Re: Gen: Libraries=Bookstores?

[Carolyn Gierke <cgierke@shs.k12.ny.us>]

You should read the article in Library Journal, Feb 1, 1998, pp49-51.
"B&N: the New College Library?";  it will give you an interesting view
on this idea.

Personally, we've tried to make our HS library more user friendly, but
the kids sometimes have other agendas. You have to choose between
providing a lounge or a place where students can work when you're in a
closed environment like a school.

 The article scares me because the students interviewed seem to think
that a small collection at B&N is superior to the university library
collection.  The unstated conclusion by the students, in my opinion, is
that they are overwhelmed by the volume of information at the library
and that the B&N collection is manageable therefore superior.  I think
the implications for research are serious - imagine having a doctor
learn his/her specialty under this frame of mind. It shows that the wide
availability of information is causing people to react because they are
not skilled enough to analyze the info to find what relates to their
question or problem.  For years, kids developed their research focus
around the limited materials available to them, and now that materials
and availability are no longer a problem, they need to learn how to
focus their research BEFORE they look at materials.  A growth industry
for the Big Six, if you ask me.

I see this as our new frontier - helping students and teachers develop
these critical thinking skills.

Carolyn Gierke
Librarian
Sweet Home HS
Amherst, NY
cgierke@shs.k12.ny.us

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