High school principal Sue Skinner may have removed nearly all of the physical books from Minnesota’s Benilde-St. Margaret’s school library in 2011, but the Moore Library remains a vital educational space where students still research, investigate and—above all—learn, she says. Today, students from both the junior and high school grades convene there with their laptops, get help from math and literacy coaches, or read quietly (sometimes even from books.)
“We used to think of a library as a building with stacks of books,” says Skinner, who has served as high school principal of the St. Louis Park, MN, Catholic preparatory school since 2007. “Now we should think of it as a space where people come together to share ideas, be creative, access information, and even read. Instead of thinking of it so literally, we should think of it as a more active space and evolving.”
The expansive use of digital tools at Benilde-St. Margaret’s plays a major role in the success of the “no books” library, Skinner says. Since 2010, the entire school is 1:1, with each student receiving a MacBook plus user access to various online databases including Gale and ProQuest.
Another key to the library’s success? A robust community of neighboring branch and university libraries in the surrounding area. There are 50 public libraries alone in a 15-mile radius of the school, Skinner points out. “We weren’t saying no to hard copy books,” she says. “But let’s not duplicate what public and other libraries have.” The school’s librarian as well as teachers help students to complete requests online for the books they need and want from all of these local branches.
Before distributing the library’s print stacks to local centers and donation sites in Africa, says Skinner, she had teachers comb through the physical books and pull anything they wanted for their curriculums into classrooms. Then she allocated additional funding towards purchasing new and used fiction books in physical form, since her students, Skinner says, actually prefer to read this genre on the printed page like many adults do. These titles, too, went into classrooms.
Today, the library is nearly devoid of books save for a few reference titles and any books that students bring in themselves, Skinner says. She notes, however, that the library still is a work in progress. While it contains some tables and chairs where students can work alone or in groups, Skinner hopes for even more resources. On her wish list? An interactive white board, a big monitor where students “can throw up things on a screen” as they work collaboratively, and even more power stations—although she’s “not convinced” yet that a coffee shop, a popular request from students, is needed.
At the top of the wish list, though, is a new school librarian; filling this role soon is crucial because Moore’s current librarian is retiring after 20 years spent at Benilde-St. Margaret’s, Skinner explains. As Skinner combs through the candidates, she is looking for someone who shares her vision that student learning isn’t based solely on digital or physical resources, but a hybrid of both, she says.
“I think I want to be picky,” she adds. “I want someone who understands the role of a librarian as an instructional partner, an information specialist, a program administrator, and a school leader. I think the role and importance of a librarian and a media specialist is highly underrated. I am excited to get someone with a strong vision.”
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Hmm… my first reaction after reading that the current librarian is retiring was, “She is probably quitting because the principal made the decision to remove all the books.” The principal says she wants someone with a vision… my vision would include both print AND digital resources. (And no, I’m not an “old” librarian who doesn’t understand technology. I’m 30 years old and consider myself a digital native). The idea that a school’s print collection can be removed because there are other academic and public libraries in the area is ridiculous. Yes, there may be many duplicates, but the academic and public librarians are probably not familiar with specific projects/assignments, specific students, and other school-specific knowledge that a school librarian has. Also, why make students travel to another location when they’re already at school? Anytime I tell refer a student to another library to get an item my library doesn’t have, I already know they probably won’t go- even if it’s within walking distance. That’s just reality. And why is the principal making all the big decisions for this library? The outgoing librarian was just mentioned as almost an afterthought. I’ve seen administrations make decisions like this before and almost always ends in disaster. I wish the outgoing librarian the best of luck, and I hope they find someone who will stand up to the principal and fight for both print AND digital resources.
“I want someone who understands the role of a librarian as an instructional partner, an information specialist, a program administrator, and a school leader. I think the role and importance of a librarian and a media specialist is highly underrated. I am excited to get someone with a strong vision.” I’m sure you have/had someone who understands this role but you just bulldozed her library. Why is this type of administrative behavior lauded as progress? It’s okay, we’ll be around to pick up the pieces when all these “great ideas” don’t pan out.
Gee this looks like a cafeteria. What style! What a joke. Another quickie idea without much thought or reasoning. No wonder why the librarian retired. I am quite sure that she was thrilled by the idea of tossing materials out and sending kids to the public library where I am sure that they go right away after school. This principal has no idea what the purpose of a school library is and how it should function. It is about the curriculum stupid and if your curriculum includes tables and chairs, you did this right. There was no mention of what replaced items either. Sending books into classrooms is stupid as well. Most items are not purchased to fit the needs of one teacher and others will have no idea where materials went. NO MORE EDUCATION PHDs are needed. Just how will this help students compete in a global economy. I am quite sure that students in Asia are no longer reading print materials……….
By the way, just who are the thousands of roaring librarians? I hear crickets…..Watch out, you do not need to be a certified teacher to monitor a cafeteria………..
Although I can see the attempt at being “cutting edge,” I do still think libraries need a good balance of both technology *and* print materials. Speaking as a public librarian, I speak on behalf of my library to say we’d welcome any teens coming from a school library environment such as this.
I’d really like to know the “retiring” librarian’s take on this.
I work in a public high school LMC. We are the primary resource for our students. Very few will take the time (or have a ride) to go to a public library, even though I always research and refer them to one for items we don’t have. I have to wonder what the reading scores are going to look like on this book free campus. I also wonder what the new “visionary” librarian will wear to work. Best Buy has some nice uniforms.
Great comments, everyone. I would love to create new spaces for collaboration and creation in my library and have been talking about it with our administration for quite a while. But a High School with a rigorous curriculum still needs both digital and print resources. Gale and Proquest are great but provide just a portion of what our students use when doing comprehensive research. Please read John Palfrey’s essay. http://jpalfrey.andover.edu/
Interesting approach – food for thought? I must say that I had thoughts very similar to the above comments crossing my mind as I read the article: particularly, where is the librarian in all of this revolution? They mention student feedback: what else do students think about this new kind of space? What do teachers think about its efficacy? And what else is in this library: is it ILL central or is there a diverse fleet of e-readers? Apparently there are “some books”: what kind of books besides reference? How about graphic novels which have somewhat limited digital availability? Is there a proactive digital campaign (websites, social media, etc.) that both reflects the population and promotes a positive view of global citizenship, a role often filled by physical media and intellectual access? What are the policies and negotiations in place to maintain this wonderland? Okay, okay.. Let me not get carried away but I’m definitely curious! The one thing that springs immediately to mind is digital divide. As a brand-new teacher-librarian split between two Title I schools my students and my library programs are largely on the have-not team. We don’t have the type of continuing budget to sustain this type of approach. If the school library is for many kids the primary access point AND there is no lend-able physical media learning becomes isolated solely to the school. environment.
“Another key to the library’s success? A robust community of neighboring branch and university libraries in the surrounding area.”
So… they’re piggybacking, in other words. They rely on other libraries doing their job for them or the job doesn’t get done.
This sounds like a principal’s vision that’s ridden roughshod over the interests of the school and will last only as long as the principal herself.
I’m curious how many schools have the budget to support the “no books” library. If fiction is purchased in print and placed in classroom collections, doesn’t that result in multiple editions being placed in multiple classrooms versus one or two copies in a library collection? There is still plenty of reference and nonfiction not readily available (or affordable) electronically that students should still be aware of and you do have those tactile/kinetic learners who want to touch a paper copy as part of their learning style. I do agree that so much research takes place in the online databases and that’s vital for a student’s information literacy ability, but I’m not getting the impression that this school has a $10,000 budget for ProQuest and JSTOR databases.
I’d be interested in seeing follow-up data from schools who have made this switch asking their students about their recreational reading habits and how prepared they felt for college.
I can think of few things sadder than a library devoid of books. No wonder the librarian is retiring. It appears to me that the students are guinea pigs in this principal’s grand experiment.
I agree Judith—nothing sadder than our top tier administrators failing to recognize the importance of libraries. Without access to multiple formats of resources we limit students experiences in developing their information literacy skills. I have students who prefer paperbacks to eBooks and in this case it isn’t because they are “old”.
I am a librarian and I don’t agree with the comments here. I think the conversion sounds very interesting, and I don’t think a school library needs to be purchasing the same books as the 50 (oh my gosh?!) libraries in the 15 mile radius. Especially since it is stated that they are ILLing a lot of that stuff. Honestly it should have been the librarian spearheading this, not the principal.
My only other disagreement is that the books they do own should be centralized in the library, not spread amongst the classrooms.
Isn’t inter-library loan based on “sharing”. Just what exactly is the school sharing with the public library? If all libraries think that they can simply leech off of each other and not purchase books, there will be no inter-library loan.
I think they call this “over reaction.” And they are still buying books, you know. Just putting them in a foolish place (teacher’s classrooms). A lot of the stuff is also just in digital format now.
Not overreaction. Reality. Books are not foolish in classrooms but books in classrooms tend to not be used to the fullest extent. And yes, inter-library loan relies on the sharing of resources. No resources – no sharing. The classroom teachers will probably not share their “classroom” libraries with public libraries or local school libraries. I share my collection with other schools, public and even universities. Inter-library loan is a two way street not an expressway for not maintaining an adequate collections.
50 public libraries within a 15-mile radius of the school? One glaring lielike that throws the whole article into question.
I can see a LOT of specialized and university libraries in the area, granted. But let’s not be crazy.
“Now we should think of it [the school library] as a space where people come together to share ideas, be creative, access information, and even read. Instead of thinking of it so literally, we should think of it as a more active space and evolving,” Principal Skinner says. I’ve never known a time when a school library was not that kind of space. Putting books in classrooms is great but it’s no substitute for a library print collection. This is a principal who knows nothing about the integral role of libraries and librarians, one who believes that the latest fleeting technologies are the be-all and end-all of educational innovation. A myopic vision indeed.
No more library, no more books = No more smiling students rushing to snag the latest novel in their favorite series, no more conversations between students and librarians about what to need read next, no more robust orders full of carefully selected materials to fill gaps in curriculum, no more on site experts to help students develop curiosity and imagination, no more mini-lessons and help w/ online and print research, no more teacher-librarian collaboration to prepare students for the realities and demands of college and professional level work, and worst of all…
No more EQUITABLE ACCESS to materials for all students. Now, only the students who have their own books or who have families that encourage them to use public libraries will have access to a print rich environment. The rest of the students? I guess they aren’t worth the investment. Who cares if our children fall in love with good storytelling, right???? Oh, I forgot. All they need to know is how to bubble in the answer sheet.
Print books offer economic efficiency!
I don’t understand how discarding useful, cataloged books makes economic sense. Certain topics, such as literary criticism, do not need to be current. In fact, older criticism enables researchers to see how criticism has changed over time.
As a high school librarian, I recently spent $60 on a large set of books that was being sold by a local library. Although I could have purchased a database with the same content, it would have cost $2,000 this year and $2,000 next year and $2,000 the year after that…. Ignoring print content would have been irresponsible of me because I can now use the money saved where it will have the most impact–whether the content is print or electronic.
A librarian who knows the students, the curriculum and the existing collection will make decisions based on content, not on format alone.
Yes the irony is that many administrators are enamored with shiny pretty technologies that are not cost effective at all. While I have ebooks and I use them, it is a bit ironic to have to purchase a $200 device to read the $11.99 paperback. Not all students have devices and when devices are not available, they cannot use the materials. In addition, many administrators tend to think that ebooks are cheaper when in fact, they cost just as much as the print editions plus the cost of the device. Schools are getting sucked into long term expenditures.
We are spending a lot more on tech and getting very little return on the investment. I have yet to find any concrete link between increases in technology spending and academic achievement. If anyone out there has links to studies, please provide them.
Ebooks are great but can be cost prohibitive. Maybe there needs to be national discourse on purchasing ebooks for education and maybe the department of education needs to step in to put a check on these costs before they get out of hand.
I noticed that this is a Catholic college prep high school, and I think that makes a difference. As a public school librarian, I feel a responsibility to have books available since it may be the only place some of our students will get them, regardless of their physical proximity to a public library. On the other hand, my own children attended a private (Catholic) high school. I did not expect its library to duplicate what was available at the public library. I cannot believe that the absence of books doesn’t diminish the amount of recreational reading students will do, but, sadly, I think that students who are in the “college prep” track in either private or public schools have little time for recreational reading anyway.
I agree with most of the previous comments. And, I would add, what you have is no longer a library. library (n.) place for books, late 14c., from Anglo-Fr. librarie, O.Fr. librairie “collection of books” It may be a study space, a space to exchange ideas, a place to do online research. But no books, no library.
So my.university’s music library, comprised entirely of albums was not a library…
A few additional comments. When the books were weeded, teachers were given copies for classroom collections. What happened to the OPAC? How do students and other teachers find the books/info they need? Isn’t that the point of a library, to gather resources and make it easy for people to find and use them? Why can’t we have both print and online resources. School librarians should be more important that ever to help students and teachers find the best and useful information in what ever form, teach them how to find it, evaluate it and use. Information literacy, research skills, and critical thinking skills are all very much a part of the Common Core. We need better ways for our students and teachers to access carefully selected resources that support the curriculum, teaching and learning.
After looking at the school’s web site, I am left wondering what the reporter means by “thriving.” Not only is the librarian missing in action, so is any mention of the library on the school’s web pages! That’s not what I would call indicative of an exemplary program or of any kind of progressive educational approach. There are plenty of principals who have visions of grandeur; that doesn’t mean they know what they’re doing. This article is the kind of shallow journalism that serves the best interests of no one.
Where are the Common Core State Standards in this digital library collection? CCSS don’t eliminate print resources. If students (and what about teachers) are requesting books from public and university libraries, there is a curricular need the school is not meeting. Doesn’t it delay access and cost staff time to provide inter-library loans? Are public and university libraries in that state mandated to purchase and provide K-12 instructional materials? The principal seems to equate a print book with obsolescence and ignores the fact that literacy takes many forms for diverse readers. Instead of enriching this school library program by expanding its digital access, they limited it.
My initial and final reaction is not good. I think it’s great that teachers have classroom collections but this severely limits the books to which individual students have access. And a library has never been a book storehouse. Come visit our library…we are a living, breathing entity. We serve people. We dish out books as a sideline. Heaven help us that the techies want to eliminate books. Books have been around since ancient times and need to survive into the future so that mothers can hold their children on their laps and read stories to them from books. Annette Thibodeaux, Archbishop Chapelle High School, Metairie, LA
In our library we could not support our curriculum solely on the basis of the web at-large and subscription databases. Our students would not be able to get the best possible information if we relied on these alone. I can think of a six recent books on WWI that are essential for our curriculum that are NOT available online. How can you promote life-long reading in a book-less library? Were there never any book talks in this school? Our library is vibrant place in part because we have a diverse collection and we promote reading. Our summer reading program logs in 5K+ check-outs each year! This music will never be heard in a Skinner school: “Mr. Kollasch, can you help me find a good book?”
Looking at the title of this article made me laugh–“Thrive”—how does this principal define “thrive??? Does it mean people are sitting in the nice new chairs? Does it mean people are using the nice, new outlets to charge their devices? Does it mean that the subscription databases are being used regularly? NONE of these qualifies as a “thriving” library to me….I run a THRIVING library where kids, teachers, adults and books are constantly on the move. This principal should be fired—not written up as a revolutionary….Please help all the libraries and librarians and students who will NOT be THRIVING if this crazy idea catches on!!!
I know this school and am acquainted with the librarian. While it wouldn’t be appropriate to go into a lot of details, this article is misleading. The school jettisoned its library’s print collection several years ago, and the librarian was instrumental in that action. Students and faculty will benefit from the introduction of a new professional librarian in the space and the infusion of more balanced content.
What I have found over the years is that there are very few administrators who were good teachers. Instead of working with some difficulties and trying to find solutions that would work well for years to come, they threw their hands up and blamed problems they couldn’t cope with on someone/something else. Then they would jump at anything new that came along since it obviously must be better because it is new and it would fix the problems they were too inept to fix. Common sense seems to escape too many people put in these positions of power. They seem unable to grasp the concept that while the administrative certificate they’ve acquired allows them to be an administrator, it doesn’t make them a good administrator.
A library without books is just a room. Books not only have stood the test of time, they will continue to serve patrons for years and years. While electronic resources definitely have their purpose, books not only give additional means of learning and enjoyment but also a tactile input that learning studies have proven to be vital for developing minds. Whenever I read an article like this the “Tomes and Talismans” series always comes to mind. Some people just don’t appreciate what a well-run library has to offer and when it’s gone, they regret it when it’s too late to do anything about it.
As a recently retired Secondary school librarian of many years and many different systems, it is sad to see such an article as “School library thrives after ditching print collection” aired here. Perhaps though from reading the majority of replies condeming this “de-booking” of the catholic school in question, it is good to hear such a range of voices not believing in disposing of the hard copy collection.
Introducing a coffee maching and comfortable furniture WILL NEVER make up for the collection being dismantled. When no one is supporting the copies spread throughout the school, they are effectively lost. The African schools receiving some of the disposed books are the real winners and at least this charitable act was possible.
Embrace all modern technologies in the school library, but don’t throw the baby out with the bath water.
I’ve just closed my library as the administrators deemed it unnecessary with ‘all’ information available via net/internet, although there is a hard copy collection and an OPAC clients can look at, they pretty much on their own for researching now. I have first hand experience of collections going to the classroom, even when on long term loan from the library, they gradually disappeared from the classroom never to return. At least Google wasn’t mentioned in the article – the number of executives who I have turned my back on and walked away when they say they can find everything on Google, I first tell them that their needs must be few.
I don’t win many friends in the executive ranks, but my clients loved me.
In this case – temporarily nice librarians finish last.
I agree with many of the comments posted here. While I believe digital collections are increasingly important, the e-book market is a mess, and certainly not capable of replacing all the print offerings of a library (plus the principal makes no mention of using any e-books). Secondly, removing all the fiction and relying on other surrounding libraries defeats the purpose of spontaneous need/interest on the part of students (who we hope we are inspiring to be readers).
I’m a bit confused by the remarks of the principal at the end of the article that she hopes to find someone who believes in a mix of print and digital because it doesn’t sound like they have any print except things donated by students.
And it doesn’t sound like a place was prepared for use as a digital library either.
I laud the principal is interested in the library but I think this is something that as we search for notions of what makes a 21st century library–we need to make sure it is functional as a library, and not just dismantled for the sake of “creating” a 21st century library in name only.
I would like to hear of a space like this including physical designs set up for students working in a variety of ways–small groups, large group instruction (including screens/whiteboards), brainstorming spaces, and yes, reading nooks.
I hope that the librarian that is hired has the vision to redesign the physical space to better reflect the purpose of a library (and to build a new fiction/print collection as well!)
I am an older, prolific reader who loves books—-I’m not a teacher, administrator or librarian. I believe that reading a large document or book as a single, comprehensive whole (a printed document) allows a wider perspective, one that is not found by looking at things page-by-page, electronically. E-books and the internet do not provide a balanced education. Similarly, relying upon parents to take children to some other “library” for printed books is not, sad to say, a good policy. Why? Many parents are not readers, so they do not teach their children to love or use books (i.e., they do not go to libraries or buy books). Where parents fail, teachers and schools must succeed by providing a blended learning environment, shared via printed books and e-resources. Please don’t turn your school library into a computer lab, as occurred in this news story. There is more to learning than using e-resources. Thanks.
“We weren’t saying no to hard copy books,” she says. “But let’s not duplicate what public and other libraries have.”
Amen. Figure it out, Librarian. Worry about teaching kids skills that will be relevant to them (which incluse assessing ALL modes of communication), not about finding money to replace that 20-year-old print copy of the World Book Encyclopedia.
“Books are so….NICE. And they’re never going away.” Well, let me be one to tell you, as an employer, I’m not looking to find people who are so stuck in their way that they can’t change, no matter what. I’m looking to hire flexible, smart, and nimble people who can adapt to change. Replacing hard-copy school library books every five years (three years after the information in them has been changed), while the public library down the street does the same, is no way to spend limited resources. Duplicative efforts are idiotic.
Instead of poo-poo-ing the effort here, maybe dig a bit deeper into how schools can PARTNER with public libraries/universities to provide services that are necessary to creating successful students.
It is not about replacing 20 year old encyclopedias. It is not about duplicating services. It is about providing services to students. Most students need materials immediately. Inter-library loan can take days if not a week or more. It also costs money to ship books. By that time, a student’s project is already due. Public libraries do not focus their collection development on school curriculums either. Many libraries use the postal system to ship and receive and these costs can add up and are not fixed. That is what SCHOOL libraries do. Unfortunately, this is being ignored. Time is also money and the school may actually spend more and receive less. Public library budgets are also under attack so public libraries focus their collections on the needs of the majority of their patrons. That is why many public libraries get multiple copies of “50 Shades of Grey” while not acquiring materials for schools. I am wondering if you are a school librarian. If you are, then what has been your personal experience with inter-library loan?
“We weren’t saying no to hard copy books,” says Sue Skinner, principal. “But let’s not duplicate what public and other libraries have.”
I wonder if this principal actually knows what the 6 nearby public libraries offer. A quick glance at the web site of the nearest library shows exactly what I expected. Anyone with a library card may use the array of databases there. The two Ms. Skinner specifically says the school offers — Gale and ProQuest — are indeed offered by the library. So much for not duplicating what public libraries have!
The facts appear to supply plenty of reasons to poo poo this half-baked approach. I do hope the library manages to evolve into the vibrant, creative, welcoming and diverse place the principal — and the reporter — mention and which students deserve.
I would be interested to know what criteria are being used to define “thrives”.
It seems to be that, like many other librarians have already said, this idea of completely removing books from a school library is extreme. I’m also a young-ish school librarian (30 years old) and love learning about all the new technology, apps, and ideas that are popping up–daily it seems like. I think it’s totally imperative to balance the physical aspects of the library with newer digital platforms. But I think removing physical books from a space that has held a long tradition and connection with printed materials is doing a disservice to the students. In a more traditional library setting, even if the students aren’t consciously seeking out books all the time, they are still connecting the library space with the idea of reading when they walk into that space at school. I’m not sure that connection has been severed yet at this school, but I fear it is diminishing that connection. This is a crucial time in a student’s life to really emphasize the importance of reading and gaining knowledge by reading. How can school librarians and teachers connect students with material, with stories, with pictures, with words that they will grow to enjoy and love? These students are the patrons of tomorrow. Let’s not forget that. I hope that this school is still able to connect students with a love and enjoyment of reading…it is fundamental to the future of their own educations as well as the survival of libraries.
Having followed subsequent comments after I posted my first comment I can see an obvious pattern to the responses. It seems that there is an excellent opportunity to do a longitudinal study on the effects of moving into a totally electronic library situation. Students at schools and colleges/universities which have takenthis path can be compared with students at schools and colleges/universities which have not, and do not plan to do so for at least a decade. Then one has the old and the new as a compare and contrast. The study should be run out of a library school perhaps for graduate students to work on, and should follow the same student (as much as possible) to see how they use information, perceive reading, and even their education achievements, problems accessing data in whatever form digital or non-digital. Concurently, each library the students use should also be surveyed to look at ongoing costs, maintaining course material, staff costs and any associated issues related to maintaining a library of mostly electronic resources, or of mostly non-digital resource. Of course at the end of the study, the arguments will still rage, but solid empirical data will have been collected and will enable a coherent argument to be given for or against this movement to total digital or retention of hard copy resources.
How disgusting. The place looks like a fast food restaurant. How unethical to rely on other libraries to cater for the students you are being paid to educate. Libraries everywhere are under-funded and under-staffed, and this school is going to add to their burden. Even disregarding the ethics, other libraries do not base their purchasing decisions on school curricula; that is the job of the school library. Spreading the remaining books among classrooms is a recipe for disaster; my experience has been that without a central library, no-one knows how to access them, no-one takes responsibility for them, and they will eventually disappear. Finally, in what universe are there 50 public libraries within a 15 mile radius? That is just not true. Shame on you.
I sure hope the public library is billing the school for the additional print materials they are expected to purchase to support the curricular needs.
That is dumbest thing ever taking out all the book makes it a computer lab not a library