Final+Thoughts

Home =Final Reflection= I wish I had taken this class a year ago. I feel as though I wasted a full year feeling lost and useless. When that occurs, more is lost than just time. Relationships are strained or even destroyed and it takes much longer to rebuild them than it took to destroy them. I blinked and lost precious time. That said, what I have learned here has clarified my vision and helped me realize that adapting to change is a continuous process that can ill afford any kind of pause or loss of direction. Change is inevitable and ongoing. As Lee Rainie explained, we are leaving the industrial era of expert created content and entering the era of individual created content. At this point it’s a bit like a free-for-all, but I suppose that equilibrium will be achieved eventually. School libraries have to be part of finding that equilibrium. I think that expert created content must be part of this new world of the individual. The new Internet tools allow individuals to find, create and share content. It provides a forum for questions and answers relating to change and the definition of knowledge.

So how do I do this? A key element of any program is the daily statistical evidence that is collected and evaluated. This evidence justifies or inspires decisions that need to be made. I realize that I have not gathered the necessary statistics nor carefully examined those generated by my circulation system. Those quantitative statistics can support the changes that will have to be made in light of the new technology. The most obvious is the lack of circulation of the hard copy non-fiction and reference section. Just as the publishers are selling fewer hard copy titles, I am purchasing only ebooks for my reference collection. I am envisioning lots of new floor space in the next few years. Databases and kindles have become a focus of my attention as well as how to present the statistics generated from them. Qualitative statistics are more difficult for me to collect. I get verbal input from students and staff and am considering doing a survey in the Skills class relating to information literacy. That brings me to another issue, some of my teachers are becoming experts in areas that used to be mine alone. I will need to depend on them to share their findings with me. Communication is the key.

If I do not collaborate with others about teaching skills as often as I have in the past, I still need to communicate and share in order to select resources that will support the curriculum. In order to do this, I participate on district wide and building specific committees. It is easy to justify being lazy about attending all the meetings that are required in order to influence decisions and be visible. However, visibility has become the key to school library survival. Another way I can be visible is to actively promote staff development opportunities for the staff. There is so much more I need to do to share the district’s resources with both staff and students. Familiarity breeds use. With the overwhelming amount of information that is available today, the LMS must promote databases to both staff and students.

No matter how much resolve I have discussed, it is not enough. Active public promotion is required to garner support from the school board, parents and community. Visibility is essential so that the LMC can support the curriculum and increase student achievement. Research has shown that an increase in student achievement results when there is a good library media program. That evidence is what will contribute to a program’s survival, as well as the profession of LMS.

With the rise of Web 2.0 tools, library media specialists have the means to be a vibrant part of the evolving conversation. We have a wonderful role to play in the exciting changes that are shaping our profession. There is really no excuse to stay on the sidelines and plead ignorance. The conversation is all around us and it is just waiting for our 2 cents.

Deb Wilson