Module 1 Collection in Context

ETL 503 Module 1
My reflections.
What is the school libraries role in resourcing the curriculum?

 "A major challenge, and a significant opportunity, for school libraries is change."ETL 503 module 1 Introduction.
 This sums it up for me. Change is inevitable. It all depends on how we view these changes. How are schools going to successfully make these changes work for all the stakeholders? There are a number of constraints placed upon schools but changes in resources and how we resource school libraries is like the double edged sword - exciting and overwhelming. Only today I have been overwhelmed and confused when looking at purchasing / upgrading computers, and delving into the various devices available for accessing e books and resources. You really have to take your time and do your research. the evolution is happening as we blog. Change is occurring so fast that I think we need to take a small step back in  on order to make the best choices. I found Shatkin's article- 'What to Watch for in 2013' very informative and interesting. The future is still uncertain with e books and the implications on publishing.
There are five trends identified by Shatzkin. They are:
1.That sales from print to digital have and are predicted to slow.
2 The type of e book determines its success . "For immersive reading — books that are all text where you basically start on the first page and read through to the last — the “adjustment” to ebooks is both technically simple and uncomplicated for the consumer. The inherent issue is that precisely the same intellectual output in both formats, which works fine for immersive reading, almost never does for complex books." This then will have different impacts on sales of e - reading devices.
3 Mergers among publishers may be conducive to supply and as such subscription services from large companies may become available.
4. Platforms may determine the types of e books which are published.
5. "Marketing for publishers will be a constant exercise in learning and reinvention, and increasingly difficult to separate from editorial." This will impact on libraries in the future .

 Johnson, D. (2010). Libraries for a Post-Literate Society. Connections Issue 72, pp. 1-2 "Pundits are remarking that online reading is changing their personal reading behaviours. As the Jobs quote above suggests, we are rapidly becoming a post-literate society."

I found this article one of the most interesting so far. Such an interesting concept which until now I hadn't given much thought to. I have since given copies to other teachers and non teaching friends. " I would modify that definition and define the post-literate as those who can read but who choose to meet their primary information and recreational needs through audio, video, graphics and gaming. Print for the post-literate is relegated to brief personal messages, short informational needs, and other functional, highly pragmatic uses such as instructions, signage and time-management device entries - each often highly supplemented by graphics. The post-literate's need for extended works or larger amounts of information is met through visual and/or auditory formats." Johnson (2010) School libraries need to consider whether or not this is true and address the needs of our supposed post literate learners accordingly. I think that to a certain degree this is true. The reading content for many has changed. I reflect on my own family as an example. We are still novel and book reading individuals. According to the articleTL's   have a certain bias toward books. The exception is with my youngest 8 year old who spends more time reading from game screens than books. I would have to say we all spend more time than ever reading from screens. I have also noticed generally when I visit other peoples homes, we are the exception with coffee tables and shelves stacked with books of all kinds while sometimes it's hard finding any books on some peoples shelves. Maybe they are all stored away neatly on their e - readers.

Pru Mitchell's,  'Resourcing 21st Century Online Australian Curriculum: The Role of School Libraries' When asking the question about how effectively schools are addressing resourcing for 21st century. I think we are are still adopting a let's wait and see approach. The Australian curriculum is still in its infancy and a new English curriculum being implemented. Currently inservicing is still underway and it appears at first glance that these two documents do not work alongside each other easily. In fact there is some confusion about how to combine the two documents. It is therefore difficult at this stage to determine resource needs. Mitchell's quote, "There is however a danger that in our efforts to achieve a national consistency, realise economics of scale and deliver curriculum resources in extremely tight timelines, we may simply be dishing up replacement to the ready - to - serve text book, but in an online format." I agree with Pru Mitchell that this is possible and am also concerned that in the interest of national consistency we could easily lose sight of the needs of our individual learning communities.