21st+Century+Librarian

I have spent a great deal of time lately thinking about what a 21st Century teacher- librarian is. How are libraries changing and how do teacher-librarians need to change to meet this paradigm shift? What do 21st Century libraries look like? How will students use the library? What is the new role of a 21st Century teacher-librarian?

I walked into our local public library and went to check out the adult reference section. I wanted to see what was there. What I found should not have surprised me, but it really did; surprised to the point of shocking me. The reference section was almost bare. It consisted of sets of technical references for engines, some medical references a few provincial references and not much else. There was an entire stack empty and bare looking at me. I headed for the children's reference section and found it was 1/3 of the size it was when my children were young. It consists of a new set of People, Land and Places and a new set of World Book Encyclopedias and whatever else was there I do not actually remember. This is in part, a look into the 21st Century library. Where is the reference material? Online in a database.

Our library also has a tab on its webpage that is called Library to go.It is part of a province wide ebook database where patrons can borrow ebooks that are downloadable onto the patron's ereader. Another look into the 21st Century library. So what will my school library look like?

__ THE 21ST CENTURY LEARNER __
media type="youtube" key="Fnh9q_cQcUE" height="390" width="480" If we are discussing what ﻿ a 21st Century library should look like, then we need to understand what a 21st Century learner is like. If we are teaching digital natives, students who have grown up with technology, then we need to move our pedagogy from the factory model into the present. If our students are going to be changing careers multiple times, we need to teach them to be able to reinvent themselves, to think outside the box - critical thinking, creativity, and tenacity. A sense of empowerment and self-motivation that allows them to take ownership of their learning, which will need to be lifelong, and to be fearless in this. In order to do this it requires a paradigm shift in our pedagogy. We need to teach differently. We need to let go of that all encompassing 'teacher power' and trust ourselves, that we know what we are doing, and the students in that they will get to where they need to go with our //guidance// not our dominance. Stop telling them too much and let them figure out things on their own. We do not have the 'tableau blanc' student who comes to class empty and we fill them up with knowledge. We are now in an era where we are the co-constructors of knowledge with our students.

__ 21st CENTURY LIBRARY __


The school library contributes to the academic achievement of students, a fact that has been empirically documented. The library plays a vital role in empowering our students to take ownership of their learning and to become lifelong learners. It is a place where ebooks, audio books and traditional books exist together. It is the place to foster a love of reading; fiction or non-fiction, digital or in print. It is a place of databases instead of traditional reference sections. It is in the library that [|information literacy] skills are taught. The library is the place where students learn to find, evaluate, use and communicate information whether it is in a book or on the Internet.It is the place where they //should// be taught how to search for and evaluate the wealth of information found on the internet. It is where those information literacy skills are put to use in inquiry-based research projects. The library is the hub of support to both teachers and students by providing assistance with the best of the technologies available through staff that are knowledgeable in the use of those technologies and in assisting/supporting others in using them.

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__ 21ST CENTURY TEACHER-LIBRARIAN __




If we know what a 21st Century learner is and what a 21st Century library looks like, what then is a 21st Century librarian? Well he or she is definitely not your mother's librarian!

[|Gunther Kress](2003) states that we are moving from a paper-based literacy to a screen-based one (in Kist, 2010, 2) and as librarians, we need to make that shift as well in order to prepare students for a world "gone flat" (Kist, 2). I am going to approach the role of teacher-librarian in a manner following William Kist. In his book, The Socially Networked Classroom: Teaching in the New Media Age (2010), Kist uses a metaphor through the book to connect his concepts. That metaphor is that of the size of cups from Starbucks coffee shops: short, tall, grande, venti & he ends with 'refill'. Kist has used this metaphor to describe the levels of technology use and comfort in school. Schools with low levels of technology or schools were there is a lot of technology but teacher who do not use it or are comfortable with it are connected to the metaphor of a 'short' cup. Kists gives examples of some technology that teachers in a 'short' technology environment could begin using, hopefully without a great deal of angst and/or stress. I think this is a stellar metaphor for dealing with technology as a teacher-librarian. It can describe both the teacher-librarian and/or the school environment.

Another expert source I have been investigating for the role of 21st Century teacher-librarian is Joyce Valenza's Manifesto for 21st Century School Librarians: you know your a 21st century librarian when.... This manifesto was a great deal of help to me to work out what my changing role as teacher-librarian is evolving into. I was very happy to discover that I am, somehow intuitively, heading in the right direction. I also have used Ms. Valenza's ideas very heavily for this wiki, moving them into categories based on Kist's metaphor of Starbuck's cup sizes.

Looking at a '**short**' school environment where technology is low-level or its use is limited, the role of the 21st Century teacher-librarian is to:
 * become familiar with and comfortable with information acquisition.
 * be able to use a wide variety of search engines because you realize that different aspects of the Internet require different methods of searching.
 * Once you have become comfortable it is your role to encourage your teaching staff and students to learn to become aware of these various search methods and beginning teaching them which to use, when to use them and how to use them.
 * You begin to look at other areas of information such as other people's blogs, wikis and websites to share with staff and students.
 * You begin to learn and become familiar with how to evaluate online sources and can teach this evaluation to staff and students.
 * begin to realize that reading is not just on paper, but also on the screen and reading on the screen is different that reading on paper.
 * begin to look at digital books (ebooks) that can be downloaded to mobile devices such as [|ereaders], ipads, itouch, mobile phones.....
 * start to look at social networking sites for sharing ideas about literature such as LibraryThing or Shelfari
 * begin to look to professional social networks such as Nings like Library 2.0,21st Century Teacher-Librarians, Teacher-Librarian Ning
 * begin to reconsider your current ideas of //collection development// to include: ebooks, audio books, online databases, streaming media
 * begin to think about the physical space in your library and how it could be used for such things as podcasting, video creation, digital storytelling
 * begin to explore the concept of intellectual freedom for your learners

Looking at a '**tall**' school environment that is a medium-level use of technology where online work is in a highly protective, moderated environment, the role of the teacher-librarian is to:
 * very familiar with and comfortable with information acquisition and are frequently teaching staff/students search techniques and the use of school databases, video streaming etc...
 * teaching web evaluation is part of your library information literacy program
 * become well versed in Internet safety and teach it to staff/students using such sites as cybersmart, netsmartz, wired safety
 * beginning creating an online presence for yourself and with your students in safe sites such as edublogs pro, classblogmeister, wikispaces for educators where you promote good literature/reads, literature circles, book clubs as well as showcasing student projects in a safe, protected environment.
 * sharing the above with staff and parents
 * teaching students how to read/note-take from online sources
 * are comfortable using e-readers or devices that contain them ie: ipad, itouch, xoom etc...
 * beginning exploring specialized technologies such as RSS feeds like Google Reader, FeedReader, BlogExpress, NewsGator
 * begin purchasing some books for your collection online
 * create a professional presence for yourself in online social networks such as the nings listed above in 'short' environments and try out a live webinar
 * fully understand the concept of intellectual freedom for your learners
 * read professional journals, edtech journals and blogs
 * begin exploring the issues of copyright and digital work in Creative Commons
 * understand that learning technology involves 'messiness' and that is OK; learning should be fun, authentic and meaningful. Enjoy 'messing' around with technology and learn from the students - they can teach you a great many things if you let them.

Looking at a '**grande**' school environment that is a high-level use of technology where online work is in a less restrictive environment, the role of the teacher-librarian is to:


 * teaching students and staff to navigate YouTube, TeacherTube, various Nings, and social bookmarking sites like Delicious and Diigo.
 * have ereaders and ebooks available along with your databases for staff/student use
 * pilot the use of some etextbooks with teachers/students in various subjects
 * collection should include video cameras, flash drives, notebooks, ipads, itouches ....
 * have students creating blogs, wikis to write about literature.
 * have students using Twitter to tweet about books
 * create a school library website that includes a pool of resources for your school community's needs
 * assist students in pooling and organizing their own information to support their learning with the use of information portals such as iGoogle, Page Flakes, NetVibes, Google sites and Wikispaces/PBWiki
 * teach staff new Web 2.0 tools for student projects
 * create space on the library website to display student work/projects and let students know the library isn't just a place to find things but to make/create things! Use digital publishing tools to share the student work.
 * collaborate with your students and learn from them; have fun and explore
 * Use open source software - use the //cloud// for student work and collaboration - have it available on library notebooks, desktop computers etc...
 * involve your school community in your collection planning with polls and surveys
 * host events such as Skype an Author, webinars, internet safety nights....
 * have a true understanding of ubiquity and know that the more technology in the school the more the library needs to be available all the time, everywhere and that you will be teaching in the library and outside of it - including collaborating with other teachers
 * be very aware and very concerned with issues involving the digital divide - those who have access to technology and those who do not
 * do not stop advocating for the right of students to have and use the tools/equipment they need to learn. This is an issue of intellectual freedom.
 * be very aware and very concerned with issues of copyright surrounding digital works
 * teach students about their digital footprint and how to monitor it using people search tools
 * teach netiquette for blogs, wikis, social networks
 * model respectful behavior online and in the creation of a digital footprint as well as respecting the works of others
 * teach students how to use citation sites such as bibme, and to use the citation generator in online encyclopedia such as World Book Online
 * Understand and teach the use of Creative Commons
 * Read edtech journals, blogs
 * Follow a select number of educators who are leaders in the field of education and technology, authors, book publishers on Twitter
 * Join and actively participate in a Ning related to 21st Century librarianship/libraries such as TeacherLibrarian Ning, 21st Century Librarian Ning...

Looking at a '**venti**' school environment that is a very high-level use of technology where online work is in a completely open environment, the role of the teacher-librarian is to follow what was listed above as well as:
 * Have your library very accessible online with such programs as 'Ask a Librarian', outside access to school databases, open Twitter so students can reach you to ask questions
 * Your library needs very open access, especially if your school is operating hybrid programs (part face-to-face and part at home)
 * Broadcast webinars on various research topics students are doing and archive the webinars for students to access
 * Use the open source //cloud// rigorously so students have access to a wide range of tools for your students' use
 * Your website will be highly developed and very well maintained
 * You may find you will need to develop a wiki to assist your staff/students with information organization that will assist them
 * You will need to have developed a good understanding of collaborative work and on-going professional development with your staff - look at such programs as CBAM
 * You need to be a leader and supporter of a wide range of technology skills, information literacy skills, as well as all the other library skills used in the past.
 * You actively engage in on-going Professional development in both the field of library science and technology sharing what you learn with your staff
 * You are and model being a life-long learner who is not afraid to explore and go after things, even when the going get very messy and uncomfortable - you find solutions and help others to as well.
 * Do what you love and do it well. If the 'new' library is not your passion - move on to something else.

References: Valenza, J.(2010). //You know you're a 21st century librarian if...// Accessed from: nformationfluency.wikispaces.com/**You**+**know**+**you**'re+a+**21st**+**century**+ **librarian**+**if**+.+.+. -

Kist, W. (2010) //The socially networked classroom: Teaching in the new age media.// Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.