Johnson

=Doug Johnson= Doug Johnson is the Director of Media and Technology for the Mankato, MN public school district. He has written five books and contributed to over forty books and periodicals. He also has a column called "Head for the Edge" in the LIbrary Media Connection and a blog called the Blue Skunk Blog. Johnson has had experience in America and in Saudi Arabia as a high school English teacher, a media specialist, a district technology director and media supervisor, and a state university adjunct in Library Media Education. His personal website is a great place to find all of his publications and thoughts.

To explain a little about why he is so active in his field, Johnson says, "I am great believer in the “stone soup mentality.” Like the soldiers in the old French fable, I know that when each person in a profession, organization, or community brings his or her individual talents and efforts to the table, everyone benefits."

Here are a few notable quotes from Johnson's blog and articles:

//"You can't just be a "book" librarian anymore and be considered professionally competent even if your area of interest and expertise is literature.// //If you work with books and kids, you can't do your job without understanding how to use technology in your field. Tech's no longer a "nice extra" - it's a vital set of tools, skills and undertandings you need to master if you want to provide the services kids deserve. I would categorize librarians who fail to recognize how technology can support what they do and actually use it as unprofessional and incompetent as a doctor who can't use a CAT scan or an accountant who can't use a spreadsheet or an engineer who doesn't use CAD/CAM."//

//"By calling our children "digital natives" are we running the risk of giving them too much credit for technology skills? I think it is a risk. And not just in the realm of online safety. I've long argued that knowing how to use spreadsheet no more makes a person numerate than know how to drive a car makes one a plan meaningful trips."//

"//The libraries that will continue to thrive will be those which meet real needs that cannot be met by the Internet (or bookstores or classrooms). Our profession should be defining, discovering and emphasizing those needs in the current budgetary and political climate rather than simply complaining and justifying our existence to each other through professional publications."//

//"My library training has instilled in me a fierce support of free, uncensored access to information for children, as well as for adults, regardless of format. I will admit that bias right up front. I’ve always advocated in talks and articles that the existence of potentially objectionable materials should not be used as a reason for schools or libraries to deny children access to the Internet. At the present time, I believe the Internet is an all or nothing proposition for schools and libraries because controlling devices, such as filters and rating systems, either do not work or eliminate the best features of the Internet. While these devices may be appropriate for use by parents on home computers or for use by private institutions, their use conflicts with the precepts of intellectual freedom."//

I really like how Johnson tries to incorporate a technology viewpoint into school librarianship. He understands that school media centers must embrace 21st century skills in order to survive. I think he is an outspoken voice of our field that deserves to be heard by librarians and technology specialists everywhere. [mel]