What do you picture when you think of a librarian? If you have an image in mind of this little old woman, stamping books in her half-rimmed glasses, then you would be one of many still drawing on this archetype. Many people today would be surprised by how much librarians have shifted from the stereotype I just described. In fact, we’ve changed so much that the title “librarian” barely applies anymore.
Now, with so much technology as an interwoven part of a library’s infrastructure, my fellow ex-librarians and I are more frequently referred to as “media specialists,” though I sometimes go by “library media specialist” to help people gradually adjust to the new identity.
As a media specialist at Southside Middle School in Tallassee, Alabama, my responsibility is to oversee the distribution and use of most of our school’s technology—both in the library and out. Much of this tech is already integrated into the classroom environment, with every teacher having their own smartboard and projectors and all the middle schoolers in the district carrying their own iPads as part of our new 1:1 program.…Read More