School Libraries Worldwide July 2008 (Volume 14, Number 2)
Welcome to a special edition of School Libraries WorldWide (SLW). The theme for this edition (Volume 14, Number 2) is New Learners, New Literacies, New Libraries.
The goal of this issue is to explore some of the current research and emerging notions of School Libraries 2.0. We have gathered an eclectic set of articles all of which link to a variety of web-based resources which support and extend the content in the articles. The authors have varied perspectives and experiences with a wide variety of issues directly and indirectly related to the challenges facing the school library community. The idea is to present a core set of articles for all to share and then have viewers explore beyond that core in order to build their own understanding of Web 2.0 and the influence it continues to have on emerging notions of new school libraries.
While the influences of Web 2.0 may vary in regions around the world, there can be little doubt that the challenges that new technologies present have to be addressed by the entire school library community. Without facing the new realities of how people use information and communication technologies, we face a real danger of becoming isolated as print-only learning environments. We need to draw on our traditional leadership in building collaborative teaching and learning activities in order to engage students in new learning environments which harness their innate interests in new technologies and connect their in-school and out-of-school literacy practices.
While these challenges seem daunting on many levels including providing adequate and equitable access, increasing teacher and teacher-librarian education, and developing curriculum aligned with current notions of literacy and learning, we need to build an international conversation about how school libraries can show leadership and create compelling models for school libraries in the 21st century.
The goal of this issue is to explore some of the current research and emerging notions of School Libraries 2.0. We have gathered an eclectic set of articles all of which link to a variety of web-based resources which support and extend the content in the articles. The authors have varied perspectives and experiences with a wide variety of issues directly and indirectly related to the challenges facing the school library community. The idea is to present a core set of articles for all to share and then have viewers explore beyond that core in order to build their own understanding of Web 2.0 and the influence it continues to have on emerging notions of new school libraries.
While the influences of Web 2.0 may vary in regions around the world, there can be little doubt that the challenges that new technologies present have to be addressed by the entire school library community. Without facing the new realities of how people use information and communication technologies, we face a real danger of becoming isolated as print-only learning environments. We need to draw on our traditional leadership in building collaborative teaching and learning activities in order to engage students in new learning environments which harness their innate interests in new technologies and connect their in-school and out-of-school literacy practices.
While these challenges seem daunting on many levels including providing adequate and equitable access, increasing teacher and teacher-librarian education, and developing curriculum aligned with current notions of literacy and learning, we need to build an international conversation about how school libraries can show leadership and create compelling models for school libraries in the 21st century.
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
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