Teacher Librarians everywhere are having the same experiences, pondering the same questions, and collectively tackling Web 2.0.  The important thing here – the beauty of Web 2.0 – is that we aren’t alone.  Thanks to things like wikis and weblogs, we are able to learn and grow together.

One Teacher-Librarian I have a great deal of respect for is Joyce Valenza.  She is a role model for everyone, as she has taken her school library online, offering a ‘Virtual Library’.  She maintains a fabulous and informative blog ( NeverEndingSearch Blog )  and has recently started ‘Teacher Librarian Ning’ - an online community for Teacher Librarians and educators (for those who want to lead in new information landscapes).  I love it!  She describes it as a ”learning sandbox”, which seems a fitting analogy.  She is responsible for initiating many incredible projects, such as the Teacher Librarian Wiki (topics include: Web 2, School Library 2, Books, Info Lit & models). 

A Grade 4 Class Blog

A Gr. 8 Web Classroom (includes blog, podcast, studycast, class webpage)

A Book Blog (like a novel study but via blog)

A Library Skills Blog

Technology takes time.  That is what I have learned through this process.  It always takes longer than you think it will.  That being said, what specifically takes time is finding other sites to link to, or videos to share via YouTube, or technical difficulties that were more associated with setting the blog up in the beginning.   Now that the blog is up-and-running, it doesn’t seem that hard to continue, which I think I will.   If anything, it keeps a history of all the technological things I have discovered and considered with regards to schools.   Months from now if I want to refer back to an article or website, the link will be conveniently located in this blog.  Plus, I am hoping to generate discussion (comments) as I go.  

I think a good realization I have made is that incorporating technology isn’t too hard, and is really quite important to do.  I hope that my explorations through this blog lead to my use of technology in my library, and that this use of technology makes a positive impact on the lives of my students.

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  • ** Not Everything is on the Internet
  • ** The Needle (your search) in the Haystack (the Web)
  • ** Quality Control Doesn’t Exist

The list goes on, but I have singled out these 3 points because they also add to the definition of our changing role as teacher-librarians.   Admittedly, students from this generation feel most at home when searching for information on the Internet.    With this in mind, our roles in Library 2.0 need to include:

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  • ** Continuing to teach basic research and literacy skills (how to use a catalogue, how to find information in a resource, how to find the main points and supporting evidence, how to take notes and organize your thoughts, how to properly cite information)
  • ** Teach tools and strategies for effectively searching on the Web
  • ** Teach how to critically evaluate websites

In Library 2.0, you need to have a 2.0 Librarian, and it turns out this may be one of the greatest careers in 2007!  In an article on Kiplinger, I found a description of our changing role:

Librarian.   Forget about the image of librarian as mousy bookworm. Today’s librarian is a high-tech information sleuth, a master of mining cool databases (well beyond Google) to unearth the desired nuggets.

Someone once asked me if I see a future without books.   Personally, I don’t.   Although the Internet is a valuable tool, the benefits of books should not be understated.

Will people abandon books for the Internet?  Certainly not for personal reading – I don’t know anyone that wants to curl up on the couch with their monitor for some reading.  In schools, I still can’t imagine a library without books.   In any given day, I see students around the atlas, looking through World Book, curled up with a magazine or book, some reading together, some reading alone.  Personally, I experience a fatigue from staring at a computer screen for prolonged periods that I don’t experience when working with books.  

But never say never (unfortunately)… the “School of the Future” which is conveniently sponsored by Microsoft, has no books, papers, or pencils.  Everything is on the computer.   It makes you wonder – what would happen if there was an energy crisis in the future, and we found ourselves without electricity to meet the needs of our overwhelming population?  Society would be scrambling madly (try to think of everything you use in a day and what needs electricity) and where would I be?

Curled up with a book.