Colorado Town Hall Meeting Focuses on Libraries, Collaboration
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SLJ Staff -- School Library Journal, 05/23/2007
If you're ever in Colorado and need a librarian after hours, you're in luck. An online service provided by the state's libraries (www.askcolorado.org) offers all residents with Internet access a live chat with a librarian 24/7. And it's all free.
But that's not all. The state has a long history of collaborative library service, including a statewide Colorado Library Card agreement that allows cross-registration by people from various library districts.
In addition, in Jefferson and Douglas counties, public libraries have worked closely with school officials to make sure student identification cards also include library card numbers—a program that's been hugely successful at keeping the public library and its resources on the minds of many high school students, says Eloise May, the director of Arapahoe Library District, during a recent panel discussion hosted by the Colorado State Library and Aurora Public Library.
The focus of the gathering? To talk about libraries in the community. The event was attended by a wide range of library groups, including those involved in staffing, funding, and supporting Colorado's school libraries.
Susan Gilbert, a media specialist at Hodgkins Middle School in Adams County ticked off the many ways that school and public libraries complement each other by sharing collections, library card sign-up campaigns, and community service projects. One simple idea she suggested was to include library card applications in back-to-school night packets, a practice Gilbert finds very successful in increasing sign-ups.
The elimination of school librarians was also high on everyone's agenda, particularly in the Denver Public School District, where professionals are gradually being replaced by paraprofessionals. Everyone in attendance agreed that student achievement was directly linked to high-quality, professional library services in Colorado's schools.
Martin Garnar, president-elect of the Colorado Association of Libraries, says he knows if a student comes from a school with a qualified media specialist based on the kinds of questions asked. If the first impulse is just to "Google everything," he knows the student will need extra support and research training.
The panel hopes to reconvene at other educational and community forums throughout the state this year.
