A friend and I just presented on this topic at our state library
conference. Our title was "Are Books Obsolete?" and our argument was
that yes, they are, for research purposes - or, if they aren't yet, they
are becoming so. Not everyone in the audience agreed w/us, as I'm sure
not everyone here will, either. We had a great discussion, though, and
we weren't run out of the conference. :)
Here are some of the thoughts/rationales that led us to our stance:
While there are some legitimate arguments in favor of books for research
(mostly accessibility/budget issues), we have to keep in mind the
learning style and learning preferences of our 21st century learners.
Left to their own devices, most students will choose to do their
research online. I've come to the conclusion that this is a fight that I
don't want to wage - I want to focus on teaching them to be good
searchers and evaluators of online information, since that's what
they're going to do when they leave school, anyway. Most college
students and adults will tell you they never set foot in a library for
research - they do it all online.
Books don't always provide easy access to students, either. Our
freshmen - all 150 of them - do research projects on the similar topics
at the same time. All 150 of them were researching daily life topics in
Ancient Greece the same week. I spent about $800 supplementing our
print collection w/books for them to use, then watched them become
frustrated trying to use them - how do you share 50 books among 150
students? You can't let them check out the books to take home because
someone else needs the same book. More of our students had access to
the world history database I subscribed to than the books - they could
access it from home if they had computers, and, if they didn't, at least
multiple students could access it at the same time from school, instead
of waiting for someone else to finish with the book they needed. My
$800 would have been better spent on another database.
As for schools that don't have the $800 to spend - or any budget for
databases - the wealth of good information on the web can't be denied.
If we're teaching our students to be critical thinkers, to locate and
evaluate information - then they should be able to locate good, reliable
resources on the web. If they can't do it, then we, as librarians
should be providing them with pathfinders to good online resources -
selecting and recommending websites for a project the same way we would
select & purchase books.
I don't believe that books for pleasure reading will become obsolete.
My spending habits have changed drastically in recent years - my book
purchases focus on high interest fiction and nonfiction for pleasure
reading, and I purchase databases for research. I feel like this better
serves my students' 21st century needs and 21st century learning styles.
Anita Beaman
University High School
Normal, IL
albeam2@ilstu.edu
-----Original Message-----
From: School Library Media & Network Communications
[mailto:LM_NET@LISTSERV.SYR.EDU] On Behalf Of Sharon Slaney
Sent: Tuesday, November 13, 2007 10:02 AM
To: LM_NET@LISTSERV.SYR.EDU
Subject: Re: Value of Print Resources?
I am struggling with considering the value of print vs online resources
like every other librarian. Here are some thoughts that perhaps you
can build on. Yes, we do need some serious research concerning print vs
online for school libraries.
1. The most important consideration for school libraries is: will your
online sources be there when you need them? School library budgets
change with the economy. In lean times we have little if no money to
spend on anything: including expensive databases, and even the upkeep of
the equipment with which we access the equipment. If you receive little
or no budget one year, at least you will have print resources to offer
your students. Unless your administration is willing to make a long term
commitment to electronic databases, and e-books and other online
sources, then they need to reconsider doing away with print books.
2. Equality of access is another important point. Many students do not
have access to electronic sources at home. How do they do their
homework if you don't have print sources to offer them? In rural areas
it is difficult for them to get to a public library, where they might
have online access. We have eAudiobooks available to our students now -
but you can't use them unless you have a computer and/or an MP3 player
to download them. Access to the equipment to use the online resources
will always be problematic for some students.
3. Time is also a factor for use of online resources, especially
in-depth reading. If a student has access to online databases or even
the Internet at home, they can find facts and figures readily - and can
copy and past and take notes for papers. But if they want to read a
novel, or Bill Clinton's biography, or a political analysis, few of them
will want to confine themselves to their desk. Books are mobile, and we
can adapt our reading time to what we are doing: in the car, at the gym,
waiting for the bus, etc. Again, portable devices help with this, but
you have to have them to use them.
Hope these thought will help you develop arguments to help you retain
your valuable print resources.
Sharon Slaney, Librarian
Timberlake H.S. Library
5973 W. Hwy 54
P.O. Box 909
Spirit Lake, Id. 83869
208-623-6303
sslaney@lakeland272.org
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