Kenney, B. (2009, October). The Biggest Losers. School Library Journal. p. 9. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.comlogin.aspx?direct=true&db&AN=4459875&site=ehost-live
Kenney (2009) is an Editor-in-Chief of a library magazine. His article, “The Biggest Losers” is a response to the innovative headmaster James Tracy, who is responsible for a half-a-million dollar investment to transform the library into an interactive Learning Commons. Tracy’s school “is getting rid of its 20,000 book collection and replacing it with 18 digital readers, such as the Kindle,” and a “cyber-café (with a $12,000 cappuccino machine!), and much more.” Kenney (2009) accuses Tracy of not doing his homework as the books offered for e-books are classics, not very good, and limited in number. Not only that, but he says that after the students leave Cushing Academy, they will still need to learn “21th Century skills to succeed” in reading on a deeper level. Kenney (2009) suggests to Tracy that if he wants to encourage reading, try “tak[ing] advantage of the 86 titles on the 2009 Best Books for Young Adult list.” He also cites a research study “of more than 3,000 teens by Teensread.com, young adults prefer print” (Kenney, 2009 quotes the October 26 issue of Publishers Weekly).
My response to Tracy’s library reformation is that I have to agree with Kenney (2009) that while bookless libraries such as Tracy’s may be a thing of the future, most students prefer books, as the responses I observe every day in my library suggest. Students always come in to my library and want the latest book, or the next book in a series. I also see students watching You-Tube and playing games, but students need a variety of resources and formats to be well-rounded readers in today’s society. I would suggest to Tracy that balance is much more effective than getting rid of all books in the library to meet the needs of all learners.
No comments:
Post a Comment