The Future of Libraries in an Electronic Age

Can libraries continue to function and serve their purpose as a repository of knowledge and a heart of research in a digital age? Why use books when you can Google it? Why come to a physical place called a library when you can access the internet from the comfort of your PC? These are the kind of questions being asked of the library service at the current time and I will try to answer them according to my own knowledge and experience.

Libraries, as learning resource centres, are responsible for the provision of resources of all kinds. Increasingly these resources are digital. It is vital for library staff to be conversant with these.  As well as an impressive collection of print resources, in the ENSFC library we have 18 computers. These carry the potential to access vast amounts of information. However there are dangers inherent in this boundless access to knowledge. It is not just a question of quantity of available information, but its quality and reliability. Most people are aware of the limitations of Wikipedia. It is often the first point of call when researching a subject, but how far can such a resource be trusted? How many students are tempted just to cut and paste (maybe altering the wording a little bit in the belief they will get away with it). It is partly the librarian’s task to educate students about the nature of information available and how they can learn to assess its worth. Google something and you can be swamped in an ocean of references most of which will be irrelevant, some will be misleading, in the often vain hope of finding a glint of gold in the bottom of the pan. Librarians can provide the guidance needed to get authoritative, useful materials without drowning in a sea of irrelevancies.

Part of a librarian’s task is in selecting and enabling student’s access to the most trusted and reliable sources available. By providing this service the Learning Resources Centre becomes a place where students can start their research from a strong position. The Moodle library page is becoming a useful portal to a range of paid for resources  including The Oxford English Dictionary online, The Times digital archives 1785-1985, Infotrac  newspapers, Up to date issues  statistics for the social sciences, Philip Allan Update review magazine to support a range of A level subjects, and free resources such as  including 3000 eBooks through  the Jisc ebooks for FE project ebray, and http://core.kmi.open.ac.uk/search  which allows access to literally millions of scholarly papers. I have recently added a link to an Open University resource http://www.open.ac.uk/libraryservices/beingdigital/?ONEML=pf1873&MEDIA=pf0910os_1121 called “being digital” which offers good step by step advice on using the internet for research and the values and pitfalls of social networking.  New resources are continuously being added as they become available. In some ways the problem now is not the quantity of quality resources, but in enabling students to structure their research questions to make best use of what is available.

One area in which the print resources of the library excel is in the matter of art materials. We have a large collection of big format art and photography books which are in constant use. However, the internet can also give access to a huge number of visual resources. Another link I have just added onto the library Moodle page is the http://www.googleartproject.com/ – giving access to over 184 collections many from major museums and art galleries. You can view them on your screen in fantastic detail or even walk the corridors street view style (but without the crowds).

Academic libraries are places where students can work in a supportive environment where excessive noise and disruptive behaviour is discouraged .Libraries; especially academic libraries have always been places where individuals can receive guidance as to how to access the information they need.

The future

What I have just described isn’t the future, it is the present. Libraries are changing and it is vitally important that we embrace change and the huge new possibilities and opportunities which are presenting themselves.

Primarily we need to ensure that the students receive training in the use of information services. They need to be well versed and familiar with the dangers and pitfalls of relying on poorly referenced materials gleaned from the internet. They need to know where to go to find accurate and reliable data, correctly cite their sources and avoid plagiarism.

Also students need to know how to structure their research so they are not overwhelmed by the sheer volume of material available.

We must be open to the use of social networking applications. This may be controversial and there are strong arguments on both sides. Many feel that social networking is largely negative in an educational setting, merely providing distraction from the tasks in hand. Therefore access to face book and twitter are often blocked on college computers. However, it is important to be open to the positive aspects of social networking that the value of collaborative working and research. It is clearly an area about which there will continue to be a great deal of discussion in coming years. I use both applications to keep up to date with news of book awards, specific authors, literary events and news and innovations in the learning resources sector.  I follow other librarians and information professionals and subscribe to several blogs which provide useful ideas and suggestions from the experience of others in this sector. Useful and entertaining news items often find their way to the Moodle book news forum.

We must also be open to including more eBooks in our collection. The ebray is a trusted source for nonfiction, but perhaps we should consider sourcing more fiction books online?  I have included a link to http://www.booksshouldbefree.com/ on our library page and read an interesting article recently about the use of kindles in a school’s library to encourage reluctant readers. This remains an area of debate. However I am deeply committed to the promotion of literacy and anything which supports reading is to be encouraged.

Books are not dead; they are merely a part of the resources the library provides.

 “The evidence continues to accumulate that libraries – and their librarians – lie absolutely at the heart of 3^rd millennium learning organisations: a place for scholarship, a place to escape into adventures, a place of discovery, a place to share and explore, a place for deep thought, a place for surprise and above all a place without limits. The best schools have libraries at their centres not as some sad throwback to an earlier age but as a clear and evocative prototype of what ambitious learning might look like in this century of learning.”

 Professor Stephen Heppell (quoted in http://www.cilip.org.uk/news-media/pages/news072010.aspx )

Pam Riley

Learning Resources Coordinator

East Norfolk Sixth Form College

Starting a Book Club and Creative Writing Group

Starting a Reading and Writing Group in a Sixth form College

Why do it in the first place?

Was it:

• ·        Part of a well-planned literacy strategy based on research and well known educational values?
• ·        Response to requests from students for such a club in keeping with the college’s policy on promoting extra curricular societies?
• ·        Just for fun?

I do ask myself the same question.

The notion of a well-planned literacy strategy is a slight exaggeration. I have plans, but putting them into practice has not always turned out as I might have wished. I must declare my self-interest. It isn't worth getting into something which is not mandatory unless you are going to enjoy it. I am super lucky; propagating my obsession is actually part of my job. It is why I am a librarian. Running a book group actually gives me the right to talk about the amazing books I get in for others to enjoy. Once I made it clear that I could get books in on request, some students became my best friends. I helped them by providing the next big YA thing or manga, or whatever, and they helped me to build up an exciting and varied collection of relevant fiction to appeal to a wide range of young people.

There was another stream, the writers. The original idea for a creative writing group came about for a few reasons. I was once approached by a shy student who told me she had finished writing a book and didn't know what to do with it. At the time I pointed her in the direction of the writers and artists handbook of which we had a very out of date copy, but felt my response had been inadequate. I know from experience how difficult it must have been for her to ask me, as if writing a book is confessing to a crime. Then I asked students in a library user’s survey, to suggest activities that they would like to see in the library. The responses included a number of requests for both a reading and a creative writing group. I also discovered a battered copy of a home produced anthology produced by a creative writing group a few years previously, it had been done before..

It was clear to me that students with a desire to pursue creative writing would benefit from having a space where they could come and share their passion without fear of ridicule and discouragement. I was unsure as to how it would work out and whether we would have one group for readers and one for writers and even if we would have enough interest to sustain either or both.

 I launched the idea with trepidation and not much hope, as my attempt to set up something the year before had completely flopped. I advertised a lunchtime meeting in the cupboard-come meeting room tucked away behind the issue desk and settled myself in to wait for someone, or no one to turn up.

To my amazement, they did. We had to move the meeting into the main library and I took 18 names at the initial meeting, with several others sending apologies but expressing interest. I had 23 students interested in either a book group, or creative writing group or both. I was amazed and scared. How would I choose what we did? I didn't want it to turn into an extra lesson; I had envisioned a small lunchtime club with its content and direction dictated by its members.

I managed to get the use of a classroom close to the LRC which had a screen and computer if I wanted to show any youtube clips or film trailers. We started as a joint reading and writing group but after a while it was obvious that the groups had very distinct aims and we split into two, the writing group meeting every Friday and the reading group meeting on alternate Tuesdays (to give a chance to finish the chosen books)

Reading Group.

The first issue was book selection. It was important that this come from the students. I had some vague ideas about shadowing major literary prizes such as Man Booker, or even the Carnegie, but in the end I left it open to the group. I asked them to write down the books that they would like to see in the book group, either books they had read which they would happily recommend to others or books they would like to read. I went through the list and identified the books mentioned more than once. The first list was as follows:

·        The Hobbit -Tolkien

·        The Book Thief - Marcus Zukas

·        The Fault in Our Stars - John Green

·        Dancing Jax - Robin Jarvis

·        Divergent - Veronica Roth

We met every two weeks, the numbers did decline but that was expected. I had made it clear from the outset that I did not want the program to become a burden and they were welcome to dip in and out as their coursework allowed. It has settled to a comfortable, variable half dozen and we are now embarking on the second selection again selected by the group members:

• ·        The Secret Life of Bees – Sue Monk Kidd
• ·        Long Lankin – Lindsey Barraclough
• ·        Never Let Me Go - Kazuo Ishiguro
• ·        The Woman in Black- Susan Hill
• ·        Stardust – Neil Gaiman
• ·        The Perks of Being a Wallflower - Stephen Chbosky

I am in the process of setting up a forum on Moodle to allow the group members another way of discussing the books. I am asking them to give each book a rating (1-5). Where 1 is rubbish and 5 is brilliant so that at the end of the year we can announce the college book club winner.

Reflection

I am delighted with the success of this small group but with some reservations.

I have provided a friendly, non-threatening lunchtime club for committed bibliophiles, but am very much aware that this could be seen as a relatively exclusive, even privileged group.

It does not constitute a literacy policy. I am not reaching reluctant readers. I am aware of this and am aiming to expand to develop a more positive outreach, using schemes such as the six book challenge. I already have contact with a couple of manga fans who are helping me develop a small collection. Quite apart from my book club members, my policy of getting books in on demand has led to me buying in a lot of popular dark romances, and middle range fantasies aimed at boys such as the Young Samurai series by Chris Bradford and the One Piece Manga series by Eiichiro Oda. This has certainly won me some friends even if the choices may not seem too intellectually demanding. My policy is always primarily to encourage reading for pleasure.

The Creative Writing Group

This was the most challenging project from my point of view and I have relied heavily on suggestions from the students themselves. Two of the group had already been members of a creative writing group at their previous school. Some of them have also tried nanowrimo and one is a member of a creative writing group at a local public library which has provided useful contacts.  It has been a steep learning curve. All I had to guide me has been my enthusiasm, writing workshops from the UEA creative writing course and materials from the web. We meet weekly, up to half a dozen members with some overlap with the book group.

We do short workshops and each week there is an opportunity for a member to share something, but this is not compulsory and my aim is to help the members build their confidence to the point they feel able to do so.  I see it as a kind of writer’s self-help group.

 I did start with the hope that we might produce an anthology, but currently I am happy if the participants are enjoying the group, having the opportunity to discuss different approaches to creative writing and experimenting with the workshop activities. Each member is encouraged to bring a notebook and regard the workshop activities as a way of building up a reference of starting points which they could build on at home if they felt they wanted to.

Again, we have a small friendly lunchtime club. Whether it is benefiting their future literary aspirations I have no idea. I hope it is at least helping them to build their confidence in their art.

Both groups are experimental. I am hoping to build on them to create a more student centered community in the LRC. Two members are now doing a small amount of work experience in the library and we are planning on some events for book week in March.

Hopefully I will be able to report on more reading and writing activities over the next few months. Please comment, or post suggestions.

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