ERIC Number: EJ742430
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2005
Pages: 4
Abstractor: ERIC
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1054-0040
EISSN: N/A
Montessori and School Libraries
Duffy, Michael
Montessori Life: A Publication of the American Montessori Society, v17 n2 p14-17 Spr 2005
This article examines the advantages of using automated media library systems and how to incorporate them in Montessori schools learning environment. Before even addressing the issue of Montessori philosophy and practice, Here, the author first address two principles: availability and accessibility. Availability is the first principle of a resource center within a learning environment. A school must have an adequate collection of books and other multimedia resources to meet the needs of its students for quality literature at all stages of reading development, as well as reference and nonfiction materials for research. The number of books and other resources within the school must be sufficient to meet the needs of the students and to allow them a selection of alternatives from which to choose for their work. The other big issue is that of accessibility, and this is where most Montessori schools fail miserably. In some schools, the more books and resources they have, the less accessible those resources become because there is no system for finding items. Children often spend more time locating a resource than actually using it for work. However, in an automated media library system, students can access all the books in the school that have information on pandas, or any other subject, with in a matter of minutes. That's real accessibility. The multimedia approach encouraged in today's school libraries is another structure that fits Montessori schools better than traditional schools. The use of carefully chosen videos, CD-ROMs with vivid graphics, overhead projectors, and computer projectors appeal to contemporary children who are growing up in a multimedia world. Rather than bemoaning the hold these innovations have on their students, Montessori teachers should learn how to use technology to enhance the multisensory nature of the materials Maria Montessori herself developed in the days before televisions, computers, and the Internet reached into every home environment.
Descriptors: Foreign Countries, School Libraries, Montessori Schools, Library Automation, Multimedia Materials, Information Systems, Library Materials, Access to Information
American Montessori Society. 1112 Glenwood Ave., Nichols Hills, OK. Tel: 405-823-8037; e-mail: EdMonessoriLife@aol.com; Web site: http://www.amshq.org/publications.htm.
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Opinion Papers; Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Canada; Puerto Rico
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A