Big tech and the changing nature of publishing

The changing nature of information and rapid development of technology over the past twenty years has given consumers a great deal of choice and therefore power in directing the nature of book publishing and sales. Print books in are affordable and available in several formats including large print and braille. There are also audio and electronic books options available ensuring that there is a book option for everyone for a range of needs. In an educational context, this is particularly important that school libraries take advantage of these options to meet the varied needs of students, particularly students with disabilities or diagnosed learning difficulties. When making new selections, consideration should be placed on which individuals or groups of students may be using the resources and which format may best meet their learning needs.

Up until recently, our primary school did not have sufficient information communication technology (ICT) infrastructure or devices to support quality integration of technology into the curriculum. With a wireless upgrade and considerable spending on devices, this is slowly changing. Our library does have a range of electronic resources, but students do not seem to know they exist and they are therefore grossly underutilised. The implication of this is that our students are heavily reliant on the physical books in our collection and there is an impressive borrowing rate and turnaround from Pre-school to Year Six. I have observed that students enjoy relaxing in the library to read a book or share it with friends. This supports the ideas presented by Rosenwald (2015) about digital native’s enjoyment of print reading. Whilst this borrowing and reading culture is very positive, it is important that students also gain the skills required to access all resource formats, so they can use resources that best suit their needs and wants. The next step will be to educate school staff and students about the range of electronic resources available and how to locate and borrow these.

With the increase in electronic resources and the expectation that school libraries include these in their collection, there must be a parallel consideration of provision of the relevant infrastructure and devices to ensure equitable access to these. Whilst libraries have always served as a mechanism to address and overcome inequity, the fast development of new technologies creates additional considerations about how students can locate, borrow and use electronic resources such as ebooks and audio books. My primary school workplace is currently trailing a "bring your own device" program for Year Six students. This has proved popular, with most students bringing a Chromebook, laptop or tablet device to use at school. However, in planning the trial, we also made sure that there would be adequate devices available for those students whose families could not afford to purchase one. School libraries must be cognisant of these equity issues also.

References

CBC News Canada. (2011). Libraries to return to Windsor Catholic schools. Retrieved from http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/windsor/libraries-to-return-to-windsor-catholic-schools-1.1021028.

McKnight, H. (2011). Multiple intelligences. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cf6lqfNTmaM

Rosenwald, M.C. (2015). Why digital natives prefer reading in print: Yes, you read that right. The Washington Post. Retrieved from https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/why-digital-natives-prefer-reading-in-print-yes-you-read-that-right/2015/02/22/8596ca86-b871-11e4-9423-f3d0a1ec335c_story.htm

Shatzkin, M. (2016). Book publishing lives in an environment shaped by larger forces and always has. The Shatzkin Files. [blog]. The Idea Logical Company. Retrieved from http://www.idealog.com/blog/book-publishing-lives-in-an-environment-shaped-by-larger-forces-and-always-has/

Shatzkin, M. (2015). Big focus at DBW 2016 is the tech companies that are shaping the world the book business has to live in.The Shatzkin Files. [blog]. The Idea Logical Company. Retrieved from http://www.idealog.com/blog/2015/11/

Warren, E. (2010). Learning styles do exist; Understanding the 12 ways of learning. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6TXuWzcwioU