Out With the Old and In With the New?

Libraries. The place that every student in high school loved to hate. I distinctly remember the musty smell of old, unused books permeating the library's air and the stern faces of the two old teacher librarians who forbade us from even whispering. The library was a place where you were made to feel unwelcome because it was as if every teenager was out to steal one of the librarian's precious books.

[Old Librarian]. Retrieved July 21, 2009 from http://www.bookgasm.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/04/librarian.jpg

Now, enter the library 2.0 style. Michael Habib defines library 2.0 as "a subset of library services designed to meet user needs caused by the direct and peripheral effects of Web 2.0." What does this look like? Students may be working collectively in groups, perhaps around one of the many computers located in the library. Yes, students are now allowed to talk. Teacher librarians may be offering students support in how to use one of many Web 2.0 applications. Library computers may contain links to social bookmarking sites such as Delicious. Librarians such as tech savvy Stephanie Rosalia now do far more than shelve books. Rather they are facilitators that are experts in many forms of research including using Web 2.0 virtual libraries.

Why virtual libraries?

In days past, literacy was one's ability to read and write. In our technological age, the definition of literacy has expanded to include other literacies such as informational literacy. Informational literacy is defined as "a transformational process in which the learner needs to find, understand, evaluate, and use information in various forms to create for personal, social or global purposes." This involves learners engaging in higher level thinking processes as they weed through the jungle of the web.

To quote Steve Jobs, "The fact is that people don’t read anymore." Yes, we do read, but perhaps not in the traditional sense. Fewer and fewer people go to public libraries and take out armfuls of books. Rather, you are likely to see people spending their evenings surfing the net for information important and relevant to their lives. So, how can libraries teach informational literacy and change to accommodate less traditional readers? Enter, the virtual library.

Virtual libraries can take many forms. They can contain databases of journals that the "patrons" of the library can search for articles. They can contain online copies of books. Some virtual libraries have links to relevant websites organized according to category. Other virtual libraries offer online searches of public libraries in certain cities. Most of the virtual libraries I surveyed appeared to be various combinations of the above.

Some advantages to using virtual libraries include:

1. Virtual libraries allow readers to develop informational literacy skills as they are easily able to evaluate a number of resources on a single topic with the click of a mouse.

2. Virtual libraries have many links presorted for users to be able compare and contrast with one another.

3. Virtual libraries are portable. This type of library offers less traditional readers the flexibility of being able read content online rather than having to pick up cumbersome books at the library. Readers can access the library from any computer.

4. The ask a librarian feature on several online databases allows you to access expert advice quickly and easily without having to leave your home.

5. You can access many different libraries online. Whereas, if you were to drive around town to various traditional libraries, it would be very time consuming.

6. The information found in virtual libraries is current. Virtual libraries are adding content and updating information daily. This would be impossible to do in a traditional library setting.

7. Virtual libraries offer children safe links that they can use for research purposes.

8. Your favorite book is never out. Any number of people can view the same online book at the same time.

Let's go for a "drive" to some virtual libraries!

As I began to explore virtual libraries, I quickly discovered that virtual libraries were as diverse at the people who use them. The definition of a virtual library appears to be very broad. Quickly realizing that there were too many libraries to investigate thoroughly, I decided to narrow my focus to virtual children's libraries.

[Book in car]. Retrieved July 21, 2009 from http://www.blastmedia.com/blogs/mediablast/2009/06/the_road_to_coverage.html

-Storyplace: This virtual children's library was created by the public library in Charlotte North Carolina as a supplement to their virtual public library. Story place contains games and activities for children as well as a link to the "bee hive", the library's catalog of children's books. While this library does not contain a large selection of online books like other virtual libraries, it does offer children the option to listen to an online story or participate in child "friendly" online activities.

-International Children's Digital Library: This library is truly amazing. It offers a wealth of books for children (or adults) to view online. There are many classic books included in their collection and books are offered in a number of languages. The library is really a digital version of a traditional library. You can become a member for free and "take out" books by storing them on your "bookself". This site offers users a wonderful multi-cultural experience as they read literature from around the world. It is a treasure for any elementary teacher.

-Andy Holt Virtual Library: This library is more bare bones in its design than the previous two libraries. However, it does contain several "collections" which are lists of websites that are related to a specific topic. I searched through several of the sites related to children's literature and found some links to wonderful children's books. A word of warning: There were several sites in this virtual library that led to dead links.

-Internet Public Library: The Kidspace at the Internet Public Library offers users a variety of information on topics such as math, science, art, and music. Much of the information is in the form of links to kid-friendly sites. There are a few children's books available to view online either in text only or illustrated form.

After exploring virtual libraries, I do see some disadvantages to using them.

1. In order for virtual libraries to be effective they must be updated regularly. When using the libraries, I did become frustrated when I would click on a link and it would lead to a dead site.

2. At this point there is still a limited number of books available for viewing online from virtual libraries and the books that are posted are generally older books. This is largely due to copyright issues associated with posting books on the internet. Project Gutenberg is a project that generally takes books where the copyright has expired and posts them online for readers. There were many older treasures to be found from Project Gutenberg.

3. I can't curl up with an online book on the couch. At least not comfortably. Call me old fashioned but there is just something about being able to curl up with the book on a cold Canadian night that is lost when using online books. That just my opinion, you can decide for yourself.

Using Virtual Libraries in the Classroom

I must admit that I did become quite excited when I began to think about how I could use virtual libraries in my school. Here are some of my ideas:

-For older students, there is expert advice available to students day or night as they can "ask a librarian" for advice from home as they conduct their research.

-My read alouds and shared reads are going to be revolutionized as I will be able to project the online books onto a screen so students can easily follow along as we read. I plan on sharing the virtual children's library sites with my staff in September as I believe that they will really get excited about using these sites for read alouds and shared reads.

-I can feel at ease knowing that the links from the virtual children's libraries are safe for even my youngest students.

-English as an Additional Language can view books in their native language and in English allowing them to gain greater clarity from a story.

-Take home reading bags could eventually be a thing of the past. Teachers could rather assign students books available from virtual libraries. I know that this idea won't be immediately practical, but as more books are added online, why not?

Just as our teaching must evolve as technology changes, so must the libraries that we use. Does this mean that it is out with the old and in with the new? Partially. The role of the library and librarian will need to evolve as the users of the facility do. Librarians will become facilitators as students research. However, there will always be a need, at least for people like me, to have a good book to curl up with in front of the fire.