The whole-school library is open

Abstract

This article explores options that extend the services and influence of the school library beyond the traditional physical library space, and seeks to identify the implications of this for policy development, planning, digital citizenship and transformation of practice. A theme of openness is used to consider benefits to learning and teaching and student engagement that might flow from such an approach. It asks how open-minded school libraries are about open resources, and where wikis fit in collections. What do open cataloguing and successful searching look like in the open and social web? How can school libraries help students, teachers and library staff discover relevant and re-usable learning resources?