It began two years ago with 15 librarians and technicians who were interested in more effectively sharing library resources. They developed a plan to connect the state's libraries for resource sharing and Internet access. Interest spread and some 125 people from the library community became involved in all aspects of the project, from marketing and grants development to training and assessment. Included in the initial group was a library automation specialist from the University of Maryland, who brought the idea to computer experts at the university. The institution agreed to extend its telecommunication system to the library community and offered to pilot the Sailor Gopher. The university continues to provide encouragement and technical support, including a helpline, for Maryland educators.
The University of Maryland operates a bulletin board, K-12 Community Listserv, and a discussion forum that gives educators an opportunity to learn from one another. E-mail accounts are available, free of charge, to interested educators so that teachers can connect to other computers and see the kinds of information sources they have available.
Enoch Pratt Free Public Library was the first library to offer Sailor. From July 27th, when the system first went public, to August 8th, Pratt library received 90,253 calls to access Sailor. The average number of simultaneous users at any given moment was 45. When a staff member checked usage at 3 a.m. on August 1st, she found 12 electronic customers at work. Quite an extension of normal public library hours, she observed.
For a modest fee ($100 a year), people can obtain accounts that will give them access to additional Internet services.
Impact on Schools
Schools facing budget cuts are likely to benefit from Sailor. The connection with Internet provides students and teachers with a wealth of up-to-date information, such as scientific databases, economic forecasts, and newspapers and journal articles.
Library media specialists and teachers throughout the state use the telecommunication system in a variety of ways. At one elementary school, for example, students are working on a joint classroom project that connects the children to databases that review books. The project involves the purchase of new books for the school library. Working with a budget of $100, students research and make a collective decision on the selection of books. The decision-making process involves consulting reviews from children's literature databases, learning how to evaluate materials and information sources, and developing criteria for book selection. As they work through the process, students learn how to plug into information.
Another elementary school is linking students to a worldwide collaborative called KIDLINK. The project they are working on is A Day in the Life of .... Each day students record their activities and share their experiences across the network. What they are learning is that kids are more alike than different regardless of where they live.
At Eastern Technical High School in Baltimore County, Sailor is used with a variety of classes, including math, chemistry, engineering, allied health, and nursing and English. In the English class, students use Department of Commerce economic statistics to develop a realistic career plan. The students scan the Occupational Outlook Handbook, research various trades, and review current employment rates and employment projections in different job areas, in different parts of the country. Such activities help students to better understand the job market and to make more informed choices about possible careers. Students also come to the library media center on their own. Many students in this economically diverse community do not have a modem at home, so they use the equipment before or after school, or during their lunch break.
Emphasis on Training
To acquaint them with Sailor's potential, the State Division of Library Development and Services provides awareness training for library media specialists and public and academic librarians. This awareness training has generated a grass roots movement among trainees and fostered use of the network. In addition, media specialists are forming their own user groups to share ways in which they are using the telecommunications network; and some local education agencies are providing school staff with computer and telecommunications training.
In Baltimore County, the Office of Library and Information Technology received a $55,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Education Research and Improvement - Library Programs to train library media specialists and public librarians on how to use electronic media sources and telecommunications. The grant, which began in January of 1994, provided funds to set up a training site at Eastern Technical High School, including the installation of 11 modems and phone lines in the library media center.
Because inservice training is provided for teachers, they are experimenting with using computer menus to narrow down the information they are searching for. In addition, supervisors, coordinators, and district-level administrators are learning how to use Internet; and administrators have started their own Internet users group.
Nancy Null, a library media specialist at Eastern Technical High School, uses the equipment to train students at the school. Students work in collaborative groups at the library computer stations and learn how to access data through telecommunications. Once they become familiar with Sailor, the students tap various sources to learn more about their assignments and interests.
Glitches
There were a few initial problems. For example, the higher-speed ISDN telephone lines required for the network were at first not available in all parts of the state. As a result, the system took longer to install than initially anticipated.
At the school level, telephone lines in the library media center didn't exist, and getting the budget and installing the phone lines was difficult in some schools. In addition, not all library media specialists are comfortable with the new technology. As a result, they are more reluctant to use the network themselves or work with teachers and students to use the network. Finally, there are times when classes come to the library media center and cannot get online because there are not enough lines. The teacher and library media specialist have to quickly change their lessons for the day.
The Future
Since training is an essential ingredient in fostering the use of the network, the State Division of Library Development and Services is developing a plan to train master library media specialists and public librarians. Two training sessions are scheduled (one in December and one in January) for a total of 40 individuals. The objective of the training plan is to have individuals serve as trainers for other librarians and media specialists in their own regions so that training will be provided throughout the state.
One of the goals of the state library division is to have Sailor recognized as Maryland's public information network. By offering network accounts through local public libraries on a cost recovery basis, the state is hoping to give any individual access to a wide range of state and local information. At the school level, a future goal is to find an economical way to link all of the schools to Internet.
Sailor's implementation through September of 1995 relies on Federal Library Services and Construction Act funds. Efforts are underway to receive state funding for Sailor's ongoing costs beginning in July of 1995.
Nancy Null
Eastern Technical High School
Baltimore County, Maryland
(410) 887-0210
nnull@umd5.umd.edu
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Florida School for the Deaf and Blind
kstubbs and gsolomon, 12/9/94