Our final discussion in this series is from Excerpt 8 — The Problem for Libraries in the Twenty-First Century: The Need to Accept a Paradigm Shift.
Unfortunately the link to the free chapters seems to have closed. If you have not already downloaded it and want to join in please message me directly.
July's questions are out now. Feel free to add comments whenever you can.
Excerpt 8 — The Problem for Libraries in the Twenty-First Century: The Need to Accept a Paradigm Shift, Chapter 3 from the book After the Book: Information Services for the 21st Century, by George Stachokas

1. How did you feel reading this chapter? Did you connect with it or did it make you feel uncomfortable?
I was quite cross when I first started to read it. However as I read more I began to understand that this was talking about a university library and not a school library and I calmed down a bit. I did feel however that there were definitely some things that school libraries should and could take note of. I don't work full time in a school and my support when I go in is to work in the classrooms. Having access to online resources has made this part of my job possible. We do link back to the school library and the books but it is so much broader than that.
As [@Elizabeth] , I felt quite annoyed - the constant comments that books are obsolete seemed lofty and without grounding in reality. I understand it might be a preferred way for the HE Libraries (after all that is how I access my uni library), but my ideal library will be what the author calls ‘hybrid library’, with both printed and electronic resources.
The abstract raised my hackles and the rest of the article did not do too much to soothe them back down again. The tone of the article did change as I kept reading and I had to keep reminding myself that:
a) the book was published in 2014
b) there are libraries and librarians that match the descriptions given by the author :(
c) there are many many libraries and librarians that are taking giant strides into the 21st C realm of digital/online spaces very successfully :)
d) my own experiences of LIS studies shows that as a profession we are adapting to and sometimes spearheading change
e) the author was talking about an academic library
I agree with @madvidgen that the ideal library would be one that provides access to information in all formats - print and digital/electronic.
2. “A professional identity based on books is the greatest problem” How do you feel about this statement?
I think this is more of a problem for others (teachers) than ourselves. I certainly don't see my professional identity based on books. I see that we provide access to information in all sorts of ways.
It is true that we, as librarians, come a long way from being based on books, but we are also the progressive bunch and we like innovation. I know there are some ‘traditionalists’, both among teachers and librarians, but they are in minority. True Librarians care about passing the knowledge and enabling people to find it for themselves, so no, I don’t agree with that statement.
I think that statement is a more accurate indicator of how others view libraries and librarians. In years gone by, yes it was book based because print was the only medium.
We have always been in the 'providing equitable access to information' business.
Last year if I had a dollar for every time someone (administrator) said to me 'traditional libraries' I would be enjoying a round-the-world holiday!!! :) :)
3. “The library’s primary mission in developing the collection is to provide access to information, not necessarily to store or preserve that information”. How does this statement fit with your understanding of your school library?
It is exactly how I feel about what school librarians should be providing. I get cross when teachers get upset when I weed stock. I am always saying that your school library is not an archives! It has to hold current information whether that is online or in your physical collection.
That is true - we are not archivists. Our role is to open the door to knowledge, show students the importance of it and teach them how to find it.
I agree with both @Elizabeth and @Madvidgen - we provide access to information.
It breaks my heart to weed out print - but it needs to be done. I just ran a weeding report on Thursday and ended up with nearly 200 pages of resources published before 1999. So now you all know what I will be doing next term!! :))))
As a school librarian we can provide access to, or at least point in the general direction of, quality and current information in any format. Far too many teachers still like to use 20+ years old books in English just because that is all they know or are used to.
*edited to add this part - The author talks about the 'discoverability' of digital resources but I think we also need to make it a point of bringing our physical resources to the attention of our teachers.
4. Stachokas suggests that one problem with modern librarianship is that librarians work in libraries. Do you find that most of your time is spent in your school library or do you get out into the classrooms? If you stay in your library what keeps you there?
I am very rarely in the library. I am lucky that in my role there are others that do the day to day running of the library. Without them I could not do what I do. I think if you are a lone librarian this will be very difficult to juggle. How can you be there to issue books but also in the classroom teaching research skills? I suppose it is a case of bringing the classes to the library when you can but even then you need access to laptops or ipads that are not always available in the library either. It is a tough one.
At some point during reading I made a note that it is very nice to talk about metadata and outreach, but when you are a lonely librarian who is expected to run and manage the library, plan events, provide stats and reports, research, etc., there is no way you can do much more. We rely on teachers bringing their classes in, but we cannot force them to do so.
I agree. There is never enough time in the day/week/month to do all that needs to be done, @madvidgen.
5. Should we, as school librarians, focus less on our collections and more on integrating sound research methods and best practices for managing different types of information or should/can we do both?
I think without a great collection, whether it is physical or online, the teaching of research methods is at worst pointless and at best very difficult. Schools need good quality academic online resources that are age appropriate. Without these tools teaching research using just Google, in my opinion, is not enough.
Without a good collection there is no useful research - we should always teach students to research both printed and electronic sources. Apart from that, fiction should be always a big part of any collection to encourage reading for pleasure.
They aren't mutualy exclusive. What goes into our collections is ever-changing and fluid, and we need to use sound professional practices both to create and curate information and to disseminate and teach how to use information.
6. Do you think it is the librarian’s role to assist users with managing their personal information online and provide practical tips about appropriate and inappropriate uses of social media? How confident do you feel about doing this?
I do think we have a role to play in this. It is important that our students see us beyond the library and our books. Social media plays such a huge part in their lives it is necessary that we understand it and can support our students. If we are teaching online evaluation social media must come into that too. I made sure when my youngest wanted to start on Facebook that I signed up and he had to become my friend. My children who are now all adults say that I know more about social media than they do :) I take that as a complement and make me feel as if I can really talk to students at least about some of it.
As librarians I feel that we should make ourselves aware of all sorts of different information and as we work with children we should be where they are in order to understand and help them.
It should not be solely librarian’s job, everybody should pitch in, especially parents. Students need to understand the dangers and the consequences of using or abusing social media and this should be a part of their wider IT education.
While I agree it is not solely our responsibility, I don't see too many other types of teachers doing it while using technology with their students. Just like I get labeled the copyright police, I'll accept the role of being responsible for teaching social media safety and accept help from wherever it comes.
7. Do you feel that it is part of your role to help to track changes in technology, evaluate options for users, and teach users how to make the best possible use of new technology? If you do can you give an example of what you have done.
I think it is really important that we keep in touch with new technology tools that can support education. It has been one of the ways that our librarians have worked more closely with teachers. It is hard because technology is always changing and who has the time to keep learning something new? We do however learn the ones that teachers seem to talk a lot about on twitter so are currently focused on Flipgrid, Padlet and Google Hangouts. We find that those teachers who are less confident with these tools will ask for our help and we then are able to use this hook to teach research skills too.
I wrote this blog post about what we have done if anyone wants to know more.
It is very difficult, I agree, but it should be a part of our professional CPD. Twitter and other social media outlets are good places to hear about new technologies and their potential, but again, the time to research and learn how to best use them is the problem.
I think it is part of a school libn's role, but we don't have time, so sharing what we've done is crucial and luckily we libns are good at that. But I think we are always going to have our favourite websites/apps - which is fine as we can then become great users of those sites. Just as long as we keep an open mind about others.
8. Budget is always going to be a problem! How can we gain access to online resources without it costing too much?
I think collaborations are a great idea. Several schools together or working with your public library could be an option, does anyone already do this? One twitter message said this "Schools embed a dedicated URL and students can freely access everything on a student page of resources. Michigan residents need only either a driver’s license number or state ID card to access the entire collection. I asked if every state has an equivalent. About 10 do". I think it is something that I will be looking into.
Consortiums have to be the way forward (JCS), but even that is difficult when schools within a network receive vastly different budgets.
Collaboration and cooperatives help a lot. County- or state-wide cooperatives of access to electronic resources is a real boon to smaller school districts without huge buying power. On the other hand, we've been trying to get public library cards for our students at the school level for years, but there always seems to be a problem of privacy between the school district and the public library system.
9. If you didn’t spend so much time cataloguing your physical collection what else could you be doing?
I don't do too much cataloguing in my current role and I don't necessarily think that if everything went digital you would have more time. It would just be changed to curating online tools and making them accessible. The list in the book of what you had to do to acquire online resources as apposed to a physical book seemed longer. Are we going to have time for anything else?
If I did get more time it would be spent learning about any new online tools and working more in the classroom with the students and teachers.
I actually really value the time spent on cataloguing - it allows me to familiarise myself with the stock; how will I know what e-resources are about if I don’t read the blurb, abstract or just handle it? But if I had more time, I would like to run more research skills sessions and some creative writing workshops. And research , Of course.
I like the theory of cataloguing so everything is consistent. I lack the commitment to do so. Luckily I don't need to :)
10. Did this chapter change your attitude to your physical collection? If so how?
It did change my mind. When I first started reading I was adamant that a physical collection was essential but began to see myself as one of those custodians of old. Maybe it is time to reduce (not get rid) of our non-fiction collections and move to more digital resources if we can find the budget. I would be interested to hear if anyone here thought that their non-fiction was used as much as their fiction.
Our library spaces are not going to get any bigger and our students need access to as much physical fiction as we can give them and maybe this is the way to do this...
I think that we could dispose of printed textbooks and revision guides, but I would still like to have many general knowledge books - often students pick up a book I have on display as a Book of the Week, because it catches their eye or because I point it out to them; you can’t do it with electronic resources. I have recently visited the London Library and was amazed by their cataloguing system - they don’t use Dewey, but rely on subject content and you can find barbers next to cataloguing and drawing... It promotes serendipitous research and, as this is my preferred method of research, I naturally loved it! Sometimes students do not know what they want to find out, so having a physical book might be just what they need.
Public libraries in the UK are reducing their space as they move in with other bodies to avoid being closed completely. They have reduced their children's/YA NF and often provide digital resources.
School libraries may find the same. However I think the space to study is also important. And knowing for a user/student that they can visit that space for help from a librarian is vital.
We need to be able to rely on the IT though if we go digital, and we have all experienced down time when we can no longer do even the simplest of tasks which makes us realise how much we rely on IT.
I loved the title "emerging technology librarian" as nuanced on page 38 of this reading. The responsibilities that come with that title, however, would require much support from the school's or district's administration, and not only financial support. It would also require professional development and shared planning time with curriculum coordinators, department chairs, and teachers.
it irked me that the author used data from 1995 in a 2014 article (p.39) to justify a point. That felt as manipulative to me as using wthe 'absolute' words like "need," "must," and "loathe." I'd be more inclined to pursue some of the ideas in the article if it felt more like I was being challenged to be educated and less like I was being challenged to be coerced or less ignorant of my own field..
@Arlen Kimmelman He certainly got us talking though :)
I did try this when I worked in a secondary school. It was mainly fiction we promoted but I did notice an increase in borrowing of those specific titles so it does work.
Every little helps @Annie Maybe a move to educate teachers on using social media for learning might be a next step 😊
I've even offered to provide free sessions through my local university's teacher preparation programs, but there's no time in their curriculum to insert even one extra 1/2 hour to show how teachers and librarians can collaborate (see my school website: https://hs.clearviewregional.edu/departments/library/ways_to_collaborate_with_your_librarian) Librarians are taught to collaborate, but teachers, principals, and superintendents are not.
@Arlen Kimmelman we are on the same page! I too have tried talking to universities but not got very far either. I do run a session once a year for NQT's (Newly Qualified Teachers). The problem is that if new teachers don't know what is on offer how do they every know what to ask for? We just have to keep talking and sharing best practice like we are here.
I also deliver Library INSET to our cohorts of trainee teachers (ITT/PGCE) - it's not long, but at least gives me the opportunity to show what the library can offer, how I can help and where they can actually find resources for their teaching subject etc. Hopefully, they'll go to next placement school / NQT role and actively seek out the libary/librarian, (assuming there is one, but that is another far too distressing matter.)
I do the same thing with our new teachers each year. Believe it or not, though, I often get pushback even for that one session that the new teachers or student teachers don't have the time to meet with me. :-(
@Arlen Kimmelman I know what you mean! I sometimes feel people think I’m just showing off, when all I want to do is help them get the necessary info!!!
@dawnwoods2000 @micwag @Annie @Arlen Kimmelman @madvidgen (not sure why your name is not tagging properly) Thank you so much for joining in and making this a really interesting discussion. Please feel free to continue if you wish!
We will be talking about Dive Into Inquiry by Trevor Mackenzie in September. I will be posting the information up on the discussion page but wanted to give you a head start. Please read and join in again next time. Have a great summer!
Here is the uk amazon link there seems to be another one that is more expensive. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Dive-into-Inquiry-Amplify-Learning-ebook/dp/B07NWXK1PJ/ref=sr_1_3?keywords=dive+into+inquiry+elevate+books+edu&qid=1562093232&s=gateway&sr=8-3
Here is the .com link https://www.amazon.com/Dive-into-Inquiry-Amplify-Learning/dp/1733646825/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?keywords=dive+into+inquiry+elevate+books+edu&qid=1559419336&s=gateway&sprefix=dive+into+in&sr=8-1