[LM_NET] GEN: New National Education Technology Plan and School Libraries

["McRae Esther (17K625)" <EMcRae@NYCBOE.NET>]

Dear LM_Netters,
 
I've read some of the New Education Technology Plan.  It did not seem to mention 
school libraries or librarians.  I am not surprised.  In New York City, librarians 
are teachers, and are often referred to as such.  In fact, many administrators 
believe that any teacher can teach reference skills or man a library.  My 
experience with the NCLB has not been very encouraging.  I am not sure that anyone 
will notice that librarians are not necessary until there are few or none of us 
left.
  
In my school, the library has become an holding area for students without programed 
classes.  Our doors never close.  Teachers are assigned to help with the large 
numbers of students who spend their free time in the library.  Little information 
is taught on a group level.  I do teach on an individual level and small group 
level when students request help.  I've taken to asking each student what their 
assignment is and helping them discover what their informational need is before 
assigning a computer.  Often, I direct them to the best format for their needs, 
usually, that's a book.  Of course, computers require additional direction.  I 
prefer the commercial databases to mega engines, although they can sometimes be 
very useful.  Enough of this.  
 
The one thing that most concerns me is:  Information is never its format, although 
there are many who suggested this is not true.  The earliest information, as we 
know, was unmovable and a ROM.  Books are a ROM.  Internet databases and websites 
are often a ROM.  I wonder if the birth of the printed book was any different for 
those alive at that time.  Our generation today, young and old, seems to think that 
all information is available on the internet.  I make it a daily practice to 
provide the best format of information for the need requested by the question 
asked.  The best reseach examines relevent sources, regardless of format.  I hope 
the role we play in helping young researchers to evaluate and select the best 
format will be recognized by those who write educational plans in the future.    
 
Esther L. McRae
Librarian
Paul Robeson High School for Business & Technology
Brooklyn, New York
emcrae@nycenet.edu
 
"If you want to know a man's like, take a good look at how he treats his inferiors, 
not his equals." 
                                                                  --J.K. Rowling, 
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.
 
 

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