Designing the Virtual Space
Libraries are expanding from the walls of the library to the digital world. This is increasingly important as students are "born digital" with knowledge of "Facebook, Twitter pages, WORD documents, PDFs, spreadsheets, all kinds of digital documents" (English).
Librarians must continue to curate a collection, but that collection cannot be entirely made up of physical materials. The students, and even the youngest teachers, are "digital natives." While hard copies books still show popularity and will continue to do so, particularly in fiction, the population of school library users will be more computer savvy and expect more digital offerings than those in the past.
These are some of the essential areas to cultivate:
Librarians must continue to curate a collection, but that collection cannot be entirely made up of physical materials. The students, and even the youngest teachers, are "digital natives." While hard copies books still show popularity and will continue to do so, particularly in fiction, the population of school library users will be more computer savvy and expect more digital offerings than those in the past.
These are some of the essential areas to cultivate:
The Digital Collection
E-books: With an unlimited budget, one could potentially subscribe to every paid database, have a subscription service to all of the book apps available, subscriptions to licensed streaming services and boundless student-aimed seminars and tutorials. But even with a significant budget, one could easily go overboard. Here are some of the best digital offerings:
Overdrive is an excellent way to go with digital books because it is usable for Kindle as well as Apple, PC, and android products.
Video streaming: Discovery Education is a great tool for streaming education related videos in class and in the library, especially the United Streaming element.
Tutorial and Seminars: Become familiar with Khan Academy, and recommend it and similar sites to students for targeted tutorials. Have students create their own using that shiny new HD video camera you bought and share them to the website.
E-books: With an unlimited budget, one could potentially subscribe to every paid database, have a subscription service to all of the book apps available, subscriptions to licensed streaming services and boundless student-aimed seminars and tutorials. But even with a significant budget, one could easily go overboard. Here are some of the best digital offerings:
Overdrive is an excellent way to go with digital books because it is usable for Kindle as well as Apple, PC, and android products.
Video streaming: Discovery Education is a great tool for streaming education related videos in class and in the library, especially the United Streaming element.
Tutorial and Seminars: Become familiar with Khan Academy, and recommend it and similar sites to students for targeted tutorials. Have students create their own using that shiny new HD video camera you bought and share them to the website.
The Library as a Digital Space-Bibliocommons:
Libraries themselves are becoming increasingly social spaces. As Jay Granger notes in a Newswork article on the future of the library field, "Shushing in the digital age will just get spit on your computer screen" (English). Think of a social networking aspect combined with an online catalog--a place to write reviews, interact with other students and staff about books, engage in breakout book clubs from the comfort of their own homes. Library staff can create reading lists, provide student's with advice, and place holds on library books.
For an excellent example of an interactive library website, check out Marin County Library's interactive online catalog. It does take time and money to create and update this sort of catalog, but it will be a much more used space than the basic catalog that many library's use. As San Rafael Public Library Director Sarah Houghton notes, "“Imagine if Goodreads and Amazon had a baby. That’s BiblioCommons” (Avants).
Libraries themselves are becoming increasingly social spaces. As Jay Granger notes in a Newswork article on the future of the library field, "Shushing in the digital age will just get spit on your computer screen" (English). Think of a social networking aspect combined with an online catalog--a place to write reviews, interact with other students and staff about books, engage in breakout book clubs from the comfort of their own homes. Library staff can create reading lists, provide student's with advice, and place holds on library books.
For an excellent example of an interactive library website, check out Marin County Library's interactive online catalog. It does take time and money to create and update this sort of catalog, but it will be a much more used space than the basic catalog that many library's use. As San Rafael Public Library Director Sarah Houghton notes, "“Imagine if Goodreads and Amazon had a baby. That’s BiblioCommons” (Avants).
References
Avants, M. (2016, August). Marin libraries unveils new interactive online catalog. Patch. Retrieved from http://patch.com/california/sanrafael/marin-libraries-unveil-new-interactive-online-catalog.
English, T. (2016, January). How young librarians are figuring out the field's future. Newsworks. Retrieved from http://www.newsworks.org/index.php/local/the-pulse/89910-how-young-librarians-are-figuring-out-the-future.
English, T. (2016, January). How young librarians are figuring out the field's future. Newsworks. Retrieved from http://www.newsworks.org/index.php/local/the-pulse/89910-how-young-librarians-are-figuring-out-the-future.