Editorial
School Library Monthly/Volume XXVI, Number 7/March 2010
The Need for Information Specialists
By Deborah D. Levitov
The article in this issue of SLM, "Bringing the 400s to Life," speaks of bringing people of the world closer together through language learning and cross-cultural exchange. As Thomas Friedman emphasizes in The World Is Flat (Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 2005), technology has made the world smaller through accessibility. The changes have occurred so quickly, however, that people, businesses, communities, and government have not had time to adapt.
It seems the virtual world, with the vast array of social networking options, should be contributing to better communication and understanding between countries, communities, and cultures. Instead, it may actually segment people into comfort zones and align them with others that think and look like them. In other words, instead of using technology to expand their horizons, people may tend to gravitate to twitters, blogs, wikis, online news, and television stations that reinforce their world perspectives. It is not allowing exposure to new and different ideas and is not providing the adaptability that will be necessary to succeed in the global environment described by Friedman.
Breaking down these barriers is an important challenge for education. It reinforces the role of school librarians to provide balanced information that incorporates multiple perspectives from which opinions can be developed based on fact instead of speculation, emotion, or biased reactions. The school library can become the learning commons where discourse is safe and students can learn to challenge, question, and investigate.
As an information specialist, the school librarian can help students become part of an informed citizenship, knowing how to sort through misinformation, find reliable and authoritative sources, and develop educated opinions along with global awareness.
In this environment, students can learn and construct new knowledge that will bring better understanding of world issues and be part of the solution needed to help the world better adapt to a global society. As Indira Gandhi stated, "You can’t shake hands with a clenched fist."