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Message From Mr. Niz
With a name the length of mine and from a language tradition that causes many people difficulty, a nickname is certainly warranted. I was being called Mr. N or Mr. Niz within a few weeks of starting at the High School back in 1985* (It seems such a short time ago). I certainly could be called worse.
My title is a bit of a mouthful also, school media specialist or library media specialist. This is a title adopted by people in my profession because “libraries just ain’t what they used to be”. The world of print (books, magazines, pamphlets, newspapers) certainly has not gone away, but the world of library science has exploded beyond the old parameters. It is a kaleidoscopic moving target that seems beyond the comprehension of mere mortals.
There are changes and transformations occurring as you are reading these words. Computers have certainly caused more than one Excedrin headache for nearly everyone. Making sense of CD Roms, laser disks, presentation programs and the Internet is certainly a challenge. People in my profession also need to have some understanding of TV’s, VCR’s, DVD’s, camcorders, digital cameras and an assortment of computer peripherals. In addition I need to have an understanding of copyright issues, plagiarism and ethical use of information, censorship and an overall picture of the general curriculum and how the media program can enhance and support the work of the classroom teacher. I make no claims to be an expert in all these areas, but I need to cover the waterfront to some degree.
This webpage is one way of communicating to students, staff, administration, school board and the community how the library program may have many components that would be familiar to Melville Dewey, but how it also has changed with the times.
*You people are lucky. What if I had a name similar to my Polish cousin in Canada, Antoszczyszyn? (No I’m not making it up). They did decide to change their name, however, to Antkowski.