Janet's+paper


 * In case you didn't see the email from Sally - Janet has had technical difficulties and has been unable to access the wiki. Sally sent out Janet's paper and have copied it below. Could someone compiling the memo look for things to add to our group memo? ~ Joice

Thanks, Joice, for providing this information. I will work to integrate it into our memo. Deani

From: **Janet Goss [janet.goss@umontana.edu] GossJ C&I 488 Library Automation Systems Reports Research your automation system What are its features? Strengths and weaknesses? Pros and cons of purchasing and implementing it? What do other school librarians have to say about it? If you have worked with the system, what are your own personal observations about it? What are the hardware specifications? Are they compatible with your school’s IT network? Is the system web-based. Why Follett’s Destiny should be the ‘destiny’ for a library’s future search system. Follett’s Destiny automation service is one of the most effective and exciting library search databases on the market today. Our libraries must move forward into the 21st century, and further its mission to excite the next generation of readers about the resources of the library system. Creating a computer-literate library that fully deploys the resources of the World Wide Web in finding information is an essential component of its task. Because Destiny is a web-based system, students and teachers can access the resources of the library from a home computer. They can check to see if a book is available without even leaving the confines of their home because Destiny can be used from any Internet-connected computer. Patrons can also check their own, personal accounts, to see if they have books that are about to become overdue. Destiny brings the library into the home of the student. It also expands the student’s horizons in the school library, as it allows the student to search the collections of other schools, from which the student can borrow books through inter-library loans. Destiny looks to be very user-friendly for students. It appeals to visual as well as verbal learners because the book cover is pictured in the search list. Selecting the book title displays practical information, such as the copies of the book available in all the schools and other helpful information for student research such as a description of the book and the book’s reading level. For students Destiny helps researching process feel a lot less intimidating. Searching with Destiny is a learning experience for the student, as well as an important step in the research process. With Destiny selecting a book, the cover image also offers students links to web pages and online reviews. This will help provide students with important ‘jumping off’ point in their research. Destiny allows the user to make a booklist of book selections, so they can easily keep track of their growing list of research-related titles. Another plus, for Destiny as you are researching it creates a bibliography from a booklist with a touch of one button, showing the young web students the format of a typical bibliography at a very young age. Normally students do not become familiar with bibliographic formats until middle school—now even elementary school children can see what a bibliography looks like using Destiny. One of the concerns with students using the Internet as part of the research process is that they may stumble upon age-inappropriate materials. Destiny, students can use its Web Express feature once they select a book. This “connects the reader to pre-selected, teacher-approved, grade-leveled Web pages that correspond to the subject of the book that the reader selected” (“Destiny,” Greenwich Public Schools, 2010). Destiny can also provide the searchers with suggestions of other topics for research related to the book, which makes it an excellent jumping-off point for preliminary research and open-ended research papers. According to Mrs. Fisher Destiny would have been relatively easy to install and to operate in to our school system but felt inclined to recommend Sagebrush InfoCenter as it was easier to install and we were able to install Sagebrush InfoCenter plus they guaranteed to download all of our libraries circulation (without losing it). Destiny has “Both on-site and web-based training and technical support available by toll-free telephone, email and the web” for librarians (Destiny, Follet Software, p.8). Destiny also offers centralized check-out, fine, and reporting services for entire school districts. This can be useful in streamlining procedures and bureaucracy for large school districts, and creates continuity in the student’s library experiences from elementary to middle to high school. The Destiny platform supports Library Manager for the district’s textbook and media collection: this is yet another way in which Destiny brings the library into the classroom and the classroom into the library. In light of the cutbacks school districts we will be in all likelihood facing, Destiny offers another critical advantage: cost savings up to $35,000 (Destiny, Follet Software, p.5). Because of its integration of services and ease of use Destiny is an investment well worth making in the future of the library and the futures of our students. There are those who will object that it is too user-friendly, but not more so than the World Wide Web. Destiny channels student Internet research in positive, academic, and age-appropriate directions.
 * Sent: **Tuesday, March 23, 2010 9:58 PM
 * To: **"CI488.50-34501-Spring2010"
 * Subject: **Destiny (Follette): CI488.50-34501-Spring2010

Works Cited

Destiny. Follet Software. March 22, 2010. __//__

//“Destiny Online Library Catalog Q&A.” Greenwich public schools. March 22, 2010. ____

Peggy Fisher Head at Poplar Schools Tech Department ____