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>ERIC Clearinghouse on Information & Technology
>ERIC Digest
>November 1996
>EDO-IR-96-10
>
>The School Librarian's Role in the Electronic Age
>by Carol Simpson
>
>
>Introduction
>
>The dawn of the Electronic Age has occasioned the call for the demise of
>the school librarian. "Why have school librarians?" the skeptics call,
>"when everything will be available online?" Of course, this reduces a
>complex argument to an emotional hot-button. Such oversimplification draws
>attention to the changing role of the school librarian in an era in which
>the position is less of a warehouse manager and more of a reference
>consultant to teachers and students while still retaining the instructional
>focus that has always been a part of the position. Farmer (1995)
>characterizes the position as the educational equivalent to business' CIO -
>chief information officer.
>
>As schools change from passive learning environments into active ones, the
>role of the librarian has to adjust as well. School restructuring requires
>that the librarian venture from the library to collaborate with teachers
>and administrators. The addition of technology into the learning
>environment enhances information retrieval and offers the librarian a new
>entree into the classroom curriculum. New, more student-centered teaching
>methods demand the support of information resources and training in their
>use. Library technology reaches beyond the library walls via computer
>networks to put information resources into the hands of end users at the
>point of need. With networks linking all areas of the modern school, the
>best place to access information may no longer be within the walls of the
>traditional library.
>
>From warehousing to consulting
>
>School librarians expand their areas of influence to include the classroom
>when they collaborate with classroom teachers to meet the information
>needs of students. Moving beyond the "warehouse concept" of traditional
>libraries, librarians strike out into classrooms/departments to consult
>with classroom teachers. Suggesting resources, locating and acquiring
>needed materials, recommending strategies, facilitating use of
>technologies, and instructing students and teachers in optimal
>information-seeking methods replace the traditional librarian tasks of
>material circulation. Many traditional tasks may be assigned to clerks,
>leaving the professional free to work directly with students and teachers
>(Craver, 1994).
>
>Librarians assist teachers and students to search out their information
>needs, critically evaluate the materials they locate, and use technological
>means to synthesize their findings into new knowledge (Brown, 1990).
>Librarians must become proficient in the use of the new technologies to
>promote them and instruct students and teachers in their use. As students
>become more self-directed learners, the librarian acts as a resource person
>in the students' quest for supporting information and the development of
>appropriate presentation strategies.
>
>Consulting duties added to an already burgeoning schedule gives the
>librarian more than enough work to fill the day. In fact, without an aide
>to assist in the clerical duties required to circulate materials, program
>effectiveness will be compromised.
>
>Collection development vs. access to information
>
>As more teaching supplements and topical information are made available in
>electronic formats, school libraries find themselves lagging behind in
>print acquisitions. Librarians look more to online and other electronic
>sources to meet the information needs of students and teachers. Access to
>information, whether by CDROM, Internet, online database, video,
>telefacsimile, microform or traditional print, is overtaking ownership of
>information as an evaluation benchmark. Acquisitions and selection criteria
>take on entirely new meaning when considering access to online services.
>Traditional materials evaluation measures have little meaning when applied
>to Internet sites. New paradigms of selection and evaluation evolve with
>new technologies and their application to the classroom and resource center
>(Craver, 1994).
>
>Even though many information and literature sites exist on the Internet,
>few believe that online data will take the place of all books and
>audio-visuals. Librarians seek out and evaluate appropriate information
>resources online. They also identify and select good age-appropriate and
>curriculum-specific literature. Knowledge of students and curriculum
>remains the foundation of good school library service regardless of the
>format of the information provided or the source.
>
>Worldwide computer networks make sharing resources easier than ever before.
>Libraries advertise their holdings to the world, offering to loan materials
>on a cooperative basis. Libraries which participate in such arrangements
>offer their patrons a wider variety of materials from which to choose.
>Librarians can count on cooperative libraries to provide infrequently used
>materials. Some cooperative library systems even designate certain
>facilities to specialize in particular subject areas, allowing other units
>to broaden or concentrate their own collections. The librarian must be well
>versed in the collection development policy of the cooperative to properly
>plan and select materials to complement those available through diverse
>means.
>
>In teaching students and teachers to be discriminating users of information
>the librarian must also teach ethical use of the materials retrieved.
>Copyright and plagiarism become significant issues when digital copies may
>be seamlessly integrated into student work. The librarian is often the only
>person in a building with any training in these legal issues. Librarians
>play an important role in the development of access policies and acceptable
>use agreements delineating how and when materials retrieved may be legally
>and properly used. Designing documentation and record-keeping systems to
>assist patrons in legal compliance is an important service and one that
>will become essential as copyright and license enforcement increase.
>
>Information center manager
>
>The information explosion has created far more information than one school
>library could possibly contain. The librarian is responsible for locating,
>acquiring, disseminating and tracking information resources of many types.
>This job might include database searching, interlibrary loans, monitoring
>Internet newsgroups, or maintenance of a computerized library information
>system. All these tasks involve managerial expertise equivalent to that
>required of corporate information center managers. The librarian manages
>the budget and evaluates and selects new materials for purchase or access.
> As tasks grow in the library, the need for support staff increases.
>As information center manager, the librarian will supervise and evaluate
>the performance of technical and clerical assistants. Training of these
>assistants will take a significant amount of time and expertise. Since
>budget may be slim, some of these paraprofessionals may need to assist with
>duties once exclusive to professionals. Under the supervision of a
>librarian, paraprofessionals may become highly proficient in database
>searching, computer catalog maintenance, and other tasks. Student
>assistants and parent volunteers may also compose the cadre of workers.
>Different management skills are necessary to manage these two groups.
>
>Always a teacher
>
>Craver calls the teaching role of the school librarian the "information
>technologist" (1994). Emphasizing the necessity of teaching staff and
>students to operate in an electronic milieu, she points out that guiding
>patrons to select the most appropriate source is a sizeable task requiring
>concentrated analysis. This analysis is not unlike that done by a classroom
>teacher in trying to determine which instructional methods will be
>appropriate for the different learning styles in a classroom. Fitting
>electronic resources into the patterns of information location and
>application is a task particularly suited to the training and skills of the
>librarian. Teachers constitute a significant portion of the librarian's
>instructional time. As the campus expert in information location and
>management, the librarian is in the best position to be on the forefront of
>information technology and to train others in its use (Pappas, 1995). Staff
>development activities serve to showcase the library and the librarian as
>the "person in the know" to whom one may turn for suggestions and advice.
>When faculty members look to the librarian as the information expert,
>students learn to rely on that person for guidance in information matters,
>as well.
>
>Summary
>
>None of these roles precludes the traditional tasks of reading guidance,
>organization of resources, and selection of materials in multiple formats
>which were the foundation of library service long before information went
>electronic.
>
>The school librarian in the electronic age expands the services available
>from the library to include computer-based data and sophisticated
>information-seeking strategies. Working in concert with classroom teachers
>and curriculum experts, librarians form a comprehensive team designed to
>enhance student academic achievement and critical thinking skills necessary
>for success in lifelong endeavors.
>
>References and Suggested Readings
>
>Brown, J. (1990, September-October). Navigating the 90's - the
>teacher-librarian as change agent. Emergency Librarian, 18(1), 19-28. (EJ
>415 352)
>
>Craver, K. W. (1994). School library media centers in the 21st century:
>Changes and challenges. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press. (ED 377 871)
>
>Eisenberg, M. B. (1990, Spring). Technology and the library media program:
>Focus on potential and purpose.School Library Media Quarterly, 18(3),
>139-141. (EJ 410 584)
>
>Eisenberg, M. B., and others. (1990). Trends and issues in library &
>information science 1990. Syracuse, NY: ERIC Clearinghouse on Information
>Resources. (ED 335 061)
>
>Farmer, L. S. J. (1995). Leadership: within the school library and beyond.
>Worthington, OH: Linworth.
>
>Information for a new age: Redefining the librarian. (1995). Englewood,
>CO: Libraries Unlimited. (ED 379 006)
>
>Pappas, M. & Tepe, A. E. (1995). Preparing the information educator for the
>future. School Library Media Annual. Littleton, CO: Libraries Unlimited.
>(EJ 516 579)
>
>
>This ERIC Digest was prepared by Carol Simpson, Facilitator-Library
>Technology for the Mesquite (TX) Independent School District and Editor,
>Technology Connection. csimpson@tenet.edu.
>
>ERIC Digests are in the public domain and may be freely reproduced and
>disseminated.
>
>ERIC Clearinghouse on Information & Technology, 4-194 Center for Science
>and Technology, Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY 13244-4100; (315)
>443-3640; Fax: (315) 443-5448; e-mail: eric@ericir.syr.edu; URL:
>http://ericir.syr.edu/ithome
>
>This publication was prepared with funding from the Office of Educational
>Research and Improvement, U. S. Department of Education, under contract no.
>RR93002009. The opinions expressed in this report do not necessarily
>reflect the positions of OERI or ED.
>
>***************************************************
>Brad Wilber
>Network Information Specialist
>
>AskERIC Project
>ERIC Clearinghouse on Information & Technology
>Syracuse University
>Internet: <AskERIC@ericir.syr.edu>
>www: <http://ericir.syr.edu>
>***************************************************
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Joan Rosen * Cheltenham High School
Librarian * 500 Rices Mill Road
jrosen@mciunix.mciu.k12.pa.us * Wyncote, PA 19095
fax: (215) 881-6406 * telephone:(215) 881 6380
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