Libraries in Calgary public schools are planning to make way for iPods among the stacks of books.

The Calgary Board of Education wants its libraries to embrace new technologies, such as video conferencing and hand-held devices like smartphones and the iPod.

Currently, some schools discourage students from bringing expensive gadgets to class because they can be distracting or tempt thieves, but officials are working on a district-wide policy on items such as iPods.

Today's students are the mobile generation and it makes more sense to use their devices productively, said Karen Pegler, an education specialist with the board.

"iPods and other mobile devices have real potential to transform learning and make learning very personal because they are travelling around in the pockets of students," she said.

A student can download the complete works of Shakespeare onto an iPod, which can also carry the periodic table or a graphing calculator.

"Every time we have a new innovation, these are the same issues we have to address," she said.

"Our teachers were saying, 'Well, how can we possibly let them use calculators? Don't they have to know how to use a slide rule?'"

Movable racks possible

On Thursday night, the board held an open house at the teacher and staff library in Parkdale Centre to showcase some of the technologies it would like to see in libraries.

The push to new technologies might mean movable racks of books, so the space can be used in many ways, said Erin Hansen, who is also an education specialist with the public board.

But books and periodicals will always have a place in school libraries, she said.

"We have students that excel exclusively in the digital realm and we have others that really love both and they would be absolutely devastated if we took the print away from them," she said.

Hansen said part of this learning process is to get teachers comfortable with the new technology.