LibraryThing

I just opened a LibraryThing account and searched via tagmash for books relating to my interest in academic librarianship. I found that adding in "boarding school" or anything along those lines only pulled up Harry Potter books and other fiction so I made my search very simple and then scanned titles. Here are the tags from one book I found using a search of "librarianship, non-fiction":

April_2007 Bankier professional(1) higher education(1) information literacy(4) instruction(1) librarianship(1) libraries(1) library instruction(1) library science(1) non-fiction(3) pedagogy(1) perused(1) recommended(1) teaching(2) unread

The book, Motivating Students in Information Literacy Classes, can be found here: http://www.librarything.com/work/1041607

I liked the sound of this book because it deals with how to motivate students to learn and love research and gives tips for working in conjunction with the teachers. It was also one of the few books which dealt with students outside of the elementary level.

I found a few other books during my search which I liked and so I'll include them as well, even though they are not necessary. These books, for the most part, would have been hard to find using tagging because most of them have very limited variety on their tags. I would have had to be very lucky to get a hit off of them based on what I was initially searching (boarding school, library, librarian, academic, high school, private,...).

Exploding the myths: the truth about teens and reading
http://www.librarything.com/work/183996
Diversity now: people, collections, and services in academic libraries
http://www.librarything.com/work/254598
Right Book, Right Time: 500 Great Reads for Teenagers
http://www.librarything.com/work/4323906

New RSS feed added!

Take a look at the new RSS feed I have just added. There may be more in the future depending on what I run across but I liked starting out with a feed from a source that deals very generally with the topic of Libraries catering toward teens, and American Association of School Librarians does just that. The paper by Tom March mentioned in the June 24th post is well worth a visit, as is the post itself. It discusses a topic which has been highly debated lately, namely, if and how well technology is helping the current generation learn in a constructive and thought provoking manner. On the website there are also a lot of good posts which offer tips to Librarians in the field. It's a great source for someone who wants to take the best they can to their own library.

Google Generation podcast

I needed to look for a podcast which dealt with the area of Librarianship that I wanted to focus on. I did a Google search and ended up at the website for Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC) in Britain. On their site they state their mission as "to provide world-class leadership in the innovative use of [Information and Communications Technology] to support education and research" and they have a wide variety of information helping people do just that.

One of their podcasts had to do with the "Google Generation" and if those who have grown up in a digital age were actually the best able to use the web, especially for education and research purposes. It deals with the impatience of those in the generation and need for instant gratification without the knowledge of the best tools. It talks about a report which has come out recently and I highly agree with many of their findings. You can view it at:

'The Google Generation' - myth or reality?
http://www.jisc.ac.uk/news/stories/2008/01/podcast26googlegeneration.aspx

This podcast states the Librarians will be more important than ever! It also gives an idea of how the Library will be so important. It is easy to take what is said straight into the Library, especially ones found in an academic setting.

Teaching in the Library using Sci Fi as a Basis?

I went online (Google Blog search) to try and find someone else's blog about teaching students to use different resources, particularly for high schools. I found, instead, a blog which deals a little bit with Librarians as teachers but it really was comparing Boarding Schools that actually exist with Boarding Schools and the like in different Science Fiction/Fantasy novels. What intrigued me was the idea that I probably could take examples from these novels and put them to good use, especially since the kids would be familiar with the sources! Take a look:


Julie Andrews: Wiscon Day 3 - Report 6
http://julieandrews.livejournal.com/27054.html

"Fantastic Groves of Academe
M: Susan Groppi, Victoria Gaydosik, Tom La Farge, Ariel Franklin-Hudson, Keridwen Luis
...
Other schools mentioned besides Hogwarts were the College of Magics, Ender's Battle School, Starfleet Academy, Prof. Xavier's X-Men school, and probably others I don't remember or am not familiar with.
The audience participated quite a lot in this one. Among the things discussed was schools that are isolated, closed systems, such as boarding schools. Many schools in sf/f are for either the ostracized or the elite, or students that are both.
Victoria talked about the teacher as tour guide. Introducing students to things they may not be aware of. Like, here's this cool thing over here. It might be a museum, or a symphony. Opening up a new world for them.
...
One trend noticed in science fiction was schools where you learn at your own pace. Such as the home-schooled taught by computers.
Someone in the audience said that democratized magic, that anyone can do, would be technology.
...
Real world schools of course entered into things and we got the idea that public schools in the US are teaching students to be workers, while private schools are teaching students to be managers."


Does anyone have any particular Sci Fi or Fantasy books in which they really liked the school system? I'd be interested in tying it into how I present things in the library.

The Purpose of this Blog

I've never had a blog before and so it is a powerful force that had me create one. I am taking a class for my Masters in Library Science which brought the perfect opportunity. Through this blog you will see my thoughts on Librarianship as well as a few things which look like HW assignments (chances are, they are). My goal is to become a Librarian in a boarding High School. I really want to find a way to help get today's kids engaged in learning and have them avoid using solely the Internet for their sources. If you have anything you would like to share along those lines, please, let me have it!