School Library Media Centers in the 21st Century: Changes and Challenges (Greenwood Professional Guides in School Librarianship) [Hardcover]

Kathleen W. Craver (Author)

Book Description

Series: Greenwood Professional Guides in School Librarianship | Publication Date: July 30, 1994

School library media centers 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, analyzes 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 will find this book an invaluable resource. To visualize the future, Craver creates contrasting scenarios of utopian and dystopian school library media centers in the 21st century. Chapter 1, Technological Trends, discusses the digitalization of all media and the implications of the technological revolution on the school library media center. 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 Behavioral 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 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 center. Chapter 8, Challenges, focuses on a series of challenges in technology, performance-based programs, collection development, instruction, and organization and manayement of the library media center.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Craver scans her crystal ball to predict the future of school library media centers in the twenty-first century. What she sees is technology--and lots of it--in the form of CD ROMs, the Internet, online databases, virtual reality software, and more. She also visualizes declining budgets, the growth of computer-related service sector employment, a decline in literacy, an increase in latchkey children, and a greater role for librarians, who will be charged with the task of assisting faculty, students, and parents in operating the new technology. Although at first glance this may seem more suitable as a graduate school textbook than as a resource for frontline librarians, a closer inspection reveals that many of Craver's ideas have already come to pass and are in current use by farsighted (and usually economically secure) school districts. 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. Kay Weisman

Review

“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

“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

“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

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 216 pages
• Publisher: Greenwood Press (July 30, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0313291004
• ISBN-13: 978-0313291005
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 6.4 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,349,456 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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2.0 out of 5 stars A slice of history, June 3, 2009

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This review is from: School Library Media Centers in the 21st Century: Changes and Challenges (Greenwood Professional Guides in School Librarianship) (Hardcover)

Well, Craver's book might have been "a must read" in 1994, but in 2009 it is only background. Mind you, like much of Greenwood's books it is well documented; though Craver often relies on 3rd party reporting of facts and figures. If you are keen in a complete book shelf of library media literature, this is a purchase.