Project Red

We have a pretty active librarian group that has contributed significantly to our success. Would it be possible to start a forum for librarians to communicate with each other?

Randy Ziegenfuss
Salisbury

The Project RED Team has had several debates about the number and type of main forum categories. What we don't want is to have a forum category that nobody uses, that takes up real estate, and pushes other topics (like suggestion box) below the fold. I'm not sure that librarians are the website's target audience, so I don't know how much it would get used.

I also think the reason a librarian would join the Project RED Community would be because of their tech/media specialist role. I'm wondering if the Tech Director forum might be a better place for their conversation/questions than a separate forum.

Let me know what you think - and others, feel free to chime in. If we really think it would get used I can set it up.

Well, as a librarian lacking a category, Tech Director is what I chose.

Your answer does show a lack of understanding of how the work of a librarian has changed, however. Involvement in technology instruction, planning, and implementation is integral to the work we do. We don't have separate "roles." We are experts in information and whatever containers it fits into. We are often the subject area specialists in information literacy curriculum and instruction in our school. We share some of the concerns of a Curriculum Coordinator, an Integration Specialist, a Tech Director and classroom teacher and go on to have some all our own.

That said, we probably don't need our own forum at this point.

I am a teacher librarian/media specialist and like the previous post, I also signed up as a Tech Director. I agree with talibrary that our responsibilities and roles cover a wide range, and many times we are unique employees in our districts. I am playing a key role in our 1:1 planning, and I anticipate that my responsibilities will change and increase significantly with a 1:1 deployment.

A separate forum may not be necessary for librarians; it may be best to see how the discussions shape up. I will look forward to communicating with other media specialists and librarians via these forums.

The tools and resources available from Project Red look like they will be valuable for our 1:1 planning team, thank you!

Thanks for both responses, and Randy's original post. In addition to your comments, we have also had a few direct requests for information about the role of media specialists and librarians in the technology transformed learning environment. It seems like there is enough interest to warrant the creation of a forum for this role. We are also planning on developing the community this year to engage teachers and other specialty staff in the development and sharing of resources.

I'm not sure how much traffic the Media Specialist forum with get. To receive the most response to a question, I would suggest that you post good resources you have, as well as question in the new forum, but also in the Tech Director (or other appropriate) forums. To hit all website members at once, you should also post comments or share things you are doing in RED Hub on your status page.

I look forward to the value that your discussions and resources can bring to the Project RED community and to helping other librarians and media specialists.