School Librarians Leadership

Why Librarians are needed?

Without doubt, librarians have been around for centuries. Different eras, differnet centuries bring along with them differenrt information. Consequently, there is need for different skills if one desires to acquire information.

In the 21st Century, dominated by both technology and the proliferation of information in an unprecedented manner, the main issue is of being "an information literate person".

The issue is not one of access. This does not mean that one need not learn digital skills. However, the real challenge lies in the type of information which exists. Not all information is correct and not all that is found online is acceptable or good enough to be used and shared.

Librarians are the persons who are trained in information handling, ethics, and a variety of other skills, such as digital, among others. They are the ones who guide students, teachers & parents into the information paradigm in order to identify, select, evaluate, use effectively and ethically and finally present information in an appropriate way.

Therefore, librarians are not just librarians. They have different roles to play. They support teachers in their subject, assist students in their information quest and help parents where lack of skills are present.

Librarians need to show leadership among other things in their role as educators.

I invite you to take a look at this clip.

Link

(This clip was posted on fb by Judy O'Connell - thank you Judy)

Digital Words

I also would like to contribute to the emerging discussion regarding 'the future of reading'.

Without doubt, this phenomenon will grow and will also start leaving its effect on society at large but particularly, we will start seeing the effect on our current teens - even the Gen Y.

This trend is fueled by the sophisticated technology which is being developed together with their possibilities and the 'always on' concept brought about. I will venture to add that the other concept which I would marry to this latter is, the 'always present'!

eReaders, tablets and mobile phones in their turn, has kept most of us sleepless and active all day long. The famous Ranghanathan said 'every book it's reader, and every reader it's book'. This can be equated to or linked to 'every user his tech and every tech it's user'.

Each user needs to identify own needs and decide which piece of technology will satisfy that particular need.

However, on the educational level, I believe that this trend will challenge the traditional 'textbook', since, the more our kids will be handling their 'tech', the more will they want to use it. To this end, we educators need to catch up the wave and use it to their advantage.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2012/jan/19/apple-unveils-ibooks-2-textbooks-ipad

Web 3.0 on the way!

Dear Reader,

If you are reading this Blog, then, you must be acquainted with Web 2.0...its benefits, tools, speed, collaboration, ect.
Yet, we are moving into Web 3.0 now! Internet is a fascinating Tool indeed, yet, it needs to be accessed with cautiousness and responsibly.

Here is the Link to a glimpse of the coming Web 3.0. It works on the principle of "Mashups". Though Mashups have been around for some time, this video provides a concrete way on how Mashups can be used effectively. It is all in real-time and therefore, up-to-date information is possible - more up-to-date than Web 2.0., in the sense that it is happening 'actually'.


The Link provided shows that the video was taken in 2010.