The Gift of Libraries and Librarians: Learing in the Curriculum
Media and Technology Management
1. LIB 620 Library Management
Fall 2012
Media and Technology Management
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Media?
What do you mean, media?
– Not mediums (that‟s spiritualism)!
– Nor:
• When the media ask him [George W. Bush] a question, he
answers, „Can I use a lifeline?‟
~ Robin Williams
– 2media 1 : a medium of cultivation, conveyance, or
expression; especially : MEDIUM 2b
1me·di·um 2 : a means of effecting or conveying
something:
b plural usually media (1) : a channel or system of
communication, information, or entertainment
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Library definition of Media?
medium
– In information storage and retrieval, the
physical substance or material on which data is
recorded (parchment, paper, film, magnetic tape
or disk, optical disk, etc.) or through which data
is transmitted (optical fiber, coaxial cable,
twisted pair, etc.). In a more general sense, the
material or technical means by which any
creative work is expressed or communicated,
in print or nonprint format. Plural: media.
• http://www.abc-
clio.com/ODLIS/odlis_m.aspx#medium
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How About Technology?
. . . technology is about more than gadgets
and gizmos
– Technology concerns itself with
understanding how knowledge is
creatively applied to organised
tasks involving people and
machines that meet sustainable
goals.
• What is technology?
By: Professor Andy Lane
(The Open University)
14 September 2006
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Media and Technology
Media are for communication
Therefore, technology applications in media
apply knowledge to meet sustainable
communication goals
– In developing this site, we, the students of the
Vancouver Film School-Multimedia, first had to
define what the term media involved. It was our
belief that the word itself implies the notion of
communication. Therefore, anything that was
once used to relay a message would be applicable.
• What is Dead Media? The Dead Media Project
http://student.vfs.com/~deadmedia/dedmedia.html
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Dead Media?
– “. . . some media do, in fact, perish. Such as: the
phenakistoscope. The teleharmonium. The Edison
wax cylinder. The stereopticon. The Panorama.
Early 20th century electric searchlight spectacles.
Morton Heilig's early virtual reality. Telefon
Hirmondo. The various species of magic lantern.
The pneumatic transfer tubes that once riddled the
underground of Chicago. Was the Antikythera
Device a medium? How about the Big Character
Poster Democracy Wall in Peking in the early 80s?
– Never heard of any of these? Well, that's the
problem.
• Bruce Sterling Dead Media Manifesto
Read about dead media enthusiasts (“necronauts”) in a USA
Today article Dead Media list tracks forgotten revolutions
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What do libraries have to do with
media?
History of Libraries
– THE COLLECTION OF written knowledge in some sort of
repository is a practice as old as civilization itself. About 30,000
clay tablets found in ancient Mesopotamia date back more than
5,000 years. Archaelogists have uncovered papyrus scrolls from
1300-1200bc in the ancient Egyptian cities of Amarna and
Thebes and thousands of clay tablets in the palace of King
Sennacherib, Assyrian ruler from 704-681bc, at Nineveh, his
capital city.
– The name for the repository eventually became the library.
Whether private or public, the library has been founded, built,
destroyed and rebuilt. The library, often championed, has been
a survivor throughout its long history and serves as a testament
to the thirst for knowledge.
• Survivor: The History of the Library
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Other library history sites
– http://www.libraryhistorybuff.org/
Library History >
http://memory.loc.gov/ Carnegie Libraries
http://www.libraryhistory.org/
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Media in School Libraries
Stone tablets?
• Wax tablets?
• Slate tablets?
• Silicon tablets?
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Applications of media & technology
What are the applications of various
types of media and technology in the
classroom or the school library media
center?
– Tablets
– Paper-based media
– Electronic media
– Multimedia
– Etc.
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So, what is management, then?
management, n.
– 1. a. Organization, supervision, or direction; the
application of skill or care in the manipulation, use,
treatment, or control (of a thing or person), or in the
conduct of something.
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What is media and technology
management?
Adapting the Oxford definition:
– Application of skill or care in the
manipulation, use, treatment, or control of
media and technology
Basically, this is described in library
jargon as:
– Collection management AKA
Collection development
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What about collection development?
What is collection development?
– Collection development is a cycle that involves a
number of phases that are repeated over time
including establishing an area of need through
some formal or information community and
collection analysis, examining the existing
collection for materials, developing a selection
policy containing specific criteria, and
recommending a set of materials that would
address the need.
• Information Access & Delivery: School Library
Collections
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Another definition
Defining Collection Development
– Collection development (also known as
collection management, materials
management, or information resources
management) involves the identification,
selection, acquisition, and evaluation of
library resources (e.g., print materials,
audiovisual materials, and electronic
resources) for a community of users.
•
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Standard requirements
Program Management and Administration
– Candidates evaluate and select print, non-
print, and digital resources using
professional selection tools and evaluation
criteria to develop and manage a quality
collection designed to meet the diverse
curricular, personal, and professional needs
of students, teachers, and administrators.
• 2010 ALA/AASL Standards for Initial Preparation of
School Librarians, Standard 5, Program Management
and Administration: Element 5.1, p. 17.
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Mission of media management
To support the curriculum
– A collection is developed to meet the curriculum
outcomes of the school and to support literacy
achievement and lifelong learning goals. This means that
collection development serves the instructional goals of
the school library program and the classroom teachers‟
curriculum. These collections don‟t just happen with
everyone throwing in a few resources; they must be
planned and developed by someone with training and
expertise, not only in finding and acquiring quality
resources, but in integrating those resources into the
school‟s curriculum.
• Ray Doiron, An Administrator‟s Guide to Collection Development
Quoted in High School Libraries in Nova Scotia, Collection Development
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Components of collection management
. . . [the] management of print and
physical audiovisual resources . . . can
be organized into the following,
semichronological, areas:
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An important point
Create a collection
development plan (or
strengthen an existing
one)!
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A plan is like a policy
Why have a policy?
– It clarifies policy decisions
– It provides a forum for limited and specific
conversations with faculty members
– A written policy can also provide a basis for
institutional continuity over time and through
personnel changes.
– a policy that is regularly reviewed and updated can
help the curator weather the vicissitudes of budget
woes
• A Practical Approach to Writing a Collection Development
Policy
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The functions of a policy
Use as a planning document
Use as a selection tool
Use as a means of protection
Use as a decision-making tool
• Writing a Collection Development Policy
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Elements of the Collection Development Policy
Community Profile
Community Needs Assessment
Collection Goals
Selection Responsibility
Selection Criteria
Acquisitions
Collection Evaluation and Assessment
Weeding
Reconsideration of Library Materials
Policy Review and Revision
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What about technology?
How do teacher librarians use technology?
– The teacher librarian uses technology for
information, instruction, administration,
collaboration, and communication.
• Information
• Instruction
• Administration
• Collaboration
• Communication
– Overview: Technology & the Learning Community
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Technology includes Web 2.0
Blogs and podcasts, oh my!
– Blogs and podcasts are changing the way we interact
with information on the Internet . . . These are part of a
reinvention of the Internet, referred to as Web 2.0,
which is focused on using Internet technologies to
connect people and information.
– While the idea as a whole extends into social
bookmarking, collaborative development, and other
tools, Web 2.0 is firmly rooted in the basic ideas of
blogs.
Read Harris’s blog Infomancy
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Not-to-be-forgotten element of media/tech
management
Responses to challenges
– Why are books challenged?
• Books usually are challenged with the best intentions—to
protect others, frequently children, from difficult ideas and
information. See Notable First Amendment Cases.
• Often challenges are motivated by a desire to protect
children from “inappropriate” sexual content or “offensive”
language. The following were the top three reasons cited for
challenging materials as reported to the Office of Intellectual
Freedom:
1. the material was considered to be “sexually explicit”
2. the material contained “offensive language”
3. the materials was “unsuited to any age group”
» About Banned & Challenged Books