A multitude of factors have created change in the role of the information professional across the board. It is safe to say that due to the technology boom of the twenty-first century that the role of the librarian in the public school sector has probably experienced the greatest alteration and modification in regard to its identity. The role of the school librarian had to evolve at a rapid rate to keep up with the times or risk extinction. It started slowly in the nineteen eighties and nineties with the eradication of card catalogs and the implementation of the the computer database as a means of finding items within the library. It has been snowballing ever since with the advent of the internet and information accessibility. …show more content…
Our world is digitally evolving at a rapid pace and in order for students to be competent twenty-first century citizens, they need to be provided with the digital and information literacy skills necessary to cope in the professional world. Johnston (2012), states that if students are not prepared to venture out into a world which now requires technological analysis, synthesis and savvy, hope for success is limited to say the least. In order to prevent this, the role of the school librarian needed to metamorphose as well. This has led to librarians taking on more a leadership role and a teaching role not only to students but classroom …show more content…
Librarians are no longer solely in charge of a physical library collection. Students must be able to conduct research using both digital and print resources in a practical and efficient manner (Pun, 2015). Twenty-first century librarians are in charge of providing access to digital information and teaching twenty-first century skills that will allow students to evaluate and synthesize that information. Differentiation to account for individual learning styles must also be taken into account when preparing students for the digital world. According to Copeland (2011), librarians now need to provide access to materials in various formats in addition to print such as audio books, closed caption videos and graphic novels in order to cater to individual learning styles and multiple