The eBook Option: What to do When Advocating for Your School Library Doesn’t Work

Photo by UNESCO

     BCTF’s website states that “many of our public school libraries in British Columbia are closed or only open part of the day.” For schools that have lost their library, or have received severe cuts to it, what do you do?

     I would say, right now in my studies, that the first step for a school-librarian would be to advocate for their school library (and if a school loses their school-librarian, then any teachers, parents, admin, students, or community members could do this). Briefly, this entails: a) making a case as to why the school library needs funding (including making a maintenance and growth budget), b) proposing to shift school budget funds away from specified, less urgently in need, areas and into the school library, and c) seeking elsewhere for funding (fundraisers, grants, foundations, organizations).

     If that first step doesn’t work, or yields insufficient funds, some developing countries (and likely rural communities as well) have come up with, through necessity, another option: eBooks on mobile devices.

     Around 67% or the world’s population own a cell phone (Statistica). For libraries that are insufficiently stocked, no longer current, inappropriately stocked (from donated books that don’t necessarily match the students’ reading levels, interests, or curricular needs), or non-existent(!), allowing students to bring their own devices, or stocking a library with a class’s worth of mobile devices (affordable, donated, or used cellphones, tablets, or eReaders) is a way to keep students reading. There are plenty of great free online resources (such as Britannica Kids), public library eBook collections, cheap eBook subscription services (such as Kindle Unlimited and Audible), eBook collections for schools (such as from Rakuten Overdrive), cheap bundles (such as from Humble Bundle), and, of course, there are the more expensive option of buying specific eBooks, which are still a fraction of the physical book’s cost.

     Personally, I think that even if one’s school library isn’t suffering, that having a classroom-set worth of mobile devices is a good thing as the device can: a) read books to developing readers, b) be used to teach (computer programming, photography, educational games, science, etc.), c) be paired with VR goggles for interactive and immersive learning/experiences, and d) hold large collections of quick-to-access books at their fingertips, which is especially useful if it’s on their own mobile device.

     A teacher-librarian’s school library may not currently be in jeopardy but being prepared in advance for the possibility allows them to transition to a better alternative, as it’s better to have a digital library than none or an inadequate one. In any case, having the back-up resources actually improves learning opportunities, so, even if a teacher-librarian doesn’t need to setup a mobile-technology learning environment, it’s optimal to do so (and what I plan on doing when I’m a teacher-librarian).

References

“Ebooks, Audiobooks & More for Your School.” Rakuten Overdrive, https://company.overdrive.com/education/k-12-schools/

Humble Bundle, https://humblebundle.com

“Inspire. Inform. Educate.” Britannica Kids, https://kids.britannica.com

“Kindleunlimited: Unlimited Reading. Unlimited Listening. Any Device.” Amazon, https://www.amazon.com/kindle-dbs/hz/signup?_encoding=UTF8&ref_=sv_kstore_2

“Number of mobile phone users worldwide from 2015 to 2020 (in billions).” Statista, https://www.statista.com/statistics/274774/forecast-of-mobile-phone-users-worldwide/

“School Libraries.” BCTF, https://bctf.ca/IssuesInEducation.aspx?id=13266

UNESCO. “Reading in the Mobile Era.” YouTube, YouTube, 22 Apr. 2014, www.youtube.com/watch?v=4gOtpCIl-Ng.

West, Mark, et al. Reading in the Mobile Era: a Study of Mobile Reading in Developing Countries. United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, Education Sector, 2014.

“Your first free audiobook is waiting.” Audible, www.audible.ca