Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Group meeting 09/15
Productive group meeting today. My project went through some major evolutions. At first I was going to do a catalog returns promotion study but I kept encountering issues with being able to tie technology into the thesis. Then I went the route of building a blog to help teachers better understand and work with new technologies, only to run into the issue of exactly how to tie that into the library. However after a visit to my school's website I discovered that they are in dire need of an overhaul for the library page. The page literally consists of a single page with a paragraph on it and little little little information about anything, including the school's new librarian this term. I decided this is an issue that is in need of attention so I decided to run with the idea of buffing up the library site! This way I can include more features (educational links, information about the new librarian, book reviews, book fair info, suggestion boxes, surveys, contact info, images etc.) to truly put the media center online and make it useful to teacher and student patrons alike. Plus this would be good experience for myself as I've never created a webpage before!
Thursday, September 9, 2010
Librarian Interview
I met with Ann Eddens, the new librarian at Moravian Falls Elementary School, yesterday afternoon for my interview. I came into the library noticing instant improvements since I had done my interim there last Spring. Miss Eddens had weeded out all the haggard texts, re-organized the circulation desk, and even painted over the former hideous green motif of the south wall of the library. While this was Miss Eddens’ first term at this particular school she has been a practicing librarian for three and a half years after obtaining her masters degree through ASU. It was clear from the immensely improved setup of the media center that she knew her craft well and even found enjoyment in it. My first tech question for her was what technologies were utilized in the library. She provided this list:
Follett Circulation Catalog
1 - Smart Board
1 - Inventory Scanner
1 - Checkout Scanner
1 - LCD Projector
1 - Document Camera
4 - Student Computers
Granted, Moravian Falls is a small school, but I next asked if she felt this technology was adequate enough for the students needs. Miss Eddens said she felt that it wasn’t quite enough. She would prefer that there be at least ten more student computers, along with space in which to place them. Miss Eddens told me that much of the student body was made up of bi-lingual students and that the library catalog contained a large selection of Spanish and bi-lingual books for the students. I asked if the students ever had difficulty working with the media center computers. According to her, only around three out of every five students had enough knowledge to work comfortably with the computers. Among these skilled students, most were upper grade children in the fourth and fifth grade levels. For the Kindergarten through third grade levels she said that she used a visual OPAC with images to help them with the catalog system. Miss Eddens said it was her opinion that technology was extremely important to libraries and that she often kept up with the advancement of new technology through monthly district media meetings, professional literature, and word of mouth. It’s also her opinion that self checkout is a myth, my sentiments exactly! Thinking back to our weekly reading I asked her if she thought that librarians were in danger of becoming obsolete. Her quick answer was no, someone will always be needed to teach new technology to learners.
Follett Circulation Catalog
1 - Smart Board
1 - Inventory Scanner
1 - Checkout Scanner
1 - LCD Projector
1 - Document Camera
4 - Student Computers
Granted, Moravian Falls is a small school, but I next asked if she felt this technology was adequate enough for the students needs. Miss Eddens said she felt that it wasn’t quite enough. She would prefer that there be at least ten more student computers, along with space in which to place them. Miss Eddens told me that much of the student body was made up of bi-lingual students and that the library catalog contained a large selection of Spanish and bi-lingual books for the students. I asked if the students ever had difficulty working with the media center computers. According to her, only around three out of every five students had enough knowledge to work comfortably with the computers. Among these skilled students, most were upper grade children in the fourth and fifth grade levels. For the Kindergarten through third grade levels she said that she used a visual OPAC with images to help them with the catalog system. Miss Eddens said it was her opinion that technology was extremely important to libraries and that she often kept up with the advancement of new technology through monthly district media meetings, professional literature, and word of mouth. It’s also her opinion that self checkout is a myth, my sentiments exactly! Thinking back to our weekly reading I asked her if she thought that librarians were in danger of becoming obsolete. Her quick answer was no, someone will always be needed to teach new technology to learners.
Meeting
Our group meeting mainly consisted of our members bouncing the ideas of our projects off of each other. Sara and Mary’s were particularly impressive as they both are seeking to teach school instructors about new technologies - which is actually providing a credit to the instructors. These will definitely go over well because it gives an instant benefit to the learners. As for my own project I’m encountering some hurtles with. I want to work on the issue of getting better circulation returns; as this was a major issue at my school last year. The problem I’m having currently is the question of just how can I apply technology to this issue? I would like to conduct some kind of survey with the school’s teachers to get their thoughts on promoting returns, but I’m not sure what tool to use for this. Any thoughts comrades?
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Reflections on Chapters 1
This Book Is Overdue:
I must say I was struck by how amusingly well-written this book is. I dare say it reads like a novel, but instead of chacters, settings, plots, and token artistic pretensions, we are fed compelling real-world information. For this alone, Marilyn Johnson receives the highest kudos from me. Johnson (a former obituary writer no less) has obviously done extensive research here as she cites the stories of numerous librarians from around the country. Anyway, I'm rambling like a slacker who's only read the back cover, on to Chapter One! The thing that struck me most surprising in the first chapter is the fact that librarians have been such innovators in the world of research and technology. Fred Kilgour, for example, started out with the first system to combine his library's catalogue into a computerized database. This little innovation in turn snowballed into a phenomenon that would become the standard practice of all libraries around the globe. Another little revelation for me, the fact that librarians for small towns around our nation are often the source of information for local history. Jeanette Moodie, the librarian for Deadwood, South Dakota maintains a literal vault of the towns extensive history and stands as the "outlet" through which local history is obtained. Quite a change from the cliche of stuffy old women who silence talkers as they brood behind a desk!
Library 2.0:
Ok, admittedly, I'm not as affectionate toward this text as the previous, but the first chapter of Library 2.0 and Beyond does have some interesting points about the advance of technology and research. Although there doesn't seem to be one set definition for Web 2.0 (as this phantom technology movement is titled by many) I have a tendancy to lean toward Tim Berners-Lee's concept of it as a connecting of people via technological advances. As stated in the chapter, it's not so much a revelation of technology's use by society, but rather the continuing evolution of technology and society connecting to share information. This is largely via the internet and social websites (Facebook, Ebay, Yahoo, Wikipedia etc.) that exist to share information with people from all walks of life. Then, there is the term Library 2.0 which applies much the same principles of sharing information via technology to the library system. Again, like Web 2.0 the term Library 2.0 is also a subject of debate. T. Scott Plutchak for example even goes as far as to call Library 2.0 a "meaningless" term. Personally, while I don't consider the term itself to be meaningless I do lean toward his idea that technological advances in the library system are not a "radical" change but rather a continuing evolution, much like Web 2.0. Either way libraries are definitely a center of change in the on-going passage of technology into our daily lives.
I must say I was struck by how amusingly well-written this book is. I dare say it reads like a novel, but instead of chacters, settings, plots, and token artistic pretensions, we are fed compelling real-world information. For this alone, Marilyn Johnson receives the highest kudos from me. Johnson (a former obituary writer no less) has obviously done extensive research here as she cites the stories of numerous librarians from around the country. Anyway, I'm rambling like a slacker who's only read the back cover, on to Chapter One! The thing that struck me most surprising in the first chapter is the fact that librarians have been such innovators in the world of research and technology. Fred Kilgour, for example, started out with the first system to combine his library's catalogue into a computerized database. This little innovation in turn snowballed into a phenomenon that would become the standard practice of all libraries around the globe. Another little revelation for me, the fact that librarians for small towns around our nation are often the source of information for local history. Jeanette Moodie, the librarian for Deadwood, South Dakota maintains a literal vault of the towns extensive history and stands as the "outlet" through which local history is obtained. Quite a change from the cliche of stuffy old women who silence talkers as they brood behind a desk!
Library 2.0:
Ok, admittedly, I'm not as affectionate toward this text as the previous, but the first chapter of Library 2.0 and Beyond does have some interesting points about the advance of technology and research. Although there doesn't seem to be one set definition for Web 2.0 (as this phantom technology movement is titled by many) I have a tendancy to lean toward Tim Berners-Lee's concept of it as a connecting of people via technological advances. As stated in the chapter, it's not so much a revelation of technology's use by society, but rather the continuing evolution of technology and society connecting to share information. This is largely via the internet and social websites (Facebook, Ebay, Yahoo, Wikipedia etc.) that exist to share information with people from all walks of life. Then, there is the term Library 2.0 which applies much the same principles of sharing information via technology to the library system. Again, like Web 2.0 the term Library 2.0 is also a subject of debate. T. Scott Plutchak for example even goes as far as to call Library 2.0 a "meaningless" term. Personally, while I don't consider the term itself to be meaningless I do lean toward his idea that technological advances in the library system are not a "radical" change but rather a continuing evolution, much like Web 2.0. Either way libraries are definitely a center of change in the on-going passage of technology into our daily lives.
Thursday, August 26, 2010
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