August 2007 — Features
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The New Librarians
One such title holder is Joyce Valenza of Springfield Township High School in Erdenheim, PA. Valenza has actually created a chart that documents the changes to school libraries over the years (see Links, page 28). Here are some examples from it:
- Reference sources: from encyclopedias, CD databases, books, magazines, and newspapers to Wikipedia, Google, Ask.com, MapQuest, subscription databases, and e-books
- Modes of communication: from letters, phone calls, and e-mail to cell phones, texting, social networking, blogs, and wikis
- Service: from personal interaction with staff at the desk to expectations of immediate and continual service at school, home, or anywhere else
- Student projects: from term papers, essays, dioramas, and speeches to PowerPoint presentations, podcasts, video editing, teleconferencing, and digital storytelling
- Collections: from books, magazines, filmstrips, cassette tapes, and software on disk to e-books, streaming audio and video, blogs, webcasts, podcasts, software, and web-based applications
Naturally, the physical space has changed too: Before, there were desks and chairs and the centerpiece card catalog. Now there's room in the library for events, group planning, microphones, cameras, and, of course, computers. And the card catalog? Whisked away to a new home online.
“Twenty years ago, you checked out books, got a story from the librarian, and that was really about it. [Now] we’re a portal for the kids. We’re information brokers.”—Linda Miller, Blattman Elementary School
Valenza isn't just charged with managing the physical grounds and all of the attendant hardware. She also oversees Spring- field's virtual library, which allows users to perform a host of functions—everything from linking to the school's home page, to searching for information about colleges and careers, to downloading lessons and handouts and submitting papers. Valenza says the school's students are now becoming friendly with blogs and wikis, so they can engage in task-focused online discussions. She has several of them engaged in a literature blog.
"When they discuss their enthusiasm about writing," Valenza says, "it's stunning. They're concerned about people seeing their work." It's not unheard of, she says, to see comments posted at 2 in the morning. She even has a friend who created a wiki for his daughter's lacrosse team, and it resulted in more than 300 discussions. Valenza says working with technology engages students, but also has a practical benefit: "We're modeling how the tools can be used in your real life—how you present yourself digitally."
