Digital Libraries
Today’s K-12 students use digital literacies daily in their personal lives, many as their primary means of communication with friends and family. Literacy educators have the opportunity to help students become proficient with information and communication technologies (ICT) by balancing “text and tech to integrate these technologies into the literacy curriculum in order to prepare students for the literacy future they deserve (Shearer, Carr, & Vogt, 2019, p.269). One type of digital resource students should be exposed to and learn to navigate are digital libraries. Three such online libraries are Library Thing, International Children’s Digital Library, and Epic Books.
Upon first glance at the Library Thing website, it appears to simply be a place to create and organize collections of book titles. Having a central location to create collections for specific instructional units or strategies is advantageous for educators because they can share the collections with colleagues and return to the lists throughout the year to add additional resources as they come across them in their planning. For example, here is a collection of mentor texts I created that can be used to teach writing strategies to students in grades K-5: Mentor Writing Texts. However, after exploring the site, I realized Library Thing has much more to offer! Users can make connections with others through groups and discussions. They can also read reviews and recommendations on topics or specific books. One feature I think would be especially useful for teachers with classroom libraries is the Library Thing app called Tiny Cat which turns the user’s Library Thing library into an online catalog and circulation desk. Tiny Cat is for small libraries with no staff or volunteer staff. There is a subscription fee, unless it will be used strictly for a personal library, but a 30-day trial is offered so users can try it out before subscribing. (see www.librarycat.org for more information or view the overview video below)
Library Thing would be beneficial for secondary students to explore because they could connect with readers across the globe and check out a variety of genres by reading recommendations and reviews in addition to creating their personal library collections.
The International Children’s Digital Library supports the goal of helping children all over the world become contributing members of the global community. The ICDL is a free digital library that contains over 4,000 books in 59 languages! Readers of all ages can read books in their entirety as guests or join for free to open additional features like creating their own profiles and bookshelves. The ICDL is viewable in 5 different languages and there are 10 different search options to help readers find the exact type of book they seek. Educators will find this digital library valuable due to its diverse book lists and the ability to access and share with students books from other countries and cultures that may not be available in their campus or local libraries. The website is easy to navigate, but the landing page does contain a large volume of links and information so young children will need help learning how to search for books. One interesting fact about the research team for ICDL is that children ages 7-11 from 4 different countries are included in the research process. They meet twice each week to help design and test the ICDL computer interfaces. One thing I noticed is that the news section does not contain any recent articles, so I wonder if this digital library is continuing to grow or if the project has ended. Either way, the books available in the International Children’s Digital Library would be an excellent addition to any family read aloud time, classroom instructional time, or student independent reading time.
Epic Books is a highly engaging free digital library for elementary readers. My students have used Epic in the classroom when I was teaching in-person learners and at home during the school day as remote learners. The Epic library contains over 40,000 popular and high-quality books, many from well-known and familiar publishers and authors. The books are organized by age and level, with the teacher choosing from 5 leveling systems under settings. Educators can assign individual texts or teacher-created collections to students and track their progress by viewing reports that show the number of books read, number of minutes read, and percentage of success on quizzes. Students who are emergent readers can have books read aloud to them with the text highlighted and audio books, with music and sound effects, are also available at all levels. My campus literacy coach and grade level team members have shared their Epic collections with me, which has helped us provide all students the same access to appropriate texts. For example, when we were analyzing persuasive texts, we worked together as a team to create this collection: Epic Collection–Persuasive Texts. As a full remote second grade teacher this year, Epic Books has been a valuable resource because many students don’t have large personal libraries at home. My students and I have used the texts in Epic regularly for interactive read aloud lessons, analyzing mentor texts for writing lessons, and student-choice independent reading.
Thousands of free digital resources are available to educators on website and apps, but availability is only one aspect to consider. A few questions to ask when seeking digital libraries and other digital resources are listed below:
- Are the digital texts well-written and will they be engaging to students?
- Is the website or app easy for students to navigate and visually appealing?
- Do the digital texts and resources align with district goals and best practices for teaching literacy?
- Can the digital library be used as a supplement with the print texts used in the classroom?
All educators know that students from elementary through university level will be on their devices regularly. It would benefit students if we could channel their energies with technology into learning experiences by providing effective instructional digital resources for them to use in and out of the classroom setting.
References:
Epic! Creations Inc. (2013). Epic–Books for Kids. Epic – Books for Kids.
ICDL – International Children’s Digital Library. (2002, November). International Children’s
Digital Library. http://en.childrenslibrary.org/
Library Thing | Catalog your books online. (2005, August). Library Thing.
Shearer, B., Carr, D., & Vogt, M. (2019). Reading specialists and literacy coaches in the real
world (4th ed.). Long Grove, IL: Waveland Press, Inc.
Young, T., Bryan, G., Jacobs, J., & Tunnell, M. (2020). Children’s Literature, Briefly (7th ed.).
Pearson.