By Tim Staal
ACHIEVING LIBRARY 2.0
This article is a continuation of our exploration of what conditions are essential for a library to begin moving toward a Library 2.0. In the last column I explored the idea of the culture of the library being one that moves beyond a place that serves as simply a repository of information. In addition to having a culture of information use and creation, there are several other factors that are essential.
A good resource to explore many of those factors is the “SL21: Michigan School Libraries for the 21st Century”. Developed by a cooperative effort with members of MAME, MACUL, and the REMC Association and endorsed by the Library of Michigan in 2010, SL21 “is a tool to help measure the quality of school library programs within individual school buildings in Michigan”. Using the SL21 criteria, school administrators and librarians can evaluate their programs and find ways to improve them. The SL21 tool is administered by the Library of Michigan, as part of the Michigan Department of Education. Information about the program and downloadable copies of the materials can be found within the Department of Education website:
www.michigan.gov/sl21.
Here in India, I’m finding that we don’t have the kind of aggregated resources that are available there in Michigan. We have no volume buy program, so everything we buy we need to negotiate ourselves to find decent prices. Of course, prices in general are higher here for most materials, except those produced locally. Over the years, however, the library staff has accumulated a pretty good collection of materials. We have a sizable print book collection, included a special collection on India, and we also subscribe to a good collection of online research databases and ebooks, but even with a pretty healthy budget devoted to that purpose, we do not have the depth and breadth of materials that you folks back in Michigan have. In order for students to move beyond just accessing information in the traditional library mode, it is important for a Library 2.0 to have those print and digital materials, so that students can learn to access and use a variety of resources.
“
...the next most important factor in moving a library towards the future is having the right resources, both print and digital, that enable the students and staff to find the information that they need
In my humble opinion, the next most important factor in moving a library towards the future is having the right resources, both print and digital, that enable the students and staff to find the information that they need. In Michigan, we have benefited from some collaborative efforts that have resulted in huge savings in the procurement of those resources. The $AVE Bid Project from the REMC Association of Michigan,
www.remcbids. org/ enables schools to purchase supplies, equipment, software and other materials at a volume discount. In addition, MeL (Michigan eLibrary),
http://mel.org/ gives students, teachers and all the citizens of Michigan access to a vast array of digital resources. In addition to ebooks, research databases with full text magazine and newspaper articles, and Michigan History primary source material, MeL offers lesson plans and curriculum aids for schools through the M.O.R.E (Michigan Online Resources for Educators) portal.
http://more.mel.org/
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Part of that is to support the International Baccalaureate Program,
www.ibo.org/diploma/, which puts a high priority on critical thinking and research with their extended essay requirements. I know there are a number of IB schools in Michigan as well. Another important part is to support our greater community. In many respects, our library at the American School of Bombay,
www.asbindia.org/, serves essentially as the public library for our parents and staff members as well. Because of that, our collection includes some other materials that are not often found in school libraries, such as a good travel book collection. ASB is also a one-to-one school where each student and teacher has, at the very least, a laptop computer. Since we are also a BYOD school, many of us bring additional devices as well, with lots of iPads, Galaxy Tabs, etc. Each individual, including parents, can register two devices for connecting to the private network and the public network is open to all. So we have and use lots of digital resources within our school as well.
One final piece of information to share is that a new Special Interest Group, MACUL SIGLIB, is being organized for those interested in the present and future roles of school libraries. Look for more information in future editions of this journal.
People interested in more information about the Library 2.0 concept may want to explore this web site: Library 2.0: the future of libraries in the digital age,
www.library20.com/.
Tim Staal is a past-president of MACUL and formerly the Executive Director of MAME. He is currently living in Mumbai, India, where he is serving as Head Librarian at the American School of Bombay:
www.asbindia.org/. Tim’s Email:
tstaal@gmail.com.
Winter 2013
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MACULJOURNAL
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