 Not your father's library
By Ria Mastromatteo, Educational Technology Consultant ()
I had a research paper due. I went to the library, checked the card catalog and Reader's Guide to Periodicals. If I were really daring, I'd look at microfiche entries.
This is a scenario as old as I am (and that's pretty old!). But alas, times change!
A study from USA Today found that "94 percent of online teens use the Net for school research and 71 percent say it's a major source of information for school projects." More and more schools are transforming learning from passive listening to active participation. This has necessitated a change not only in the classroom teacher, but also in the support needed by the media specialist. Libraries have become media centers where students are learning information literacy and critical thinking skills.
Media specialists have always been a support to classroom teachers, but they now have to talk a "new language." Web site development, virtual libraries, web reference material, searching techniques, collaborative curriculum planning and much more have become the province of the media specialist.
A library media specialist is trained to select and catalog material. With the new technologies, it is important students be taught to do these same things. The students are now responsible for determining the accuracy and the authority of information they are using. It's crucial for students to be able to evaluate what they are finding on the Internet.
The mission of the media specialist remains the same. They need to be sure that students (and teachers) are effective users of information. The medium, however, has been altered significantly. I am constantly impressed by how media specialists and teachers have embraced this challenge. You shouldn't be depressed about what we don't know. You should be uplifted by the changes you have made and the new ways you are approaching this ever-changing environment.
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