by Carol Natoli

Created on: February 18, 2008   Last Updated: April 15, 2009

"Why is the sky blue? How many colors are there in the rainbow? Are other kids as curious as I am about things?" These are questions that have been heard by many public and school librarians all over the country. No Internet website can really explain these questions like a human touch, a human word, or a piece of advice or guidance from a tangible source....the librarian!

Basic websites are not always reliable pieces of information, yet, at times, they are useful. We were always taught not to believe everything that we read, but today's children never heard that. Many of them do not have a conscience about copying and pasting and calling it their own, perhaps because the moral and ethical issue of this has not been instilled in them at home. Look at what children see on the news, for heaven's sake! Baseball players, singers, stars and people of government form an erroneous conscience, for their convenience! The school librarian can compare plagiarism to stealing their baseball trophy or their "honor roll" status, to make it clearer as to what the term means. Every child should learn how to put a report together from writing a clear thesis statement to standing confidently and presenting a well-constructed Power Point. Doing one's own work is a wonderful feeling, a sense of pride!

Also, learning the process of compiling their reports together takes time, but is uplifting when the finished product is seen. Character education and instilling these values is often left up to teachers and librarians to make their pupils understand the importance of absolute values. Ethical students will generally become ethical adults and business people, unlike some of the scenarios we have seen played out along the lines of stolen company pensions and other stolen funds, in the news.

Library Media Specialists, or School Library Media Specialists,as they are sometimes called, do more than read books and encourage literacy along the lines of reading and writing. They teach them financial literacy at an early age, so that children will make financially healthy decisions as they grow. Career-building skills are taught as early as the fifth grade, which include goal-setting and study skills, so the purpose of education is clear to them. These librarians and informational specialists, show students that education IS power, as it is knowledge, and that education that diminishes their risk of crime, drugs, and a poor lifestyle.

Library Media Specialists help students explore Virtual Field

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