 |
| Photo by UNESCO |
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 For libraries that are insufficiently stocked, no
longer current, inappropriately stocked (from donated books that don’t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.
