Journal #4

This week I read an article titled "The Obsolescence Battle" By Brian Kennedy for the August 2011 issue of School Library Journal. 

Citation:  Kenney, Brian. "The Obsolescence Battle." School Library Journal 57.8 (2011): 7. Library, Information Science & Technology Abstracts with Full Text. Web. 18 Feb. 2013.

Summary

Kennedy ponders the many facets of library "obsolescence" from Google to Kindles. He admits that the internet is very useful, but asserts that most Americans understand that libraries can offer more than the net can.  Many library conferences, including ISTE focused on this topic in 2011, and the suggestion was that libraries should be leaders in technology. Kennedy offers three suggestions as to how libraries can accomplish this. 1) Use social media to make sure that your patrons know exactly what the library offers. He cites several popular library blogs as examples.  2) Increase the technology in your library, even in small steps.  Free web tools can help. 3) Purchase e-readers.  Even if you can't buy enough for every patron, at least get a pilot program started.

 

Resource

I found this article using the Milner library database, which was very easy to use. Since I had no particular topic in mind, I did a broad search for "school library" and chose the SLJ from the list of sources that came up because I know it to be a rich source of library-related information, and it is usually pretty easy and entertaining to read.  (I believe it's also on our recommended reading list!)  By viewing the article via Milner's subscription to Ebsco, I can also choose to listen to the article, and I can easily follow the hyperlinks to the sources that Kennedy discusses:

                www.libraryjournal.com/csp/cms/sites/LJ/CoiTimunity/ALA/index.csp; (ALA Conference Page)

            http://readilicious.wikispaces.com (ISTE presentation by Mary Carole Strother about technology and booktalks)

 

I do wish that there were a few more hyperlinks to tools, such as the Unquiet Library Blog, but maybe that's just my own laziness.  I could always google it. :P
 

This particular article jumped out at me because library obsolescence is a topic I discussed with my librarian during my recent Faces of the School Librarian interview.  She doesn't believe that libraries will ever be obsolete, but for different reasons than those that Kennedy cites. 

 

Content
I was inspired by Kennedy's positive view of the topic, one that can sometimes bring a cloud of gloom and doom.  Overall, his suggestion to embrace technology seems right in line with everything that we've been learning in the school librarianship program.  I would have liked a little bit more detail on the three suggestions he offered, but they are enough to get some ideas rolling.  I guess he's aiming to inspire innovation, not just imitation of other libraries.
 

Also, I wondered where he got his information to support his claim that "most Americans now realize that libraries offer a whole lot more than what you can get through a search engine."  Is there a survey, or research, or is this his own anecdotal observation? If I were to use my anecdotal evidence, I would say that most people look at me like a lost cause when I say I want to be a librarian. My own friends laugh and say, "Can't a computer do that?"  A link or two of evidence would come in handy to help dispell my own pessimism.  Overall, though the article was insightful and a recommended read!