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I would like to add... I don't think print books are going anywhere. Even though I love my Kindle, I will keep around what I call "archive" copies of books for several reasons. What I find fascinating, however, is that technology has sweetened the physical book too-if you are not already aware of the Espresso Book Machine, basically an on-demand book vending machine, then I'd highly recommend checking this out. In ten years, I see the EBM as a fixture in bookstores, malls, and potentially, libraries. What a great fundraising opportunity for the library! "Is the book you want checked out and on hold? Here, buy it from our library's EBM, and a portion of your purchase goes to the library!" :) Technology is rapidly changing the landscape of literacy, but I have faith that the digital natives are still going to have a large percentage of bibliophiles, and I can honestly say this because my two-year-old has a book in her hand or her lap almost every minute of the day, even when she's playing the toddler games on my iPod. (In tribute to Dr. Seuss today, I will mention that her hands-down favorite is The Cat in the Hat Comes Back. :) Here are some links about the EBM: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Espresso_Book_Machine http://www.ondemandbooks.com/our_ebm_locations.htm Stephanie R. Cole School Librarian Ruth Cherry Intermediate, ext. 2111 Harry Herndon Intermediate, ext. 1525 Royse City ISD coles@rcisd.org<mailto:coles@rcisd.org> Currently Reading: The Picture of Dorian Gray, Oscar Wilde "Will you succeed? Yes you will indeed! (98 and 3/4 percent guaranteed.)" - Dr. Seuss, Oh, the Places You'll Go! -----Original Message----- From: School Library Media & Network Communications [mailto:LM_NET@LISTSERV.SYR.EDU] On Behalf Of Naomi Bates Sent: Tuesday, March 02, 2010 10:27 AM To: LM_NET@LISTSERV.SYR.EDU Subject: Re: SCHOOL LIBRARIES ARE IRRELEVANT? You just made your audience Bob. And I'll post my opinion about this article. One of the first things that caught my eye was the fact that this article was replete with rhetorical questions and not many hard facts or statistics. It's an op-ed piece, obviously, but I also saw it as ranting...and not something I'd like to read in a professional journal. There are other ways to step on a soapbox, including blogging, listserving, websites, and even snail mail for those that like paper and 3-D mail. The other thing that grabbed me, especially toward the end of this article was the word "change." People always approach change with trepidation, whether it be a new administrator on campus, new policies being erected, modifying an existing institution into the streamlined mainstream. But change is good...believe me, I don't want to type catalog cards, esp. in a high school setting. Give me an online OPAC anyday. As a librarian who has seen much change in the past eleven years I've been in this profession, I embrace the ease that technology has given us...and the websites listed at the end? FABULOUS! These are not site students flock to, but our profession will - and that creates conversations, displays, annotated lists, booktalks, et al. Kindles and e-readers for picking up, but I have to congratulate this innovation with publishers as well. How excited was I to get the galley for a YA book I've been DYING for, and have it downloaded in a second instead of waiting for a reply to a request to the publisher, the library manager for the publishing house, another librarian who could put me on the list of those that want it, or wait for a major library conference to get one, if they have them....but despite all this, I'll still love books, and make sure my campus loves them as well.... Thanks for sharing this : ) Looking forward to other replies!! Naomi Bates Northwest High School Library Justin, Texas nbates@nisdtx.org 817-215-0203 >>> Bob Hicks <bob.hicks@USD470.COM> 3/2/2010 10:01 AM >>> Believing this might stimulate interest and discussion, I first submitted this to "School Library Journal" but to no surprise they could not find space for the article. Bob-- Sorry you didn't receive a reply previously. Our editorial schedule is set for 2010 and, unfortunately, we do not have an open position for your article. Thanks you for submitting it.--Phyllis. Phyllis Levy Mandell Managing Editor Multimedia Review Editor School Library Journal Curriculum Connections 360 Park Avenue South New York, NY 10010 646-746-6763 ____________________________________________________________ School Libraries Are Irrelevant? I have extrapolated on the following online article Do School Libraries Need Books? http://roomfordebate.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/02/10/do-school-libraries-need-books/ Within a capitalistic system, economics defines and dictates everything: human behavior, the culture, and societal institutions including libraries. Recently, I visited one of the bookstore chains. For a Saturday, there were only a few people in the store and most of them were in the ever expanding "non-book" areas: CD, DVD, and computer software. Can these places still even be called bookstores? I bought a $30 book. Upon returning home, I checked Amazon and discovered I could have download the same book for $10. Because I am a "Last Generation Bookman", hard copies have intrinsic and sentimental value thus paying triple for a "real" book is not a problem. However, if I was under say thirty or an "internet/computer" generation person having no emotional or psychological attachment to three dimensional books , I would be angry and feel cheated. Did you read or hear in the news that Laredo, Texas, a community of 250,000, was losing their last and only bookstore? In the end, economics trumps everything. Do you remember the "buy America" movement years ago? The idea was two fold: support American labor and manufacturing by buying more expensive products made in America, and refuse to support and reward employers of slave and sweatshop labor by purchasing their products. Unfortunately, people who would never dream of supporting child or exploited labor were willing to do just that just o save a few bucks. The movement quickly failed! Americans chose their pocketbooks over their patriotism and principles. Just as the technology in form of the printing press initiated the "cheap" book/printed page era, the technology of computers, the internet, eReaders, and etc. will end it. Does anyone want to bet that "hard copy" books will get cheaper? Excluding the author and actual "text" costs, consider all the other costs of getting a physical book into your hands: materials, labor, printing, binding, packing, shipping, and bookstore costs. What percent of the retail price? Half? Two thirds? In ten years, what do you think the postage on shipping a box of books? What if both the author and the publisher of an eBook, digital book, or whatever you call them made the same profit or even more with a download instead of a hard copy? Are capitalists known for their sentimentality? Have you noticed new books are going out of print faster? Publisher print runs are smaller. Have you tried to buy a year or two year old hardback lately? Sorry, out of print, but the eBook is available for $8. In 2009, Carol Buchanan's God's Thunderbolt: The Vigilantes Of Montana won the Western Writers Of America prestigious "Spur" award for best first novel. It is a self-published book. Why pay a publisher? When will an eBook win the Pulitzer Prize or make it on the NYT bestseller list? Presently, is their a bestseller list dedicated to eBooks? Besides the cost difference between a hard copy and an eBook, consider other existing and potential advantages of eBooks over the Gutenberg template? Guaranteed availability--no gamble as to whether the store has it in stock. No worry of it going out of print. How about text keyword and index searching? What would the YA reader rather have? A hard copy of Stephanie Meyer's latest tome or a cheaper "Multimedia" eBook which besides text would includes a read-along audio track, background music track, graphic illustrations or graphic version, keyword text & index searchability, and a visual "Avatar" characterization play/drama of the story. Of course, a Spanish language version is included. Oh, by the way, if you don't want to buy the eBook, you can rent it for for $1.99 (automatic text deletion after 30 days). Of course, if you belong to the eBook club and pay the $15 monthly fee, you have unlimited rental downloads for free. Of course, shortly, hard copy school textbooks will be a thing of the past. Again, cost will determine the preference. Why would a college student or school district pay $75-$200 for a textbook when it can downloaded to a computer, Kindle, iPad or whatever for $20? Again, also keep in mind the advantages of the eBook from keyword indexing and highlighting to the audio/visual features. School districts will simply pay the publisher a flat fee for X number or unlimited downloads. Since students have classroom computer and/or handheld access to all the standard "library" reference resources: encyclopedias, magazines and newspapers, both free and subscription databases, and thousands of specific primary and secondary downloadable eBooks, why do they need to go to the library or why does there need to be a library to go to? If a student is doing a research paper on the American Revolution, he simply downloads the "David McCullough" Revolutionary War Library of his ten recommended books on the subject. How about info on Mccarthyism? Access and/or download famous Professor Smith's McCarthyism Book & Magazine Library (bundle). Do you need information on the development of the gothic novel and horror literature or simply like horror novels? Access and download Neil Gaiman's recommended eBooks. All downloads are free to students because the district pays an annual $ subscription free for unlimited access and downloading! Why would a student waste precious classtime to physically go to the library? Remember spending hours and hours in the university library? What is happening or is going to happen to all those impressive college and university "brick & mortar" libraries with their miles of stacks of books and back issue journals? Will they still buy all those academic and technical books and subscribe to all those esoteric university press journals once they are digitized and downloadable? How are they going to continue to rationalize such expenditures? How about the storage and utility costs? Are they or will they become simply huge computer/internet cafes? Why would a student need to spend time in one? How much reference assistance or advice in book selection do students really need? By they get to middle school and high school, I believe not much. Have you visited one of the increasing online "ask a librarian or "reader advisor" sites (see examples below)--you type in your favorite book, genre or book you recently read and liked and you will get a list of similar books. Do your want to know what book three is in the -----series? Yes, in certain circumstances, one could still make a case that a librarian's unique knowledge and experience has educational value. But, the librarian does not need a "library" facility to practice reference assistance. A classroom or just an office would suffice. Presently, what functions have your actual "library" space morphed into: computer lab, testing center, back to the old study hall, and/ or club and social meeting hall? If I recall correctly, are not school architects reducing the library square footage in new school buildings? I am what you could call a "transitional" librarian or the last generation of "traditional" librarianship. Initially, I practiced librarianship basically the same way the previous three or four generations of librarians had--hand written/typed catalog cards, wooden drawers, the green Readers' Guide To Periodical Literature, multi-volumed reference sources & etc. Recently, I weeded the library's remaining old record recordings and filmstrip kits I had left. After notifying the faculty, a young, first year teacher stopped by to inspect the kits just out of curiosity. She had never seen one! As library traffic, circulation, and usage continue to decline, it is going to become more difficult for MLS school librarians to rationalize and defend their facilities, contributions to the curriculum, and educational value. Any teacher certified person or even a "para" can checkout a few books and supervise computers. Having been a high school librarian for over thirty years, I have had hundreds of student library aides. With my encouragement, some have chose librarianship as their profession. Currently, I am reluctant in recommending the profession to students. At times, I see the specter of the buggy whip maker. A few years ago a fellow high school librarian and friend announced his retirement. Sounding frustrated, he said he no longer had much to do. Flashlight Worthy http://www.flashlightworthybooks.com/ The Book Explorer http://www.thebookexplorer.com/ What Should I Read http://www.whatshouldireadnext.com/search Bob Hicks, librarian Arkansas City High School Librarian Arkansas City, KS 67005 bob.hicks@usd470.com -------------------------------------------------------------------- Please note: All LM_NET postings are protected by copyright law. You can prevent most e-mail filters from deleting LM_NET postings by adding LM_NET@LISTSERV.SYR.EDU to your e-mail address book. 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