting to work with me and develop the library's resources. It also allows the community to see the vital nature the library and librarian play in the school. As for fiction, I allow students and teachers to recommend books for purchase, which again engages them in the library community.)