With computers and Internet available almost everywhere outside and inside schools, does the school library still play an important part in the education process or is the school library obsolete?
KAIT Channel 8 asked Ima Raye Hurdle the school librarian at Weiner if she thought the school library was obsolete.
“Oh, No, No, No! They have been the heart of the school forever.”
What’s the value?
I graduated from high school in 1998.
The internet wasn’t quite there yet in terms of usefulness (unless you counted AIM as useful). Even then I almost never set foot in the library…err…I mean “media center” I just didn’t see the value in it. I think the only time that I went there was to use a computer because the computer lab was not open early in the morning. This was once in the four years that I was in high school.
I also rarely used the
I also rarely used the library in high school. This is despite the fact that I’m an avid reader and now a school librarian myself. I used the library as a way to get out of study hall, and thought of the books and resources there as more of a back drop to the space. My memory is of a quiet space crowed with tables, with some tall shelves at the back end of the room. I don’t remember new book displays or even if there was a fiction section (beyond the couple of racks of sad looking paperbacks).
My high school has since remodeled and updated their library, it is now the hub of the school. When I visited it was full of kids, most reading for pleasure. The difference between my library use and current library use at my high school is due to three main factors: 1) a much more attractive space (where books and computers are the highlight of the space, not shuffled off into the corner), 2) a librarian with a different outlook on the role of school librarians, and 3) a collection with books that students actually want to read (current and popular fiction, graphic novels, trivia books, etc.).
As a librarian I know that a good librarian in a well funded library can have a huge impact on a school’s academics and atmosphere, but with so many people who’s school library experience was “oh, yeah, I guess we had a library” it’s going to take a lot of very diligent and energetic librarians to make sure today’s students are away of the wealth of resources (including the librarian’s education and training) that their library can offer them.
The Twenty First Century School Librarian
With the wealth of online information readily available, the question of the purpose of libraries often gets asked. Surprisingly, qualified school librarians are needed more than ever. Why? The answer is simple — information overload. It’s essential to have a qualified educator who can navigate students through the mountains of data available. School librarians serve the following purposes:
1. They teach students academic integrity (citing print, multimedia, and online resources).
2. They instruct users on how to retrieve the most reliable information beyond clicking on irrelevant hits from the Google, Yahoo, or MSN search engines.
3. Many librarians create websites with the pertinent resources for educators, students, and parents.
4. As certified instructors, school librarians collaborate with teachers on utilizing technology to improve instruction. Today’s teachers need more help than ever since they are overwhelmed with state & national educational mandates.
5. They contribute on a school, district, and statewide level to best utilize the curriculum for improving academic performance.
6. Finally, twenty first century librarians remains true to their traditional roots. They promote literacy during the a time when fewer Americans are reading recreationally.
I close my case.
Mergers and Partnerships
I think that teachers really need to integrate what they do with the library services, and the school media center needs to reinvent itself in order to be relevant. None of my HS teachers integrated the library into their curriculum.