School Library Media Centers in the 21st Century: Changes and Challenges

(Hardback)

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School library media centres are at a critical juncture. Over the next decade, schools will undergo fundamental technological, economic, societal, instructional and administrative changes. Craver discusses the major forces for change confronting school libraries, analyses their implications as a guide for future decision making, and recommends that school library media specialists assume a leadership role in meeting these challenges. The work provides current data and statistics on future trends in technology, employment, education, society, instruction and school administration that can help the school library media specialist to formulate forceful arguments for the acquisition of new technologies, instructional reform, and full implementation of resource-based learning. School library media specialists who need to plan and make decisions about the future of their school libraries should find this book an invaluable resource. To visualise the future, Craver creates contrasting scenarios of utopian and dystopian school library media centres in the 21st century. Chapter 1, "Technological Trends", discusses the digitalisation of all media and the implications of the technological revolution on the school library media centre. Chapter 2, "Economic Trends", considers the impact of demographic changes and declining budgets and how to deal with them. Chapter 3, "Employment Trends", outlines future trends in the workforce and suggests ways in which the school library can respond. Chapter 4, "Educational Trends", charts the decline in literacy and the growing school reform movement. Chapter 5, "Social and Behavioural Trends", discusses the change from a nation with minorities to a nation of minorities, and the transformation of the American family. Chapter 6, "Instructional Trends", shows how the the instructional role of the school library media specialist will change with the presence of advanced technologies. Chapter 7, "Organizational and Managerial Trends", describes the role the school library media specialist will have to assume as the technological, economic, educational and cultural changes affect the daily business of the media centre. Chapter 8, "Challenges", focuses on a series of challenges in technology, performance-based programmes, collection development, instruction and organisation and management of the library media centre.

Reviews

.,."provides excellent ideas and information to guide those responsible for developing and providing library service to children and young adults in a school setting. This is not, it must be emphasized, your usual guide to running a library on a day-to-day basis. It is a careful and thoughtful examination of the technological, economic, employment, educational, social and behavioral, instructional, and organizational and managerial trends that will have an impact on the development of school media centers in the next decade. Craver begins with a chilling scenario that contrasts two visions of tomorrow-library media services in a utopian school and those in a dystopian school. She concludes with a short chapter that concisely outlines eight challenges that school library media centers and school library media specialists must meet if they are to come close to matching the positive vision of the future she outlines in her utopian scenario."-Wilson Library Bulletin
...provides excellent ideas and information to guide those responsible for developing and providing library service to children and young adults in a school setting. This is not, it must be emphasized, your usual guide to running a library on a day-to-day basis. It is a careful and thoughtful examination of the technological, economic, employment, educational, social and behavioral, instructional, and organizational and managerial trends that will have an impact on the development of school media centers in the next decade. Craver begins with a chilling scenario that contrasts two visions of tomorrow-library media services in a utopian school and those in a dystopian school. She concludes with a short chapter that concisely outlines eight challenges that school library media centers and school library media specialists must meet if they are to come close to matching the positive vision of the future she outlines in her utopian scenario.-Wilson Library Bulletin
A planning resource for media specialists, this book contains important information for administrators, those who control funds, and those planning careers as school library media specialists.-VOYA
Media specialists and administrators involved in future planning will find this very useful; Craver's numerous statistical forecasts will prove helpful for Board of Education presentations, too.-Booklist/Reference Books Bulletin
This is a must-read' for practicing school library media specialists. It is not simply trends for library media centers that Craver documents, but trends that will affect every facet of our professional lives. Valuable information (including some shocking statistics) is tightly organized into eight chapters that present trends for seven general areas, such as technology, the economy, education, employment, and organization and management....Media specialists will want to dive into this volume with notebook in hand to capture the stunning statistics, quotations, and ideas -- with perhaps a friend nearby to whom they can call out, Hey listen to this!'-School Library Journal
"A planning resource for media specialists, this book contains important information for administrators, those who control funds, and those planning careers as school library media specialists."-VOYA
"Media specialists and administrators involved in future planning will find this very useful; Craver's numerous statistical forecasts will prove helpful for Board of Education presentations, too."-Booklist/Reference Books Bulletin
"This is a must-read' for practicing school library media specialists. It is not simply trends for library media centers that Craver documents, but trends that will affect every facet of our professional lives. Valuable information (including some shocking statistics) is tightly organized into eight chapters that present trends for seven general areas, such as technology, the economy, education, employment, and organization and management....Media specialists will want to dive into this volume with notebook in hand to capture the stunning statistics, quotations, and ideas -- with perhaps a friend nearby to whom they can call out, Hey listen to this!'"-School Library Journal
..."provides excellent ideas and information to guide those responsible for developing and providing library service to children and young adults in a school setting. This is not, it must be emphasized, your usual guide to running a library on a day-to-day basis. It is a careful and thoughtful examination of the technological, economic, employment, educational, social and behavioral, instructional, and organizational and managerial trends that will have an impact on the development of school media centers in the next decade. Craver begins with a chilling scenario that contrasts two visions of tomorrow-library media services in a utopian school and those in a dystopian school. She concludes with a short chapter that concisely outlines eight challenges that school library media centers and school library media specialists must meet if they are to come close to matching the positive vision of the future she outlines in her utopian scenario."-Wilson Library Bulletin

Author Bio

KATHLEEN W. CRAVER has been Head Librarian at the National Cathedral School in Washington, D.C., since 1987. Prior to that time, she was Associate Professor of Library Administration, University High School, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She has been a school librarian in both public and private schools for 18 years. She holds a doctorate in Library Science from the University of Illiois and is the author of a monograph, The Changing Instructional Role of the High School Librarian (1986), and numerous articles on school librarianship.