Blog #15
Sept. 3, 2019 – Library
Albert Einstein, the guy widely considered one of the
smartest to have ever lived, said it best:
“The only thing that you absolutely have to know is the location of the library.”
I couldn’t agree more.
The last students at Sheridan High School had an empty room where there was once a thriving library. The problem? The problem was that the previous library in that space operated as a service to the community, not students.
When that library closed, and when Arapahoe Libraries opened the beautiful Sheridan Library, the room was left empty.
For years.
With the opening of the new school year, however, the library is back and it’s there to serve the
fine students of Sheridan High School.
So, you might ask, is a library needed in the age of
Google? Aren’t all research questions one online
search away?“Yes” is the answer to the first question and “no”is the answer to the second.
Students need to learn that the first link that pops up from a search is not necessarily accurate.
Or thorough.
Or unbiased.
A library can serve as a hub for research—supplementing online work with a curated collection of books (and magazines and other sources) that is available to support specific classroom topics. Teacher librarians who can support learning, and who
can show students how to find
the information they need, can improve the skills of students. Being a knowledge, effective user of a library is a valuable lifelong skill to learn!
Good teacher librarians can also suggest access to various databases and indexes--and probe a subject in a way that one quick search cannot. They can also work with teachers and students to assist in authentic and optimum learning.
Libraries are dynamic places for learning today—not merely a quiet place to read and study. Libraries operate to provide students with open-ended
opportunities for learning. They areexciting places to explore. And libraries improve the
overall reading culture in a school.
Every library needs a librarian so Sheridan High School is pleased to welcome Jennifer Alevy, who started her career in middle school education in 1994 and who was worked in Grand Junction, Moscow, Taiwan, Nepal, India, Vietnam and Turkey. Talk about bringing a global perspective to Sheridan High School!
In her role, Alevy said she will be a “a teacher, instructional partner, information literacy specialist, and program administrator … I am here to collaborate with teachers on class research needs, the research process, information literacy skills, citations, etc. Teachers are the content experts, I am the research expert—together we can help teach students to be successful with these important life skills.”
Already, new district Educational Technology Coordinator Alicia Butcher is working closely with Jennifer Alevy and Sheridan High School to make sure it has everything the room needs—and everything the students need. In fact, a student advisory board is being organized to help design and develop the library as it grows.
So, welcome back to the library at Sheridan High School! It’s great to see that room filled—and active—again.
And, students, make sure you know its location!