A Balanced Collection

The Importance of Books, Free Access, and Libraries as Places - and the dangerous inadequate of the information science paradigm by Thomas Mann (Wasn't that the name of the author in Field of Dreams) focuses on the apparent folly of the move from books to electronic means in libraries. This is a worthwhile article, which discusses a number of points in the debate. The reason I was attracted to the article, was as an extension of the Wikipedia debate.
There are a couple of points, one having to do with reading off the computer screen, which touched a chord. Most students, when faced with an article of more than 500 words, will print the article, and read from the printed copy. It seems that, if they are demonstrating a preference, the preference is in fact, to read from text, not computer. The preference for computer is in the search itself. We have all witnessed the pages spitting out of the printer, a slap in the face to the paperless society. The cost of this is either the student's, or library's to assume.
The second point has to do with the reading habits of students. Mann states that:

"To say that kids today are growing up comfortable with computers is simply not the same thing as saying kids today are comfortable reading and absorbing long narrative or expository works in screen display formats. What is happening is that young people are being accustomed to screen displays that require shorter rather than longer attention spans and that require less rather than more verbal understanding articulated in words.(FN14) The fact that copyright-free editions of most of the world's great books are now accessible online, for example, does not convince me that they are actually being read online. Doing keyword searches of their texts for particular passages is simply not the same as the much more important work of actually reading and absorbing their intellectual content as connected wholes."

I have been increasing concerned with the lack of focus demonstrated by students. If there is a problem with new media, it is the desire to simplify the complex. We have the prime examples of simplification in a number of elections running at present, where image is everything, and the soundbite is king. If we desire deeper understanding, than print is part of the process. It seems that the demise of the book is not at hand, according to Mann, "its not even sick."

I think that we should embrace the advantages of the new media, but we have to realize that there are advantages to the print versions, and try to seek a balance in collection development. We should also encourage the use of both print and electronic sources through the criteria we employ in research projects. That necessitates proper funding for both print and electronic access. It's not an either/or proposition.

Mann, Thomas. The importance of books, free access, and libraries as places--and the dangerous inadequacy of the information science paradigm : The Journal of Academic Librarianship, v. 27 no. 4 (July 2001) p. 268-81

Selection Evaluation and Maintenence

Boy, what an eye opener. The breadth of the print collection in the school library where I teach is impressive, but Much of it should be in a museum. Riedling states that "it is more important to have a small but relevant and up-to-date collection of materials than a large collection that is neither useful nor of good quality” (p. 21, text). I think that most of the collection would fall into the latter category. It seems that the school had a large influx of funds in 1990, since most if the encyclopedias, including some specialized sets - encyclopedia of philosophy, Encyclopedia of Human Behavior, all were copyright 1990. This was also true of the Atlases. There was only one Atlas, and one Encyclopedia Set that were from the last eight years. I would assume that the reliance on the web based versions were reason for the lack of investment in the print versions, but really, a 1990 Comptons Encyclopedia set, I'd weed, and I'm a pack rat. I do have a question, and that is, should specialized materials, like those above, be given a longer lease on shelf life, simply due to the fact that those materials will not be replaced with the frequency of regular encyclopedia sets, if at all, due to the funds available. Or is it really beneficial to have these sets at all.

The other thing I noticed was that newer editions did not replace the older, but were placed alongside, for example, the art history books. I would probably be inclined to do the same, with the space proviso, since the great masterpieces of art from the 1600's, aren't completely revised on an annual basis.

When I look at the library collection, and the recommended shelf life of materials, I'm inclined to think that I would be a little more flexible; Is it really better to have no print encyclopedia than one six years old. Of course, with the gaping whole where the set used to be, there is some incentive to place it on the top of the acquisitions list.

School Library Websites

School Library Website Components
Article by Odin Jurkowski
Odin Jurkowski examines the content of library websites, in the state of Missouri, to find what common elements they share, what content differences there are, and to make some recommendations on the content of school websites in general.. One of the links in the article is to award winning school library websites. Unfortunately, one of two secondary sites is a dead link. Jurkowski states "Simple and easy to follow structure is important. Don’t frustrate students by designing a flashy site that is difficult for them to use." but there is such a thing as good design, and I would suggest that much can be learned about making the site simple, yet attractive and intuitive.
I decided to look into Websites, because the students preferences for finding information on computer. It would seem only natural that the school library website should be the portal through which students access the resources to answer their questions. My school library doesn't have a discrete website, It is accessed through the school website through a link under resources labeled "media center". Once a student navigates to this point, there is a list of links, by subject or as identified by source, such as Encyclopedia Britannica. There seems to be many of the same features as talked about in the article, either on the school site, or on the library link, but the design is counter intuitive. If we are to talk about the importance of visual literacy, should this not be reflected in the website. The site at my school is buried in the school site, labeled as Media Center, rather than what the kids call it, a library, and basically lists resources, rather than creating some structure or hierarchy, with visuals or icons, to direct students to the resources they need. The medium is the message, we are failing to use the medium well.

Link to article: http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/pdf?vid=14&hid=7&sid=9c8eb611-13e2-44df-81c8-116ddd1b799d%40sessionmgr7

Library research models

So many names for what we are doing! The Stripling and Pitts model is probably the most detailed, but I'm wondering if this is necessarily a good thing. It seems that you want a model that the kids can follow, there are obviously little bits of the main steps that need to be followed, but they might be quick and easy, or more fully developed, depending on the grade level of the students and the research task at hand. It would be nice to have a single model that is accepted by the majority of the teachers who use the libraries resources, so that the model is reinforced, and becomes second nature to the students. It would be nice to be able, as a teacher, not to have to start the project with the explanation of the model, and definition of the terms, before getting to the task at hand. I realize, that with a student population of over 1000, and a large teaching staff, the likelihood of reaching consensus on the matter is optimistic, but if we, as teacher librarians, present a single model to teachers when planning the units, the chances of having useful overlap are improved. One blogger noted that she was unaware of what model or models were being used, this is the case with me as well, since I too am not presently working in the library. If it were my preference, I would use the big six model, a few big headings are best and cover the same ground.