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Hi folks!

On Jan 18, Jean Lowery shared her concern about the use of the term
Cybrarian in the cover story for MultiMedia Schools magazine. (Jean, I'm
glad you asked the list before shooting anywhere or anyone!). While I can't
speak for Ted Nellen (the author), as editor I can share the thinking that
went into selecting this piece, title and all. Info Power defines
information literacy as "the ability to find and use information", and in
helping students to do so, both teachers and LMS's will find their roles
redefined and sometimes overlapping. When Janet Murray describes this new
role as TeAchnician, I hope that teachers aren't getting upset at a
perceived incursion upon their identity. Instead, I'd hope we are building
awareness that will lead to the blending of our hardwon talents into
effective teams at our schools.

I believe Ted selected this term meaning to honor the skills of those "who
have mastered the use of cyber space to find information" and certainly not
to diminish or usurp anyone's rightful recognition. I have visited Ted and
think that you'd find him a Cybrarian at heart, if not by training, because
he puts students at the center of their own learning, and leads them to
problem solve in ways that are completely compatible with the information
literacy standards. I'm sorry if his choice of words distracted anyone from
his primary message: that the introduction of technology demands
restructuring of how we conduct teaching and learning. This is true for
teachers, librarians and cybrarians, however we define them.

 In Robert Frost's poem "Mending Wall," the refrain "good fences make good
neighbors" is called into question.

"Before I built a wall I'd ask to know
What I was walling in, or walling out
and to whom I was like to give offense"

As we strive to reach the student goals set out in Information Power 2 and
the InfoLit standards, classroom teachers may find themselves becoming more
like "librarians" and LMS's may find themselves functioning more like
instructional designers. Boundaries will be blurred and growing pains are
likely. I haven't checked to see if some enterprising person has
trademarked Cybrarian, but I certainly hope not. I hope our umbrella will
prove large enough for individuals of diverse backgrounds and talents to
contribute to the development of students who are information literate,
independent learners and socially responsible users of information,
regardless of their original training. For certainly, all of us will renew
our professional learning relentlessly from this time forward, and
certainly we need each other to achieve our common purpose.

I'd be most interested to hear from anyone who can suggest the
characteristics that contribute to someone being an exemplary Cybrarian...
feel free to reply offlist to: ferdi@infotoday.com

Thanks!

Ferdi


______________________________________________________
Ferdi Serim                        phone: 609 638-5104 fax: 609 924-4815
Editor, MultiMedia Schools         http://www.infotoday.com/MMSchools
ferdi@silicon-desert.com           http://oii.org/ferdi/Ferdi.html

co-author: NetLearning: Why Teachers Use the Internet
http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/netlearn/

"We are more than the sum of our knowledge,
   we are the products of our imagination." - Ferdi

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