School library futures January 16, 2007
Posted by ayucht in : Hot Topics , 1 comment so farRoy Tennant’s article on Academic Library Futures (LJ, 12/15/06) is equally relevant to K-12 School libraries:
“Libraries are… no longer the sole gateway to information and knowledge they once were. As more information becomes freely available on the Internet, our gatekeeping role is lessened for a significant portion of our users….
We need an agile, imaginative, and engaged staff. We need people who are not afraid of jettisoning traditional activities in favor of new ones. We must have people who can learn constantly, foster change, and create new kinds of collections and services. Some of these people are already in our buildings, others will need to be hired. We must train, support, and encourage them…
libraries might just have a window of opportunity to leap into a future where we add value to our institutions in ways we’ve never imagined before or are only beginning to envision. But that window may already be in the process of slamming shut.”
AASL is drafting new 21st century Library Learning Standards, but we need more than just another document to file:
What can/should individual school librarians be doing NOW to ensure our relevance to both current and future educational models?