Editorial
School Library Media Activities Monthly/Volume XXV, Number 2/October 2008
Never a Good Time for Complacency
By Deborah Detenbeck Levitov
What issues were on the minds of library media specialists twenty-five years ago? The editorial of the October 1984 issue of SLMAM contemplated the changing nature of library skills. The card catalog was becoming a thing of the past and reference works were being replaced by online databases. There was a concern about how to teach students the skills they needed in the present as well as in the future. It was important that library media programs reflected the newest technology and that the library media specialists were involved in teaching technology use in the most efficient way.
In 2008, there are differences in the profession along with similarities to 1984. "Library skills" have become "information literacy skills," but the concerns about the skills students need now are still in the forefront. Card catalogs are a thing of the past. Online reference works are commonplace. Yet, access to resources continues to change and library media specialists are still on a learning curve with new technologies. We have moved far beyond contemplating the microcomputer and the way a database works. We are now wrestling with SurveyMonkey, SurveyGizmo, Response-O-Matic, Formsite, QuestionPro, Zoomerang, and other Library 2.0 offerings.
Instead of focusing on the machine, we are now considering applications and how they can improve library media programs, teaching, and learning. Instead of thinking about library skills, we have taken a more global approach with information literacy skills for the 21st-century learner. We are confronting the attitudes and accountability that accompany good learning (e.g., dispositions and responsibilities) and we are trying to figure out how we can know when students are learning (e.g., assessment and evaluation). We have come a long way and continue to change and adapt.
However, there are serious threats facing library media centers across the country. Positions are being cut and programs dismantled. More than ever, it is essential that communication, collaboration, and advocacy are top priorities for library media programs and library media specialists. The challenges we face today require library media specialists to be leaders, visionaries, and connectors in addition to being professional learners and teachers. There is never a good time to be complacent.