Thing 15

I read all the articles. Some of them were very technical, but the article titled A Ripple Effect had some really interesting ideas. That school really transformed their library. The idea that laptops are available for checking out by students, 52 computers make up the island in the library, MP3 players and downloadable audio books can also be checked out... Wow! That really does make you think. Could we actually have libraries in Spring Branch that look like this? Away from the Icebergs suggests the idea that we no longer need to build library collections. Circulation in his library my be down, but I don't believe that's the case in my school. Our library thrives and is always full of students and teachers. Libraries need to continue to add to their print collections, but access to information through technology must continue to grow. Unfortunately, that may end at elementary school. I have middle and high school kids and they rarely get to use the libraries at their schools, let alone computers. They are far more cut off from technology than my 2nd graders have been. I agree that libraries need to change and that students have to be able to access information through computers and other technological means. My own children read and write more on the computer through blogs and messaging than they do in school. My son took classes at HCC this summer in order to get ahead in high school. His English teacher had the class write a 7-page research report as a major project. The students were not allowed to use the internet to get information. They were only able to use print sources. This is at a college campus!
It's exciting to see the changes that are coming for libraries. I hope we will be able to continue to grow as the technology is made available to schools.