Nancy Bailey reminds us of the importance of libraries. And she warns us of a dangerous trend to turn them into “makerspaces,” where children can play with technology.
I have seen schools with Makerspaces, and they are wonderful. But can’t schools find a room for them without taking away the library?
Bailey writes:
Libraries have always been places where students can work independently. But the Maker Movement appears to be about replacing school libraries and the role of librarians with digital learning.
There is a concerted effort to convert libraries to Makerspaces, Hackspaces, or Fab Labs. Why? Why can’t these places be set up in another room, or why can’t teachers include hands-on activities in their classes? Why can’t some part of the library be used for these activities without an overall library conversion to digital instruction?…
There might be benefit in children making things. Hands on activities have always been valued and help children better understand subjects. Teachers have always had students do class projects. But students still need access to books for reading and research. They also need qualified librarians to guide them.
We know that when schools have great libraries students do well. We have no idea whether Makerspaces alone improve a student’s understanding of subjects. Some see Makerspaces as a trend along with Common Core State Standards that will eventually end. When that happens, will there also be no more libraries?
Diane Ravitch's blog 
There is a HUGE DIFFERENCE between a HARD COVER book and one on the SCREEN. For me, reading a paper printed book is much more satisfying … I can easily flip, write on the pages, dog ear pages, and NOT WORRY that the print will go POOF.
I worry about books and other print online GOING POOF … then what?
Thank goodness in Boulder, the citizens support Public Libraries.
https://calendar.boulderlibrary.org/calendar/events/?cid=3412&t=d&d=0000-00-00&cal=3412
Dump hates libraries and would like to DEFUND them. Don’t let him do this to our country. Our library systems matter.
Pass the below on to others, please:
Click to access MU-LibAdvoBklt2013.pdf
Click to access Lance.pdf
http://www.kappanonline.org/lance-kachel-school-librarians-matter-years-research/
http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0031721718767854
Click to access SLMQ_ImpactofSchoolLibraryMediaCentersonAcademicAchievement_InfoPower.pdf
And there’s EVEN MORE. If you can, please pass the above Library Impact studies to others.
Keith Curry Lance and others have done great research.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Imagine how easy it will be to censure or revise any text, nonfiction and fiction, in the virtual world.
How do you control people? By controlling what they learn and that helps mold them and how they think.
The Koch brothers and the Kochtopus have been doing that since the 1970s and look what they have accomplished without totally controlling what’s printed on paper through the print media and book publishers.
How easy is it to control the content we read online?
Last week I wrote and posted a 5-star book review on Amazon about “Love, Stargirl” by Jerry Spinelli.
Amazon rejected the review because I mentioned a film being produced by Disney. The film is “Stargirl” based on the two books written by Jerry Spinelli. I also named the real life girl, Grace VanderWaal, who is playing Stargirl in the film.
For Amazon to accept my review, I have to drop that paragraph that mentions the “Stargirl” film by Disney and Grace VanderWaal as the actress playing Stargirl.
What does Amazon have against Disney and/or Grace VanderWaal?
LikeLike
Disney is getting ready to launch a service that will compete against Netflix and Amazon.
LikeLike
GREED!
LikeLike
Here’s a worse case: My wife couldn’t post a review of a book written by a fried of ours because she hadn’t bought $55 dollars worth of merchandise from Amazon…
LikeLiked by 1 person
oh, that helps explain some of the strange reviews I’ve read
LikeLike
The tech industry doesn’t seek to add services; it seeks to replace services, to ensure that no human activity can take place without producing data. Amazon, just as a prime example, destroyed bookstores and libraries to create its monopoly. And it’s true that Amazon now gets to heavily influence if not outright decide what and whether people read. My school library has been turned into a conference room. In it, administrators meet over data charts and spreadsheets. The school library was turned into a conference room!
LikeLike
School libraries are often now called media centers to account for all the encroaching technology. This is much to the consternation of the librarian that really wants to get young people excited about books and reading.
LikeLike
Too late. My school’s library was transformed into a computer lab. All the books are gone.
LikeLike
OMG! AWFUL.
Rump is a fascist. IMPEACH!
https://truthout.org/articles/trumps-aggressive-plans-to-stifle-democracy/
LikeLike
Our high school is in the process of the $20 million renovation.
The library died a slow and painful death, with the librarian being forced to discard thousands and thousands of book by the last day of May, 2018.
In its place we have a space half the size of the former library. There are a handful of high-backed booths (restaurant style) and windows looking out into the cafeteria.
The renovated parts of the school actually resemble a corporate office more than a place for students to learn.
And the successor to our beloved library? It’s now called the “Student Success Center.”
Such an icky name – I can’t help but think it is commodifying our children.
And in the rush to go one-to-one, the District has had to create a new position just to service Chromebooks. Meanwhile, we’re told its too broke to give us more than a 2% raise.
Sigh
LikeLike
TERRIBLE. Those discarded books could be used in LFLs.
Let’s ALL put up Little Free Libraries in our neighborhoods.
I did this past June and the LFL is getting lots of traffic.
LikeLike
I rescued as many books as I could, and established a classroom library.
LikeLike
Sorry, I wanted to type more … but hit enter too soon.
I love the LFL’s, and we have a few in our town …
LikeLike
That’s disgusting.
LikeLike
Libraries in our rural part of the country never had thousands of books.
LikeLike
My local library was an early adopter of dedicated space and equipment for internet access, including research assistance. It was also an early adopter of the maker-space concept. Here is list of currently available stations/equipment at the main library https://www.cincinnatilibrary.org/main/makerspace.html
Makerspaces are cropping up as dedicated facilities as well as schools, universities, libraries, museums, community centers and dedicated facilities that are not “trademarked.” One national chain declared bankruptcy, but the trademarked FabLab concept is international with 184 centers in the United States. Many of the FabLab centers are designed for “rapid prototyping” of products with new technologies. https://www.fablabs.io/labs?country=us
Another trademarked program, MakerFaire is organized internationally. You can see a list of school-based programs here https://makerfaire.com/map/
Here is a video that shows the range of activities in a school district MakerFaire. Some of these are old tech ideas (spinning yarn) others are more complex (robotics, 3D printing). This event is held in gym. https://www.d56.org
LEGO set up a makerspace in a Pittsburg elementary school. Students and staff from Carnegie Mellon University helped to set up the LEGO animation studio within that makerspace. https://Thejournal.Com/Articles/2018/02/26/The-Steam-Powered-Elementary-School.aspx?Page=1
Office Max, Lowe’s, Home Depot, and craft shops are offering programs to capitalize on the makerspace movement. Some of these programs are little more than a single activity for a small group at a library, recreation center, or commercial venue.
Seattle has a private school for gifted students with a 3,000 square foot STEAM makerspace for kindergarten to grade 8, in theory teaching relationships among science, technology, engineering, art, and mathematics. This space is ample and well-stocked with conventional art supplies. https://www.schooloutfitters.com/article/sxswedu-2017-experience-school-designs-for-21st-century-learning
Art classrooms have always been makerspaces. Many have not recently and routinely been equipped with hand and power tools (or with ample conventional art supplies of assured quality).
School-based makerspaces have also created a market for various “cart” solutions. Some of these carts have tools and supplies for specific projects with these “standards based” for science and technology e.g., https://teachergeek.com/products/maker-cart
There is little discussion of the cost of equipping makerspaces, staffing these, issues in scheduling their use by students, or safety issues with materials and equipment such as 3-D printers for additive manufacturing. And there is little discussion of the classic and junky arts and crafts now re-classified as STEM or STEAM related activities. https://www.pinterest.com/cari_young/library-makerspaces/?lp=true
A lot of the current activity is the result of the 2007 America Competes Act with STEM promotion and other forms of federal support for tech, clearly the result of lobbying from the tech industry https://tech.ed.gov/netp/
In 2016, USDE announced a design challenge for makerspaces under the banner of doing a make-over of career and technical education. The details are here https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2016/03/09/2016-05292/announcement-of-requirements-and-registration-for-the-career-and-technical-education-makeover
The newest federal push titled “The Strengthening Career and Technical Education for the 21st Century (Perkins V) Act goes into effect July 2019. The new law allows school districts to use federal funds to provide all students, not just those enrolled in CTE, career exploration and development activities in the middle grades and for comprehensive guidance and academic counseling in the upper grades. States have more freedom to set performance measures and goals. https://blog.ed.gov/2018/08/strengthening-career-technical-education-21st-century-act-signed-law/
As much as I have always value libraries as wonderful places to discover and learn from books and how to do research, I think these spaces in schools are on a path to conversions into noisy makerspaces. There are other candidates for takeover–dedicated rooms for visual arts, music, and stages/auditoriums for plays, gyms and other indoor spaces for physical education. I hope there are defenders of libraries in and out of school, along with independent book stores.
LikeLike
Maker spaces are all the rage….no matter what.
LikeLike
The Hanover NH Library has developed a partnership with the local HS, which is within walking distance. The HS will make the space available to the public (including kids and adults) after hours, during weekends, and when school is closed. The library is hiring an “emerging technologies” staff member who will develop programs that can take advantage of the space and support the library staff who are increasingly asked to provide point-of-service support to technology challenged older citizens wanting to learn how to download podcasts and books onto their devices like I-pads and phones. The logic behind this move is that both the HS and the library draw from the same tax base!
LikeLike