Maine is facing a proposal by the govenor to reduce the number of school
districts from 250+ to 26 as a way to trim administrative costs. Although
he has pledged to not close schools or cut teachers many of us wonder how
that will be possible. Of course library media specialists in the state
are concerned about where those cuts, if any, will occur. It has been
interesting to note that in our district, and possibly many others as
well, the technology budget both in terms of staff and hardware and
software continues to increase while the library budgets remain relatively
stagnant. As an ardent user and proponent of technology I value it and
could not work without it yet have witnessed the technology beginning to
drive everything else. A recent example we faced was a course that was
planned to teach teachers in the district to use our online resources. We
had planned it as a face-to-face class to be held either in the library or
lab where all the participants could be on a computer using the resources
and finding out what they contained. Two weeks before the start of the
class we were asked to hold it over the ATM system that would be broadcast
to other schools in the area. Evidently the ATM facility was very
underutilized and they were looking for classes to utilize the system in
order to justify keeping it. After discussing it we realized that it
really wouldn't work and stuck with our plan to offer it in person.
Unfortunately, only one staff person signed up so the class was cancelled
but that is another frustrating topic! We sometimes lose sight of the fact
that technology is a tool and not an end unto itself. Will school
administration ever figure out that it is not viable to sacrifice one part
of the school system to save another? They are all valuable and need to be
preserved.
Liz
Liz McMahon
Library Media Specialist
Messalonskee Middle School Library
33 School Bus Drive
Oakland, ME 04963
lmcmahon@msad47.org
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