If you think back to your time in public school, you may remember the library as a place to go listen to a story, find information, and check out books. While libraries are still used as places to read for enjoyment and to find and use information, the big change is that this all needs to be done with updated technology.

The massive technology boom in recent decades has really impacted the school library with an “explosion of digital resources.” Libraries have become the learning commons where classes go to become 21st century learners, interacting with not just books and each other, but the world beyond, on the way to having global literacy. The library creates a connection between the classroom and the outside world. As librarians of the past curated “microfilm, motion picture film, and other visual materials such as books magazines, posters, and pamphlets,” this has expanded dramatically for today’s librarians. Technology has had a huge influence on library instruction. With resources constantly updating, librarians are there to be on the forefront and keep up with those changes. They help the students learn to navigate the various resources found on the internet and to be able to discern which are credible and relevant and to use their critical thinking skills to recognize what biases may be present. These are skills that will be used throughout a student’s lifetime. With students constantly connected and plugged in in their personal lives, schools must compete for their attention. No longer are students entertained, interested, and attentive to traditional teaching and learning methods. Using technology integration, we can capture their attention. Librarians collaborate with teachers to bring technology into classrooms, making lessons more interactive and interesting.

Technology allows students access to information and ideas that the library may not have in print. While this is a great advantage, having all this information so readily available, it also means students need the skills to be able to sift through it all and evaluate what they find. Librarians know this is necessary and are prepared to help students learn to do this. They teach students how to use databases and how to perform effective and meaningful internet searches – such as using careful word choice, using quotation marks around a phrase, using the minus sign to eliminate unwanted results. They then teach students how to evaluate the source of the information to find credible resources with accurate information, and then how to cite the information properly as a responsible digital citizen. Librarians teach students about their digital tattoo so that students understand what that how they conduct themselves in the online environment is permanent.

Librarians are on the forefront of emerging technology and look for ways to bring it to their students. They may open the library before or after school, sponsor a club, use their makerspaces, or collaborate with teachers to give students exposure to these new trends.
~ tablets, iPads give access to a plethora of apps that students can use to learn and create.
~ ereaders provide a technology hook to engage students into reading.
~ Using audiobooks promotes listening skills, provides a model for fluent reading, expands vocabulary, and can help below level readers access grade level materials. They entertain and show students how reading can be an enjoyable experience.
~ gamification sites, such as Kahoot or Socrative, spice up classroom lessons, assignments, reviews, pretests, with interactive participation
~ makerspaces – foster independent or collaborative learning. They help develop communication skills, and give students a space to explore and create.
~ advanced technology such as coding, 3D printing, virtual reality, robotics, and other STEM activites can teach problem-solving and critical thinking, design skills, and language development as learners communicate with one another, and exposes students to the world of innovation

Looking at our campus demographics, you can see the subpopulations of students we serve. They come from all backgrounds. Importantly, 19% of our students are African American...

54% of our students are Hispanic...

and 75% of our students on our campus are economically disadvantaged.

Traditionally, these are lower-performing populations of students. Impact studies have found, time and again, the positive correlation between a strong library program and student achievement on mandated testing. From the basic love of books and reading to the most recent technology, librarians help students from lower socio-economic families stay up to date with more affluent students. Our students do not always have access to computers or the internet while at home, so the library can be the place for them to access the information or curriculum. Studies have shown that “increased access to technology, databases, and to the library itself are proportionally greater for students who are poor, black, Hispanic, and disabled.” Studies have shown a positive correlation when librarians are able to perform leadership duties such as meeting with administrators, providing professional development to teachers during faculty meetings, or serving on campus committees. These activities elevate a librarian’s position as a leader. Teachers look to them for collaboration and new ideas, thereby providing more support and having more impact on our students.

As you can see, in recent years, libraries have come a long way from being a quiet place to read or check out books. Librarians have become the school’s most impactful teacher, because they are in contact with every teacher, collaborating and providing resources, and every student, teaching critical thinking, providing resources and support, instilling a love of reading, and inspiring creativity. They touch every life in the building, the benefits of which have been shown over and over in impact studies around the nation. The library has become the biggest classroom in a school – not just because the physical space is larger than a classroom, but because the library potentially brings students out of the school and into the world beyond. Please support our library so that we can support our students. As educators, they are our number one priority.