[Publib] children & technology

[Louise Alcorn]

My 2 cents:  the world of today's child will always be filled with
technology - it's quite possible that it will speed forward even faster
than in my lifetime, which has been nearly whirlwind at times.  They
need information and technology literacy as much as, if not more than,
standard reading literacy.  That's not to say that books aren't an
important part of their overall learning, but they're a tool like any
other.  A glorious, life-opening tool, but still a tool.  
 
When I was a child, everyone - especially librarians, sad to say -
assumed that watching TV would keep us from reading.  Well, perhaps it
did, but used correctly, it also enhanced my desire to read.  Yearly
viewings of The Wizard of Oz at Thanksgiving had me reading everything
L. Frank Baum wrote.  A wonderful animated version of The Lion, The
Witch and the Wardrobe when I was small brought Narnia to life for me,
and I subsequently devoured the entire series.  I still re-read it
regularly.   Smart school and public librarians at the time took
advantage of these opportunities to interest kids in reading, rather
than seeing them as competition.  
 
Considering the number of Marvel-based movies and video games coming out
and the related number of graphic novel tie-ins, for instance, we still
have a lot of opportunities for this sort of thing.  If we miss this
opportunity, that's our fault, not the video game makers or the parents.

 
That said, we can also encourage parents to balance the technology with
the "off-line" pleasure of a good book - we can even show them how to
catch a child's interest in a book to tear them away from the Wii.  I
think many parents would be grateful.
 
Again, my 2 cents. 
 
Louise E. Alcorn
Reference Technology Librarian
West Des Moines Public Library
4000 Mills Civic Pkwy
West Des Moines IA 50265
(515) 222-3573      louise.alcorn at wdm-ia.com
http://www.wdmlibrary.org <http://www.wdmlibrary.org/>    

 
________________________________


From: publib-bounces at webjunction.org
[mailto:publib-bounces at webjunction.org] On Behalf Of
mmignano1 at verizon.net
Sent: Monday, September 28, 2009 11:51 AM
To: publib at webjunction.org
Subject: [Publib] children & technology

 

Due to my love of libraries, I am currently embarking on a second career
as an MLS student at Queens College. I admit to being from the "old
school" and although I accept technology (yes, I even have a cell
phone), I can't help but feel nostalgic for the libraries of yesteryear.


Alas, times keep a changin' and having 2 young children of my own, I
can't help but notice some of the changes taking place in our own public
library and would love to hear from any of you who want to put in your
two cents on an issue that I seem to be stuck on.

Our public library has a children's section with wonderful books,
magazines, puppets, puzzles, story times for all ages etc. However, I
notice that the majority of kids, my own included, run straight to the
back of the department for the DVDs and/or beg to go into the computer
rooms to play games. Neither of the aforementioned activities are bad,
it just makes me sad that we seem to have lost something here. Is it
time to let go of the idea that children need books? I'm a proponent of
forward thinking and understand the library environment itself is
changing, but is there some way to preserve a little corner of the past
before our youngsters are thrown onto the treadmill? My own children are
required to spend at least a portion of their time browsing the books
but it makes me sad that they don't always do it with fervor:)

Does anyone else notice this? see it as a problem? an inevitable
transition to the future? Is this worth discussing or is this a "get
over it and get on with it" issue??


Maria Mignano
mmignano at verizon.net

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