SCHOOL LIBRARIES WORLDWIDE

Volume 13, Number 2, July 2007

Knowledge Management in Schools and for Schools

The Paradoxical World of Young People’s Information Behavior [public access document]
Andrew K. Shenton
Although thousands of papers relating to information behavior have been published in recent years, little attention has been given to the paradoxes that emerge in terms of either the features of such behavior or the investigation of it through research. This paper draws on a wide range of studies, many conducted by the author, to explore ten particular paradoxes that are apparent with regard to the information behavior of children and young people. Several indicate discrepancies between theory and practice, whilst others show that, when some priorities are addressed, other areas of concern may suffer.

The Social Inclusion Function of the School Library
Paolo Odasso
This paper presents arguments to support social inclusion as an important function of the school library. The school library, unlike other types of libraries, is not a separate organisation but lives within an institution, the school, which has social inclusion as its mission. In order for the school library to be able to carry out a social inclusion role in cooperation with the school, it is necessary to take a look at the changes that are underway in education systems, because of the process of globalisation and digitalisation of information. Two changes in particular--the movement from the transmission of knowledge to the formation of key competencies/capabilities and the growing weight of international evaluations of educational systems--are bringing about a change of paradigm for schools and school libraries, from the axis of having information-knowledge to the axis of being-becoming competent-capable. The school library has the potential to be an essential motor of social inclusion and educational innovation by playing a unique educational role in two different areas: the logical organisation of information which can help to address scholastic dispersion (the drop-out problem), and the documentation of professional knowledge in order to help the school become a learning organisation (knowledge management).

Multicultural Cinderella: A Collaborative Project in an Elementary School
Linda B. Alexander and Mary Lou Morton
This project was the result of a collaborative effort between the School of Library and Information Science and College of Education at the University of South Florida and the Tampa, Florida community, using a grant to support cultural awareness in an elementary school. Versions of the Cinderella story from around the world were used in reading classes to stimulate awareness of cultural diversity and to serve as reading enrichment for twenty-one elementary students. Based on student, reading teacher, librarian, media specialist, and principal participant feedback, the project resulted in increased student interest in cultures and learning content information in general. Formal research studies based on this exploratory project are recommended.

 

Concord

You are the person best qualified to lead your school community through an increasingly complex world of rampant, unqualified information. Now, in this fragmented information society you can provide quality and structure for your school students, teachers and administrators. All you need is the right set of tools to establish online meeting, discussion and publishing spaces for them to communicate and disseminate information and to connect these information flows through your masterfileTM Knowledge Centre. Learn more....

 

Theme Section: Knowledge Management (KM) in Schools and for Schools
Taghreed Alqudsi-ghabra
Knowledge Management (KM) is an interdisciplinary approach employed to assure leadership and competence by engaging strategies of efficient, effective and speedy use of information. KM techniques harness a variety of technologies in order to maximize the utilization of resources of the school and the surrounding schools as well. To capture knowledge and work collaboratively with the aid of technology is a condition that promotes growth on the part of teachers and students alike.The abundance of information around us is a powerful phenomenon. It is more powerful and overwhelming for school students who are still going through the processes of making sense of themselves and the world around them. Educators and information practitioners bear the responsibility of enabling students to sift through skills and information in the hope of making the best of them. KM as a technique and theory seeks to develop the individual by enabling one to make sense of the abundance of information, utilizing technology when possible. KM seeks to apply the old slogan of “putting knowledge to work,” elevating information to knowledge, and shifting the status of being informed to the status of being knowledgeable.

Knowledge Management in Secondary Schools and the Role of the School Librarian
Helen Boelens
At the beginning of the 21st century, educators are confronted with new visions, theories and aims of education in a changing environment. In these “new kinds of learning,” concepts such as individual learning, cooperative learning, e-learning and lifelong learning have become very important. New visions of learning suggest that pupils can learn to manage or control the progress of their own acquisition of knowledge. The introduction of ICT within the schools has also contributed to these new visions and has caused enormous changes within the schools themselves. The role of the school librarian and the goals of the school library within the school have also altered. The school librarian needs to retain the ability to run and maintain the important, traditional role of the school library, but must also act as an information specialist who coordinates the management of information and knowledge within the school and accesses information and knowledge from outside the school. The school librarian, as the new school information specialist, may need re-training in knowledge management. Strong school management, strong infrastructure, and good communication within the school also are essential to the knowledge management process. The content of this paper is part of the writer’s PhD research at the Middlesex University, School of Lifelong Learning and Education in London, UK.

Borrowing Media from Around the World: School Libraries and Copyright Law
Rebecca P. Butler
This article examines world-wide copyright law from the point of view of the school librarian. Like many other countries, the United States belongs to a number of international copyright organizations involved in intellectual property issues within and beyond its boundaries. The goal of copyright compliance is considered using U.S. intellectual property law as an example and the following questions as starting points: (1) Can students legally borrow music from the Internet to add to a class project if the selected Web site comes from a country other than their own? (2) Is it acceptable for a teacher to make class copies of an article that s/he read in a foreign journal for use in his/her classroom? (3) Are Internet entities, such as blogs, wikis, and social interaction sites copyrighted? If so, how does that affect educators (and students) who use them? These examples will help readers to understand their responsibilities in relation to national and international copyright laws.

Schools as Information Ecologies: A Proposed Framework of Study
Anne Marie Perrault
This article explores the concept of schools as information ecologies and the dynamics of online information-seeking behaviors of educators within the ecology. The author proposes a research approach using Diffusion of Innovation theory as a guiding framework for data collection and analysis. Directions for further study are also highlighted related to supporting teaching and learning practices and informing pre-service education and professional development initiatives.

Indexed in Bibliothek Forschung und Praxis, Children Literature Abstracts, Contents Pages in Education, Educational Resources Information Clearing house (ERIC), Library Literature, and Library and Information Science Abstracts (LISA).

Last Updated 7 January 2008 (KSB)