Re: [LM_NET] Technology and the Future of High School Libraries

[Barbara COMBES <b.combes@ECU.EDU.AU>]

Hi Adam,
Up until 2 years ago I worked as the TL in a high tech senior college
(senior high school). I was manager of the Library and Information
Centre (I even had direct input into the name). I was also the
Webmaster, WebCT adminsitrator and responsible for PD to assist all
staff become proficient in using technology and getting their courses
online. All courses were online and accessible to students. My role was
gradually evolving to one where I was doing more collaborative online
curriculum design with teachers. However, students were always directed
to a range of resource formats for their research because this is how
the real world operates. 

Google is not the answer to good searching. It is what we call an
intuitive search engine and what you get as a result is the most popular
site rather than the most appropraite site. Have a look at Googlebombing
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Googlebomb

Thumbshots will show you how Google ranks against more specific search
engines and search directories
http://ranking.thumbshots.com/

Students need to be aware that they are not searching the Internet but
the Web and only the public domain Web at that - it is estimated that
90% of information on the Web is only accessible via the Hidden or Deep
or Invisible Web
http://searchwebservices.techtarget.com/sDefinition/0,,sid26_gci558034,0
0.html

Even though Sevenoaks (www.sevenoaks.wa.edu.au) was all online, the
Library was the place to go in College (apart from the Cafeteria). We
were always bursting at the seams and the print, video, serial and
CD-ROM collections were all heavily utilised, as were the online
resources targeted in the online courses and Virtual library. What I
found was that my role had changed, expanded and become more about
curriculum design and resource support for different types of
teaching-learning programs using a range of delivery modes.

One interesting factor to emerge from a 3 year study conducted at the
College by a post doctoral fellow from Curtin University, was that 20%
of our so-called techno savvy students were positively technophobic and
preferred to use any other delivery mode in place of online/electronic.
I suspect that this percentage actually reflects the population at
large!

TLs/LMS need to look at new ways of expanding their roles and creating a
situation where the library is the hub of learning in the school. This
involves utilising all resource formats as I certainly don't expect
print to become defunct in my lifetime (take a look at publishing stats
for print materials). What we have now is an expansion fo resource
formats and the information literacy skills required to access the
information contained therin. We are doing our students an injustice if
we don't target all resource formats - they certainly can't rely on
Google and the Public Web at university.

:)
BC 


@ Your Library

Barbara Combes, Lecturer
School of Computer and Information Science
Edith Cowan University, Perth Western Australia
Ph: (08) 9370 6072
Email: b.combes@ecu.edu.au

"Whatever the cost of our libraries, the price is cheap compared to that
of an ignorant nation."

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-----Original Message-----
From: School Library Media & Network Communications
[mailto:LM_NET@LISTSERV.SYR.EDU] On Behalf Of NHS Webmaster
Sent: Wednesday, 26 January 2005 6:47 AM
To: LM_NET@LISTSERV.SYR.EDU
Subject: [LM_NET] Technology and the Future of High School Libraries

I do like to tweak people a bit. I am getting some very personal
attacks--some even suggesting that since I am doing things so badly I
should rethink what I am doing.

Perhaps I overstate the situation. I have a number of teachers who
require research papers, but I've also seen the Pew Research which tells
me that students are using the Internet as their primary source of
information.

We also have a wealth of computers in our library, 55 student stations,
and our databases are broad and comprehensive. The teachers that do
require research, also do require that the students use these databases,
but not necessarily print.

If I need encyclopedic materials, my first source is not our print
encyclopedies, but rather our online resources.

I don't want to get into a print v non-print argument with librarians. I
simply don't care what the medium is, I'm looking for the most relevant
information from a quality source.

Also, some librarians misinterpreted what I said about student reading
habits. They simply do not read non-fiction (except, perhaps,
biographies--but only contemporary biographies). We do have many fiction
readers and support our users, even to the point of taking orders for
specific titles which we purchase on regular trips to Barnes & Nobles.
Our fiction collection is entirely paperback and it is the largest
collection in the district.

I do see a trend away from physical use of the library, however, there
may be much more intensive use of our virtual library, which is
accessible from every computer in the school, as well as use from home.

I also think it is time that all libraries have a virtual presence on
the Internet. To that end I created a generic template for use by
elementary libraries in our district. If you have access to School
Library Journal, you can read what I did in the January, 2005, issue.

I value school libraries very much. I just see that they are rapidly
changing in focus.

I am thoroughly enjoying this debate and am finding that those schools
with limited computer access are favoring print resources, whereas
school libraries, such as mine, with multiple external computer labs and
default access to our virtual library throughout the school are favoring
my point of view.

Adam



Adam Janowski
Library Media Specialist
Naples High School
1100 Golden Eagle Circle
Naples, FL 34102
E-mail: NHSWebmaster@collier.k12.fl.us
Phone: 239-377-2210
Fax: 239-430-6673
Library web site: http://collier.k12.fl.us/nhs/lmc/ School web site:
http://collier.k12.fl.us/nhs/

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