Going Paperless
A tech director and former librarian has media specialists leading the way in nationally recognized district
By Kathy Ishizuka -- School Library Journal, 12/1/2004
Not so long ago, media specialists in the Liberty County school system in Hinesville, GA, "were rolling in paper," says Patti Crane, Liberty's media coordinator and instructional technology specialist. Today, the system's school librarians have gone wireless—and increasingly paperless—using tablet PCs as part of a program they're piloting for the district.
Putting media specialists at the forefront of a technology initiative might seem unusual from a district perspective. Not so to Sharon Joiner, Liberty's executive director of technology/media. Joiner, herself a former library media specialist, has made librarians integral partners in a district that has attracted national recognition for its use of technology.
The Center for Digital Education and the National School Boards Association (NSBA) named Liberty County among the top digitally advanced school boards in their inaugural Digital School Boards Survey. Released at NSBA's T + L2 conference in Denver, CO, on October 28, the survey examined how school boards are applying information technology to better engage their local communities and improve the quality of education in schools. Ranked first among districts with 2,501 to 15,000 students, Liberty County's board participates in technology training sessions, communicates with its community digitally, and holds wireless meetings.
Joiner says that integrating the board and its members with technology has not only brought them up to speed with the student learning environment, but helped pave the way for other valuable programs, including those involving media specialists. "It has given the board a better understanding of technology," explains Joiner. "So when we came to them with initiatives they would have an understanding of what we were asking for."
Those initiatives include spearheading the use of tablet PCs. While standard laptops are commonplace tools, Joiner says hardly anyone in the region had used the tablet PC, essentially a portable PC with a touch screen. So she asked the district's media specialists to give them a try.
Last spring, all 16 librarians were issued a tablet PC and received training over the summer. They immediately took to their paperless monthly media meetings this fall, using a stylus to jot notes in the tablet's journal option, which converts handwriting to text. "The wireless capability is helpful also because we can access documents on the Web for our meetings," wrote Jeff Staggs, a media specialist at Liberty County High School, in a monthly critique of the program. Other media specialists have ventured out into the classroom with a PC tablet, using the tool to create PowerPoint presentations, record inventory, or connect to electronic whiteboards and other tools.
The librarians have provided the district with important feedback, according to Crane, who goes on to credit Joiner for the technology opportunities made available to Liberty's media specialists. "She is a wonderful advocate for us," Crane says. "Not every district has that representation." Joiner says that her unique position overseeing both the technology and media programs has enabled her to raise the district's awareness of the importance of school librarians. But on a personal note, she adds, "Library media centers are near and dear to my heart."
