jearund wrote:
Is this a sign of the times? Is the expectation that now we have Kindles, there's less need for a library? And why are they building new classrooms - did they increase their PAN?
DD’s school (in another region) took the ‘everything’s electronic now’ approach, 10 years ago, after a major building programme. No librarian and a few stacks of old books kept in a room dominated by computers. It was a major disappointment for DD, and a major concern for me.
I have seen university students trying to do all their research on the internet without using any library based/supported resources. I could only suppose they had never been taught library research skills at school. One masters student complained to me she couldn’t start to write her thesis because there was no research on her topic available via google scholar. She had never visited the university’s many libraries and was clueless about the vast research databases they facilitated. Needless to say, there was plenty of recent, and on point, research available.
DD’s school realised they had made a significant mistake and have since turned around, have a professional librarian, and lots of new books in a well-used library. It is a great resource, a place to study, and a refuge when you just need a place out of the fray.
I really hope Denmark Rd don’t run down their library.