Once upon a time, it was easy for some people to get lost in libraries. That does not entail wondering around bookshelves as if one is in a maze of mirrors and can’t find their way out, which would illicit fear and misunderstanding, instead getting lost in a library is akin to becoming lost in your own world of imagination. When it comes to the future of libraries, we can apply the same old adage. It is clear one can still find themselves lost in the library, but instead of books, we find ourselves lost in a digital world, which is also full of imagination and possibilities.
It is time for an uprising of the imaginative kind. With a plethora of technology components at our fingertips, we have a world that is now full of knowledge as well as a world that is full of imagination. And we owe it to our students to provide them with the resources and tools to encourage them to use their creativity and enhance the way they share their imagination with the world.
Here are the Top 3 ways we will see imagination being enhanced in our school libraries over the coming years:
- Resource Collection:
School librarians know how to build collections of materials that support students, whether those resources are for pleasure or research. This used to mean that the school librarian would be seen loading a cart with books and pushing them into a classroom for a teacher to use to supplement a unit or to provide students with the opportunity to choose books that interest them and allow them to get lost in a book. However, resources have become increasingly digital, and many students have access to devices through 1:1 initiatives. This has allowed school librarians to replace that cumbersome book cart with web pages that are full of bookmarked links that can be built specifically for teachers, admin, parents, and students. When students are provided with these links, they can once again get lost in the library, and they don’t even have to physically visit the library to make that happen. Digital curation resources are a must have for future school librarians as they collect and provide students with materials that will enhance their education and jumpstart their creativity. These resources can help individualize learning by providing materials at multiple levels and multiple formats, pulling in more children than ever before!
- Check out why students think curating resources is such an important concept in school libraries:
2. Producing Digital Content:
Today’s students can communicate using many media platforms other than sitting at a table in the library, writing notes, and turning them into paper footballs to use for games while waiting to check out a book. School libraries can now provide tools for activities like video production, podcasting, digital photo editing, and VR technology components. As students learn to create digital content, it will enhance their multimedia skills, providing them with a platform for expressing themselves, tapping into their imaginations as they create. Students aren’t just reading about dinosaurs anymore, they are reading about dinosaurs, researching using curated resources, and then using programs to create multimedia content including graphics, animations, artwork, and text so they can create their own books and presentations about dinosaurs to share with others. There are so many different ways to communicate now, the imaginative qualities are endless. From morning news broadcasts while using a green screen in video production to computer programming and coding, the school library is becoming a place where students can create rather than just consume.
- Check out what students can accomplish if they are allowed to use their imagination to produce their own morning news program using digital tools in the school library:
3. Planning & Managing Makerspaces:
Makerspaces in school libraries offer a place with a variety of resources that can range from 3D printers to machine parts to markers and cardboard. Students are encouraged to tinker and create things in an unstructured way, allowing imagination free range. In makerspaces, students are not only encouraged to create but be creative problem solvers as well. Maker clubs can use the makerspaces within school libraries to collaborate and cooperate. Students can use materials such as cardboard, duct tape, and technology devices for long-term projects associated with their maker clubs or individual students can use the materials for their own tinkering and creative time. Students can even recreate the worlds they read about in their favorite books, building creations to enhance books talks, or take characters on imaginative adventures in landscapes they create in the makerspace.
- Ashville City Schools is known for incorporating technology into its daily curriculum, however, this Makerspace Studio takes things even farther. Check out their 3D printer, green screen coding club, and robotics galore. This is a great example of what students can do when they are allowed to use their imagination:
Supporting students, encouraging them to tap into their imagination, and enhancing learning opportunities with digital resources isn’t a new role for school librarians, however, it is a role that continues to grow in importance and will continue to be a long-term trend in the school library community. The future of school libraries will see an uprising in imaginative qualities, and students will continue to get lost in the library, however, they will get lost in more elaborate ways that will enhance learning and encourage creativity.
Swearingen the Librarian 