library acquistions

1. Acquisitions
Access
One way toprovide studentswiththe bestaccessto
a varietyof sourcesisby keepingup-to-date on
whatprint sourcesare usedthe most andobtaining
digital copiesof themtosupplementthatdemand.
You can alsomake sure thatstudentshave accessto
digital formatsinthe librarythattheymay nothave
at home by making
electronicdevices
available during
school and even
afterschool for
studentswhoare responsibleenough.The school
districthere evenkeepsWiFi accessavailable24/7
for students. Theyonlyhave tobe inthe parkinglot
and have theirstudentlog-ininformationtogain
access to the internet.
Non-print
Magazinesand journalsare easiertomaintaininan
electronicformat. Theyare updatedandreleasing
newinformationsofrequentlythatitmakesit
easiertostay up-to-date whenitisinanelectronic
formatrather
than a print
format. Updates
happeninlive-
actionand
provide students
withthe most
current
information
available,insteadof waitingfora printcopy. For
fictionbooks,itwouldbe besttohave bothprint
and digital copies. Thiswouldgivestudentsthe
choice of what theypreferandallowformultiple
usersto have accessat the same time.
Future
I thinkthat intenyearsthere will be more access
and more availabilityof digital sources. Ialsothink
that the devicesusedtoaccessthese sourceswill be
more user-friendlyandintuitive. Ithinkthat these
deviceswillalsobe able tomimicprintsources
more effectivelybygivingusersthe optionsof
markingpages,highlightingsections,andeven
providingmarginal-note-takingcapabilities.
Students’ Preferences
The studentsthatI talkedto were inmiddle school,
highschool,andevenrecentgraduatesspending
the firstyear incollege. Ifoundthattheir
preference depended
on whatkindof
informationtheywere
lookingforandwhat
was theirpurpose in
usingthat
information. The
majorityof them
alwayspreferred
electronicsourcesforquickreference material.
Theyfounditeasierto getquickgeneral
informationonline. Some preferredprintbooks
whendoingresearchwhile othersstill preferred
digital books. However,the majorityusedanactual
printbookwhenreadingforleisure.
Non-traditional Books and Students
Besidesmagazinesandjournals,audiobooksare
anothernon-traditional source thatwouldbe
beneficial especiallyfornon-seeingstudents. They
wouldprovide anopportunityforthese studentsto
have access toliterature outside of bookspublished
inBraille. Audiobookswouldalsobe great for
studentswhohave Autismaswrittenlanguage can
be a struggle forthemas well.Thiswouldgivethem
the opportunitytorelate tolanguage audibly.