10 Essential Technologies for the School Library

Last week, during a day-long immersive e-textiles workshop I was leading for a group of 5th grade students, we had a conversation about technology. More specifically, as we were practicing threading needles, waxing thread, and learning embroidery stitches, we talked about how these simple things---needles, thread, wax, needle threaders, etc., are all pieces of technology. This was mind-blowing for some, as we are so accustomed to thinking to high tech devices like computers when we consider the word technology. We worked together to develop a definition of technology during our conversation, and our final result was that technology is tools that help us solve the problems we encounter in the world.

With this definition in mind, these are the 10 technologies I believe are essential in the elementary school library today.

• Books. I firmly believe that Ranganathan's five laws of library science are still relevant today, and I often repeat to myself that "Every book has its reader" and "Every reader has their book." As librarians, reading and books are the foundation of our work, the core technology that founded our profession. Especially in an elementary school, connecting books and readers is a central piece of my work.
• E-readers/e-books. Traditional print books are not accessible to all of our students. E-readers and e-books can help with access issues because they allow for changing the colors, font size, margin width and more, making reading easier and more enjoyable for some readers. There are also students who are so high tech-focused that they are more excited about reading on an electronic device.
• Audiobooks. Similar to e-books, providing audiobooks is an access issue. Audio formats can make stories and information available to readers who otherwise would be unable to access the content. Personally, I also love audiobooks because they allow me to immerse my mind in a story while I engage in everyday tasks that don't require much thought.
• ILS---Integrated Library System. Because if we were not organized, would we even be libraries? Honestly, I can't imagine life in the library without an ILS---the basic management tasks would take so much longer!

Ranganathan's fifth law is that "The library is a growing organism." As the available technologies, and the problems we encounter in our everyday lives, change, the school library must change as well. School libraries today connect readers with books, but we also do much more. We help students build research and inquiry skills. We teach digital citizenship and ethical use of the internet. We collaborate with classroom teachers to help our students to develop the transferable skills that will serve them throughout their education and their life. We don't just consume media---we create it. The rest of my list reflects these new priorities.

• Devices to access the internet. The internet has fundamentally transformed our world, and in many cases education hasn't quite caught up with this transition yet. As school librarians it is our job to be innovators, and one area ripe for innovation is helping our students be prepared to live at least part of their lives on the internet. 
• Reliable online information sources for research. This could be a subscription-based encyclopedia, like Britannica, World Book, or PebbleGo. Or it could be a set of free resources curated by the librarian. The key is to provide students who are new to research with reliable, trustworthy sources, and build their skills from there. 
• Google tools for education. Google has created a powerful set of productivity tools including Docs, Slides, Sheets, Classroom and more---the cloud-based nature of these tools allows for immediate collaboration and access from any device. As a result, these tools are much more practical today than workstation-based word processing programs. 
• Photo and video cameras, and/or devices that can record photos, videos and audio (ie. iPads). For two reasons---to record the work we are doing in the school library (which helps us to be better advocates for our libraries and our students), and to empower our students and school community to create media. 
• Photo, video, and audio editing software (ie. iMovie, WeVideo, Animoto, Pixlr, etc.). This can be cloud-based or installed on a computer workstation. With the amount of media people today both consume and create, it is essential to help students learn how to craft a powerful message with their media---this means taking it a step further than simply recording some video and putting it up on YouTube, to actually editing and making active choices to communicate a particular point of view. 
• I'm a bit stuck on this last choice---is it more important to have MakerSpace technologies in the school library, or technologies like Skype that allow students to connect with others across the world? Is there something new that I'm not even aware of yet that is absolutely essential? Perhaps the best way to put this last point would be to say that, finally, school librarians need to stay abreast of the trends in libraries, education and the world---we need to make sure we are doing everything we can to use technology to accomplish the goals of the school library to the best of our ability. We need to help students be flexible, active learners by introducing them to a wide variety of different technologies.