The school libraries of the ’90s bear little resemblance to their predecessors of 20 or 30 years ago.
In addition to the traditional shelves of books and tables for studying, today’s libraries have word processors, computers linked to the Internet and Info Trac (computerized magazine index), videos, VCRs and CD-ROMs.
For many, there has also been a name change. The new nomenclature-media center, resource center or learning center-reflects the idea that the school library is much more than books. It’s where students can tap into up-to-date resources and information via sophisticated technology.
In fact, technology has revolutionized library operations, educators say.
“In the Chicago public school system, the library is still evolving, but it has changed from a passive type of organization to a much more aggressive, active organization,” said Phyllis Wright, assistant principal for curriculum at Lincoln Park High School on the Near North Side.
“Today (the library is) more of a research-through-technology operation, as opposed to 20 or 30 years ago when it was a research-through-hands-on facility where students would actually handle a book and paper. Now, in theory, a student wouldn’t have to touch a book or paper. A lot of people hand in their assignments on a disk.”
The library “used to serve as a place to go during study periods,” she added. “Students would go there to do research, homework or assigned reading. Now, students have six classes of coursework a day-they no longer have study periods-so the library is used differently. It’s much more of a media center-a place where people access information in various ways.”
And the main way students do this is by using computers equipped with software that provides access to information from sources practically anywhere in the world.
“The Internet is a powerful tool for learning and sharing,” said Betty Laliberte, head librarian at York Community High School in Elmhurst. “It provides us with the opportunity to seek information from any source.”
York’s library is equipped with six computers, one of which is connected to the Internet. Students sign an agreement stating they will use the Internet in accordance with school guidelines, which require its use only to research school assignments, Laliberte said.
For example, if a student is researching a physics question, he or she can confer with scientists at Argonne National Laboratory, near Darien, by using Newton, an on-line service that links the pupil with science and math experts.
Another service allows students studying German to write, in German, to pen pals living in Germany. The German students respond in English, exchanging information that fosters friendship and cultural awareness, Laliberte said.
“I call it breaking down the walls of the library,” Laliberte said. “We’re limited only by the information people choose to share on the Internet.”
Computers and programs that access information also are appearing at the elementary school level.
The library at southwest suburban Willow Springs Elementary School is in the process of going on-line with the Internet, said Deloris Lohmann, the school’s media specialist. “The computer and modem have expanded what we can do. We’ll be able to research any question. If a student needs a current weather map of Alaska or China, we’ll be able to pull one up that has the latest available information. There are a lot of innovative and creative things you can do when you have access to so much information.”
Another change at the elementary and high school levels is the addition of computers equipped to process encyclopedias that are now on CD-ROM. “One of the biggest changes for us is our new lab with some computers that access CD-ROMs,” Lohmann said.
“In the old days, we used to tell the kids to take notes when they were using an encyclopedia (the book). Now they can pull up different material from several sources, and cut and paste the information they want.”
And there’s a saving in the cost of procuring information through computers, she added. “I can buy a complete encyclopedia on CD-ROM for $100. It would cost $1,000 for the volumes. I’ll be able to purchase more materials because of CD-ROMs. It saves some money and gives us a lot more resources.”
Many suburban school libraries, including Willow Springs, also have access to the Suburban Library System. This cooperative use of resources allows librarians to research information and borrow materials from other libraries.
“You really can’t buy everything, so you expand your database, and that gives you access to everything,” Lohmann said. “If I can’t find (the answer) in my collection, I go to the library system.”
Students at Lincoln Park High School also can search for materials at other libraries because they have access to several databases, including the Chicago Pubic Library Card Catalog.
“Students looking for a specific book can find which library branch has that book and if it’s available. This allows for more extensive use of research materials,” Wright said.
Lincoln Park High School’s library, which has six computers and five word processors, also will be linked to the Internet. “It’s mind-boggling the information a student can access,” Wright said. “He can go through all the available resources and then individualize the material to meet his needs.”
Despite all the changes, today’s school library is still used as a classroom. At the elementary level, librarians teach students such procedures as researching, using the card catalog and finding a book according to the Dewey Decimal System.
At the high school level, teachers often hold classes in the library, utilizing many of its multimedia options. York’s library houses the Creativity Center, which is operated by the social studies department. There, students work on multimedia presentations using video cameras, still-frame photography and television equip-ment.
There’s also The Center, a writing lab operated by the English department and equipped with 12 computers used for writing and editing reports. “The students write the first draft and then, if they want, a tutor helps them with the rewrite. It’s a great idea to have that in our library because the reference materials are right there,” Laliberte said.
As in the past, school libraries continue to provide reference books and leisure reading material. A major change, however, is that the quality of leisure books, especially those for students at the elementary level, has improved over the past four decades, Lohmann noted. “Forty years ago, there were no color books. Everything was black and white. The kids didn’t get that excited about reading.”
Books have changed considerably since then, Lohmann said. “They’re more exciting visually because the illustrations are in color. The art work has come a long way from even 10 years ago. Kids are attracted to that. Having a 3-D Magic Eye book (in which pictures look three-dimensional after one focuses on them a while) makes it cool to carry a book. It may not be great literature, but at least they’re reading.”
“So much material is accessible through databases that, instead of buying additional reference materials, I think we should purchase more high-quality leisure reading materials for students,” she said. “Given budget limitations, it’s something to consider.”
Despite the significant changes that school libraries have undergone in recent decades, helping students procure and process information is still the top priority, librarians say.
“We’re trying to get students to understand what they’re doing so they get where they want to go deliberately-not by accident,” York’s Laliberte said. “Our mission is to help students learn strategies that enable them to retrieve, evaluate and use information in a way that makes them problem-solvers and independent thinkers.”
