[LM_NET] A HS student gives an opinion of school libraries

[Mary Ludwick <ludwick@SWBELL.NET>]

Andrea Drusch: Give me a reason to go to the library
We read at Starbucks; we can love reading at school, too
08:39 AM CDT on Saturday, September 29, 2007
A library is a place where you have to be quiet. All the time. You can't
have things like gum or water or anything made of metal on your person in
order to enter. 
While the setting is clearly not inviting to anyone under 60, chances are
it's the largest room in your child's school. If this is going to continue,
libraries need to make changes to stay relevant to the needs of 21st-century
students. 
Schools provide computer labs for daily use in classrooms with open doors,
but the book collection in the library is guarded like Fort Knox.
Credentials for entry include, but are not limited to: photo identification,
library card and a signed, dated, timed note from your homeroom teacher.
Retina scans and criminal background checks can't be far behind. 
The overall atmosphere inside is akin to being told "make yourself at home"
in a stranger's exquisitely decorated living room. Mistrustful librarians
peer from behind the checkout stand, clearing their throat uncomfortably as
they watch books being removed from their homes. 
While some students still hang on to fuzzy childhood memories of story time
at the community library, most high school students avoid it at all costs.
As long as there are so many hoops to jump through for admission, why not
install a turnstile to keep track of the number of students entering on
their own free will? (This does not include class research projects, where
students disappear into crevices to do homework, while thinking, "My
Internet at home is faster, anyway.") 
The numbers would be shockingly small, especially if you eliminate students
only using the World Books. These expensive collections are a gold mine to
students when teachers insist upon including offline research sources. These
teachers are apparently preparing us for a time when rolling blackouts
plague North Texas, rendering all computers useless. 
But what about the nonreference books? Most English teachers will tell you,
"Kids just don't read like they used to." I disagree. Recently my high
school treated students who passed all classes with a trip to Stonebriar
Centre. Upon arrival, a large group flocked straight to Barnes & Noble,
where they stayed until the bus ride home. On the bus, they exchanged books
and discussed favorite authors. If high school kids are willing to dish out
$17 on books at the mall, then why isn't a room the size of a basketball gym
full of books free of charge appealing to them? ........
The rest of the article is at:
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/opinion/viewpoints/stories/DN
-drusch_29edi.ART.State.Edition1.4229cbf.html


Mary Croix Ludwick
Librarian, Thomas Haley Elementary
Irving, Texas (near Dallas)
mludwick@irvingisd.net
ludwick@swbell.net (home)


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