The information in these articles and chapters made me reflect on what the libraries were like when I was a child over 25 years ago. I recall the teachers assigning research papers or other assignments and then it was up to me to do the research and find the information that I needed in order to complete the assignments. I don’t really remember ever seeing the teachers and librarians working together, maybe they did and it was just not evident. I have to admit that I was a bit intimidated when using the school and public libraries. I do not recall the libraries having an inviting feel and I would try really hard to find the information myself without having to ask the librarians for help. At that time, the libraries seemed to be a place that you just went to get what you needed, you had to whisper or not talk at all, and you did not dare put a book back on the shelf in the wrong place.
Today, I feel that the libraries and the education environment are much different. As a teacher, I have worked directly with the school librarian to collaborate on assignments for students. During these assignments, the students have benefited from being instructed by both the librarian and classroom teacher. We also worked collectively to create a rubric for the students to use in order to complete the assignment most effectively as well as for the teacher to use when assessing the completed assignments.
As Woolls indicated, the LMS needs to help classroom teachers teach students independent learning skills and help students learn how to become independent learners. Again, back to what I remember from using the library as a young student, I guess I was using my independent learning skills. But I don’t feel that I was really taught how to do this, it just came from the fact that I was intimidated and anxious to ask for much help from the librarians. From my example in the previous paragraph, I am hopeful that my students have benefited from the experiences of having their classroom teacher and school librarian working closely together to enhance the learning environment for them and that it will help make the library a more enjoyable place to visit.
Being a LMS requires many tasks, functions, and responsibilities to be filled. Woolls mentions that a school librarian may be required to be a curriculum coach, manage information literacy, and be responsible for information technology and digital literacy. Other aspect may include teleconferencing and distance education and assisting teachers as well as administrators in become aware of the opportunities of using these in the education environment. If the school librarian becomes proficient in these aspects then he or she will become a leader in the school.
Many of the educational experiences that were listed in Abram’s article show that progress has been made in learning and education not to mention many other areas of life. The 15 experiences that Doug Johnson listed that his granddaughter will not have the chance to experience are certainly not to her detriment in my opinion. Just as I am experiencing the opportunity of taking a graduate level class online and using various forms of technology to research and complete an assignment for a class while I am away on vacation in another state is such an amazing demonstration of progress. While working to fulfill the requirements of this assignment I have experienced the use of a mouse, laptop, Nook, WiFi, and even printed text. What amazing opportunities and resources that I have been able to access just for this one task.
I will say that I believe students and adults alike need to not only rely on technology, but also remember that there are other humans in the world that can be used as excellent resources. Therefore, my answer would be yes to the question raised in Brichacek’s article, Do School Still Need Brick-and-Mortor Libraries? This article supports my thinking in that students need to learn to use both human and non-human resources. Someone needs to help students learn to use and apply various technology resources, validate sources, discriminate and filter information, and limit the overpowering amounts of information that can be found while using a variety of technology and resources. The libraries today provide a place for students to ask for help, feel safe, and for studying and relaxing. I know that both of my daughters have very inviting and accommodating libraries in their schools. Especially in our local high school, this library has a "Barnes and Noble" feel. It is very modern, comforting, and welcoming. The same high school library was very much different than when I was there over 25 years ago. This "brick-and-mortar" building may be the only opportunity some students have to experience this kind of feeling and to know that it is happening within the school should be a wonderful feeling for students, parents, teachers, librarians, and administrators. Brichacek’s article also supports this by saying that libraries provide more than just books, it provides services. If the actual building allows students to have the experiences mentioned above along with providing the services needed to meet different learning styles, become discriminating researcher, and develop a love for life-long learning than it is necessary for the "building" to exist.
As Ross and Hay pointed out in their article, School Libraries 21c, if a brick-and mortar library did not exist some students may not have the opportunity to use a variety of resources due to cultural and socio-economic backgrounds. Again, this article supports the idea that libraries provide a safe place of refuge and belonging encourages a love of literature and learning, offers a crossover between technology and print, encourages individual research, and supports classroom teaching. The librarian is an essential part of helping support the need to have the actual library. Ross and Hay specify that the librarian needs to be the technology leader, help develop curriculum, as well as manage the various resources within the library. Learning must be the center focus and blend the priorities of the school along with the student differences.
Valenza mentions that the idea for what a school library should look like is ever changing. In keeping learning as the center focus, it may be helpful to target the idea of what Valenza calls a "shared family cookbook" rather than a textbook idea. If librarians, teachers, and administrators can truly work in collaboration and be supportive of one another than I believe that it would result in noticeable benefits for those involved now and in the future.
In conclusion, the vision for a librarian and the library is that they need to exist together in order to best support and promote learning and be of the most benefit to the student and the educational environment. In order to best serve, assist, and accommodate the needs of the students and staff a library cannot truly exist without a librarian and a librarian cannot best function without a library. It is all in the vision, how one reacts to changes, and the essential procedures for keeping learning as the focus. As Joyce Valenza states, "You continue to consider and revise your vision and feed it with imagination. Think outside the box. Heck, there is no box!"
Works Cited
Abram, Stephen. "15 Educational Experiences my Granddaughter Won’t Have." Stephen’s Lighthouse, 8 May 2012. Web. 5 June 2012. < http://stephenslighthouse.com/2012/05/08/15-educational-experiences-my-granddaughter-wont-have/>.
Brichacek, Andra. "READERS RESPOND: Do Schools Still Need Brick-and-mortar Libraries?" ISTE Community Ning 17 Aug. 2009. Web. 27 May 2011. <<http://www.iste community.org/group/landl/forum/topics/readers-respond-do-schools>>.
Hay, Lyn, and Ross J. Todd. School Libraries 21C. Rep. NSW Department of Education and Training, 2010. Web. 30 May 2012. <http://www.curriculumsupport.education.nsw.gov.au/schoollibraries/assets/pdf/21c_report.p df>.
Valenza, Joyce. "A Revised Manifesto." NeverEnding Search 3 Dec. 2010. Web. 27 May 2011. <http://blog.schoollibraryjournal.com/neverendingsearch/010/12/03/a-revised-manifesto>.
Woolls, Blanche. The School Library Media Manager. Westport, Connecticut: Libraries Unlimited, 2008. Print.
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