4.+Virtual+Libraries+-+Spring+2011

=Virtual Libraries, Spring 2011 - Instructor: Dr. Anne Zarinnia, UW-W=

Projects
[|Science Fair LibGuide]

Virtual Libraries Created AFTER the Course
Invertebrates

Fourth Grade Botonists

[|Custom Google Search - Fourth Grade Biographies]

Reflection
Students' access to information is changing at a rapid pace. Twenty-five years ago, the role of the school librarian was one where he/she was in charge of giving access to information only within the four walls of the library, with the exception of offering items through inter-library loan. Today, students as young as elementary school have access to the world at their fingertips in the form of smart phones and other personal devices. Today's librarian needs to create a customizable library that students can access 24 hours a day -- regardless of where they physically are. This can be done through virtual libraries.

No longer do students need to go inside the library room to gather information for school or for their personal growth. As access to information has changed, so has the role and responsibilities of the school media specialist. Collection development has always been an integral part of the school librarian's job; however, now he/she needs to collect resources not only in the form of books, but also in the form of digital content -- whether it be databases the school subscribes to online or content that is readily available to all through a web search.

Creating virtual access to materials makes libraries available 24-7, as long as students have access to the internet -- access that is becoming increasingly more standard as more and more parents and children have access to smart phones and other personal devices that make connecting to a virtual library at anytime very simple.

Creating these virtual libraries; however, must be more than a simply a random list of webpages -- students could find these on their own. Rather, these virtual libraries need to be places of cultivated resources that meet the needs of all kinds of learners -- whether students prefer to read their information, listen to it, gather it by watching, or interacting with it. These virtual libraries, unlike the world wide web, can be customized for a particular topic and even particular reading levels. Examples of these are shown above in various web quests that I have created for elementary students as well as a LibGuide created for students, parents, and teachers on science fairs.