Comments on: Can a school library be totally virtual?

By: Kris Phelps

Kris Phelps — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 19:09:27 +0000

I am a teacher at Westlake High School. Carolyn Foote makes me a better teacher almost every week. She is always available to brainstorm solutions to problems or strategies for teaching a lesson. Carolyn has helped me set up a blog for current events discussions and a wiki for collaborative cross class research. Last week, she was the technical director for a movie another teacher and I created for teacher inservice. Her creativity and support are priceless!!!

By: Farfisa

Farfisa — Sat, 01 Dec 2007 23:34:12 +0000

This is truly a test of whether we can survive (mostly) paper free. I’m sure Carolyn will do a fantastic job. But what about the teachers? Will they just assume that the library is temporarily out of order? Will they grump to themselves, “Ugh, if only I had the library like I used to…”

It sounds like Carolyn and her staff and even others around her are already used to using her beyond the “bricks and mortar” of her library. I’m not sure that would be the case in other places I’m more familiar with.

By: futura

futura — Fri, 30 Nov 2007 12:12:56 +0000

Cathy,

Thanks for the vote of confidence and the kind words! Joel, thanks to you as well!

It is going to be an adventure. I think Diane’s suggestion to keep a record of the process is excellent–I’m thinking this would be a great research opportunity.

What does it look like when library services are virtual? What do we miss out on? What works well? How do we take the library “to the classroom?” effectively.

It’s been interesting defining the key services we provide and envisioning what we can do virtually, and I will keep you posted along the way!

Thanks again Carolyn

By: Joel Adkins

Joel Adkins — Fri, 30 Nov 2007 04:19:48 +0000

To answer your question in the title: if anyone can answer it, Carolyn can. I have had the great pleasure of working with Carolyn for the past 5 years! This will be the second library renovation I will be privy to during my time at Westlake.

Carolyn isn’t just a 21st century librarian. She is a 21st century mentor, teacher, media-specialist, innovator, staff development coordinator, technologist, friend, and support system for many students and teachers beyond just Westlake High School.

The new library will be an extraordinary achievement for the campus but it cannot come together without Carolyn and her library assistants.

Great blog discussion topic!

By: Not So Distant Future » Going virtual

Not So Distant Future » Going virtual — Fri, 30 Nov 2007 03:34:40 +0000

[...] our students and staff. Since Cathy Nelson was so very kind enough to comment about this in a recent post, I thought I would expand on some of the ways I hope to do [...]

By: David Robb

David Robb — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 23:14:12 +0000

This makes me think – what will happen to libraries if eReaders, like the new Kindle, grow in popularity as fast as the iPod?

Will the Kindle support a library lending out an electronic version of a book that would expire after a certain amount of time?

By: diane

diane — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 22:56:48 +0000

A few years ago, our district combined two separate small libraries, one K-6, the other 7-12.

We now have one large LMC with the collections divided by a partial “wall” of bookshelves.

It’s not a perfect space, but it’s certainly an improvement on what we had before.

Most of the construction took place over summer vacation, and the new facility opened to students the following November.

When we (my two aides and I) packed our collection of approximately 16,000 volumes, we kept a skeleton reference section available for use while the library was being built. Not much technology in place then (not much more now).

I agree with Cathy that Carolyn will deal with her challenge in a 21st century spirit of adventure and ingenuity.

Perhaps she’ll decide, once her new library is completed, that she prefers being an itinerant librarian!

Carolyn, keep a journal of all you do during this time of opportunity. It might come in handy in the future, as a chronicle of how the modern “library without walls” actually works.

Good luck! (and see you both in San Antonio)