The author, Rebecca P. Butler, is a professor currently teaching a library information specialist and instructional technology course. This book was written for two distinct purposes and audiences: its primary purpose is to provide a teaching tool for college and university students undertaking a library administration course whilst its secondary purpose is to support school librarians who wish to upgrade and enhance their knowledge of the field. Technology is interwoven throughout the book, but unlike the title might suggest there is no dedicated chapter just on technology, rather the author suggests that technology including the Internet and new media is, and will continue to be, a part of everyday environment for school librarians. As such the book represents the evolving world of the school library and both the present and future school library environment.
As a teaching tool, this book is incredibly detailed and provides a wealth of information for students to relate to real-world practice. The book’s comprehensive 12 chapters are titled; the school library and the school librarian, standards and guidelines, policies and procedures, follow the money, facilities, the school librarian, relationships and personal, services, programming and collaboration, ethics, intellectual freedom and copyright, advocacy, and at the end the ‘extra’ things covered are evaluation and the future. At the end of each chapter are three sections: discussion questions, activities and references. The discussion questions are designed to enable students to consolidate and analyse what they have learnt from the chapters and the activities encourage the students to actively engage with the material, for example, by working in a group to discuss, analyse and assess real-life workplaces. The references allow for further reading and verification and provide a base for further research. Each chapter with its discussion questions and activities could also be used for professional development in a school library.
The book has five appendices, each of which are annotated bibliographies relating to selected chapters and provide starting points, a range of viewpoints and leads for research for students. These include library policies and procedures manuals, school library professional organization websites, national and state school library standards and guidelines, school library instruction and collaboration tools and grant resources for school libraries. There are also over 60 figures and textboxes placed throughout the book which provides useful templates for both the student and the practitioner covering a broad spectrum of school library practices. These include sample budgets, selection flowcharts, floor plans, possible activities for library programmes, questions for re-modelling, a weeding flowchart, evaluation flowcharts and selection criteria samples.
School libraries 3.0 is written in a comprehensive yet easy to follow manner. The author has covered a broad spectrum of aspects of school library practice and the relevant examples, templates, discussion questions and activities making the book not only a valuable resource as a teaching tool, but also a working tool for the current school librarian.
TasTAFE
© 2016 Cindy Bissett
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00049670.2016.1240026