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John Evans

A Library AND a Makerspace | Create, Collaborate, Innovate - 3 views

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    "Recently I read an article discussing how libraries are converting to makerspaces. I found this wording dangerous because I love libraries and my library is not just a makerspace. My library is still a library. Yes, we are a learning commons, yes we have a makerspace, but at our core, we are still a library. Our makerspace is an extension of our library and really a "makerspace" is more of a mindset and philosophy we have towards learning. The makerspace is just one slice of our library pie. We house our maker materials in the library because it is the one place students have access to at any point in the school day."
Dennis OConnor

ALA | Interview with Keith Curry Lance - 0 views

  • A series of studies that have had a great deal of influence on the research and decision-making discussions concerning school library media programs have grown from the work of a team in Colorado—Keith Curry Lance, Marcia J. Rodney, and Christine Hamilton-Pennell (2000).
  • Recent school library impact studies have also identified, and generated some evidence about, potential "interventions" that could be studied. The questions might at first appear rather familiar: How much, and how, are achievement and learning improved when . . . librarians collaborate more fully with other educators? libraries are more flexibly scheduled? administrators choose to support stronger library programs (in a specific way)? library spending (for something specific) increases?
  • high priority should be given to reaching teachers, administrators, and public officials as well as school librarians and school library advocates.
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  • Perhaps the most strategic option, albeit a long-term one, is to infiltrate schools and colleges of education. Most school administrators and teachers never had to take a course, or even part of a course, that introduced them to what constitutes a high-quality school library program.
  • Three factors are working against successful advocacy for school libraries: (1) the age demographic of librarians, (2) the lack of institutionalization of librarianship in K–12 schools, and (3) the lack of support from educators due to their lack of education or training about libraries and good experiences with libraries and librarians.
  • These vacant positions are highly vulnerable to being downgraded or eliminated in these times of tight budgets, not merely because there is less money to go around, but because superintendents, principals, teachers, and other education decision-makers do not understand the role a school librarian can and should play.
  • If we want the school library to be regarded as a central player in fostering academic success, we must do whatever we can to ensure that school library research is not marginalized by other interests.    
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    A great overview of Lance's research into the effectiveness of libraries.  He answers the question: Do school libraries or librarians make a difference?  His answer (A HUGE YES!) is back by 14 years of remarkable research.  The point is proved.  But this information remains unknown to many principals and superintendents.  Anyone interested in 21st century teaching and learning will find this interview fascinating.
John Evans

Get out your color pencils, crayons, markers: #colorourcollections comes back. - @joyce... - 2 views

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    "Organized by the New York Academy of Medicine Library, #ColorOurCollections returns next week. From February 6th through February 10th, you and your students/community will be able to discover, download, print and color pages shared by more than 200 libraries, museums and special collections from around the world-among them: Biodiversity Heritage Library, Bodleian Libraries, Cambridge University Digital Library, Europeana, Medical Heritage Library, Metropolitan Museum of Art, National Library of Medicine, and New York Public Library"
International School of Central Switzerland

Debate on School Libraries in South Africa | Equal Education - 1 views

  • The meaning of school libraries
  • One panellist suggested that a library should be regarded as a function, with its resources tying in with the school curriculum and meeting the needs of both staff and learners.
  • The panellists were in agreement that while the digital information revolution could not be ignored, it did not undercut the value of libraries and skilled librarians.
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    On Tuesday, 21 June 2011, EE hosted a debate on school libraries in South Africa at the University of Cape Town. The night before, the debate took place at Wits University in Johannesburg. The panel brought together library experts from Europe, Australia, South America and Africa as well as local library experts. The panellists were asked to provide insight into the importance of school libraries, share unique perspectives on challenges in advocating for their provision and to address the challenges and opportunities that information technologies (e.g. e-books) present in the campaign for school libraries in South Africa.
John Evans

5 Reasons Makerspaces Belong in School Libraries - 2 views

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    "The Maker Movement continues to grow, and makerspaces have hit a point where they are clearly no longer just a passing fad. Academic universities are conducting research and gathering data on makerspaces' impact on learning, and dozens of books have already been published. More and more makerspaces are being created in schools, some in separate labs and some in corners of classrooms. And some makerspaces, of course, are in the library. In these last four years of speaking at conferences, chatting on Twitter and talking to colleagues, I've fielded a lot of questions from two camps. One camp is made up of hesitant librarians. They're not really sure that a makerspace belongs in the library. They're afraid of it taking over their whole program and replacing the books. Their school already has a STEM lab, so why do they need a makerspace in their library too? The other camp is made up of librarians who are ready and eager to start a makerspace, but who are meeting resistance from their administration. We already have an art studio; why do we need a makerspace in the library too? Aren't those kids just playing and messing around with LEGO® bricks? Shouldn't the library be a quiet, clean, studious environment? How would a space like this tie in with curriculum, improve test scores or create better experiences for our students? This article looks to address some of these concerns and to explain why makerspaces do belong in libraries."
John Evans

Libraries matter: 18 fantastic library infographics - 5 views

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    "It's great that such infographics are created. Infographics are a fantastic way to draw attention of online users, and give facts not only in a more digestible, but also highly entertaining way. Recommended: 20 wonderful home library ideas 20 vintage posters about books and libraries Many people still perceive libraries as awesome-looking magical places, full of a scent of old paper. We associate libraries with the past and with the analog world - the world that doesn't fit into the broadband internet connection. It's not true (and I think it never was). More and more libraries lend electronic books, become information hubs, but most importantly, media creation centers. These infographics change the perspective. They show the beautiful book temples are filled not only with the past, but also with the future."
John Evans

A Free Comprehensive Digital Library Packed Full of Resources for Teachers ~ Educationa... - 1 views

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    "The Digital Public Library of America (DPLA) is an all-digital library that aggregates metadata - or information describing an item - and thumbnails for more than 7 million photographs, manuscripts, books, sounds, moving images, and more from libraries, archives, and museums around the ​united ​states.The Digital Public Library of America brings together the riches of America's libraries, archives, and museums, and makes them freely available to the world."
John Evans

21st-Century Libraries: The Learning Commons | Edutopia - 0 views

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    "Libraries have existed since approximately 2600 BCE as an archive of recorded knowledge. From tablets and scrolls to bound books, they have cataloged resources and served as a locus of knowledge. Today, with the digitization of content and the ubiquity of the internet, information is no longer confined to printed materials accessible only in a single, physical location. Consider this: Project Gutenberg and its affiliates make over 100,000 public domain works available digitally, and Google has scanned over 30 million books through its library project. Libraries are reinventing themselves as content becomes more accessible online and their role becomes less about housing tomes and more about connecting learners and constructing knowledge. Cushing Academy in Ashburnham, Massachusetts has been in the vanguard of this transition since 2009, when it announced its plans for a "bookless" library. A database of millions of digital resources superseded their 20,000-volume collection of books, and a café replaced the circulation desk. With this transition, not only did the way in which students consumed content change, but also how they utilized the library space. Rather than maintain a quiet location for individual study, the school wanted to create an environment for "collaboration and knowledge co-construction.""
John Evans

50 thought-provoking quotes about libraries and librarians - 1 views

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    "Libraries are essential in a process of giving citizens access to knowledge. In digital times they are needed more than ever before. Get your library card, and you'll be able to borrow a print or electronic book, use free internet, or attend a course improving your digital skills. See also: 12 most talked-about ebook bestsellers of fall 2017 11 exciting ways you can celebrate Read an Ebook Day 2017 Most importantly, however, libraries are the places where you can expect smart and clear answers to even most difficult questions. Neil Gaiman perfectly describes what's happening in digital times: "Google can bring you back 100,000 answers, a librarian can bring you back the right one." In times of the internet, everyone can visit a library without leaving home. It's just a matter of opening a library website, and you can not only borrow an ebook but also ask the librarian an online question."
John Evans

3D Printing to Raspberry Pi's: How a Quiet Florida School Library Got Transformed by a ... - 1 views

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    "On any given day at Holy Trinity Episcopal Academy, visitors to the Lower School library might be surprised to find it bears little resemblance to the school libraries of years past. Several 5th graders sit at computers, developing 3D luggage tags using Tinkercad to be printed on the nearby Makerbot 3D printer. On the central library tables, students are creating Rube Goldberg machines using physical manipulatives or the RubeWorks iPad app. The library is a buzz of activity and student engagement, punctuated with squeals of excitement. And overseeing the makerspace is librarian Judy Houser, a veteran educator who took the visionary step of transforming this once quiet library into a space where students not only learn to love reading, but learn to explore, create and innovate using a variety of tools"
John Evans

Free Technology for Teachers: The Open Library - Borrow and Read Thousands of Ebooks - 2 views

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    "If you're looking for some new books to read this summer, take a look at the Open Library which is a part of the Internet Archive. The Open Library is a collection of more than one million free ebook titles. The collection is cataloged by a community of volunteer online librarians. The ebooks in the Open Library can be read online, downloaded to your computer, read on Kindle and other ereader devices, and embedded into other sites. Some of the ebooks, like Treasure Island, can also be listened to through the Open Library."
John Evans

We Love Books, Just as Much as Makerspaces: The Story of How Our Students Built Our Col... - 3 views

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    "Something that bothers me so much is when I read articles that talk about how libraries are becoming makerspaces.  Our makerspace is one component of the participatory culture that runs through our space.  Anyone who knows my story knows that my point of entry into the Maker Movement was through literacy, so for me, literacy and making have always gone hand in hand.   When I began as the Library Media Specialist at New Milford High School, I walked into a library that was similar to many school libraries in older schools.  It was very traditional looking, with tall stacks and lots and lots of books that students simply did not check out, nor have an interest in.  The collection was out of date and had not been weeded in decades.  One of the tasks for me was to weed the books.  During that weeding process, I decided that traditional nonfiction that made it through the weeding process would be sent to classrooms to build up their classroom research libraries.  I decided to keep any memoirs or narrative nonfiction that we had in our collection, since those were the kinds of books I discovered so many of our students did enjoy reading and would check out.  Amongst the vast fiction collection, we did find a few gems, but mostly we either discarded books that were no longer relevant to our students, gave them to classrooms who wanted them, or to individual students who showed an interest.  In the end, I was able to preserve just a few shelves of books.  As a result, I was tasked with rebuilding our collection."
John Evans

Pam Moran on transformed school libraries - @joycevalenza NeverEndingSearch - 1 views

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    "Once I believed that libraries were places where people went for books and reference materials. Now I believe that libraries are learning opportunities that promote pathways for people to "search, connect, communicate and make." Please do not miss superintendent Pam Moran's post today about the possibilities of 21st c school libraries. Please share her vision with at least one other administrator."
John Evans

ALA report provides practical advice about adopting 3D printers in libraries | News and... - 1 views

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    "Washington, D.C. -The American Library Association's (ALA) Office for Information Technology Policy (OITP) today released "Progress in the Making: Librarians' Practical 3D Printing Questions Answered" (pdf). Co-authored by 3DPrint360 CEO Zach Lichaa and ALA Senior Policy Analyst Charlie Wapner, the document poses and answers sixteen practical questions related to establishing 3D printing as a library service. All of the questions were fielded from library professionals interested in 3D printing technology."
John Evans

AASL Post: 3 Reasons Why Making and Literacy Aren't Mutually Exclusive - 1 views

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    "My post last month on Why a Makerspace isn't a Magic Cure-all for Your Problems gained a lot of notice.  I've seen a vibrant social media conversation take off since then.  I have heard many people say in the conversation about making and libraries that they have reservations.  Many are worried about sacrificing literacy or reading when they create a makerspace.  They feel that traditional library programs and values will suffer.  They worry that the makerspace will replace the reading programs that they love. But I feel like they're missing out on something - the beautiful connection that can happen between making and literacy.  You don't have to give up your literature and reading programs when you start a makerspace.  Rather, makerspaces can help to bring a new dimension of literacy into your library.  There are so many elements and activities in makerspaces that fit perfectly into the types of library programs we all know and love."
John Evans

Planning on Renovating Your Library? Think Again. - Worlds of Learning - 5 views

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    "Think your library needs a renovation? You might be right, but before spending unnecessary money on a major overhaul, you might want to think again. I receive inquiries all of the time from schools whose library's are not used, and thought that renovating their space was going to do the trick. Oftentimes, even with a big referendum that allows for a state-of-the-art renovation, those spaces continue to be unused. The solution to turning a library around is NOT a renovation, it is the culture. Upon my arrival at New Milford High School, I walked into a library that was unused and that was referred to by my principal at the time, Eric Sheninger, as a barren wasteland.  We didn't have the luxury of a big sum of money to renovate our space, so we were forced to think of other ways to make changes in our space.  Those changes focused not on how the space looked, but on transforming the culture of the space. "
John Evans

Miss L's Whole Brain Teaching: Classroom Library (Almost) Open for Business! - 0 views

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    "An important job for any teacher is not only developing literacy skills but also attempting to build a love of reading within their students. One tool to help achieve this monstrous task is through your classroom library. While all school's have (or should have) a central library, a classroom library provides easy access for your students and is often utilized on a daily basis."
John Evans

100 Free Library 2.0 Webinars and Tutorials | College@Home - 0 views

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    If you've heard the buzz about Library 2.0, but don't quite understand how to implement it, you've come to the right place. The Internet is full of helpful webinars, presentations, and tutorials designed to help you take your library to the next level, and we've highlighted some of the most useful of these here.
John Evans

About the Forest® - 0 views

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    "The Forest of Reading® is Canada's largest recreational reading program! This initiative of the Ontario Library Association (OLA) offers eight reading programs to encourage a love of reading in people of all ages. The Forest® helps celebrate Canadian books, publishers, authors and illustrators. More than 250,000 readers participate annually from their School and/or Public Library. All Ontarians/Canadians are invited to participate via their local public library, school library, or individually."
John Evans

Free Technology for Teachers: On YouTube You Can Now Find Free Music to Legally Downloa... - 4 views

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    "For the last couple of years Vimeo has offered free music to download and re-use in your video projects. Now YouTube is offering the same thing through the YouTube Audio Library. This library is slightly different than the free music available when you use the YouTube slideshow creation tool. The music in the YouTube Audio Library is music that you can download to use in projects online and offline. You can search the library of music according to genre, mood, instrument, or duration. You can listen to the tracks before downloading them as MP3 files."
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