What about information literacy?

I read with interest a post to LM_Net a query from San Bernadino, California looking for suggestions to respond to a neighboring school re-shelving the entire library collection to reading levels for the reading program instead of Dewey order. Apparently a literacy coach has been charged with running the media center, and the decision was made to serve the school better by doing away with Dewey and shelving books according to their level. Now I am not such a stickler to think that a library cannot be successful if its resources are not shelved in Dewey order, but it does beg some questions:

Will the school end the use of investment in opacs? Circulation programs were really the turning point in bringing technology into most libraries, before the introduction of reading programs. Of course they have not been the end all-be all to what makes a library program successful, but they were a catalyst to our use of technology, promotion of subscription databases of refereed information, our investment into various electronic programs, and electronic equipment, and yes, even equipment management—everything suddenly had a barcode and was scannable.)

How will patrons find the books and resources that match their curriculum standards or research needs?? If the existing OPAC is kept, will the location field be adjusted to list reading level instead of dewey class?

What becomes of the materials that do not have a quiz? Will they be shelved instead by maybe Lexile level? Is it fair to ignore all the various leveling programs for material not having an AR or RC level? What about videos? What about assorted computer programs? What about my CD collection of National Geographic?

What will become of the reference collection?

Who is teaching students core concepts about research, information literacy, and ethical use of information, as outlined in Information Power? I’m all for implementing programs that promote reading and increase circulations stats, but not at the sacrifice of our library information literacy standards.

Is this a balanced library program?

I have many objections to this decision, and don’t think my school library is in any danger of this happening where I work. I will admit, however, that I have read with interest about libraries that have transformed their shelving system to resemble the “book store” approach. I have some of the same questions about this set up too, but I mildly have a fascination with the approach. From all I’ve read, these libraries (public, at that) are having extreme success, and the circulation stats have skyrocketed. But I’m still skeptical that a school library can adequately serve student achievement with this approach. And the bottom line in schools is student achievement.

“Richmon Open Bookstore Display.” Pesky Library’s Photostream. 14 October 2006. 15 September 2007

Come Ride the Wave of Web 2.0 and Information Fluency

Come Ride the Wave of Web 2.0 and Information Fluency
Cathy Nelson
cathyjonelson@gmail.com
Electronic Article from SCASL’s Media Center Messenger Back to School Issue

2.0 Changes on the Horizon
Do you handle change very well? Brace yourselves, fellow LMS’s, for a tidal wave of change is coming. Expert media specialist Alice Yucht paints this picture of information literacy today by asking this thought provoking question:
Remember when we were all talking about the Information Superhighway? It was the new mode of travel. What an interesting analogy, because a highway has definite entrances and exits and was built to go somewhere specific. Today, however, our kids are learning to swim in the information ocean. There are no entrances and exits clearly defined, with tsunamis in every direction, pools of dangerous sharks, and yet as teachers we are charged with guiding our students through it. So how do we prepare our students and teachers for their swim in the information ocean? What is the implication for us? We continue our instructional practices for information fluency while modeling the appropriate and ethical use of the new web 2.0 tools.

So what exactly is Web 2.0?
Googling “Web 2.0” returns at the top of the search an article from Tim O’Reilly titled “What is Web 2.0?” It explains the conceptual genesis of Web 2.0 and defines Web 2.0 technology/applications. Wikipedia tells us that although the term suggests a new version of the World Wide Web, it does not refer to an update to Web technical specifications, but to changes in the ways software developers and end-users use the web as a platform. Popular terms associated with Web 2.0 include blogs, podcasts, digital video sharing, wikis, and social book

marking, just to name a few. How many of us have heard of Wikipedia, Flickr, MySpace, and other popular Web 2.0 tools? I’m positive most of our kids are familiar with, if not already using many of them. The best explanation I was given at one time was this—The Internet at its birth was 1.0. We were consumers of information from the World Wide Web. Now we are at the next level, called Web 2.0. Web 2.0 means that instead of just using the WWW to find information hopefully from the experts, suddenly we can give back to the Internet. The Internet has become a forum for users, and Web 2.0 adopters are finding that the collaborative nature of these tools can be useful in getting information as well as sharing ideas. Just as we adopted film, then instructional television and videos, and online databases and information resources, so too must we adopt and model the Web 2.0 wave of resources. Joyce Valenza compares the adoption of Web 2.0 tools to the well-known story Stone Soup. Let’s recap the story.

According to the story, some soldiers come to a village, carrying nothing more than an empty pot. Upon their arrival, the villagers are unwilling to share any of their food stores with the hungry soldiers. The soldiers fill the pot with water, drop a large stone in it, and place it over a fire in the village square. One of the villagers becomes curious and asks what they are doing. The soldiers answer that they are making “stone soup”, which tastes wonderful, although it still needs a little bit of garnish to improve the flavor, which they are missing. The villager doesn’t mind parting with just a little bit to help them out, so it gets added to the soup. Another villager walks by, inquiring about the pot, and the soldiers again mention their stone soup, which hasn’t reached its full potential yet. The villager hands them a little bit of seasoning to help them out. More and more villagers walk by, each adding another ingredient. Finally, a delicious and nourishing pot of soup is enjoyed by all. The stone may or may not be reused in the next soup, and fortunately is not eaten.

What is the implication of this little story?
We are all being bombarded with Web 2.0, whether we like it or not. Some are more reluctant than others, but most would agree, change happens, whether you are ready or not. And so too does Web 2.0. So how does that affect the school library media specialist? Are we to drop our online database subscriptions and throw out our collection development plans, now that the “information ocean” of blogs, podcasts, and wikis seem to be the first and most popular resource our students turn to? Of course not! This is not a battle that we can win. So, just like the soldiers in the story mentioned previously, we must adopt and earn buy in. One of the dominant issues involved with student-use (and yes even adult-use) of online material centers on finding information, evaluating it, and using it ethically. Web 2.0 has not changed that. We still are charged with teaching students to evaluate and use information in an ethical manner.

So how do we embrace this tidal wave called Web 2.0?
We present ourselves as lifesavers. We embrace the tools, and begin to learn about them. We model their appropriate use. Remember all those pathfinders you spent endless hours creating for appropriate web resources? How many times have you had to return and edit these same static websites? This is a great opportunity to create a wiki pathfinder. Teach your teachers and students to use the wiki, and make the creation a collaborative effort where everyone is adding information. What an awesome way to model a wiki and how it works. Begin reading blogs. Create blogs to serve your purposes. Over and over I am seeing school LMS’s create blogs for state or local book clubs. Blogs can become the 2.0 version of your traditional book clubs and literature circles. Remember the story of the Stone Soup. Just like the soldiers who couldn’t get anyone to give them resources to make a meal, it will be difficult to get some teachers (and even media specialists) to jump in and provide meat to create something. BUT if we model using the tools—just like they modeled making soup with a stone, we may pique interest and stir up buy in. You can be the catalyst for your school using Web 2.0 tools.

Some of you may very well have noticed that these tools are being modeled through our association (SCASL) at the state level. There is a SCASL Blog, and Martha Alewine, our state department of education liaison for library media programs also maintains a blog. The new tools are being modeled for you even now. Don’t turn your back on the wonderful opportunities these tools will offer. I promise, your students are not. And please don’t fret if you don’t have a comfort level in Web 2.0 yet. Most of us learn by doing, and teacher-librarian guru Joyce Valenza proclaims that she is yet to be 2.0, and hovers right around 1.8. According to her, its okay to still be in beta on this. So now I know its okay to not totally know everything.

Tools to get started!

Recipe for beginning the journey into learning about Web 2.0 for Educators
(Best done if read through an RSS aggregator like Bloglines )

1 dose daily: Read blogs from the experts in the field daily:

Joyce Valenza’s Neverending Search Blog
David Warlick’s 2cents Worth
Doug Johnson’s Blue Skunk Blog

1 dose periodically: Read professional blogs and/or listen to podcasts from fellow LMS’s in SC!

SCASL Blogs
Valerie Byrd-Fort’s Blog: “Library Goddess”
Mary Haddon’s Untitled Professional Blog
Cathy Nelson’s TechnoTuesday Blog

1 dose periodically: School Library Blogs & Podcasts of interest!

@ the Northside Library
Bookin’ It: DFES Podcast
Dutchfork Middle School Media Center
DFES – The Book Blog

Blogging Programs for beginners:
These programs are free and offer you a chance to begin your own blog. They are not listed in any specific order, as all seem to have a simple interface and offer easy access to your own blog. Don’t feel pressured to create one if you are not ready. Instead, enjoy reading others.

Google’s Blogger
WordPress
Edublogs (by teachers, for teachers)

Citations:
Valenza, Joyce K. “Web 2.0 Meets Information Fluency.” 6 July 2007. http://informationfluency.wikispaces.com

“Web 2.0.” Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 6 July 2007, 18:56 UTC. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. 6 July 2007 . http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Web_2.0

Yucht, Alice. [Podcast] “SIGMS Forum at NECC: Alice Yucht.” 7 July 2007. http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/contents/
media/SLJ_SIGMSForum_AliceYucht.mp3?nid=3381

ALA wants it to be EASY to make leglislative contact

Click on this site (a part of the ALA site) to be able to EASILY make contacting your legislators about library issues! If you haven’t contacted them about the SKILLs Act, and your excuse was you didn’t exactly know who to contact, well ALA is addressing that excuse.
What is the SKILLs Act?

On Tuesday June 26, 2007, Senators Jack Reed (D-RI) and Thad Cochran (R-MS) and Representatives Raul Grijalva (D-AZ) and Vernon Ehlers (R-MI) introduced the Strengthening Kids’ Interest in Learning and Libraries (SKILLs) Act that guarantees students across America will be served by highly qualified, state-certified school library media specialists and will have the library resources they need to succeed.

Best, the site also let’s you know about issues that need ACTION now. Visit the site today to take action. All that is required is a few fill in the blanks and clicks. SO SIMPLE!

Ch-ch-ch-changes…

Notice anything different about the blog??? Our LOGO has changed! I love it.

Have you been to the SCASL website recently? Take a look…more changes there.