Connecting School to Real Life: How Librarians can Help

Connecting School to Real Life: My technology in education class had us watch this really inspiring video on connecting school to the real world. Though she didn't exactly mention school librarians in the video. I think they play a big role in connecting school to the real world. (Take a look at the video below before reading the rest of this).


I have to say that I really agree with her that we need to make school more about connecting to the real world. Too often school is just: go to class and memorize facts that will show up on the state test. But the topics we learn in school should help us connect to our talents and interests in our real lives. I think this is totally and completely possible and I believe that this is happening in more and more schools. One of the things that really struck me about this video was her description of the student who really loved to take videos about buses. That this kid made videos and pictures and was really talented, but he was not being taught in school how to put that talent on the internet and he was not being taught in school how to make a website or start a blog or somehow put his talent out there. And I was listening to that thinking, well that's what school librarians should be doing.

 One of the awesome things about librarians is that they are able to connect to all the students in the school, they don't just see a particular class of students and they see the same students year after year, so in most cases the librarian really has a chance to learn about her student's interests and goals in life. I see librarians as the people who can show students and faculty how to get information, create information, share information, etc. This is not just for getting something for the class book report, this is working with students who want to research something or work on something that is outside the classroom. I, as a librarian, want to be able to teach my students how to blog, or how to create a video or how to post a review. I would most likely teach these techniques in relation to a project that is being done with the classroom teacher. However, I want students who are interested in blogging about their life to feel free to come to visit me in the library, not only to get books on student bloggers, but to ask my advice and help with setting up a blog. I would like to be able to be that person who can help a student realize his or her goals or interests and I feel that librarians do just that. When I do reader's advisory interviews one of the first things I ask is what are your interests, what do you like to watch on TV, what jobs do you think are cool, etc. I feel that librarians are in the perfect position of learning student's interests and thus,they can help work with the teachers to connect that student's interest with what they are learning in school. For example, say as a librarian I know that I have several students who really like to blog. They are really interested in telling stories and have been running their own blog for a few years now. I might suggest to the English teacher who is having students keep a reading journal, that perhaps the teacher might want to give their students a choice of keeping a reading journal or blogging about what they are reading.

 Now the one thing I did not agree with in this video was that the only way to connect students to the real world is to get rid of standards. On the contrary, I think that standards are the way that we can measure students' work to ensure that they are all understanding the basic information we want them to understand. While I think that students should have personal learning goals and I think that students should try to understand how what they are learning is going to effect them in real life, I don't think we need to get rid of standards to do that. Over the summer I took 618: Information Policy. In this class we had to do look at public sector information (data collected by the government). My group choose to look at public sector information and how it related to education. We found that the government collected a great deal of information; everything from satellite information to information about currents in the ocean and all of that information was available for the public to see and use. Websites like NOAA and NASA took the scientific data that they collected and often posted it on their websites along with sample lesson plans of how teachers can use this information. For example, there might be a lesson plan about students using NASA data to see if there is a relationship between water vapor and temperature of clouds. This has students using actual real world knowledge to help them understand topics they are learning about in class. Perhaps this may make students more interested in studying science or technology when they go to college.

 There are plenty of ways for teachers to connect what is being learned in school to the real world, this will add relevance to students lives and will allow students to see why what they are learning is important. However, that does not mean we should get rid of standards. We should still strive to get students to reach standards, just not by making them memorize facts. Now I understand this is difficult with state testing, but I don't think it is impossible. And I believe that librarians can help provide technology, websites and books that can help teachers connect their subject areas to the real world.

Jennifer Hemmings-Jones: Making a Difference as a Librarian

A 30 second video describing how I plan to make a difference in my students' lives.

Technology and the Librarian

"Its like Facebook only for teachers" This was what someone told me last Wednesday, I have to say I was a little doubtful, but when I actually started using the website I was surprisingly pleased. I'm talking, of course, of Edmodo. Some of you may have heard of it, or some of you may be like me who always seems to hear things after it has become a big thing. At any rate, it is fantastic! This is a completely free website that is basically Facebook for teachers. Your account is laid out very similar to face book, it allows you to collaborate with other teachers, and more importantly have a virtual connection to your students. Here is how it works, you create an account (again for free!) then you can make your page, add your picture, list the classes you teach, etc. Edmodo allows you to create assignments, polls or even quizzes on your account. For example, you can post a video you want the students to watch and make it an assignment. This means that students will have to view the video by the date you specify. Edmodo keeps track of how many students viewed the video, it allows them to make comments and it will send you an email letting you know what students participated and which did not. There are a lot more features to Edmodo and I encourage you to log on and check it out!

I have to say that this is just another example of all the excellent technology available to the use at schools. Students can use Animoto to create a video about their favorite scientist. GoAnimate can be used in English classrooms to have students recreate scenes for Romeo and Juliet. Dipity allows you to create interactive timelines that can make any historical event interesting! There are hundreds and thousands of these sites and more everyday that allows teachers to give a new spin to typical school work. Students are now able to present their information in creative and unique ways. Not only is this leading to more students being motivated and interested in school, it is also teaching students technology skills, which is incredibly important in today's world.

I learned about all of these sites from librarians. I think our profession calls for us to constantly be learning and finding knew websites or technology that will help our students learn better. Librarians are one of the only teachers who literally teach every student in the school. We also are one of the only teachers who work and collaborate with almost every teacher in the school. We are in a perfect position to suggest these new technologies and help embed them in the classroom. So make a list of some of the cool new technology you have found and next time you are at a staff meeting or are working with a classroom teacher, show them. Explain how this can help motivate students and might make a lesson plan more interesting. You never know, it may lead to more teachers wanting to work with you.


http://www.edmodo.com/

Sharing is Caring so why do I hate it?

I think I have talked about this before, but I wanted to bring this up again because it seems to be a trend with school libraries. Recently I read an article from the huffingtonpost that discussed how for this current school year Washington DC cut up to 58 librarians from schools with 300 kids or under. The article goes on to say that parents were outraged and that a lot of people are fighting to get this drastic cut overturned.

 However, Washington DC isn't alone. All across the country school districts with tight budgets are making cut backs. Common Core and school testing created a demand for the school librarian, however; school districts just can't seem to afford all of us. So what do they do? They decide to put a sharing system in place. In other words, libraries have more than one librarian. Now at first this sounds awesome, but what it actually means is that you could have a librarian who works at two different schools. So on Monday you have one librarian, a different librarian for Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday and another different librarian for Friday. And this just leads to confusion. Not only is it hard to share a library with another librarian, but it is also difficult to keep track of your students and teachers. Imagine having to keep track of two different sets of teachers, two different sets of school rules, two different sets of students. Collaboration is very hard in these types of situations. If you work in one library for four days of the week and then another library for the last day it is really hard to establish a collaboration with teachers in that second library. Thus, students in that second library do not get the same instruction experience. It is also hard to create a rapport with students. If you only see the students one day a week it may be hard to remember names or other types of information that you would know if you saw them on a more regular basis. It gets kind of daunting.

 Furthermore, communication always seems to get messed up in situations like these. A teacher tells the Monday librarian something, but the Tuesday Librarian has absolutely no idea about this and thus the teacher has to explain things all over again. Situations like these also lead to questions like, who orders the books? How do you organize the library if each librarian has different ideas?  It also leads to confusion when you are trying to get a book on  loan from another school library. If the school library has two librarians who do you email?

Granted, though this system is highly confusing I am happy that there is a system like this rather than just taking the library away from schools period. There are ways to make the system less confusion. First COMMUNICATION, COMMUNICATION, COMMUNICATION. Leave notes when you leave for the other librarians, have a school email for the library that way you don't have to deal with the who do you contact issue. Though this might not be the best solution, librarians are making it work, but it does lead me to wonder will this become the permanent situation of the future or will we go back to having a librarian dedicated to just one school?

LaJoie, E. (2012, Aug 14). [Web log message]. Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/14/dc-schools-librarians_n_1753871.html

Need to bake an Elmo cake, no need to go to the store, just borrow one from the library

Sorry for those of you who read this that it took me so long to post again. Alas winter break likes to cast a spell over students in which they are unable to do anything productive. However, now is the start of a new semester and I am starting all new classes. The usual title of this blog post is from something I learned in IST 613. The class, which is on planning, marketing and assessing programs in libraries called for us to create a group and then pick a project to work on. The project my group picked was bakeware in libraries. At first I thought this was the a crazy idea, libraries that circulate bakeware? How would they clean them, who would use them, why would people go to the library to take out bakeware? All of these questions made me slightly skeptical about the project. However, upon doing research I found out that this wasn't something out of the ordinary, but, in fact, a practice that many libraries across the country currently do.

For many libraries it starts with a donation. Typically there is a member of the community who has a lot of cake pans (most of the libraries I found that circulate bakeware circulate mainly specialty cake pans). This member doesn't need the cake pans anymore so she simply donates them to the library. These are pans that are shaped like Elmo, Dora the Explorer, a Christmas Tree or even a heart for Valentine's day. These cake pans are relatively expensive and are typically only used once by the person who buys them. After all how many times are you going to bake a Dora the Explorer cake? When the libraries started circulating them people were ecstatic at the idea that they could take out these cake pans and use them. Libraries, especially ones with young mothers who brought their kids to story time, saw a dramatic need in their communities to have this type of material.

To top it off libraries aren't only circulating cake pans, there are libraries that circulate seeds, musical instruments, tools, etc. I think that people are so used to libraries circulating books, that many people don't even realize that libraries are there to serve the community and if the community really needs tools that can be loaned out, that is something a library can do.

My question is how receptive are communities of this idea? I know that some communities greatly embrace these non-traditional circulating items, but do many people take advantage of this service? How can a library convince their members that the library isn't only about circulating books?

IST 605 Pathfinder

Resources for Librarians who have Students with Disabilities Pathfinder

This is a pathfinder for librarians looking to redesign their library or their lesson plans to better accommodate students with disabilities. Though this is primarily targeting librarians in school libraries, any librarian, or educator can utilize these materials to make their environments and lessons more accessible to a great population.

Print Resources

Below are encyclopedias and book resources that can be used as a good starting off point when learning background information about disabilities.

Reference Books:

Encyclopedia of Disability

Encyclopedia of disability. (2006). Thousand Oaks, California: Sage Publications.

This is an expansive, very detailed source on everything to do with disability. The encyclopedia attempts to cover as many regions of the world and types of disabilities as possible. Readers will find entries on specific disabilities, famous people who had disabilities and other issues in the disability field. This text is perfect for librarians who have students with disabilities because it will give them good background information on a specific disability. In addition, this encyclopedia comes complete with a number of primary sources involving people with disabilities which could be used in collaboration with general subject area teachers.

 The Complete Directory for People with Disabilities 2013: A Comprehensive Source Book for Individuals and Professionals

 Mars, L. (Ed.). (2012a). The Complete Directory for People With Disabilities 2013: A        Comprehensive Source Book for Individuals and Professionals (21st ed.). Grey House Pub.

This source provides comprehensive information on resources for people with disabilities. Providing information on lawyers, education policies, films, and manufacturers of items that are specifically for people who are disabled, this resource gives contact information and general information on any type of resource someone with a disability may need. This resource can provide information for a librarian’s their students, or for parents of the students who might need further information. It serves as a good informational reference for organizations and groups that may provide further information to make one’s library more accessible.

Books:

Different Brains, Different Learners

Jensen, E. (2010). Different brains, different learners: how to reach the hard to reach (2nd ed.).     Thousand Oaks, California: Corwin.

            While other resources may explain what a disability is, this resource serves to explain why a student with a certain disability will act and learn a certain way. This resource focuses on how the brain works for different kinds of learners. Included are chapters on Dyslexia, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, Emotional disability and various auditory disorders. This offers a unique perspective in what’s going on in a child’s brain. It also offers solutions on how to best reach these types of learners.

Education, Disability and Social Policy

Ruebain, D., & Haines, S. (editors) (2011). Education, disability and social policy . (1st ed.).Bristol, UK: The Policy Press.

            This resource provides great insight in various areas of disability and education. It discusses the history of disability and education, inclusion in classrooms and includes a section of various challenges students with disabilities face. The section on inclusion in classrooms provides excellent information on the history of inclusion as well as examples of how inclusion works and does not work.

Implementing Cost-Effective Assistive Computer Technology (How-to-Do-It Manuals) (How to Do It Manuals for Librarians)

Vincent, J. (2012). Implementing cost-effective assistive computer technology: A how-to-do-it manual for librarians. New York: Neal-Schuman Publishers Inc.

 This is a great book for librarians starting to add assistive technology, who have not had any experience with it before. This gives a good overview of various assistive computer technologies. This resource also discusses budgeting and cost issues related with implementing these solutions into one’s library.

Web Resources:

Websites:

AbleData: Assistive Technology Products, New, Resources

AbleData: Assistive Technology Products, News, Resources. (2012). Retrieved November 28, 2012, from http://www.abledata.com/

            This website is useful for all librarians, teachers, educators or anyone who will be working with students with disabilities. This website depicts all types of assistive technologies that students with disabilities use to make learning more accessible. The website allows you to pick items based on the type of disability they go with or just browse generally. Each item is given a description, price and how it can be used.

Americans with Disability Act Homepage

US Department of Justice. (2012, Dec 4). ADA home page. Retrieved from http://www.ada.govv

This website is run by the United States Government. Providing detailed information on the Americans with Disability Act, this is a good resource for librarians looking to understand the law and how it affects them in their professions. It includes links to government documents such as ADA Questions and Answers, or Guide to Disability Rights Laws.

Book Share

Bookshare.org. (2012) Accessible books and periodicals for readers with print disabilities bookshare Retrieved November 28, 2012 from https://www.bookshare.org/

            This is a website that requires membership, but allows anyone with membership to download textbooks, books, or newspapers and read them on a device that could help with their disability; for example, a computer with text-to-speech software, an iPad, etc. It also should be noted that Book Share is free to K-12 public and private schools with students with disabilities. This site is something for a school librarian to consider utilizing as a resource for her/his students.

National Dissemination Center for Children with Disabilities

NICHCY. (n.d.). A-Z Topics — National Dissemination Center for Children with Disabilities. National Dissemination Center for Children with Disabilities (NICHCY). Retrieved   November 28, 2012, from http://nichcy.org/publications/topics-az

This website purposely serves parents, teachers, educators or anyone who would like to better understand children with disabilities. This particular website is run similarly to an encyclopedia with A-Z topics that a viewer can choose from. However, these entries focus more directly on children and therefore have a great deal of information on schools and policies on disabilities for schools. This is a good website for librarians to browse if they have questions on policy, or terms they are unfamiliar with, for example “Least Restrictive Environment” or what the disabilities defined by I.D.E.A are.

National Instruction Materials Access Center (NICMA)

NIMAC. (2012, Dec). NIMAC: National instruction materials access center . Retrieved from http://www.nimac.us/

This is a free, federally funded depository that takes files and puts them in a format known as NICMAS or national instruction materials accessibility standards. These formats are a starting point and from these this website is able to create Braille materials, large print materials, or any type of material to help someone who is visually or print disabled.

Project ENABLE

        Project Enable. (2012). Retrieved November 28, 2012, from http://projectenable.syr.edu/

            This is a website created by Dr. Ruth Smalls of Syracuse University. The aim of this website is for school librarians to log in and take the course. The website holds information about IEPs, Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (I.D.E.A) and other relevant topics that a school librarian might be expected to know. This course is great for librarians with no experience with students with disabilities, but also serves as a good refresher for a librarian who has forgotten some of the laws, policies or educational practices that revolve around students with disabilities.

Teacher Vision- Children’s Books About Disabilities

Children’s Books About Disabilities -TeacherVision.com. (2012). Teacher Vision. Retrieved November 28, 2012, from http://www.teachervision.fen.com/learningdisabilities/reading/5316.html

This resource provides a list of books that discuss or have main characters who are disabled. The great thing about this list is it is really comprehensive, giving a brief description as well as the ISBN and reading level of that book.

IDEA-Building The Legacy of IDEA 2004

US Department of Education. (n.d.). IDEA-building the legacy of idea 2004. Retrieved from http://idea.ed.gov/explore/home

This source holds various resources discussing and relating to the Individuals with Disability Act of 2004. This source gives information on the updated policies dealing with disability, but also serves to help educators understand the I.D.E.A. law. It is consistently updated and helps libraries and schools ensure their school environment is following I.D.E.A.

Articles and PDFs

Americans with Disabilities Act 2010 Design Standards

Department of Justice. (2010). 2010 ADA standards for accessible design. Retrieved from Federal Register website: http://www.ada.gov/regs2010/2010ADAStandards/2010ADAStandards.pdf

This site is run by the Department of Justice and this particular page provides a printable addition of the Americans with Disability Act Design standards for 2010. A downside to this source is it is quite lengthy, however; it does provide detailed information on what ADA design and building standards are and what a building (school library) has to do to uphold them.

The Association of Specialized and Cooperative Library Agencies:

Association of Specialized and Cooperative Library Agencies. (2001, January 16). Library Services for People with Disabilities Policy. ASCLA. Retrieved November 28, 2012, from http://www.ala.org/ascla/asclaissues/libraryservices

The official opinion on libraries and disabilities as put forth by the American Library Association (ALA). This article found on the ALA website discusses policy on library services for people with disabilities. It covers everything from having library facilities accessible to having ALA publications in several different formats.

US Department of Education: Free and Appropriate Public Education for Students with Disabilities

US Department of Education. (2010, August). Free appropriate public education under section 504 Retrieved from http://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/docs/edlite-FAPE504.html

This document will help provide background information on education policy related to students with disabilities. This document explains FAPE, and why school librarians need to provide adequate resources for students with disabilities that will enable them to participate equally with non-disabled students. This document describes a librarian’s duties towards students with disabilities according to the law.

Journal/ Serial Resources

Journals/ Magazines

Disability Studies Quarterly

            (2012). Disability Studies Quarterly, Retrieved from http://dsq-sds.org/

This is the Disability Studies Quarterly Journal. This journal is published by the Society for Disability Studies.  This journal is an open access journal that provides information about disability through a series of articles, interviews and research studies. The articles are peer reviewed and available full text. This is useful for school librarians who may want to further their knowledge of the disability field. It can provide librarians with new ideas on working with students with disabilities.

Databases

The following are databases that can provide articles, journals and other types of information on libraries and disability. The following key words can be used to search these databases for good results.

Key search words: Students with Disabilities AND Library, School Media Specialist AND Special Education, School Libraries AND Special Education, Individuals with Disabilities Act AND Libraries, Americans with Disability Act AND Libraries, Disability , School Media Center AND Special Education, School Media Specialist AND Disability, Accessibility, Universal Design AND libraries.

Education Research Complete

Education research complete [database]. (n.d.). Retrieved November 28, 2012 from http://web.ebscohost.com.libezproxy2.syr.edu/ehost/search/advanced?sid=6d88e86d1de0 4d33-8ec3-113810a13954%40sessionmgr12&vid=1&hid=14

This database had journals in all areas of education. It will provide a librarian with comprehensive articles on all types of issues related to disabilities and school libraries.This resource links to journals such as Library Journal and School Library Monthly.

Education Full Text

Education Full Text [database]. (n.d)Retrieved November 28^th from     http://web.ebscohost.com.libezproxy2.syr.edu/ehost/search/advanced?sid=8c31c3d094e649be-9683-39477585287c%40sessionmgr14&vid=1&hid=14

 Another database that provides information on a wide range of education related topics. However, this database has purely full-text resources that discuss not only libraries and disability services, but teaching methods related to disabilities.

Video Resources

Disability Services at ASU Libraries

Disability Services at ASU Libraries. (2008). Retrieved from http://vimeo.com/1977497

This video discusses disability resources in ASU or Arizona State University, however; a lot of technology and resources that they discuss are great resources for school libraries. They discuss several types of assistive technology and how it helps students with disabilities. This resource is useful because it actually shows images and demonstrations on how people utilize the device, whereas other sources simply mention that it is useful. This would give a school librarian an idea of what might work best with their students.

Kurzweil 3000 v11 - Text-to-Speech - Complete Overview

Kurzweil 3000 v11- text-to-speech- complete overview. (2011). Retrieved from  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Xe5Dhf5_mM

            A previous resource mentioned above was Bookshare an organization that provides books that can be read on iPads, computers, lap tops, etc. One technology that Bookshare utilizes is Kurzweil 3000 which is an text to speech software that allows the computer to read the books aloud. This tutorial explains in detail how to use Kurzweil and all of its uses for students with disabilities.  This is useful for librarians and students who have never utilized this technology before.

Multi-Sensory Story telling

Why Multi Sensory Story Telling is Important. (2012). Retrieved from http://vimeo.com/36868362

This video discusses how having students with severe disabilities touch, hear or smell items in the story might get them more engaged. It might be an idea that librarians might want to bring to their classrooms or perhaps make a visit to the special education teacher’s room. This video has a link to the organizations website Touchingstories.org, which provides explanations on why this works and is a great starting off point for librarians researching how to include such a practice in their library.

People First Language

 People-First Language. (2011). Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QQ0pKPxoyHs&feature=youtube_gdata_player

This is a Youtube video that describes what people –first language is and why you need to use it when talking about or to a person with disabilities. This is essential to anyone who is working with someone who is disabled. This is an excellent resource because it explains what people-first language is and why it is important to utilize it.

 

Blog Posts

The e-future looks Bright – 

Strick, A. (2012, January 5). The e-future looks bright | Booktrust. Bookmark: Books and  Disability.  Book Trust. Retrieved from http://www.booktrust.org.uk/books-and-reading/children/bookmark/blog/285 

The Books and Disability Blog is something a school librarian might want to check for new ideas involving students with disabilities and how to involve them in reading and books. This blog post, from the Bookmark: Books and Disability Blog, discusses the importance of e-books for students with disabilities. This article discusses how having iPads can be a lot more helpful to a wider variety of students, especially students with low vision.

Podcasts

How Disabilities Has Influenced Architecture

Siegel, R. (n.d.). How The Disabilities Act Has Influenced Architecture : NPR. Retrieved from            http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=128778558

This podcast discusses Universal Design. It not only defines what this concept is, but it also discusses how a library was designed using the universal design principals. This is a great resource for a school librarian who is looking to redo their library to promote accessibility. It will give you a good introduction as to why Universal Design is so important.

                                                                                        

Perfect Temperature

Every summer my local library is packed. Now I believe a lot of that is because of the excellent programs and the draw of summertime reading, but to tell you the truth I think a lot of it has to do with the fact that the library is air conditioned. I always tend to feel cold, even in the summer, so I loathed the air condition. I always wondered why they put the AC on so high, why not let it get a little humid and warm? I used to think it was because the people in charge of the AC were always really warm. Funny thing is, the AC levels had nothing to do with people and everything to do with the books.

You don't really think about it, but books are delicate creatures. In too warm climates, too damp climates they attract mold, bugs, and all sorts of organisms that will eat away at their pages. And of course books aren't the only objects in the library temperamental about their temperature. You have technology like computers that should not be left so hot they boil, nor should be they be in a place that is damp. Libraries who want to ensure a long lifetime for their materials can't afford to just let their library be any old temperature. They need to create the perfect environment that has the perfect humidity and temperature that will allow books and other items to maintain in the best condition for the longest time.

Why am I ranting about this? Yesterday IST 511 took a tour of Bird Library's special collections section, which was literally one of the coolest things I have ever done. Part of the reason I was so fascinated is I love books. I have spent years reading books, buying books and owning books and yet I had never thought about preservation. After years of being in and out of libraries, I never once considered how they keep their collection mended and usable by the public. Taking the tour of the special collections, preservation and conservation departments opened my eyes to the fascinating things people have to do to keep books mended, in shape with usability. We learned about ways in which one can help preserve a book and ways in which one should not preserve a book. We were told the horrors of scotch tape and Elmer's glue and all I could think of is all the library books I have seen that people have tried to mend with scotch tape. Granted, when you are talking about book preservation your typically not talking about a child's Dora The Explorer  book, but still, these people and their efforts throughout the years is the reason I was able to see, touch and hold a book that was written in 1582. 1582! That has to have been one of the most awe inspiring experiences I ever had!

 Long story short, next summer when I enter my local library with a huge sweater, I will not complain about the AC. I like to think I can manage a little cold, especially if it goes to helping books.

Where Have All the Catalogers Gone: Long Time Ago

The title of this post came from Pete Seeger's song "Where Have All the Flowers Gone?". This is because in class last Tuesday, as we were discussing how there aren't many traditional catalogers anymore, I couldn't help but think of this song. Obviously catalogers are not gone and probably won't ever be gone, however; our conversation in class did raise an interesting question. What happens to the future of libraries if future librarians don't have in-depth knowledge on cataloging?

Cataloging was once considered the most important thing a librarian knew. Cataloging was the main portion of the librarian profession, this changed as librarians gained the lovely ability to catalog an item and then allow everyone else to copy it. Now, when a library gets a new item it is much easier to use copy cataloging and duplicate an already created record then creating a  new record yourself. The problem with this solution is that librarians are no longer learning all the in-depth knowledge about cataloging. The question is, is this a mistake? Should librarians be focusing more on cataloging? I'm not sure, but I do think it is interesting that there aren't that many cataloging classes offered at the ischool. When I asked an older librarian why librarians need a graduate degree she said "because they need to learn how to do things like catalog." She thought this was the most important piece of knowledge a librarian needs to know. 

So I'm not sure where cataloging stands in the future. I know that it will always be apart of librarianship and it will most likely always be taught in library schools, but to what depth? As I have yet to take a cataloging class, I have very little knowledge of cataloging, but it seems to me that this is a skill that needs to be focused on more. Though it may be easier to copy an already existing record, someone has to make that record in the first place right? What will happen if all the people trained in cataloging retire, then what do we copy?

More than Books

From my very first IST 511 class I learned that libraries are more than just books. I have learned that libraries and librarians are going beyond the collection centered worldview in which patrons achieve knowledge through picking up a book. That's not to say that books aren't important, but that they aren't the be-all, end-all of libraries. And while I have seen and heard of libraries facilitating knowledge through conversation I have also witnessed libraries and librarians who are holding on to the collection centered worldview with an iron fist. So when I read Barbecue? Flamenco Dancing? Learning Gets Interactive I actually got really excited.

Today a copy of American Libraries came in my mailbox and conveniently today was also the day that I had to sit around my apartment for hours on end waiting for the cable company to come by. So I had time to sit down at my desk and read through some of the articles. Right away an article caught my eye. The article was entitled Barbecue? Flamenco Dancing? Learning Gets Interactive. It was written by Judy Rosenfield about a recent program that was held at Louisville Free Public Library in Kentucky. The article discussed how Louisville Free Public Library had put on a How-To-Festival in which people could turn up at the library and be taught things like how to do magic tricks, or how to grill the perfect steak. The library noticed that it had a community that loved to learn new things, but often lacked the time and space to hold classes that would teach these new experiences. So the library saw a need and fulfilled it. According to the article, the library got over 100 people and community groups to volunteer their expertise and over 1000 people to come and participate (Rosenfield, 18). I thought this was a wonderful example of how libraries are more than books on shelves. This library saw that their patrons wanted to learn and have hands on experience so they brought in experts to facilitate a conversation, to help the patrons learn. Granted not every community wants to have a how-to festival, but the point is that libraries are listening to their communities and giving them programs that they want, regardless of whether it  relates to what people think of as typical library programs.


Rosenfield, J. (2012, Nov). Barbecue? flamenco dancing? learning gets interactive. American Libraries, 43(11/12), 18-19.