Library 2.0 has been a stumbling block in my 23 things. In a way I am absorbed by it but how to discuss this seems overwhelming.
So I did a search to try and find a good, recent article which might have something new to say. I found a few so here are some ideas from them.
“Old School” Meet School Library 2.0: Bump Your Media Program into an Innovative Model for Teaching and Learning, by Laura K. Brooks, Library Media Connection, April/May 2008, pp.14-16
Brooks says:
Knowing, modelling and promoting Web 2.0 not only paves the way for new collaborations, it serves to promote the role of the media specialist to one of full instructional partner. With our expertise in 2.0, we’ll be in a unique position to not merely suggest the right technology, but in the position to lead our colleagues to the technologies most appropriate for their learning needs. We will become the most innovative source in the 2.0 school.
For Australians, substitute Teacher Librarian for Media Specialist and this looks a pretty promising time for TLs. In many schools ICT Integrators are doing this job, and in many cases there is an overlap between these two. I’m not going to get into the whole TL role issue here, as it is a biggie, but it is under threat in many places in this country for a variety of reasons, including the worst one: teacher shortages. “Why waste a teaching degree in the library?” some administartors are asking. That the question has been raised is an indication that the role is not well understood by many teachers and administrators.
“Knowing, modelling and promoting Web 2.0″ is becoming essential for Libraries if we want to keep anywhere near abreast of trends in information technology.
“Kids and Information Spaces: On the Stickiness of Widgets.” by Joyce Valenza, eVOYA, April 2008, 1-3. <http://pdfs.voya.com/VO/YA2/VOYA200804tag_team_tech.pdf >
People like to live in spaces (online and off) that they build, decorate, and make their own.
The previous article reminded me of this one which impressed me earlier in the year. Teacher Librarian extraordinaire Valenza describes how she finally “got it” that kids need their own spaces to begin their research journeys. She provides a terrific virtual library for them, but has gone one better and introduced them to iGoogle as a personal start page.
Her kids choose their theme and add all kinds of widgets and gadgets which personalise the page for them.
Among the first gadgets we suggested were those traditional but now more interactive to-do lists, calendars, calculators, sticky notes, and basic references—dictionaries, thesauruses, etc. Students and their teachers saw immediate personal value in these tools. We then demonstrated the use of Google Reader to set up RSS feeds relevant to research or content-area classes or personal interests.
For more specific details of what Valenza and her students found suitable for different subject areas see the very readable article quoted above. A great thing about this excercise was that in many cases it eventually led students back to the school’s virtual library space, with students putting that piece into a puzzle of their own design. Great stuff!
Taming Technolust: Ten Steps for Planning in a 2.0 World by Michael Stephens, Reference & User Services Quarterly, vol.47 no.4, Aug. 2008 http://www.rusq.org/2008/08/18/taming-technolust/
A couple of snippets from this down to earth article:
A fact: new technologies will not save your library. New tech cannot be the center of your mission as an institution.
The culture of perfect in many libraries at times prevents us from cutting the cord on projects that just aren’t working…a dead library blog speaks volumes about project management and buy in at all levels of the organization.
I haven’t even started on the Ten Things of this article, but I would recommend you read them as a starting point to finding a manageable path through the Library 2.0 forest.
