Reinventing the School Library

When Robin Williams and I wrote the book In Command little did I know that it would lead my reinvent the school library from the ground up. In that book, we looked at the idea of having every user build their own information space rather than the teacher librarian trying to build a digital school library that may or may not get accessed. Such a turn to client side prompted the notion that the entire school library, now at risk of being totally ignored by users and  cut as an educational frill, should receive new attention. Thus, I called upon my great Canadian colleagues, Koechlin and Zwaan and we are now writing  a major tour of what a reinvented school library transformed into a Learning Commons might look like. It is a wild ride to re-think everything one has written in the past – almost through a mirror to flip it from command and control model to one that is client side. It will debut at the international Association of School Librarians in August of 2998. Recently, I presented the  essence of that thinking at the Texas Library Association to a large audience. It is all about staying in the information game and not being replaced with Google, and it seems we as a profession need to come from behind to stay relevant. It is aan exciting journey and one that must be discussed thoroughly as we continue  to support the kind of teaching and learning that will boost kids and teens into global competitors. Onward!