For my professional development goals as an instructional specialist and future school administrator, I am reading a few articles by Will Richardson and posting my thoughts here. Feel free to join the conversation in the comments.Online-Powered School Libraries:
Web 2.0 technologies are transforming the school library. District Administration - January 1, 2007
Summary: School libraries are leading the way into Web 2.0 through such tools as blogs, wikis, RSS feeds, etc. in an effort to become a more interactive resource center for both students and staff. Richardson also lays out some simple examples of tools and libraries who are at the forefront of the this shift.
What I Think: I have been mulling this over for a year or two. Why can't libraries become more 2.0 friendly? I feel the obstacles are two-fold similar to issues in the classroom: ignorance and tradition.
One problem is that too many school librarians are neophytes to Web 2.0 or are not actually librarians. Two of the districts in which I have worked have featured aids running the libraries under a librarian in charge of several schools. So, students do not often have librarians skilled or even comfortable with Web 2.0 tools. They know their Dewey decimal system, but not Wikipedia or Blogger.
Another problem is the idea that all that you will ever need to know is in the library. This has always been a problem for me. Growing up in a rural area with little resources for libraries, I learned quickly that all there is to learn cannot be found in one library. Sadly, this has not changed much in recent decades. If online tools are accessed with greater frequency and students are seen as knowledge producers as opposed to just consumers, the school library can become a place of great learning and interconnectivity.
Once one gets past the obstacles, Richardson presents an exciting new way to view libraries. Students often see it as the place they go to once a week to have a story read to them and to check out books. While this function of the library does not have to change completely, it can serve a greater purpose in education. The library could become the epicenter of learning it is meant to be by expanding its function to incorporate Web 2.0.
How does this help me with my work? I worked with a librarian last year, and we struggled with applying the eMINTS instructional model to her library. We spent a lot of time dealing with her instructional approach as opposed to altering the way her library worked. I have a second chance with a librarian this year and will take many of these ideas to heart.
