School Library Vs. School Libraries

The author starts off with a rhetorical question: “What kind of problem is a library?” urging the readers to think about this question as they continue to read the article. The question grabs the readers’ attention, and intrigues them to read on to find and answer. She further utilizes this technique of rhetorical questions throughout the article for the same purpose of emphasis on the vitality of the role of public libraries. Moreover, Smith extensively employs the use of metaphors and personification. For example, she describes the internet as libraries’ “universal death knell”, which portrays the internet’s negative impact on the development of

The responsibility rests with the library director or school superintendent, who regulates the selection to appropriate staff acting within the framework of the established policies. In schools, librarians work closely with teachers and school administrators to provide collections that support and supplement the school’s curriculum.

In New on the Job: A School Library Media Specialist’s Guide to Success, Ruth Toor and Hilda Weisburg present a one-stop manual for first-year school library that details numerous aspects of what it means to be a successful school library media specialist. The authors, both of whom are veteran former school librarians, outline everything from the job interview to the last day of school, sharing years of wisdom and practical insight into the ins and outs of the profession. Special attention is paid to developing relationships between the various members of the school population and associated individuals, including students, teachers, administrators, school board members, parents, and volunteers. The authors remind school librarians to keep

The author of this article Mrs. Denise Davis is the director of the Office for Research and Statistics of the American Library Association. This means that Mrs. Davis is able to access and is responsible for the reports mandatory for each library across America to turn in each fiscal year, these reports are used to determine what changes the libraries need to make to better serve the public. Given her credibility to write on such topics she then chooses a topic each year to write on to prepare libraries and librarians across the country for the upcoming years. In 2010 Mrs. Davis choose to write on eBooks and their increasing popularity throughout the American population as well as the difficulties libraries have encountered in the past fiscal year to compete with eBooks. Because this article is written in 2010 it shows just how long libraries have struggled with the topic of eBooks and can demonstrate the new policies that have been used by the libraries throughout the past four years. This information can help my research in showing how eBooks have affected the library's behavior, and consequently give me the statistics needed to show the effects of eBooks on the libraries throughout the recent years. Understanding this source is outdated other sources will also likely be used in my final project from the American Library Association websites of statistics of more recent years.

The process I used to create the advocacy video provides evidence of how my core values as a school librarian can positively affect the students and teachers around me. Based on the Texas Education Agency’s SBEC School Librarians Standards for the initial Preparation of School Librarians the following standards were met:

The assignment required that we provide students with learning activities that empower them to integrate information literacy and technology. This project enabled my partners and I to provide students with opportunities to use digital tools to gather, evaluate, and use information accessed from a variety of sources available, empowering them to perform independent searches in future research projects. My partners and I formulated a lesson to teach students different strategies to locate the desired information in the school databases. In doing so, students will acquire the necessary technology skills that will help them fulfill their learning

Thinking of the roles school librarians have to play in advancing a school’s curriculum, what role do you anticipate will

The readings this week reminded me of a concept I learned about in 701. Ranganathan's fifth law claims that the library is a growing organism. To survive it must adapt. There are two ways that the library can adapt and the first is as a space. In chapter three case studies are discussed and it provides examples of the ways that the library as a space can adapt. It can become a community center where people of all ages can have fun while playing games. If offers the opportunity for children that may not interact because they are in different social groups to come together and play games. The library has always been a space for learning, but by implanting the use of games it can make learning fun. This is a concept that is also advertised on

While I was helping out at the library, I realized just how many resources we have available to us students. I also noticed that most students didn’t even know about them, much less how to access them. We had numerous events such as a computer coding workshop (for people of all ages) which I would have gone to if it wasn’t for it being during one of my classes. I was also surprised to find that many of the librarians went to the events. One resource for example, is the online librarian chat where you can ask for help in finding sources, which was especially helpful

Almost 20 years ago Margaret Stieg spoke of Darwinism and the closing of Library Schools, as did Marion Paris in her dissertation research. Around the same time, in 1996, Nancy Van House, in a paper entitled “The Panda Syndrome: An Ecology of LIS Education” used ecological theory to warn against the extinction of LIS education, because like the Panda, it was failing to adapt to new environments, seek out new niches, or explore alternative resources. In this research Van House put forth several adaptive strategies some of which have taken root in the form of school mergers, alternative delivery formats, and as Andy Dillon, from UT, Austin, recently suggested in a JELIS article, by iSchool branding. With all of these developments has anything really changed? The stamp on the forehead is “NO” for those programs that are teaching for the past, and “YES” for those programs that are teaching for the future. In this editorial I will only have time to speak for the future, interjecting teaching and learning considerations where I see those lacking in future oriented programs. In my concluding thoughts I will address issues of accreditation, the iSchool movement, and

Since their establishment, libraries have served as a gateway to knowledge and services that revolutionized the way the public attains information. Unlike many other institutions, public libraries have grown and evolved along with society by adopting new technology and offering resources tailored to the needs of their local community.

For students to be adequately informed about the value of the university library and resources such as the Internet in information retrieval there must be a careful collaboration between teaching staff and library staff (Kenney, 2007). The focus in this task, of course, is preparing students not just for the immediate research project at hand but rather to prepare them to be life long learners, to prepare them to be successful and productive once they leave the academic environment and take up their chosen careers (Lauer & Yodanis, 2012).

To start off, schools need to realize the amount they can save in the long run by utilizing technology and lean away from traditional, old fashioned, hard cover books. When books become outdated and used, schools have to spend endless amounts to replace them. To avoid this, schools can take the initiate and work proactively and replace hard cover books with electronics to avoid unnecessary expenses. An example of this occurred at Empire High School which recently made a switch from textbooks even though, “it wasn’t because of a funding crisis.” (Source A) Empire High School shows just how well technology can work. Not only does technology help in saving necessary funding, it adds a sure convenience factor to the students and teachers by not having to drag around large and expensive textbooks.

The education world has been greatly influenced by rapidly changing technology and the increasing availability of information. Schools have advanced by leaps and bounds when it comes to incorporating technology into the learning environment, however, many more advances need to be made. In all areas of the country, educators are trying to help students keep up with technology, but there are more changes that are essential for preparing the next generation for the future.

Schools need 21st century materials and resources to serve 21st century students. There needs to be a change in ideology regarding the function of the library in todays society. “For centuries, libraries have remained essentially separate, even competing with one another to establish and maintain the greatest collection, and now they need to recast themselves as platforms rather than storehouses. (Palfrey, 2015) With the introduction of the internet and online information libraries need to rebrand themselves. Libraries around the world can now share information with one another in real time, and the competition for resources has ended. That said, there is still value in networking with other agencies devoted to education and information. John Palfrey, author of Biblio Tech suggests that, “Libraries must act as ambitiously networked institutions, connecting their network effectively with partner intuitions: archives, historical societies, museums, and other cultural heritage organizations.”(2015) More agencies are partnering up to give their patrons access to the best and most credible information.

#Learning Commons
 The year of the Learning Commons is ablaze on social media. Teacher-librarians are embracing technology as a way to reach new audiences and share resources. The social media of choice for these tech savvy teachers is Twitter, and their hashtag is YearLC. (Loertscher, D., & Koechlin, C., 2015) Twitter is being used as a marketing tool to rebrand