Print and/or Electronic Reference Materials

The library is the one place in the school that has seen the most change in the past twenty years. On Monday at the school I teach at our focus was integrating technology in the classroom. While most school libraries have embraced the technology the typical classroom has remained stuck in a time warp. Part of the reason is classroom teachers are afraid of change, but a bigger obstacle is funding. It actually made me sad to see the types of technology that is available, but unreachable due to funding.

But back to the school library where most technology in the school is located. In the school library I would say that print reference sources are becoming obsolete in the school library. The reason comes down to pure cost. The amount of money to purchase and maintain a print reference collection is very expensive. The teacher librarians I have encountered see the online references as a better investment. The students and faculty are given access to greater collections. As the online reference resources are constantly upgraded the only cost becomes the yearly subscription fee. That all being said holding a book in your hand is something special. It is the hunt for information that you just don’t get with online resources. However I realize that our society is changing. Most students rely on electronic sources to live their lives; they don’t wear watches they look at their cellphones, books are downloaded to their electronic book readers, letters are not written on paper and mailed they are typed and emailed. Perhaps it is just us as librarians who get the nostalgic feeling from print materials. If we look at our youth we can clearly see that print materials are not what they need or will use. As the text states there will not be a less need for libraries and librarians to the contrary “Information needs are growing and becoming more complex. The result is that there will be as increased need for experts, school library media specialists with skills in searching, accessing, using, and evaluation information efficiently and effectively” (Rieding pg. 104).

Sources
Rielding, A. (2005). Reference skills for the school library media specialist: Tools and tips, 2nd ed. Worthington, Ohio: Linworth Publishing, Inc.