There’s no doubt that online resources are going to get better and cheaper, and students will be able to do their research online from mobile devices wherever they are.

Seth Godin, in this important and thought-provoking blog post, proposes that:  “They need a librarian more than ever (to figure out creative ways to find and use data). They need a library not at all.”

Arguing for a re-definition of the library as space, as catalyst for creativity, co-production and collaboration, he also redefines the librarian role through a similar lens.

Godin continues: “Librarians that are arguing and lobbying for clever ebook lending solutions are completely missing the point. They are defending library as warehouse as opposed to fighting for the future, which is librarian as producer, concierge, connector, teacher and impresario.”

Far from being an anti-book campaigner, Godin paints a scenario where the librarian is at the creative centre of a 21^st Century space completely focused on access to data as well as connections to users.  He sees ‘library’ as serving as the ‘local nerve center for information’.

We need librarians more than we ever did. What we don't need are mere clerks who guard dead paper. Librarians are too important to be a dwindling voice in our culture. For the right librarian, this is the chance of a lifetime.”

Read more: http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2011/05/the-future-of-the-library.html  and see whether you agree.

Janet McFadden

flickr image by: ceslava

Something extraordinary happened after Eliana Litos received an e-reader for a Hannukah gift in December. “Some weeks I completely forgot about TV,” said Eliana, 11. “I went two weeks with only watching one show, or no shows at all. I was just reading every day.”

E-book sales are moving to a younger audience. The latest figures from HarperCollins show that 25% of their e-book sales in January were for young adult books, up from 6% the year before.

Initially e-books were taken up by an older audience, attracted by their portability, convenience, and range of best-sellers they could download – as well as the ability to enlarge text.

Now publishers are reporting a surge in uptake of e-books by teenage readers and even younger children, partly fuelled by Christmas gifts of e-readers.  Kids are reported as huddling in groups reading their Nooks and Kindles, comparing battery life and functionality, and families being able to download e-books for free from the public library.

Read the full article in the New York Times.

Photo by jimmiehomeschoolmom

Janet

Thinking about ebooks – Stephen Abrams

“The ebook juggernaut is moving along like a train with no brakes, and it's raising so many issues…” 

In an article in the latest online Connections magazine from SCIS, Stephen Abram looks at ebooks in the wider context.  Rather than focusing on the merits or otherwise of e-readers and other devices, or the Digital Rights Management issues that are often the focus of articles on this topic, he views ebooks in the wider context, starting with a taxonomy of ebooks.

He describes ebooks as a subset of ‘e-resources’ – which librarians and educators have long been using and promoting:  databases (think EPIC), websites, articles, audio, video, podcasts, and more.

In addition, e-books are a format of books in general – and these too come in a variety of subtypes (encyclopedias, audio books, large print, Braille, non-fiction books, fiction, and so on)

Abrams then turns the spotlight on some of these categories of books, to explore how they are intended to be read or used, and how the ebook format can impact on the reader’s experience.

Fiction, he says, is one of the few book genres designed to be read sequentially, from beginning to end. Non-fiction is much more of a mix, with some (such as biographies, diaries, and self-help books) also intended to be read from cover to cover. Others are designed for the reader to dip into, to read just the piece of information required.

However, it is Reference books that can shine as e-resources.  No longer bound by the conventions of page order, electronic versions are able to add functionality and search features to enable the reader to discover and experience content in whole new ways.

http://www2.curriculum.edu.au/scis/connections/thinking_about_ebooks.html

 Janet

eBooks in school libraries

eBooks.  Love them or hate them for your personal use, there is no doubt that these resources will have an increasing impact on school libraries and learning.  Of course their use will initially provide a challenge for the way collections are managed, and there is obviously a requirement for a technological component, and there will undoubtedly be many reasons to also keep a print collection but lets consider some of the benefits of working through some of the issues.

Most eReaders provide a great selection of tools.   As a student researches, they can use highlighting tools, take notes, search, and click a word to access a dictionary definition.  For students that require it, some eReaders provide a text to speech feature.

eBooks can very easily give access to additional content.  Multimedia and interactivity can be powerful motivators for students, links to webpages can provide updates, discussion features and further information.  Textbooks in eBook format can provide online exercises that reinforce learning as well as the benefits of the research tools.  Speaking of textbooks, a large number of textbooks in eBook format are much easier on shoulders and backs than if they were in print.

And eBooks don’t need covering, or repairing, or shelf space.

There are fast changing issues around digital rights management and compatibility with all the different devices and these are well discussed on the New Zealand eReaders Taskforce wiki along with links to many other sources and research for further information.  We also discuss eBooks in more depth on our website
and host a group in the online community.

Join the discussion, ask lots of questions, debate the pros and cons, the journey will be easier and more fun if we put our collective minds to them and learn from the global ‘each other’

Esther