Thursday, January 19, 2006
Internet is no replacement for books
MAYBE we're a little old-fashioned, but even in an age when technology and the Internet rule, we believe any respectable school still needs a functioning library complete with nonvirtual, hardcover books.
Unfortunately, as reporter Alex Katz's recent story explained, Castlemont High School has been without such a library for two years — ever since it was split into three smaller, specialized schools and renamed Castlemont Community of Small Schools.
By breaking Castlemont into Leadership Preparatory High, the East Oakland School of the Arts and the Business and Information Technology School, officials intended to increase attendance and improve teacher-student interaction. That is a commendable goal and we hope an achievable one.
The price of that transformation, however, appears to have been a viable library, which school officials say they couldn't continue to afford and are now working to restore.
Castlemont does have several non-classified shelves of books inside a room that until a few weeks ago had also served as storage space, but students say they've been unable to check out books when they manage to find them. And instead of a librarian, the school just has a library clerk.
Castlemont's principal has indicated that much of the students' research is done online anyway and notes that the school has hundreds of computers. He certainly is correct about that — these days almost all students, including those in elementary schools, use computers to do some of their homework, assignments and research.
But computers aren't a substitute for books, and as Skyline High librarian Mary Walfoort noted, students need someone to help them do online research. "There's so much information out there, but so much of it is untrustworthy," she said. "With so much junk out there on the Internet ... it's more important than ever to have a librarian."
With a student database system converted for Castlemont last week, school officials say that by the end of this month it will allow the library to check out and inventory books again.
We hope that does indeed happen. Cyberspace has its advantages, but the time hasn't come for it to supplant the Dewey Decimal System.
Subscribe to Posts [Atom]
