The library should play a large role in teaching research skills. After all, libraries have since time-out-of-mind been the place where people go to conduct research and would be still had that little thing called the internet not been invented. Yet even with the internet, libraries are still the natural place to teach research for the obvious reason that the place is literally filled with books on countless topics coupled with both primary and secondary sources. There one can teach students how to browse non-digital sources as well as open doors of interest to other research topics they might not have considered. Honestly writing feels a little like describing why a laboratory is the best place to learn science; yes, one could learn it elsewhere, but nothing compares to learning something in the place designed with that purpose in mind.
What role does the library play in teaching research skills? Less than it used to, for a certainly. Not long ago most school libraries had rows of computers or an adjacent Computer Lab which teachers would bring their classes in for the sole point of co-teaching research alongside the librarian if not letting the Library Teacher themself run the show. I am hardly old, and this was the case for me all though high school. Now students carry chromebook laptops with their binders and online research is often taught in the classroom with the Library Teacher going there. Almost a complete reversal, and while it makes scene to a degree since chromebooks have made old-style Computer Labs obsolete, classroom teachers are seldom as trained in various research methods as Library Teachers.
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