First assignment in, Legos and Sandboxes

Well I am feeling very proud of myself - first assignment in for my Masters.  First tertiary paper in 15 odd years or so.  It did give me quite a feel for what is possible for teacher librarians.  i particularly liked an article by Bob Hassett - Playing with Legos in the Sandbox and other Uses For  Library.  Love the way he practically and realistically says we need to take a cold hard look at what a library does and "make re-invention continuous" (p.24). And then the bit where he quotes Paul Miller who says the library should be like Lego - build the model you want, not the one on the box.  Moving beyond the walls of the library, and letting people play with information, to build with it, create with it.

Makes me think more of a community library then a school library though.  People who come into a community library are there because they want to be - they may have a goal in mind or they may not.  But they are there and are open to using whats in the library.

However, a school library faces the challenge of actually getting students in, or getting the info to the students.  Plus, probably a lot of the clients in the school library are there because they HAVE to be - they have an assignment, they need something to read, the teachers there need a new resource, poster or idea.  Much less voluntary attendance in a school library - so I guess this is when you have to take it beyond the walls.  Community library patrons know they have a need - that's why they are there.  But students and teachers may not look to the library as a port of call and may rely on Google, thinking that will answer every question everybody ever has in the entire world. 

Hmmm.  Would rather work in a community library then.

However, love this quote at from the article: -
"The Library is a sandbox...a space where friends and strangers come together in community, to try things out and play with things and smash things together, and nobody gets hurt and nothing gets broken (and when we do we say we're sorry and put things back together and keep playing)." (p. 25)