Discussion for July: Libraries in the 21st Century

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.

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.

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 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 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.

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.

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 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.

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.

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.

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.