IST 605 Pathfinder

Resources for Librarians who have Students with Disabilities Pathfinder

This is a pathfinder for librarians looking to redesign their library or their lesson plans to better accommodate students with disabilities. Though this is primarily targeting librarians in school libraries, any librarian, or educator can utilize these materials to make their environments and lessons more accessible to a great population.

Print Resources

Below are encyclopedias and book resources that can be used as a good starting off point when learning background information about disabilities.

Reference Books:

Encyclopedia of Disability

Encyclopedia of disability. (2006). Thousand Oaks, California: Sage Publications.

This is an expansive, very detailed source on everything to do with disability. The encyclopedia attempts to cover as many regions of the world and types of disabilities as possible. Readers will find entries on specific disabilities, famous people who had disabilities and other issues in the disability field. This text is perfect for librarians who have students with disabilities because it will give them good background information on a specific disability. In addition, this encyclopedia comes complete with a number of primary sources involving people with disabilities which could be used in collaboration with general subject area teachers.

 The Complete Directory for People with Disabilities 2013: A Comprehensive Source Book for Individuals and Professionals

 Mars, L. (Ed.). (2012a). The Complete Directory for People With Disabilities 2013: A        Comprehensive Source Book for Individuals and Professionals (21st ed.). Grey House Pub.

This source provides comprehensive information on resources for people with disabilities. Providing information on lawyers, education policies, films, and manufacturers of items that are specifically for people who are disabled, this resource gives contact information and general information on any type of resource someone with a disability may need. This resource can provide information for a librarian’s their students, or for parents of the students who might need further information. It serves as a good informational reference for organizations and groups that may provide further information to make one’s library more accessible.

Books:

Different Brains, Different Learners

Jensen, E. (2010). Different brains, different learners: how to reach the hard to reach (2nd ed.).     Thousand Oaks, California: Corwin.

            While other resources may explain what a disability is, this resource serves to explain why a student with a certain disability will act and learn a certain way. This resource focuses on how the brain works for different kinds of learners. Included are chapters on Dyslexia, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, Emotional disability and various auditory disorders. This offers a unique perspective in what’s going on in a child’s brain. It also offers solutions on how to best reach these types of learners.

Education, Disability and Social Policy

Ruebain, D., & Haines, S. (editors) (2011). Education, disability and social policy . (1st ed.).Bristol, UK: The Policy Press.

            This resource provides great insight in various areas of disability and education. It discusses the history of disability and education, inclusion in classrooms and includes a section of various challenges students with disabilities face. The section on inclusion in classrooms provides excellent information on the history of inclusion as well as examples of how inclusion works and does not work.

Implementing Cost-Effective Assistive Computer Technology (How-to-Do-It Manuals) (How to Do It Manuals for Librarians)

Vincent, J. (2012). Implementing cost-effective assistive computer technology: A how-to-do-it manual for librarians. New York: Neal-Schuman Publishers Inc.

 This is a great book for librarians starting to add assistive technology, who have not had any experience with it before. This gives a good overview of various assistive computer technologies. This resource also discusses budgeting and cost issues related with implementing these solutions into one’s library.

Web Resources:

Websites:

AbleData: Assistive Technology Products, New, Resources

AbleData: Assistive Technology Products, News, Resources. (2012). Retrieved November 28, 2012, from http://www.abledata.com/

            This website is useful for all librarians, teachers, educators or anyone who will be working with students with disabilities. This website depicts all types of assistive technologies that students with disabilities use to make learning more accessible. The website allows you to pick items based on the type of disability they go with or just browse generally. Each item is given a description, price and how it can be used.

Americans with Disability Act Homepage

US Department of Justice. (2012, Dec 4). ADA home page. Retrieved from http://www.ada.govv

This website is run by the United States Government. Providing detailed information on the Americans with Disability Act, this is a good resource for librarians looking to understand the law and how it affects them in their professions. It includes links to government documents such as ADA Questions and Answers, or Guide to Disability Rights Laws.

Book Share

Bookshare.org. (2012) Accessible books and periodicals for readers with print disabilities bookshare Retrieved November 28, 2012 from https://www.bookshare.org/

            This is a website that requires membership, but allows anyone with membership to download textbooks, books, or newspapers and read them on a device that could help with their disability; for example, a computer with text-to-speech software, an iPad, etc. It also should be noted that Book Share is free to K-12 public and private schools with students with disabilities. This site is something for a school librarian to consider utilizing as a resource for her/his students.

National Dissemination Center for Children with Disabilities

NICHCY. (n.d.). A-Z Topics — National Dissemination Center for Children with Disabilities. National Dissemination Center for Children with Disabilities (NICHCY). Retrieved   November 28, 2012, from http://nichcy.org/publications/topics-az

This website purposely serves parents, teachers, educators or anyone who would like to better understand children with disabilities. This particular website is run similarly to an encyclopedia with A-Z topics that a viewer can choose from. However, these entries focus more directly on children and therefore have a great deal of information on schools and policies on disabilities for schools. This is a good website for librarians to browse if they have questions on policy, or terms they are unfamiliar with, for example “Least Restrictive Environment” or what the disabilities defined by I.D.E.A are.

National Instruction Materials Access Center (NICMA)

NIMAC. (2012, Dec). NIMAC: National instruction materials access center . Retrieved from http://www.nimac.us/

This is a free, federally funded depository that takes files and puts them in a format known as NICMAS or national instruction materials accessibility standards. These formats are a starting point and from these this website is able to create Braille materials, large print materials, or any type of material to help someone who is visually or print disabled.

Project ENABLE

        Project Enable. (2012). Retrieved November 28, 2012, from http://projectenable.syr.edu/

            This is a website created by Dr. Ruth Smalls of Syracuse University. The aim of this website is for school librarians to log in and take the course. The website holds information about IEPs, Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (I.D.E.A) and other relevant topics that a school librarian might be expected to know. This course is great for librarians with no experience with students with disabilities, but also serves as a good refresher for a librarian who has forgotten some of the laws, policies or educational practices that revolve around students with disabilities.

Teacher Vision- Children’s Books About Disabilities

Children’s Books About Disabilities -TeacherVision.com. (2012). Teacher Vision. Retrieved November 28, 2012, from http://www.teachervision.fen.com/learningdisabilities/reading/5316.html

This resource provides a list of books that discuss or have main characters who are disabled. The great thing about this list is it is really comprehensive, giving a brief description as well as the ISBN and reading level of that book.

IDEA-Building The Legacy of IDEA 2004

US Department of Education. (n.d.). IDEA-building the legacy of idea 2004. Retrieved from http://idea.ed.gov/explore/home

This source holds various resources discussing and relating to the Individuals with Disability Act of 2004. This source gives information on the updated policies dealing with disability, but also serves to help educators understand the I.D.E.A. law. It is consistently updated and helps libraries and schools ensure their school environment is following I.D.E.A.

Articles and PDFs

Americans with Disabilities Act 2010 Design Standards

Department of Justice. (2010). 2010 ADA standards for accessible design. Retrieved from Federal Register website: http://www.ada.gov/regs2010/2010ADAStandards/2010ADAStandards.pdf

This site is run by the Department of Justice and this particular page provides a printable addition of the Americans with Disability Act Design standards for 2010. A downside to this source is it is quite lengthy, however; it does provide detailed information on what ADA design and building standards are and what a building (school library) has to do to uphold them.

The Association of Specialized and Cooperative Library Agencies:

Association of Specialized and Cooperative Library Agencies. (2001, January 16). Library Services for People with Disabilities Policy. ASCLA. Retrieved November 28, 2012, from http://www.ala.org/ascla/asclaissues/libraryservices

The official opinion on libraries and disabilities as put forth by the American Library Association (ALA). This article found on the ALA website discusses policy on library services for people with disabilities. It covers everything from having library facilities accessible to having ALA publications in several different formats.

US Department of Education: Free and Appropriate Public Education for Students with Disabilities

US Department of Education. (2010, August). Free appropriate public education under section 504 Retrieved from http://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/docs/edlite-FAPE504.html

This document will help provide background information on education policy related to students with disabilities. This document explains FAPE, and why school librarians need to provide adequate resources for students with disabilities that will enable them to participate equally with non-disabled students. This document describes a librarian’s duties towards students with disabilities according to the law.

Journal/ Serial Resources

Journals/ Magazines

Disability Studies Quarterly

            (2012). Disability Studies Quarterly, Retrieved from http://dsq-sds.org/

This is the Disability Studies Quarterly Journal. This journal is published by the Society for Disability Studies.  This journal is an open access journal that provides information about disability through a series of articles, interviews and research studies. The articles are peer reviewed and available full text. This is useful for school librarians who may want to further their knowledge of the disability field. It can provide librarians with new ideas on working with students with disabilities.

Databases

The following are databases that can provide articles, journals and other types of information on libraries and disability. The following key words can be used to search these databases for good results.

Key search words: Students with Disabilities AND Library, School Media Specialist AND Special Education, School Libraries AND Special Education, Individuals with Disabilities Act AND Libraries, Americans with Disability Act AND Libraries, Disability , School Media Center AND Special Education, School Media Specialist AND Disability, Accessibility, Universal Design AND libraries.

Education Research Complete

Education research complete [database]. (n.d.). Retrieved November 28, 2012 from http://web.ebscohost.com.libezproxy2.syr.edu/ehost/search/advanced?sid=6d88e86d1de0 4d33-8ec3-113810a13954%40sessionmgr12&vid=1&hid=14

This database had journals in all areas of education. It will provide a librarian with comprehensive articles on all types of issues related to disabilities and school libraries.This resource links to journals such as Library Journal and School Library Monthly.

Education Full Text

Education Full Text [database]. (n.d)Retrieved November 28^th from     http://web.ebscohost.com.libezproxy2.syr.edu/ehost/search/advanced?sid=8c31c3d094e649be-9683-39477585287c%40sessionmgr14&vid=1&hid=14

 Another database that provides information on a wide range of education related topics. However, this database has purely full-text resources that discuss not only libraries and disability services, but teaching methods related to disabilities.

Video Resources

Disability Services at ASU Libraries

Disability Services at ASU Libraries. (2008). Retrieved from http://vimeo.com/1977497

This video discusses disability resources in ASU or Arizona State University, however; a lot of technology and resources that they discuss are great resources for school libraries. They discuss several types of assistive technology and how it helps students with disabilities. This resource is useful because it actually shows images and demonstrations on how people utilize the device, whereas other sources simply mention that it is useful. This would give a school librarian an idea of what might work best with their students.

Kurzweil 3000 v11 - Text-to-Speech - Complete Overview

Kurzweil 3000 v11- text-to-speech- complete overview. (2011). Retrieved from  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Xe5Dhf5_mM

            A previous resource mentioned above was Bookshare an organization that provides books that can be read on iPads, computers, lap tops, etc. One technology that Bookshare utilizes is Kurzweil 3000 which is an text to speech software that allows the computer to read the books aloud. This tutorial explains in detail how to use Kurzweil and all of its uses for students with disabilities.  This is useful for librarians and students who have never utilized this technology before.

Multi-Sensory Story telling

Why Multi Sensory Story Telling is Important. (2012). Retrieved from http://vimeo.com/36868362

This video discusses how having students with severe disabilities touch, hear or smell items in the story might get them more engaged. It might be an idea that librarians might want to bring to their classrooms or perhaps make a visit to the special education teacher’s room. This video has a link to the organizations website Touchingstories.org, which provides explanations on why this works and is a great starting off point for librarians researching how to include such a practice in their library.

People First Language

 People-First Language. (2011). Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QQ0pKPxoyHs&feature=youtube_gdata_player

This is a Youtube video that describes what people –first language is and why you need to use it when talking about or to a person with disabilities. This is essential to anyone who is working with someone who is disabled. This is an excellent resource because it explains what people-first language is and why it is important to utilize it.

 

Blog Posts

The e-future looks Bright – 

Strick, A. (2012, January 5). The e-future looks bright | Booktrust. Bookmark: Books and  Disability.  Book Trust. Retrieved from http://www.booktrust.org.uk/books-and-reading/children/bookmark/blog/285 

The Books and Disability Blog is something a school librarian might want to check for new ideas involving students with disabilities and how to involve them in reading and books. This blog post, from the Bookmark: Books and Disability Blog, discusses the importance of e-books for students with disabilities. This article discusses how having iPads can be a lot more helpful to a wider variety of students, especially students with low vision.

Podcasts

How Disabilities Has Influenced Architecture

Siegel, R. (n.d.). How The Disabilities Act Has Influenced Architecture : NPR. Retrieved from            http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=128778558

This podcast discusses Universal Design. It not only defines what this concept is, but it also discusses how a library was designed using the universal design principals. This is a great resource for a school librarian who is looking to redo their library to promote accessibility. It will give you a good introduction as to why Universal Design is so important.

                                                                                        

Perfect Temperature

Every summer my local library is packed. Now I believe a lot of that is because of the excellent programs and the draw of summertime reading, but to tell you the truth I think a lot of it has to do with the fact that the library is air conditioned. I always tend to feel cold, even in the summer, so I loathed the air condition. I always wondered why they put the AC on so high, why not let it get a little humid and warm? I used to think it was because the people in charge of the AC were always really warm. Funny thing is, the AC levels had nothing to do with people and everything to do with the books.

You don't really think about it, but books are delicate creatures. In too warm climates, too damp climates they attract mold, bugs, and all sorts of organisms that will eat away at their pages. And of course books aren't the only objects in the library temperamental about their temperature. You have technology like computers that should not be left so hot they boil, nor should be they be in a place that is damp. Libraries who want to ensure a long lifetime for their materials can't afford to just let their library be any old temperature. They need to create the perfect environment that has the perfect humidity and temperature that will allow books and other items to maintain in the best condition for the longest time.

Why am I ranting about this? Yesterday IST 511 took a tour of Bird Library's special collections section, which was literally one of the coolest things I have ever done. Part of the reason I was so fascinated is I love books. I have spent years reading books, buying books and owning books and yet I had never thought about preservation. After years of being in and out of libraries, I never once considered how they keep their collection mended and usable by the public. Taking the tour of the special collections, preservation and conservation departments opened my eyes to the fascinating things people have to do to keep books mended, in shape with usability. We learned about ways in which one can help preserve a book and ways in which one should not preserve a book. We were told the horrors of scotch tape and Elmer's glue and all I could think of is all the library books I have seen that people have tried to mend with scotch tape. Granted, when you are talking about book preservation your typically not talking about a child's Dora The Explorer  book, but still, these people and their efforts throughout the years is the reason I was able to see, touch and hold a book that was written in 1582. 1582! That has to have been one of the most awe inspiring experiences I ever had!

 Long story short, next summer when I enter my local library with a huge sweater, I will not complain about the AC. I like to think I can manage a little cold, especially if it goes to helping books.

Where Have All the Catalogers Gone: Long Time Ago

The title of this post came from Pete Seeger's song "Where Have All the Flowers Gone?". This is because in class last Tuesday, as we were discussing how there aren't many traditional catalogers anymore, I couldn't help but think of this song. Obviously catalogers are not gone and probably won't ever be gone, however; our conversation in class did raise an interesting question. What happens to the future of libraries if future librarians don't have in-depth knowledge on cataloging?

Cataloging was once considered the most important thing a librarian knew. Cataloging was the main portion of the librarian profession, this changed as librarians gained the lovely ability to catalog an item and then allow everyone else to copy it. Now, when a library gets a new item it is much easier to use copy cataloging and duplicate an already created record then creating a  new record yourself. The problem with this solution is that librarians are no longer learning all the in-depth knowledge about cataloging. The question is, is this a mistake? Should librarians be focusing more on cataloging? I'm not sure, but I do think it is interesting that there aren't that many cataloging classes offered at the ischool. When I asked an older librarian why librarians need a graduate degree she said "because they need to learn how to do things like catalog." She thought this was the most important piece of knowledge a librarian needs to know. 

So I'm not sure where cataloging stands in the future. I know that it will always be apart of librarianship and it will most likely always be taught in library schools, but to what depth? As I have yet to take a cataloging class, I have very little knowledge of cataloging, but it seems to me that this is a skill that needs to be focused on more. Though it may be easier to copy an already existing record, someone has to make that record in the first place right? What will happen if all the people trained in cataloging retire, then what do we copy?

More than Books

From my very first IST 511 class I learned that libraries are more than just books. I have learned that libraries and librarians are going beyond the collection centered worldview in which patrons achieve knowledge through picking up a book. That's not to say that books aren't important, but that they aren't the be-all, end-all of libraries. And while I have seen and heard of libraries facilitating knowledge through conversation I have also witnessed libraries and librarians who are holding on to the collection centered worldview with an iron fist. So when I read Barbecue? Flamenco Dancing? Learning Gets Interactive I actually got really excited.

Today a copy of American Libraries came in my mailbox and conveniently today was also the day that I had to sit around my apartment for hours on end waiting for the cable company to come by. So I had time to sit down at my desk and read through some of the articles. Right away an article caught my eye. The article was entitled Barbecue? Flamenco Dancing? Learning Gets Interactive. It was written by Judy Rosenfield about a recent program that was held at Louisville Free Public Library in Kentucky. The article discussed how Louisville Free Public Library had put on a How-To-Festival in which people could turn up at the library and be taught things like how to do magic tricks, or how to grill the perfect steak. The library noticed that it had a community that loved to learn new things, but often lacked the time and space to hold classes that would teach these new experiences. So the library saw a need and fulfilled it. According to the article, the library got over 100 people and community groups to volunteer their expertise and over 1000 people to come and participate (Rosenfield, 18). I thought this was a wonderful example of how libraries are more than books on shelves. This library saw that their patrons wanted to learn and have hands on experience so they brought in experts to facilitate a conversation, to help the patrons learn. Granted not every community wants to have a how-to festival, but the point is that libraries are listening to their communities and giving them programs that they want, regardless of whether it  relates to what people think of as typical library programs.


Rosenfield, J. (2012, Nov). Barbecue? flamenco dancing? learning gets interactive. American Libraries, 43(11/12), 18-19.

Look-a-likes

Walk into any library in the United States, you will see shelves filled with books, perhaps a few study tables for people to do work at, computers perhaps scattered around the library or in an individual room, a circulation desk a reference desk, etc. So how can I know this? Am I so well traveled that I have visited every library in the United States? No, truth is libraries are built and organized very similarly. Yes, there are differences, one has a coffee shop while another does not, but on the whole libraries all look a like. Honestly I didn't even think this was true until it was pointed out to me in IST 511. At first I was like, they are not always the same. And then I stopped and thought and reviewed all the libraries I had gone to and behold they are very very similar.

In class we discussed that libraries are similar because they were built after the model developed in the 1800s. thus, you get the typical stereotype of what libraries have to look like. In some ways it does not make sense to keep a model from the 1800s. If libraries and patrons of libraries have changed so much, why shouldn't the way the library is designed be changed too? Why doesn't a library look like what is in their community. For example, if the community has a lot of people interested in wood carving then why can't the library have a room and material set aside for people to practice wood carving. That may seem like a silly example, but the point is there. You don't see libraries differentiating too much. Sometimes they do, for example, a library with a large family population may have a whole room dedicated to children so that there is space for children's activities, books and games. Yet, even this is relatively common. So why aren't libraries changing their view?

I think that this mostly comes down to what people assume libraries look like. Children read books, see pictures and visit libraries that all look the same. They grow up to expect that libraries will look a certain way. They know a building is a library if they walk in and see lots of bookshelves and a check out desk. Libraries don't want to change for fear of making their patrons uncomfortable because a different looking library is "not a library." I'm not saying people won't change and that we don't have to start somewhere, I just think there is a very strong stereotype of what libraries look like and people tend to feel more comfortable with what they know. Yet, that can change. Look at the concept of putting coffee shops in libraries. People were dead set against it because "that is not what a library looks like", but now go to many libraries around the country and you will see coffee.

I think libraries should be encouraged to design themselves around the communities needs. And I think, slowly, as librarianship is changing, so will the design of libraries. So the question is, what might libraries look like in the future?

The School Librarian Perdicament

So last week in class we went through the various types of libraries, and since I want to be a school librarian this post is going to focus on school libraries. I know no real surprise, but what I want to talk about is the issue school librarians face: not being seen as a important part of education.

A few weeks ago I had to interview a school librarian for another class. The librarian I talked to had taught elementary school for years and really enjoyed her job. When I asked her what she though her role in the school was she informed me that she believed her role was to teach information skills that will help her students be prepared for middle school and for life in general. However, when I asked her what other people thought her role in the school was she told me library time was considered a break. For teachers, this was the time of day when they could drop their students off at the library and get other things done. Some teachers collaborated with the librarian, but many teachers did not think they needed to collaborate with the librarian as to them, the librarians job wasn't an important part of a child's education. Now last class I couldn't help but think of this interview. When Professor Lankes talked about how many administrators are cutting librarians because they didn't think of them as teachers I was baffled. In my school media classes I learned about  how school librarians can collaborate with teachers to reinforce information taught in the classroom and how school librarians can stress information literacy and help students understand the research process. Yet, even though we are taught that librarians can do all this, school districts are still having trouble grasping the idea that the librarian is a teacher too. Now I'm not saying all school districts are bad. Many school districts really use the librarian and the librarian and the teachers really do try to work together to bring the students into the library as much as possible. In fact, one school librarian I talked to told me she had a blog for collaboration with other teachers. Many teachers were too busy to meet in person so they found it easier to blog about ideas and lessons that would work well with the library.  Nevertheless, there are still so many school districts who think that just having a library is enough. But a room full of books is not going to help with a child's education. A librarian is, without the person all you have is a quiet room to work and read in.

One of things many school districts do is split a librarian between two different schools. The librarian that I talked with for my interview worked at two separate elementary schools. At one school she was there Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday and then she was at the other school on Wednesday. As a result she did not collaborate as often with the teachers at her second school. Because she was there only once a week it was harder to learn the student's names or keep track with what teacher was doing what unit. That conversation made me realize how many school districts don't realize the benefits of a librarian.

So what I think we need to do is tell them. When a new school year starts send emails out to parents or send parents the link to the school library web page. On the web page explain what students do in the library and what a librarians role is. Explain different projects students might do and how a school library and the school librarian are important to a child's education. The same goes with teachers. Librarians can send emails to teachers explaining the resources of the library and how they can help their students. People want to know why a librarian is important to a school, well we need to tell them why. 

The Many Roles of the Librarian

When I decided I was going to be a librarian many people I talked to didn't understand what a librarian did. Honestly, I didn't really understand what a librarian did. Yes I knew that it was more than hosting book clubs and checking out books, but what did they spend most of their time doing? Mostly this is because librarians try and help patrons and make their lives more simple. As such, the librarians don't usually explain how difficult the question was to answer, or how long it took to get the library director to agree to have a square dancing night, etc. Basically librarians do a lot and people have no idea.

While doing my video project for IST 511 I have learned several things. 1.) editing takes a LONG LONG time, especially when you have never edited something before. 2.) Voice overs are not as easy as I thought they would be, especially when I keep messing up my lines, or I stumble over a word, etc. 3.) (the lesson most relevant to this blog post) Librarians do a lot.

Librarians are teachers, who help their members become information literate, teachers who can explain how to use the latest technology from the new Kindle to 3D printing. Librarians are collaborators, who work with other librarians, experts and members to bring new information and programs into the library. Librarians are searchers, who can find that piece of information Google won't quite answer. Librarians are bloggers, twitter users, and chat users, who will use any means to communicate to their members whether it be over the internet, over the phone or in person. They are organizers who will sort, catalog and describe information so it is easier to find and store. Librarians are a lot of things, and honestly I could probably name more. But these are just some of the things that the video project has got me thinking about.  

I guess my question is why do so few people know what librarians do? Why do so many people still see librarians as little old ladies who "shhhh" to anyone who talks above a whisper? How can we change this view? How can we show people that we do so much more?

An interesting dilemma with summer reading

In class last night we  discussed a variety of topics. We discussed things that made me think, like the idea that all the MP3 songs I buy I don't actually own (mind blown). But towards the end of class we discussed a topic, for a split second. This topic is summer reading. We had been discussing why we need libraries and had just gone over the idea that a library could be a 'safety net' in which librarians provided access to technology that the poor or working class might not be able to afford on their own. Then, Dave mentioned the problems with summer reading. The summer reading programs give kids prizes for reading a certain amount of books. This sounds great right? Kids are now motivated to read, but suddenly reading for the love of reading is now replaced by reading for a prize. It becomes less about the intrinsic value and more about an extrinsic value. So next year, if a kid does not enter in the summer reading program that kid might not read, because whats the point if they don't get a prize.

Though we didn't talk about this for long, this concept stuck with me. I have always been a huge supporter of summer reading programs. As a kid I loved the read, like I devoured thirteen books in a month and then rushed out to read more. This is a trend that still continues today. If you ever see me, chances are you are going to see me with a book in my hand. Being an education major in undergrad I supported any program that got children to read. I used to go into libraries and smile as I saw the signs that said "100 kids are participating in our summer reading program and they have read 1,000 books." I used to smile and think, wow look at all of those kids who the libraries summer reading program made a difference. Ironically, I never questioned how much of a difference those programs were really making.

For my library interview, I interviewed a youth librarian who dealt with the summer reading programs over the summer. To my shock, I found that she believed there was a major problem when it came to the summer reading programs. She informed me that libraries cared too much about the numbers. That too many libraries focused on how many kids were involved in the program and how many books they had read. She used the example, that if a 7th grader reads twenty-five picture books, he may get a prize for reading books, but they were below his reading level and thus, thats not really improving his reading skills or interest in reading. Should the library really be excited because he read twenty-five picture books? The librarian I talked to suggested that libraries focus on promoting discussion between kids. Have kids review books, or share their excitement in reading with other kids. Unfortunately, with the idea of prizes kids end up only reading to get a prize. This doesn't instill a love of reading, people won't want to read if there is no prize. I know some summer reading programs where kids read a book, jot down the title on a piece of paper and then bring that paper to the library to get stamped each week. If they have read a book each week then they get a prize. Since summer months are really busy, there are tons of kids going to get their papers stamped. So more often then not, the kid gets his paper stamped, gets a prize and then that's it. The child never gets to discuss the book he read, why he might want to read more, find out from others books he might want to read next.

Now I'm not saying that summer reading is bad. I still am a huge fan of it. I think that summer reading promotes children reading and hopefully that will allow them to develop an interest in a topic. Summer reading may help a child find out that he loves books on Dinosaurs. He would have never known it if he hadn't picked up a dinosaur book and he might not have done that if not for summer reading. Plus, summer reading brings children to the library. Going to the library to get a prize means that kids who might not have otherwise gone to a library, now are going. They might stick around and see some of the other programs the library might have to offer, etc. The summer reading program has lots of benefits. I just think that it should be less about prizes and more about discussion. Even if summer reading programs had a way for kids to discuss the books they read and libraries could post these reviews on their website.

I suppose I'm saying, if summer reading is just about the numbers. How many books, how many kids participated, etc, and not about what the kids got out of it, then does it really make a difference?

The Questions about Questions

There were a lot of topics discussed in the librarians thread, but the topic that I want to discuss was the idea of Reference transactions. Now I have heard a lot about reference so far this semester...mainly because I am taking a reference course. We have been told of the various ways to conduct a reference interview and that if possible what we want to do is be able to teach the patron the art of doing searches. In other words, during a reference interview we are not just supposed to be like "ok let me look that up", ignore the patron for fifteen minutes, then come back, hand them a piece of paper and be like, "here you go have a nice day." At the very least, we are supposed to discuss with the patron the steps we are going through to find the answers. Tell them where we looked, why we looked there and how we came across the knowledge. Librarians should be able to provide the patrons with a variety of sources that give different view points, opinions, etc and then allow us to make a decision on the information. Now the question I have been thinking, and lucky for me the question that was discussed in the Atlas is what if the patron does not want to learn. What if they don't want a ton of information, or multiple sources or don't care how you got the answer, they just want the answer. Working at a library I have watched the librarians answer reference questions. Some patrons looking for help are really trying to understand how to better get information, while others are looking for a quick answer and don't care how they get it. Are we really helping the community if we ignore what the patron wants and try to push them to learn the techniques we use. Does it do any good if the patron will not listen to these techniques anyway?

One of the questions the Atlas asked was at what point should a librarian stop providing answers if they are a school or academic librarian and don't want to make the task too easy? I thought that was a great question and one that I had been wondering myself. If a student comes to a librarian for help with their homework is the librarian supposed to look up the answer, or show the student how to find the answer and let them work out what the answer is. I would assume the latter, but I suppose, as the Atlas says it all depends on the situation. The Atlas suggests that to come up with answers for questions like the ones I stated above one must have conversations with the community. What does the community expect when they go to the library and what does the library expect from the community. I guess this really struck me as interesting, because I never realized how important figuring out expectations might be for the library. When I thought of community conversation, I originally thought things like "what programs do you want", etc. But I never thought of it in terms of reference. If you don't figure out what the community wants and expects, a library could end up with unsatisfied patrons who won't use the library again.

But...there is no room

I know this doesn’t really follow the topics of the book since we discussed space in libraries a little while ago, however; while working on my interview with a librarian, I got to thinking about the role space really takes in a library. In class we saw pictures of libraries cluttered to the brink and were told that if libraries were not libraries they would be considered hoarders. It’s funny because I never thought of it that way. The libraries I grew up with had massive amounts of books, so it didn’t accrue to me that libraries should not be a room with huge piles and piles of books. I think back to the libraries I have been in where the book shelves were so tall that you needed a step stool just to see what was on the top shelf. Now this may seem fine for a few shelves, but all the shelves were really tall and there weren’t nearly enough step stools. Why must a library have so many books that they have to stack them on ridiculously tall shelves where no one can see the books anyway?

                When I did my interview with a librarian we discussed various trends in libraries and how she would change the library.  The librarian simply stated that what she wanted most was to invest in a media room or buy game console for teens to use. The problem wasn’t that her fellow librarians were interested in doing that; it was that there was no room! The library had been built to house books, and therefore didn’t have a room where there were lots of electrical outlets or even storage space for game consoles. The librarians had great ideas of what they wanted to do with the library, but all of those ideas involved altering things around the library to fit the new media. In other words, they would have to (dun dun dun) get rid of some of the books! (Insert shock and horror here). But seriously, I and many librarians know that the collection isn’t driving libraries forward anymore. It is what the library is doing for the community and if the library and the community are interested in a media room or a space to store video games and they have to remove some of the collection to do it, why not? The librarian’s response threw me for a loop; it was the patrons who did not like the idea of getting rid of books. Regardless of the fact that they wanted the new technology, if it came at the expense of getting rid of books then the answer was no. Ironically, most of the books were books that were not used and that patrons would probably never have picked off the shelf. Still, the concept of removing books was a “no no.”

                So instead we have libraries that either don’t have the newest things, because there is no room, or there are libraries that just try to fit everything. In that case it’s more of a maze to figure out where everything is. So what happens when space in a library is a problem? How do we fix it? What do we do if there simply is no room? Can libraries move their programs somewhere else? Will patrons still come if the program isn’t in the library? Just food for thought.