EduCon 2.5

No part of schooling has changed as much as the school library and the disruptions are likely to continue for some time. The look, feel, purpose and practices of the school library are all in flux. Technology has made a big difference at the same time budget cuts have altered staffing and challenged the continued existence of the library in many schools.

Dewey may be done, e-books are starting to emerge, filters are fading and reference books are rarely used for research, so what is the library’s role in the school, the librarians role in the library, and how do teachers take advantage of the emerging new school media center, if that is what it has become.

Administrators, teachers, students and librarians are all affected by and have an effect on the form, features, functions and financing of the library and all those voices need to be part of the conversation.

The presenters are a rural school district administrator who has invested heavily in renovating the district’s libraries to make them more student friendly, a scholar and consultant who was instrumental in the planning for those renovations, and an inner-city middle school librarian who is in the process of planning a renovation of his library. We bring a variety of perspectives to the conversation and are all experienced facilitators of constructive engagement.