The Potential and Possibilities for Utilizing Geographic Information Systems to Inform School Library as Place

Abstract

Teacher librarians often consider their students and the internal school environment in planning programs and services but ignore the larger community from which learners originate. The purpose of this study was to provide a review of the ongoing discussions related to the school library in the community context and provide implications for utilizing geographic information systems (GIS) to inform the idea of the "school library as place." This preliminary exploration, a thematic literature review, indicated multiple possibilities for implementing GIS in school libraries that may enable teacher librarians to better facilitate students' development of a sense of place, support their learning needs, and ensure that the community is reflected in the library collection and programs.