Digital Libraries: Shifting the Landscape - 
Glen Bull and Martha Sites

Hi Class 422~

“No way!” she exclaimed, “I will never give up the feel, the smell, and the contentment I get from flipping pages in my novels”.  This statement comes from a valid source… my mom.  With all seriousness, there are many book readers, including myself, who live for the harmonious pleasures of the senses flipping the pages and delving into a novel or the experiences of visiting a library or bookstore.

Now I've gain insight into a new world of literature technology that derives information based on the shifting nature of how fast knowledge is perceived, gathered and expounded upon through digitized eBooks and tablets.  Digital Libraries: Shifting the Landscape coauthored by Bull and Sites (2009-2010) is an informative and interesting journal article which emphasized replacing textbooks with digitized books, but the concept seemed to me to be an inevitable technological progression.

            I have seen this transformation firsthand as Kindles, E Books and I Pads filter into our educational systems and at my school work site.  Digitized books are not the perfect solution and gathering information from textbooks provides a non-linear method to the sometimes linear functionality found in digital books.  I like that the authors, Bull and Sites (2009-2010), point this out in this journal, "Kindles ... best suited for linear content", (p. 13); hence I feel allocating the partnership of both digital books and texts resources into our educational society might be the best solution than complete obliteration of text material.

Nonetheless, It does not surprise me that we are heading in this technological direction.  According to Bull and Sites (2009-2010), “it is clear that the era of the books as we have known it is about to undergo an irreversible transition,” (p.12); what does surprises me is how this transformation will impact the learning environment, learning styles, and my personal educational philosophy.  I will want to interact with my students by offering direct su­pervision and teacher centered curriculum with an ethic of caring, but will definitely want to integrate some digital book technology into my lesson plan.  How this ties into Bull and Sites (2009-2010) affirmation that, “we are now entering the incunabula of digital books”, (p.13); is something I’ll have to figure out in time so that I can become an effec­tive educator.  

Thank you for your time,

Thomas 

Bull, G. & Sites, M. (2009 -2010). Digital libraries: Shifting the landscape. Learning and Leading with Technology, 37(1), 13-14. Retrieved from http://www.iste.org/learn/publications/ learning-and-leading/digital-edition-august-2011.aspx