Recently I have been working casually in the school library of a Sydney high school. I was struck by the amount and quality of fiction books and the dearth of current physical non-fiction and digital resources. The library was narrowly focused on the promotion of recreational reading of a permanent physical collection. There was no intention of introducing e-books and I was told by a senior library assistant that ‘proper school libraries’ don’t have e-books! She supported her viewpoint by claiming studies show students prefer and learn literacy better with physical books and that e-book subscriptions only provide access not ‘ownership’ of e-books. I am interested to know more about the popularity and efficacy of physical books v. e-books and I am aware that there a range of budgetary and other considerations for schools introducing e-books (Kimmel, 2014, Chapter 7; O’Connell, Bales & Mitchell, 2015). However, to meet pedagogical and student needs in the 21st Century, a school library collection needs to be balanced with a range of non-fiction and digital resources and this means that ‘access’ generally trumps ‘ownership’.
This statement of the President of the New York Public Library, Anthony Marx, (Wolfe, 2015, para 4) resonates:
…….. the library is misunderstood as [only] a repository of books. The library is a repository of information, and a sharing, and providing of access to information, and guide to using it. …… [New] technology now means it’s possible to imagine a world in which every person, anywhere, anytime, could read any book, look at any image, explore any document, or archive, get curatorial help to understand it, or to find it, and to create their own products with it.
E-books and digital resources (such as curated website links) promote access in a number of ways. More than one person can use an e-book or website at one time, which makes them particularly suitable for classroom (and at home) inquiry learning, and the formats allow maximising of use of high demand resources immediately when needed. Physical non-fiction resources may be ‘owned’ but they can quickly go out of date. Digital resources can be readily changed and updated and promote access to current information. US school librarians interviewed by Stephens (2014, p.18) commented that they now use much less printed material for non-fiction and reference and that the clear trend was to use ‘databases and digital resources for factual information that will go out of date quickly’ even if they continued to use physical books for fiction.
Notably though, e-books and e-audio books can also facilitate access to fiction works (as well as non-fiction) through the support and choice they provide to learners. Students with learning needs or disabilities can listen to e-audio books or use features in e-books (such as looking up words, using interactive tools or by changing the reading settings) (National Library of New Zealand, nd.)). An e-book subscription can also greatly increase the number of fiction titles available for borrowing, increasing student reading choice (O’Connell, Bales & Mitchell, 2015, p.200). So, digital formats can also encourage reading for enjoyment and benefit learning. Just what ‘proper school libraries’ should be doing!
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Kimmel, S. C. (2014). Developing collections to empower learners. American Library Association.
National Library of New Zealand. (nd.). eBooks and eAudiobooks in the school library. https://natlib.govt.nz/schools/school-libraries/collections-and-resources/selecting-resources-for-your-collection/ebooks-in-the-school-library
O’Connell, J. Bales, J. & Mitchell, P. (2015). [R]Evolution in reading cultures: 2020 vision for school libraries. The Australian Library Journal, 64(3), https://doi.org/10.1080/00049670.2015.1048043
Stephens, W. (2014). Checking Out Tomorrow’s School Library Collection. Young Adult Library Services. Spring. 18-20.
Wolfe, J. (2015). The 21st Century Library: A Conversation with NYPL’s Anthony Marx. Forbes. 1 June 2015. https://www.forbes.com/sites/joshwolfe/2015/06/01/the-21st-century-library-a-conversation-with-nypls-anthony-marx/?sh=450794693ee5