Week 6, Thing 15

Wow, what a lot to think about. I have been so impressed with the number of librarians who are fully invested in Web 2.0 and all its ramifications...and reading these essays makes me realize how much more there is to explore and consider. A lot of the ideas presented in these essays are far beyond anything I expect to accomplish in my career, in my library setting but there were a few powerful ideas that I think apply to my situation and, probably, to almost anyone's situation.

In "Beyond the Iceberg", the author talks about the need for a strategy for constant change. It is so easy, especially in an elementary school setting, to settle for "the way we've always done things" and not to look for ways to change and improve what we offer our users, the students and teachers. Change can be unpleasant, taking us out of our comfort zones, and comfort zones are easy places to be when the day to day demands of schedules, testing, standards, etc., place stress on everyone in the school community. But it's important to remember that change can also be energizing and can stimulate growth and should be embraced as a positive thing.

I especially liked the statement in the meme map in the Wikipedia article that says "the library is a framework for integrating change into all levels of library operations" because that expands the concept of a library beyond the confines of a physical structure and opens up the idea of access to information and ideas from any and every where possible.

And, to be practical, "A Ripple Effect" by George Bishop, lays out another kind of framework, a step by step guide to expanding a school library from a traditional collection of materials to a limitless access point to resources. I began to get overwhelmed reading some of the essays, especially the visionary ones extending the 2.0 concepts far into the future. It's easy for me to get lost in that and to say I can never do all that. So it's reassuring to read about someone who has turned their vision into reality. One step at a time. I think my first step is to work on getting some of the 2.0 sites unblocked within my district so we can begin to offer these interactive tools to our students. By the time I finish this course, I will know which ones to work for first and be able to argue for their place in curriculum and in our students' lives.