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When my students come into the library they are expecting to be handed a book
that will tell them all the answers they need to know in order to write
their essays, fill in their worksheets, and complete their homework. They
go to the Internet and type in "Shakespeare" and use the first
hit as their source, cutting and pasting into their essays. Online translators
are used in place of dictionaries because they are easier and they are
on the Web. They appear to have a phobia of paper. However, they will use
certain paper sources, such as the Nineteenth-Century Literary Criticism,
when it is the only source that the teacher will allow for a specific project.
Teachers, on the other hand, have certain books and websites that they constantly
turn to, to the exclusion of all other sources of information. They are not
familiar with new sources, nor do they have the time to learn a new source
and integrate it into their existing curriculum.
One of the new mandates of librarians is to bring information to the people.
I do this at my school by searching out useful resources for students and teachers
and customizing the presentation of the information for each individual need.
For teachers, this means giving them new sources with ways of integrating them
into the curriculum. For students, the information is provided as a way of
saving time and helping them with their projects. I cannot wait for people
to come to me with questions. I need to know of the assignments being given
in advance and have a list of resources ready when I get the first question.
I need to be a bridge between the vast array of information available and the
student who only needs one criticism of Shakespeare, or the teacher developing
a unit on the Middle East.
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