Just last month, the vibrant School of the Future opened in West Philadelphia. The $63 million technologically advanced school is supported in part by computer giant Microsoft Corp. Just think, 170 eager students outfitted with laptop computers, smart cards to work lockers, and hardly any textbooks. No more pencils, no more books, indeed.
There's no doubt that this school promises to be a huge benefit to its students, their families, the local community, and the city in terms of the educational opportunities it will offer. The technological advances of the last 20 years have revolutionized everything in our lives, from education and commerce to communications and, yes, even libraries.
As the director of a collegiate academic library, I see examples of this every day. Our students, as well as those who are attending the School of the Future, have grown up with a world of knowledge and information literally at their fingertips. And some may wonder why, with the answers to so many questions just a mouse click away, do we still need bricks-and-mortar libraries on our campuses and in our communities?
It's pretty clear that this generation of students is techno-savvy and relies heavily on electronic sources when seeking information. According to a 2006 study, the vast majority of students - 98 percent - indicated that they consult a search engine first when they need to do research.
The problem is that when students get to college, they are asked to perform more complex and sophisticated research than they did in high school. Google may be a helpful starting point in some cases, but students need more than a one-stop information shop to enhance their learning experience and develop critical-thinking skills.
For instance, at Philadelphia University, architecture students are required to research two types of historical buildings, such as a 13th-century Buddhist temple and a Romanesque cathedral, and then write a comparative analysis of the architectural styles, including information on the history and culture of those particular times.
In the library, we offer academic journals on these subjects, as well as books written by faculty experts that have photographs, drawings and commentary. While a search engine may help to locate building images, it is simply inadequate in obtaining the information needed for a critical analysis. Without being guided to higher-quality research materials by instructors and librarians, college students may fail to achieve academic success with more complex assignments. It's simply not possible to conduct high-level research well by relying on popular search engines.
To help ensure that students look beyond the "one click away" approach to research, our librarians give presentations at all levels of the curriculum to familiarize students with how to best access and use the library's resources. Campus libraries are designed to support their institutions' specific curricular offerings. Internet search engines, on the other hand, are not designed to meet anyone's particular needs - and just try to get some human help with your search.
Furthermore, while they may look like old-tech buildings on the outside, academic libraries certainly have been keeping up with the times. Collegiate libraries rely heavily on technology and are designed to reflect a wide range of student uses. These days, it's popular for students to work collaboratively on group projects. Many academic libraries have incorporated more study rooms and areas for groups to work with computers, although the old-style individual study carrels are not extinct.
And wireless connectivity now is ubiquitous in college libraries, allowing students with notebook computers to turn any space into a work area. This connectedness runs through the entire campus - the entire planet, really - as students working at home, off-campus, or studying abroad can access the library's vast databases from just about anywhere they can plug into the Internet. This worldwide connectivity also allows academic libraries to operate as teams to better serve their campus communities. Extensive interlibrary loan networks make the global sharing of books and journal articles as easy as downloading an iTune.
The world of information is most definitely at our students' fingertips, but they need to be taught how to access and evaluate it using a wide range of library and other resources to enhance their learning to the fullest extent.
Steven J. Bell is director of the Paul J. Gutman Library at Philadelphia University.
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