Abstract
Traditional services have had to adapt to keep up with changing dynamics in the digital age, including the digitalization of library services and moving them online, especially for overcoming COVID-19 limitations. Small special libraries aimed at reading promotion, in particular, remain at risk, especially those addressing the needs of young people and children. Furthermore, the growing generation now learns differently, with digital media dominating the education and library sectors. This study investigates Rolling Books, a non-profit reading promotion and educational performance-based small organization in Hong Kong, as a case study on moving reading promotion services for schools. The authors analyze the pros and cons of replacing its featured onsite reading promotion program “Clown Story Theater” with an online version using the 5E instructional model. Besides overcoming the limitation of COVID lockdown, the online program can leverage digital media and eBooks to foster digital and media literacy skills while promoting reading, storytelling, and story creation.
TopIntroduction
“Literacy demands have increased and changed as the technological capabilities of our society have expanded and been made widely available.” – Biancarosa & Snow (2006)
Undoubtedly, today’s learners and young students learn differently, with new education materials and strategies being influenced by the prevalence of digital resources available (Irvine et al., 2013; Lo et al., 2015). With the rapid decline of physical bookshops in Hong Kong, it is no surprise the use of ebooks and online reading has grown in popularity (Sung & Chiu, 2021; Kong et al., 2018). The percentage of young teens and children reading print media has shown an exponential decrease from the late 1970s, with a total of 60% of 12th-grade students in the United States reporting reading a book or a form of print media every day declining to a mere 16% in 2016 (Twenge et al., 2019). This may be attributed to the easy accessibility of modern entertainment, such as video streaming platforms and online games being preferred over reading. Further, there is a growing preference for digital materials over physical library services, and the demands for digital information are increasing (Lo et al., 2015; Sung & Chiu, 2021). Thus, libraries need to keep up to date with changing new information needs of patrons.
Particularly, special libraries and education organizations should understand the inevitable threats to survival in such a fast-paced globalized knowledge society (Cheung et al., 2021). Therefore, Rolling Books (2021a; 2021b) has been chosen for this case study, as it is one of few small independent organizations in Hong Kong that continues to prioritize cultivating reading habits in children from a young age and is passionate about creating a clear sense of community through a love of reading (Sung & Chiu, 2021). This study aims to fill the literature gap on how smaller communities and special libraries may adopt digital technologies to maintain relevance and expand their patrons, especially the younger generation, during the COVID-19 pandemic (Yu et al., 2022; Huang et al., 2021).
Particularly, this case study explored using digital technologies to motivate and engage younger students in reading as onsite reading promotion is limited or prohibited due to the COVID-19 pandemic (Yu et al., 2022; Sung et al., 2021). Further, the activities extensions to promote reading with digital media and aids with online platforms provide an opportunity to develop the younger generation’s digital literacy skills, which scant studies have explored. The “Clown Story Theater” onsite program was the featured program of Rolling Books (2021a; 2021b) before the pandemic. Thus, this study analyzed the pros and cons of the “Clown Story Theater” online version program design with the 5E instructional model to cope with the pandemic. Lessons of the program were divided for analysis according to the five phases of the 5E instructional model. Our analyses and suggestions can benefit educators, libraries, parents, and other related stakeholders.
Key Terms in this Chapter
Special Education Needs (SEN): Learning difficulties or disabilities that can affect children or youngsters’ ability to learn like others who learn without these difficulties or disabilities. Areas of difficulties include thinking or learning, emotional, behavioral, speech, and physical or sensory. Special education is designed to cater to students with SEN.
Special Libraries: A type of library providing information resources and services specialized and restricted to a particular group of clientele, normally small in size. Examples include museum libraries, law libraries, and libraries for students with SEN.
Digitalization: A process of moving the libraries to provide services digitally, using digital technologies to alter the mode of library services and enhance the quality of services to users in the case of libraries.
Digital Literacy: An integration of various literacies and skillsets, without necessary encompassment, beyond the ability to understand and use information from multiple formats and sources via the Internet. Example components include information literacy, media literacy, information and communications technology (ICT) literacy, and independent learning.
Rolling Books: A small non-profit organization promoting reading and organizing reading-associated educational performances and activities for ethnic minorities and other underprivileged communities in Hong Kong.
Virtual Learning Environment (VLE): A commonly used web-based platform for learning that allows teachers to digitalize learning, for instance, offering assessments with feedback, learning resources in multiple formats, and the course structure and organizing activities for social interaction and communication in discussion forums, to students.
The 5E Instructional Model: A constructivist learning model, including five phases of learning - engagement, exploration, explanation, elaboration, and evaluation, developed by Bybee et al. (2006). It was initially developed for science education yet is ubiquitously employed by many institutions and in various disciplines worldwide afterward.
Digital Learning: A type of learning method using digital technologies (platforms or devices) as aids for classroom teaching or major tools for remote learning.