Presently, many schools have faced a downsize in their libraries because books are digitally available. The fate of librarians is at risk and they are losing their importance. Students can now find everything they need from the learning management system or school portals. Who needs the librarian then?
Traditionally, libraries were built and considered to be the heart of an educational institution. A library has all the books that students need to study, and they couldn’t purchase them all, the library was then ultimate resolute. It is not only the books that play an important part, the administrator, that is the professional librarian, is also vital here.
As the ERP full form stands, enterprise resource planning, the task of a librarian is also like a mini resource planning. The roles of a librarian can be divided into three parts- Research management, resource management, and literacy advocating.
Resource management
For every faculty of students, librarians are responsible for managing their study material and resources. For every book that a teacher needs to get their hand on, the librarian has already arranged for it. In the absence of librarians, teachers have to take up the task of following up with reading and learning resources, and they spend less time with students to help them with their academics.
Librarians can also arrange curriculums and lesson plans, activity sheets, and games for some departments.
Research management
Teachers are already skilled in researching issues and topics because they can use personal sources. However, if a science teacher is asked to come up with a research paper on a topic that is not accustomed to them, and no other teacher is available, a librarian can successfully manage the task. This process involves finding information that is verified, and creating citations so that the person reading the report or research can trace it back.
Always remember that a librarian does not simply collect data, they curate it.
Literacy advocate
Librarians are responsible for making books accessible to students. The school mostly purchases books on the recommendation of a librarian. These books are initially read by students who use them for educational or entertainment purposes. When a child first arrives at a library, they might be confused about which genre to pick, and what are the best books the library has. This literacy advocate who is known as the librarian can help them out in the process. They do it by;
- Model reading: Model reading is a task performed by a librarian to show students how they can also read a book to not only increase their pronunciation and vocabulary skills but also thinking skills.
- Recommending: Most students find their way to books through recommendations of friends, who have also been recommended by the librarian.
- Book reviewing: Book reviews are like small summaries or paragraphs that describe how the book made a person feel while and after reading it. Students can look up book reviews either from the people and magazines who have provided it at the back or from the librarian or other fellow students who had decided to write a review in the register.
- Reading out loud: For elementary school students, teachers arrange a class where students can pick their favorite book and read it out loud. It is mostly done to improve their vocabulary, but these sessions are directly overlooked by a librarian too. These books are also recommended by them, evaluating their relevance for the present grade reading them.
Conclusion
Although schools are currently successfully including online school libraries, without the help of a librarian, the same procedure, in the long run, can prove to be harmful. Students might not be encouraged by librarians to pick up books out of their subject topics, and there will be no enlightening discoveries at the back of a bookshelf.
Making an inclusion of a librarian through the school management system for managing E libraries is very improbable and impractical. However, as hybrid learning methods are coming back to form, a librarian should be included in every school administration. Even though the number of librarians is decreasing, teachers are performing their best to fill in the gaps. As long as someone is performing the task of a librarian, students are going to be just fine!
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