While technology is changing the forum for the written word, reading remains the focus of the school library.

Jackson School District librarians provided a primer on the latest in library sciences and media resources at Tuesday's Jackson School Board meeting.

The goal, as always, is to support students' quest for knowledge. The delivery of that knowledge, however, is rapidly evolving, and the library is the intersection of that change, Jackson librarians say.

"The goal is to bring students into the 21st century, that they will have the skills to be 21st-century learners," said Cynthia Roach, librarian at Jackson Junior High School. "In order for these kids to be successful, we have to be up to speed on the latest technology."

Technology is one of many tools in the pursuit of student engagement, librarians said. Elementary students are engaged in reading projects, from history lessons to book making. Junior high and high school students participated in Teen Read Week 2010, and librarians piqued reader curiosity with popular movies based on books. The high school library is exploring potential titles for a virtual book club, novels like Jennifer Brown's "Hate List," about a high school shooting spree that leaves six students and a teacher dead and many others wounded.

Assistant superintendent Rita Fisher said the district's librarians collaborate at every level.

"We try to integrate the use of library technology into our curriculum, and that's really taking our students to the next level."

The school board approved the library/media resources evaluation following the presentation.

Other business

In other business, the board approved an accounts-payable system that is expected to save the district time and money and reap some revenue.

The district will establish a credit line with Commerce Bank, and bills with all participating vendors will be paid electronically. The district will pay off the the credit amount at the end of every month.

"It's an automated system as opposed to cutting a check and the labor that's involved in that. All it takes is a couple clicks on the computer," said Wade Bartels, the district's chief financial officer. "Any district of any size is using this type of system."

Bartels said he doesn't know just how much the billing system will save the district, but it comes with a rebate. The bank will reimburse the district a little more than 1 percent of the expenditures, depending on the amount of payments run through the system.

"It turns our accounts-payable system into a revenue generator instead of just a cost center," said Bartels, who noted the credit line comes at no cost to the district.

The board moved into closed session for discussions with several community members. A parent who was prepared to speak to board members said she did not want to publicly comment on the matter. Superintendent Ron Anderson said he could not talk about any board business conducted in executive session.

mkittle@semissourian

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