Dear Heidi,
I can understand why this piece bothered you. Although Paul's first statement
sounded rather incendiary ("I'm not sure if any school libraries are really
still interested in books") I thought he was actually playing devil's advocate.
He seems to be responding to those administrators who would do away with the
library altogether, and is making a case for reinventing it in the light of new
developments.
The sense I got from the article is that school libraries are STILL important,
only they are evolving in the direction of increased reliance on technology.
This may not be true for all school libraries, particularly the ones geared to
early childhood, but it certainly is true for high school and beyond. The kinds
of learning experiences he describes, especially the emphasis on student group
activities and the role of the librarian as database manager, may accurately
portray current trends.
I especially liked his discussion about ultra-Orthodox schools and religious
texts. He obviously has great familiarity with some of these institutions and
understands the problems. (Maybe we should invite him to an upcoming conference
as a speaker or a panelist)
Best wishes,
Joyce
From: [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Date: Tue, 5 Apr 2016 19:56:20 +0000
Subject: Re: [ha-Safran] FW: Has the School Library even got a future?
I would REALLY like to hear from school librarians in response to the article
below. To me, this writer seems very wrong-headed. He seems to assume
“everything is on the Internet” and that there is no longer
a place for print materials. I’d love it if we could fashion a fact-based
response to refute this article. Can you help me brainstorm, and help me
locate facts to show that everything is NOT on the internet, that print is not
dead, and that school libraries
are still important?
Thanks,
Heidi Estrin
[email protected]
Begin forwarded message:
From: Paul Shaviv Consulting <[email protected]>
Subject: Has the School Library even got a future?
Reply-To: [email protected]
Does it still exist? Think about it!
'School Management Issues' are designed for Senior Administrators and senior
lay leadership. Please forward to your Head
of School / School President and others you think will be interested.
PAULSHAVIV
CONSULTING
School Management issues
- Your News & Updates
#4 - THE FUTURE OF THE SCHOOL LIBRARY
- does it still exist? Think about it!
Recently, I was approached by a Foundation dedicated to perpetuating the work
of an internationally known, respected and very prolific
historian, who passed away a year or so ago.
The question was "How can we get X's books into schools?"
I have to say that I have yet to give a considered response.
And although many of his works are available in e-book format, my hesitation is
because I am not sure that any school libraries are still really interested in
books.
That generated a second question - is there even still such a thing as the
'School Library'? Does it still exist? What is its future?
We are in the middle of a total cultural revolution - the transition from
print-based culture to digitally-based culture. The effects of this are
certainly comparable in scale
to the invention of printing. The internet is replacing the book as society's
repository of culture and knowledge.
The School Library is part of this changing revolution. Broadly speaking, a
number of things seem to be happening simultaneously:
Libraries are becoming tech centres - School libraries are becoming centers of
online expertise. They provide access to ever-increasing online resources,
of increasing sophistication. The school library may subscribe to restricted
sites inaccessible to individuals, and be linked in to wide information
networks. Librarians provide guidance on how to access and use them. Space,
time and budgets are being ceded
from print materials to online and digital resources and equipment. Students
and staff access the library on their personal computers or other devices from
remote locations, at any time. You don't have to visit the library to use
it.....
Change in the role of the Librarian/fall in numbers -
data shows that school librarians are reinventing themselves as digital
resource experts. As well as offering help in locating online resources for
students and staff, they are the 'go-to' resource
in schools for training students on net etiquette, on teaching how to
discriminate between websites, on presenting online references and other web
and digital protocols. They spend less and less time on books (and buy fewer
and fewer). At the same time,
the numbers of professional school librarians are falling. In many public
school districts they are being cut (is there less work to be done in the
'digital' library than in the print library?)
'Collaborative learning space' -
responding to both technical change and changes in pedagogy, the library as the
haunt of the individual silent student huddled over books is giving way to the
library as the setting for small-group
projects and collaborative workgroups. Where libraries are being refitted, or
new libraries being built, the designs reflect this and the other changes.
So - here are some (tentative) conclusions:
The traditional, book-lined, quiet School library is disappearing (no judgement
on this, as a veteran bibliophile, but it is reality....)
It is possible to see the 'library' function splitting into two -
The 'librarian's' office, now the 'Information Center', where the librarian
acts as the expert webmaster of the school library web. (Will each school need
its own web - or can one central website serve many similar
schools? This office can be anywhere, even off-site.) The librarian will
facilitate access to general resources and databases, assemble resource links
for specific classes and projects - much as a traditional librarian would
assemble book resources to link
with ongoing curricula -- and respond to student and staff enquiries. This
function may be even further decentralized, with each department or discipline
(Math, literature, Science etc.) having their own specialist 'Information
coordinator' post of responsibility.
A central area for student research, providing facilities for students to work
individually and in groups on assignments and projects - including multimedia
projects. This may be staffed on rota
by teachers filling 'duty' periods, or in large schools by full-time
assistants. The center would be fully technically equipped and wired, so that
students have access to comprehensive online resources. (But the expert
librarian does not need to be in that
physical space; and I don't know how many books will be in that room...)
Judaic studies:
One of the unknowns is the impact of this on Judaic Studies, and the 'Jewish
bookshelf'.
There are huge Jewish resources on the internet, and in many schools the Judaic
Studies teachers are among the best users of technology - perhaps as a way of
overcoming the lack
of textbooks and learning materials in these subjects. In most respects, and
for many Judaic courses, the future of the 'Jewish library' will be similar to
that of the general library.
But not entirely.
For text-based traditional learning, and the Bet Midrash bookshelves, still
central to many Jewish school programs, several factors come into play:
Printed book culture is almost a supreme value in traditional Jewish learning.
It shows no sign of being replaced by a screen any time soon. The traditional
rabbinic text format of folio page, surrounded by
commentary of often miniscule print [in parenthesis - a masterpiece of
typography] lends itself to print and paper, although some web sites have
adapted the super-commentary format in user-friendly ways.
Every rabbinic text is available online, though, and it remains to be seen how
far the rising generation(s) will adopt computer-based resources for the
traditional shiur itself, as opposed
to revision and preparation. It is definitely possible that 'intermediate
technology' - some form of 'electronic paper' - will replace the 'sefer' for
many uses. I also see lightweight tablet computers getting larger and larger.
with screens approaching the
size of the daf.
The 'Shabbat factor' is an issue.......
In more intensively Orthodox schools, there is resistance to computers and -
especially - internet access. Whatever happens at home behind closed doors,
computer-based education is not on the agenda in most Yeshivot
or Seminaries. The Bet Midrash library still has a life.
TAKEAWAY THOUGHTS:
1.
Are you thinking ahead about the future of your school library? Note that
parents and students will increasingly look to see whether your school is
'cutting edge' and tech-friendly in all respects.
2.
Is your librarian being given PD opportunities to become the online resources
expert on your staff? Are your teachers being trained to use online resources
properly?
3.
Is your school library website being developed to be a central reference
vehicle for your students and staff?
4.
Do you need to develop a three-year plan and budget in order to effect the
changes which technology is bringing to school libraries?
(5. What are you going to do with the books?!)
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==================================
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[email protected]
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Questions, problems, complaints, compliments send to: [email protected]
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