Virtual School Libraries Pave an Exciting Path to the Future

For those of us that are not teacher-librarians, it would appear that libraries have changed a great deal, and we have taken some of these changes for granted. The other day, my grade sixes and I were reading ‘Library Lion’ by Michelle Knudeson and Kevin Hawkes (Candlewick, 2006) and discovered a reference to the card catalogue. I paused, and couldn’t remember the last time I used a card catalogue. And clearly, my students have never heard of such a ridiculous thing! While I tried to explain the beauty and simplicity of the system, I realized how much libraries have changed in the past 20 years. I admit that while I love children’s books, and could spend hours in libraries, I hadn’t given a great deal of conscious thought to the changes in libraries since I was in school. We now take systems like OPAC for granted when we want to locate a book in the library, and we complete online searches on search engines or databases many times each day. The most striking change in recent years appears to be the convergence of these tools in school libraries; outside the quiet walls of the library, no less!

While searching for information about virtual school libraries online I encountered a perfect scenario which brings the efficacy of virtual libraries to life (Goliath: Business Knowledge online) "Brandon realizes that his biology research project on genetics is due tomorrow. It is Sunday evening, 6 p.m. No problem! He logs on to the Internet, opens his Web browser, goes to his school library Web site, and clicks on the pathfinder created collaboratively by his library media specialist and classroom teacher. Using their suggestions, he finds basic information in an encyclopedia through Grolier Online, and journal articles and newsletters from the SIRS Knowledge Source and Infotrac Student Edition. Through the library's online catalog, he reads portions of a few Follett e-books on genetics. To finish off his research, he visits a couple of the Web sites suggested in the pathfinder. Works cited? Referring to the works cited section of the school library Web site, he soon has his references listed in complete MLA format."

Access to quality information 24/7! ‘Goliath’ offers an alternate scenario which highlights an additional benefit of virtual school libraries: If it were not for a well-structured virtual school library, created by a knowledgeable librarian, it is likely that Brandon still would have been able to complete the project. A simple online search would yield at least one source loosely relating to the topic, in adult terms, complete with a chart or graph which could easily be printed. But this is where the work of a librarian is essential. The information available on the world wide web, via search engines such as Google, is measureless. In this culture, students need guidance toward effective search strategies, reliable sources, proper referencing, and quality references. This can be done via virtual school libraries.

The students we encounter in schools today use technology as a way of life. As a general rule, they are familiar with basic computer skills, the Internet, networking, and a variety of other proficiencies of which we are inevitably unaware. Marc Prensky claims to have coined the term ‘digital natives.’ In his article, ‘Listen to the Natives’ (Educational Leadership, December 2005/January 2006, v.63,n4), Prensky asserts that "They are native speakers of technology, fluent in the digital language of computers, video games, and the Internet." We do not need to worry about teaching them the skills necessary to navigate a virtual school library. Instead, we need to create the opportunity for students to seek, find and utilize the information they need, when they need it. Another expert in this area and teacher-librarian in Pennsylvania, Joyce Kasman Valenza reminds us that educators and librarians still have a role to play in this technology-rich situation: "Although students are often technologically proficient, they know little about technology as it relates to academic research." (‘The Virtual Library’, Educational Leadership, v63, n4)). Virtual school libraries are an effective way of doing so, using the skills students already posess, and the vehicle the already desire.

During my research, a number of sources advocated the importance of ensuring that libraries remain relevant and useful for today’s students, teachers, and communities. As Prensky bluntly puts it "If our schools in the 21st century are to be anything more than holding pens for students while their parents work, we desperately need to find ways to help teachers integrate kids' technology-rich after-school lives with their lives in school."

By definition, Sarah Houghton’s explanation of Library 2.0 acknowledges collaboration and response to community needs as integral in a virtual library:
"Library 2.0 simply means making your library’s space (virtual and physical) more interactive, collaborative, and driven by community needs. Examples of where to start include blogs, gaming nights for teens, and collaborative photo sites. The basic drive is to get people back into the library by making the library relevant to what they want and need in their daily lives…to make the library a destination and not an afterthought."

While searching online, I was blown away by two Virtual School Libraries in particular. The first is McLurg School Library, from Regina, Saskatchewan. I discovered the site on my own before exploring the WebLinks for our class, and was so impressed, amazed and inspired, that I e-mailed Rhonda Wills, the teacher-librarian and webmaster. I thought she deserved to know the impact that her website is having on others: I immediately understood the capabilities and possibilities for virtual school libraries, and was even inspired to consider a teacher-librarianship in the future. Created for an elementary school, the website provides resources for students, parents and teachers while at the same time encouraging those groups to use the physical library for resources and learning.
The second virtual library for a school that is the epitome of the craft, is from Springfield Township Library in Pennsylvania. The Library Information Specialist at the school is Joyce Kasman Valenza, a well-known and well-respected expert in the field, with countless of published articles and several blogs including ‘NeverEnding Search’ for SchoolLibraryJournal, and a new Britannica blog beginning on October 20 with Mike Wesch among others. The school library website is nothing less than magical and intellectually stimulating. The format of the site encourages visitors to explore and to use the tools available to them for both inspiration and answers.

Valenza’s website for Springfield Township School does exactly what she suggests possible in ‘The Virtual Library:’ "A virtual library can also become an integral part of the instructional culture of the school. Serving as a school's instructional archive, the site shares collaboratively developed lessons, WebQuests, rubrics, handouts, and organizers." It is a site for students, parents, teachers and other members of the Web 2.0 community – a hub, a portal, a bridge, a foundation and a springboard.

After a week of research and exploration, I am convinced of the power of a virtual school library. A few benefits of online sites for school libraries are:
-the ability to keep up with the pace of publishing, both online and print materials
-more cost effective to maintain/subscribe to online collections vs print collections as funding as decreased or, at best, stayed the same.
-we, and students, are becoming used to ‘pod’ methods of gathering information and resources – ‘personal, on-demand.’ The limitations of searching for print material in a single (or worse, multiple!) building(s) during operational hours is becoming more and more out of date.

For my students and myself, the implications of virtual school libraries are numerous. Our school does not currently have a virtual aspect beyond OPAC, but we do have two wireless portable laptop labs. These laptops offer students and teachers opportunities to explore online databases, and WebQuests. Our school also hosts a website with excellent links for students, and an interactive site for students and parents to access up-to-the-minute information, forms, marks, etc. Using the laptops, students would benefit from using basic and reliable research tools, and refining search skills. Inspired by virtual school libraries, teachers may collaborate using delicious.com and a shared server at school. As a classroom teacher, I will not soon be creating a virtual school library. But now that I know what is available, and what students may be working with in the future, I can do my best to prepare them for these tools. I can share these virtual school libraries with them as resources, and can do my best to help students to see the relevance of our current library. I certainly see the benefits of and motivation to create a virtual school library in the future, however. It is the direction information technology is most certainly heading. Until then, we evolve with the information and technology of our time, and try desperately try to keep up with our students. We must be patient, however. Afterall, Birch Lane Virtual Library reminds us:
Libraries are not made; they grow." --Augustine Birrell