The Future of Reading - Its a Best Seller!

Last month, Stephalie Rosalia, a humble elementary school librarian, made the front page of the New York Times, in an article titled "The Future of Reading: In Web Age, Library Job gets an Update," by Motoko Rich. (You can view New York Times articles for free, but you do need to quickly register first.)

This article became the most emailed story of the day, receiving 78 comments from readers and being mentioned on blogs around the world.

It shows Ms Rosila teaching students how to judge the accuracy of web sites, collaborating with teachers on information literacy lessons, and showing students online newspapers on the interactive whiteboard. She also encourages reading, weeds, and buys cool new books!

This month, the School Library Journal features an interview with Stephalie Rosalia, where she talks about her role in the school, and what it was like being the subject of the article.
I particularly liked what she said about books v. computers. It makes me mad when people think there has to be a fight to the death between the two, and that we have to choose which side we're on.

This is what the "poster-girl of school libraries" has to say on the topic:

I take issue with the few comments that seem to suggest that one media is better or worse than another. I am an unabashed bibliophile and I always promote books and tell my students that if the grid goes down, they can stand in the sunshine and read a book. However, it is my job to bring all media and sources of information and reading to my students. They have to learn to gather all information from all sources and assess it all. Print is NOT dead; Internet is NOT evil.
(From the School Library Journal article.)

This article is third in a series about the Future of Reading. The others are Literacy Debate: Online R U Really Reading, about what it means to read in a digital age (receiving 166 online comments!), and Using Video Games as Bait to Hook Readers.

Why should you be interested in all this? If you have become professionally registered as a librarian (or are considering doing so), you know that you need to keep up with your professional development, including professional reading. Looking at the hot off the press School Library Journal online, for free is one good way to do this. I subscribe to a weekly e-mail, SLJ Extra Helping, that tells me about the latest School Library Journal articles, here.

And whoever we are, whatever we do for a living, these issues around "The Future of Reading", are rapidly moving from science fiction to everyday reality all around us. Why not read the New York Times over a nice hot coffee, and have a ponder about our future and the part you want to play in shaping it ...