Enter Technology
And now we talk about technology. Our
traditional reader’s advisory and reading guidance services still holds water
to children of this day and age. But as mentioned earlier, children growing up
in the digital age can develop a genuine love for books and reading even more
when we use technology as an enabler. Not only will technology provide access
of these books by children, technology becomes the environment where children
can explore and discover reading materials that will empower them.
Using blogs and wikis to post new
titles of books, accessible through the library website is a start. Having a
mobile app like ThingLink to create book promo materials presents a virtual
image that chidden can interact with. Keeping a Twitter page and a Facebook
account of the library where librarians post books, reflections on books read
create a buzz of interesting books to read. Creating book trailers and posting
them up on You Tube extends the interest of reading books. Get an account in
Goodreads and post book reviews and recommendations. This way your network of
children's literature readers expands. This can help in collection development.
Involve children in the process of creating their own storybooks. Worthy of
mention is the Early Readers Project of the Beacon Academy. High school
students make their stories for younger readers which they can download for
free. Another is Halo Halo books that follows the same model.
Indeed, books bring people together.
You put a transformed librarian between books and children. The results can be
life changing!
In conclusion, children's librarians
are more relevant today than in any other time in empowering young readers to
become citizens of the 21st century. With a knowledge of the young reader, the
literature that is valuable for their development and the intelligent use of
technology, children's librarians are transformers in their respective
communities. It is my hope to see best practices of children's librarianship,
backed up by sound research to further improve the profession.
Thank you for listening. Mabuhay!
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