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Abstract

Libraries have guidelines and standards that hold them accountable to be effective institutions (Husid, 2010). The American Library Association’s (ALA) “Library Bill of Rights” sets six basic standards for all libraries to follow. Among other things, these standards encourage libraries to resist forms of censorship, grant access to all types of materials, and resist biases (ALA, 2007). However, as libraries have evolved, so have many of these guidelines and standards with respect to technology specifically. For example, the American Association of School Libraries (AASL) Standards for the 21st Century Learner requires that the students in today’s classroom strive to master technology skills (ALA, 2007). The Young Adult Library Services Association’s (YALSA) Public Library Evaluation Tool and The Competencies for Librarians Serving Youth: Young Adults Deserve the Best supports the use of social networking and Web 2.0 services like blogs and podcasts in the classroom and library (Husid, 2010). The Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) Standards for Libraries in Higher Education not only encourages academic libraries to educate students and build a sense of campus community, their principal performance indicator “Discovery” asks libraries to “enable users to discover information in all formats through effective use of technology and organization of knowledge” (ALA, 2011,pg. 9).

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