The Role of the School Library in the 21st Century

The Role of the School Library in the 21st Century

If you're like me, you probably remember visits to the elementary school library to learn how to use the encyclopedia and other reference books. And what about that card catalog?

It seems we've come a long way since print resources were king, but while the way we access information has changed, the core mission of the school library has not.

We are doing ourselves and our students a disservice if we fall victim to the illusion that in the digital age finding information and doing research is easier than ever. Yes, information is more readily available, but the skills needed to critically evaluate the quality of resources is not.

In 1997, a journalist named David Shenk published a book titled Data Smog. One idea he puts forth is that the sheer volume of information we encounter each day can be counterproductive. Rather than making it easier to find information, it is now harder to connect with the information we actually need. I think about this a lot and how overwhelmed our students must feel when we ask them to research a topic without providing the guidance needed to do so effectively.

I once read that one weekday issue of the New York Times contains more information than a person living in the 16th century would have received in their entire lifetime. Granted, life in the 1500s was very different than our lives today, but I find the comparison astounding, particularly when you consider that one issue of the New York Times is just a drop in the bucket compared to the vast quantity of information produced each day. 

As the information revolution has taken hold, libraries have gone through an unusual phenomenon of both growing and shrinking. The physical collection in the library, particularly nonfiction, has dwindled. In our library alone, I've removed thousands of nonfiction titles in the last five years because they just aren't being used. At the same time, the amount of quality, reliable sources available digitally has grown exponentially. We need to teach our students how to leverage this boundless amount of knowledge.

If you aren't already familiar with the NHS database collection, it might be worth a few moments of exploration. Not sure where to start or what type of information you're going to find? Check out the About our Databases page. I am also happy to assist any teacher, student or class with help learning to better use these resources. 

Pictures used on this page are from Pixabay and are shared according to the conditions of the Pixabay License.