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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









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