Thoughts for Week One

I have started reviewing other library blogs and LM_Net to get a feel for what is being discussed in the world of libraries. I checked out the Blue Skunk Blog as well as The Unquiet Librarian.  On 8-19-09 the Blue Skunk Blog, Doug Johnson had a post discussing the characteristics of library past. He focused on how librarians now were going to miss out on things like using a typewriter, the card catalog, and of course the days without computers. I forget how much the library has changed since I am going to be a librarian who has done without these items. It makes me think about how much more the media center could change in the next 25 years.  I wonder if eBooks will show up more or if shelves themselves will slowly disappear. 

Yesterday, The Unquiet Librarian- Danah Boyd was sharing thoughts on using social networks like Facebook for students to use in class. She had read an article cautioning teachers not to let students use these communication tools because of the harmful affects.  She argued that it would be more harmful to continue to keep students from accessing these tools. She backed up her argument pretty clearly using a standard from the 21st Century Learning “Use social networks and information tools to gather and share information” (Skill 4.1.7).  I admit as a teacher I struggle trying to decide how to best use technology with my students but I agree that they need to be taught how to correctly use the tools at their hands. Students, especially middle school students, are social creatures and they can benefit from communicating and sharing ideas with one another. 

Finally, I was searching through the archives on LM_NET to see what issues librarians were dealing with.  I found two I was interested in. The first came from Lisa Weinstein on 6-01-09. She was looking for suggestions on religious material for her library. I can imagine that stcking religious material could be treading on thin ice in some schools. She made sure to purchase books from all religions though and I think that this is the only way to deal with religious books in the library. Keep the selection broad and have something for everyone. The other topic I found was from Jane Dodson on 6-02-09 on using Skype.  She was looking for another class willing to communicate with another class using Skype. I think this is a brilliant idea. I think it could be used in the library for researching or for book clubs. I think students could get a lot out of communicating in this way.