Media Centers are Changing Too

It seems like all of my blogs are taking on a common theme: Library institutions are changing with the times, and these times involve technology. Some of the changes are negative (see previous blog) and some can be positive. Media centers are slowly keeping up with the changes too, and I think in a positive way. They are starting to change from all books and maybe a few computers to become true places where different kinds of media can be found. Alan November writes in his article, "Space: The Final Frontier" that as media centers are being created or redesigned, people need to take into account that, "the massive shift from paper as the dominant media to digital content will continue. So will the move toward online learning, student collaboration on a local and global scale, and self-produced content, all of which demand reconfiguration of the learning landscape" (November, 2007). He states cases in which some schools are now offering on-line curriculum and Michigan even has, "plans to require all graduating high school students to complete a certain amount of coursework via the Web (November, 2007). Even now I am completing this blog for an online class, so I can see the value for students to be exposed to this kind of experience before college. November's ideas for media centers suggest that they provide work areas that accommodate the new types of ways in which students will be learning. These could be private workstations, separate rooms for students to create multimedia presentations and videos, areas for students to collaborate on projects, etc. I like the ideas for a new media center. Yes, I still want to keep the books and make them central, especially the fiction. But I also agree that we can change with the times and offer other ways of learning. In today's workplace, students are going to need a lot of technology skills, and the media center can help with promoting that. Also a lot of learning is done on the internet now, so providing students with a place where they can participate in remote learning seems valuable. I feel like these changes will happen fairly slowly, however, due to budget issues and unwillingness by some to change.
November, A. (2007). Space: The final frontier; A leading tech advocate imagines a media center fit for 21st century learning. School Library Journal, Features, 44.