[CALIBK12] "Library" is now "Learning Center" - What do you think?

[Becca Todd]

I am one of those who loves all sorts of flowers but I still think a rose
is not a tulip and calling it one is disrespectful of the rose. I love the
word and the mission and the dignity of LIBRARY. The libraries I know are
are bustling with energy, activity, LEARNING (even without being called a
Learning Center! how'd that happen?) and that most surprising of
activities, READING. 

Good luck!

Becca Todd, District Library Coordinator
Berkeley Unified School District
1720 Oregon St. Room 9
Berkeley, CA 94703
(ph) 510.644.4895
(f) 510.644.8933
Becca_Todd at berkeley.k12.ca.us 

jeweli annah <jeweliannah at hotmail.com> writes:
>
>
>Hello Colleagues!
>
>Shakespeare said a rose by any other name would smell as sweet, however,
>that being said, our school has decided to change the name of our
>"Library" to "Learning Center".  The goal is to reflect the fact that we
>now host an after-school tutoring program and are working to put a
>computer lab in our facility.  My tried and true customers (students who
>have used the library frequently ever since elementary school) are
>perplexed.  The few adults I have spoken to acknowledge the benefit of
>distancing ourselves from the connotations of a word that conjures up
>dusty facilities from days of yore.  
>
>I welcome this opportunity to advertise ourselves, yet wonder if we have
>to kill the "library" in order to showcase our modern usefulness.   
>
>As someone very new to the profession (and as the daughter of a Library
>Media Teacher), I feel that PR work is our most critical area of need as
>an organization of professionals.  We don't necessarily have the time nor
>the staff engage in full-blown community outreach or education, and yet,
>if we don't prioritize PR work we face budget and staff cuts which
>endanger ourselves and our customers, the next generation of students we
>are trying so very hard to reach.  
>
>Is renaming ourselves and our facilities the answer?  Where should our
>focus be?  What has worked for you and your community?  
>
>I welcome your thoughts, opinions, and musings on the topic!
>
>
>Julia Hedstrom
>Library Media Teacher  a.k.a. Teacher Librarian
>Granite Bay High School
>Granite Bay, CA 95746
>jhedstrom at rjuhsd.us
>
>
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