Staying Current
My plan to stay up-to-date in a changing techno-world

This semester was eye opening. My future job as a librarian isn’t just about checking out books and helping students find information. I knew this. But I’m not sure, to be quite honest, that I was aware of just HOW MUCH technology exists, and that I would be so involved with creating and implementing so much content. Even though I have been a sort of “technophobe” in the past, seeing that I can create lessons was really half the battle. As I was reading the blog post by Paige Szmodis on Hack Library School (2021), her words encouraged me. She said, “It seems natural to want to declare inaptitude before we even try”, and went on to explain that most of us who are afraid of technology, so to speak, are actually just afraid to fail when using it. That’s me!
Now that I have conquered (most of) my fear of technology, I realize that while it changes, I will need to, as well. How exactly, am I going to do that? I have already joined the American Library Association (check out their Future Trends and Other Technology Resources pages) and the Virginia Association of School Librarians which will hopefully help me network and stay fresh as I explore their resource. I’m hoping to attend their Annual Conference in November so I can tap into their resources and do a some networking, maybe even with some classmates and professors!
I found an amazing resource for librarians with tech tools that can be used in school libraries, listed by need, such as citation help, research assistance, makerspace tools and much more. I can see myself diving into each and every resource on this site, provided by Common Sense Education.
The best blog I stumbled across is called Tech 4 School Librarians and it is one that I really like because the listings have relevance to my world right now. The most recent entry was about the differences and similarities between Canva and Piktochart in creating Infographics. This post was dated February 15, 2022 and I truly hope the author keeps posting such useful information because she is very relatable and her viewpoint is extremely relevant to me right now.
Probably the COOLEST thing I found in my hope to stay technologically savvy is an e-book that was crowd-sourced with knowledge from 35 librarians from across the country including information on technology and ideas for librarians to hone their skills. In the article on the EdTech website (Burroughs, 2022), it was listed as a resource for librarians to learn and help teachers with technology and I am definitely going to use it myself. You can find A Digital Librarian’s Survival Toolkit here.
I truly do think the most useful tool will be my time. I need to make and take the time to dive in to the vast amount of knowledge that exists now to help librarians and other library professionals. Mostly, I need to remember that I don’t have to reinvent the wheel, per se. I might just have to change a flat tire now and then.
References
American Library Association. (2014, August 8). Trends. https://www.ala.org/tools/future/trends
American Library Association. (2022). Other technology resources. https://www.ala.org/tools/librariestransform/other-technology-resources
Burroughs, A. (2022, July 8). Tech-savvy school librarians provide value to modern learners. EdTech. https://edtechmagazine.com/k12/article/2022/07/tech-savvy-school-librarians-provide-value-modern-learners
Common Sense Education. (n.d.). Digital tools for school libraries and media centers. Retrieved July 30, 2022 from https://www.commonsense.org/education/top-picks/digital-tools-for-school-libraries-and-media-centers
Holzweiss, K., et. al. (2020). A digital librarian’s survival toolkit. [e-book]. https://read.bookcreator.com/mvPgY7WlzpZ0iB6KWCYbUdmFdOo2/csMtTr4PTQCk-jfc8U6ygQ
Szmodis, P. (2021, July 21). How to get over technophobia. Hack Library School. https://hacklibraryschool.com/2021/07/27/how-to-get-over-technophobia/
Turner, H. A., (2022, February 15). Canva vs. Piktochart: Infographic wars. Tech 4 School Librarians. https://www.tech4schoollibrarians.com/canva-vs-piktochart-infographic-wars/
Virginia Association of School Librarians. (2022). 2022 VAASL Annual Conference. https://www.vaasl.org/conference-info
We have a lot of similar resources. I love common sense media! I actually used this in class during digital citizenship week 2 years ago.
Thank you for sharing the ebook on the survival kit. I need to check this out!
I also agree that time is the most valuable resource. I have had a hard time finding extra time outside of class and homelife to do any extra exploring but need to do this.
I also joined the ALS and VASL. I liked Tech 4 School Librarians but was concerned that the lasted post was from February. She doesn’t seem to post very often.
Love the detail in this post. Big fan of Common Sense Media as well! I greatly appreciate e-books as well and I used Canva DAILY.
Hi Stephanie! This past term was eye-opening for me too! I think I was not fully aware of all that a librarian is trained for. It is a way more diverse profession than I realized. I am more excited to continue in the program despite the nerves.
I also found the blog post you mentioned- Tech 4 School Librarians comparing and contrasting Canva to Piktochart. I thought the same- I hope she posts more like this because it is really helpful! :). Thanks for sharing!
I agree that this course has broadened my field of view as far as how much technology a librarian needs to be comfortable with in order to produce instructional materials. I so wish I had this class before teaching online for a year! It is true that half of learning tech skills and tools is convincing myself that when something doesn’t work just keep trying!