Linking Libraries and Academic Achievement

I just returned from ALA Mid-Winter along with Gail Dickinson, Kathy Lehman, Ann Martin, Dee Griffith and Laurel Morgan.  The Mid-Winter is not about concurrent sessions, and presentations but more about making sure that the organizations that make up the American Library Association have an opportunity to focus on the vision and misson and to brainstorm ways that will enable the membership to thrive and grow in a changing world.  It truely is a giant business meeting.  Each section, each committee, each round-table has an opportunity to meet and discuss a variety of topics. 

At the AASL Affiliate meeting on Sunday, each affliate was given an opportunity to meet with its membership and discuss areas of change and growth.  As a group we were lead through a discussion on a mega issue: How can AAS/ALA enhance its value to propective members in order to significantly increase membership?  The mega issue was broken down into 4 defining questions.  The assembly was divided into 4  groups each charged with looking at the issues and determining possible reactions to the questions.  We were asked what do we know about the issues and what choices could we make to impact change or do we need to do nothing? 

Several interesting questions were raised such as why join AASL/AL?   What is the hook that causes people to join?  What are we going to do to attract new members, younger members, members who represent culture and ethnic diversities?  No easy answers came for any of these but it was an opportunity to raise the issues and determine their level of priority to the organization.

While there, I also attended a seminar sponsored by OCLC, ” Who’s Watching YOUR Space?  This was a panel discussion lead by Michael Stephens, Howard Rheingold, and dannah boyd (No caps intentionally).  The seminar’s message was that the Internet has changed the site of the authority of the text and it is up to the reader to determine the authority of the entry.  Today’s students are no longer passive users of the media, instead they create, consume, and modify information.  Today’s changing technology forces us to question what level of privacy are you willing to give up for the sake of technology.  We are creating a new voice with a unique identity and are modifiying our identity to meet the demands of the technology of the moment. 

As librarians what changes are we making to accomodate the new ways of learning?  How do we work with those who control our infastructure to allow us to be on the same playing field with our students in managing technology?  What changes do we need to make in our instructional practices to insure that they have the skills required to determine the author’s authority? 

Wow! Lots of questions…very few answers…Your thoughts?????

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