Perez, L. (2011, March/April). Feature article: not your grandmother's library!. Learning & Leading , 38(6), Retrieved from http://www.iste.org/learn/publications/learning-and-leading/issues/Feature_Article_Not_Your_Grandmother_s_Library.aspx
A library is a very important necessity in school. Libraries provide students with proper research to support their curriculum and needs in school. With technology expanding, libraries of the past will no longer be efficient to support student's needs. Several schools across the country have stepped up and supported new and innovative libraries. This is a trend that will hopefully expand across the country, as technology is now a requirement in school.
Several librarians and technology teachers have created innovative state-of-the-art libraries for their schools. Joyce Valenza, author of an award-winning library tech blog, has created a great library for Springfield Township High School. This library identifies the latest technologies and resources to support her students. Because of this great library, 90 percent of students at Springfield Township High are college bound. A great library can really affect the students in a great way. Wendy Stephens, a librarian at Buckhorn High School, is right behind Joyce. She is preparing all of her students for our current technology and our future technology advances that we will soon see. She is preparing her students for the future.This library has computers, laptops, and video cameras for the students to use at their leisure. She credits the great collaboration with her fellow administrators for the great library that she was able to create. Charter schools are following in their footsteps as well, as Monarch Academy also provides a state-of-the-art library for their students. There are other leaders out there as well paving the way for their students, and the key success for this building trend is getting and staying connected. Collaboration is highly important and provides support that can only be obtained if you get connected with collaborators. PLNS can be greatly useful in this aspect.
Students use libraries to complete homework and classwork, and resources that libraries provide are highly important to students. If students are not provided with up-to-date resources, their success in school can be greatly hindered. State-of-the-art libraries are now needed in our society as technology keeps expanding and re-inventing. Some educators have paved the way for other schools, and getting connected to these educators can provide resources to create these libraries throughout the country. Everyone needs to collaborate and stay connected to help promote this great step for education.
1. With education currently facing budget cuts, how can we get enough money to build and re-construct these innovative libraries?
Although education is suffering from budget cuts, our education is based off of No Child Left Behind. This means that our education is based on test scores and how well students perform. If students are not equipped with proper resources to use, they will score lower on tests. The government would not want that to happen, so to jump start this process we can rally to the government with petitions to make them aware of what is needed to better the education system. The government can then budget more money to education and more money from taxes or lottery funds can be devoted to education. Although it might not happen, it is worth the effort.
2. How can we promote internet resources if most computers in school libraries are blocked?
With the building and construction of innovative libraries, these librarian leaders are aware of great resources for students to use. Several of these librarians even use Youtube, which is mostly blocked, to support educational lessons. Again, we need to connect with one another to rally and prove that computers should not be blocked as much as they are because it prevents access to great resources. These librarians who have created these innovative libraries have promoted more access to resources as well.
3. How can these libraries promote college bound students in school?
As previously mentioned, the library at Springfield Township High has great resouces for their students. The students at this school are 90 % college bound, which can greatly be attributed to the library. This is because the library is preparing students for their future with technologically advanced resources. Having access to these resources provides students with more preparation and assets to attend college.
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