On Sun, 29 Sep 2002, Earl Sande wrote:
> >I tried valiantly for years to bring the library decor up to bookstore
> >standards and experimented for a while with the bookstore concept for the
> >whole library. After all, a bookstore is quite successful at bringing in
> >the client and marketing the product (which, by the way, I think should be
> >in all University programs in Librarianship).
>
> I don't know about your library, but I have always found that School Boards
> and Administrators do not appreciate nor understand the value of decor,
> integrated marketing strategies. They are the last to produce the funds
> required for the decor and, more importantly, the additional shelving that
> it requires.
>
> I ultimately gave up the attempts not for monetary reasons but for one of
> educational philosophy : we are teaching the client to do research, locate
> and synthesize information. Ultimately, we are saying that all
> informational resources can be organized in an effective manner, showing
> them that there is some sense to knowledge rather than chaos. We are
> saying that each individual can (and, ultimately, must) make informed
> decisions.
>
> No matter how nice a bookstore is, its goal is primarily to sell items, no
> more no less.
>
And that's precisely my goal in putting books out there to support student
reading. My high school is smack in the middle of the spot in the state
that boasts the highest illiteracy rates. We're a school barely out of the
red and into the black when it comes to state and nationally standardized
testing - and it's as much my goal in life to support and promote reading
as anything else I do.
Fortunately, I'm able to do more than one thing at a time. We've spent
some good time developing some extensive research projects and
orientations -joint projects between the classroom teachers and me,
the librarian. For starters, I'll have every freshman class for a whole
week to call my own. The English teachers will step in and we'll go from there
together. My research collection is well developed and continues to grow in response
to the high demand.
I do not feel it is necessary to neglect "information literacy" in order
to support, promote, and celebrate reading. I market as heavily as I can
and it's paying off. Last year this time kids dragged their feet around
the library as if they'd just been sentenced to 20 years on the chain
gang. This year, it's been like there's a sale going on at Wal-Mart.
And that's what I want to see. I want to hear more kids say, "Wow, I
didn't know you had good books in here too!"
I can't change my bookcases and I'm not going to change my organization
but I am going to continue to market and promote. We're even making
a couple commercials in the video studio to go out during the morning
broadcasts....
J. Rathbun, Librarian | "You may say I'm a dreamer,
Mojave High School | but I'm not the only one..."
Clark County School District |
Las Vegas, Nevada | John Lennon
Email: jrathbun@orednet.org |
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