PLA Blog

Is the fantasy genre a mystery to you? Wondering how to keep kids, especially boys, interested in reading now that the Harry Potter series is over, with no ideas on what to recommend? Love the Hogwart’s party concept, and looking for fresh ideas? A Practical Guide to Fantasy is the webinar is for you.

The webinar’s speaker, Nina Hess, is a Senior Editor at Mirrorstone, an imprint of the very famous and popular gaming company, Wizards of the Coast (publishers of Dungeons & Dragons, Magic: The Gathering, and much more). She edits fantasy fiction for children and teens. She is also the author of A Practical Guide to Monsters, which follows the company’s New York Times bestseller, A Practical Guide to Dragons. Needless to say, she is quite the expert.

I was invited to attend a preview of the webinar, and it’s an excellent Fantasy 101 crash course. Nina talks about:

• her experiences working at Mirrorstone (where she works in a “fantasy world”),
• why fantasy is so popular with kids, especially boys, and keeps them reading,
• the different flavors of fantasy plus a little on fantasy vs. science fiction,
• how fantasy and gaming can go hand-in-hand, and how tabletop role-play can lead to more kids in the library *and* more reading,
• program ideas that incorporate fantasy and fantasy reading

This webinar is a great place to start if you’re lost in fantasy, or just need a push in the right direction. Nina also talks about the many resources offered by her company (many of them free!) to help your library begin its journey into fantasy.

The program is coming up soon, so now is the time to register!

Event details:
A Practical Guide to Fantasy
Friday, September 28, 2007
11 a.m. - 12 p.m. Eastern Time [10 a.m. CT / 9 a.m. MT / 8 a.m. PT]
To Register: Send your name and contact information to . You may either email or call in your credit card information at 914-241-2117.
Cost: $50 per person
Group discounts:
10-49: $45/person
50-99: $40/person
100+: $35/person

What you’ll need: This is a Web-based seminar. Registered participants will receive participation instructions, log-on information and a toll-free number to dial in by telephone for the audio portion of the seminar upon payment of the registration fee.

Indeed, this was the weekend of Harry Potter. Devotees lined up at bookstores everywhere to pick up their copies at midnight. Many readers stayed up all night and then some reading the book, sometimes only stopping for food and bathroom breaks. “NO SPOILERS!” signs are popping up on blogs and discussion forums all over the web, for those who are taking the slow and scenic route, savoring every last moment of the final chapter in the story.

Public libraries were right there with the fans to celebrate the 7th canon. The Allen County Public Library coordinated a huge evening chock full of activities and music at their new library on Library Plaza, which you can read about care of the Fort Wayne News-Sentinal online (they also have a listing on their home page in the scrolling news graphics for a house elf clothing drive, which is very clever). Thanks to All Things Web 2.0 for the tip via your post! You can also peruse their entire photo set devoted to the party on Flickr.

By the looks of several Flickr photostreams, there were lots of libraries that had a really good time Friday night:

• Olds Municipal Library (Canada): Dumbledore, book reading, trivia, and more
• Kettleston Memorial Library (Alaska): potion mixing, quiz by Professor Trelawney, prophecy reading, and more
• Rancho Cucamonga Public Library (California): the “storm,” house elves, Hagrid, and more

You can also see library events on YouTube. Wellesley Free Library (Massachusetts) had quite the celebration, and you can see it all edited up quite nicely into 4m30s by video blogger Wellesley Townsman (a.k.a. Brad Reed). In a play on the epilogue of the book, you can watch Harry’s future as a library employee at the Hays Public Library (Kansas) battling the evils of vending machine vandalism and book theft.

I leave you with a video of the magical 2 minutes at the Land O’ Lakes branch of the Pasco County Libraries (Florida), when they opened the box at midnight:

Did your library have an event on Friday night? Post links to your photos, videos, articles, and more in the comments on this post! And, don’t forget a link to your library’s web site.

On Sunday, June 24, I attended the program “Snips and Snails and Puppy Dog Tails: Every BOY Ready to Read @ Your Library,” presented by Dr. Leonard Sax, M.D., Ph.D. He explained the gender differences between boys and girls and how we could use this in our storytimes. A few highlights from his Powerpoint presentation:

•Gender gap
-Between 1980-2004, gender gap of leisure-time reading
-1 in 10 boys now reads for fun
-Gender gap has become a chasm (“…a marker of gender identity: girls read, boys don’t.” –Bauerlein & Stotsky 2005, Bauerlein 2007)

•Sex differences in brain development (Harriet Hanlon, et al. 1999)
-studied 224 girls, 284 boys, ages 2 months to 16 years
-fine motor skills and language : girls develop faster
-gross motor skills, spatial memory, visual targeting : boys develop faster

•Learning styles
-Boys listen better when they are standing (rather than sitting – “their brains shut off”)
-Most young girls learn better when sitting
-Does not mean there is a difference in rank (or abilities)
-Boys are taught to sit still in school like the girls (so then school = girly … why they hate it)
-Best temperature to learn: 60 degrees boys, 75 degrees girls (children and young adults for normal size) – 6 degrees of separation

•Extraneous noise (Colin, Elliot and assoc.)
-Bother girls and women at sound levels 10 to 40x lower than boys/,men
-Girls are aware of what’s going on around them
-90-92% of boys not bothered by noise

•Storytime
-Offer Noisy Time Story Time (and Quiet Time Story Time)
-Noisy:
-Turn the thermostat down
-Seats are optional (bean bag chairs?) – boys love to crouch
-Rule: No hitting, can’t disturb others
-Choose stories boys enjoy (Watch out for “demand characteristics” – what’s the right choice?)
-Allow buzzing/tapping/clicking

For more information, visit Dr. Sax’s website: www.boysadrift.com (same title as his new book, being published in August 2007)

(I came into this program a little bit late, so I missed the introduction and the first few stories)

I had read an article about this program from the Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities in my Literacy for Special Population course last Fall at Simmons College, so I was curious to hear more and decided to attend this Sunday morning program.

Prime Time is a family literacy program comprised of 6 to 8 week sessions with reading, discussion and storytelling at public libraries and other locations. Each session involves the reading of a few books by a professional storyteller, followed by a discussion led by a “scholar” (usually a university professor). Librarians have the opportunity to market library resources to the program participants during each session. The books are selected for their multicultural representations and the opportunities they offer for discussions of humanities topics.

The program was started in Louisiana in 1991, but has since spread across many other states thanks to grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities and support from ALA. Librarians who plan to implement Prime Time at their library participate in an intense training session in New Orleans several times a year.

During the conference session, we heard stories from a number of librarians who have planned Prime Time at their libraries. Sue Warner from Kalamzoo City Public Library and other librarians from across the U.S. shared their experiences, the ways they made the program work for their community, and their passion for this wonderful program. They all emphasized that this program requires a great deal of planning and is not cheap, but that the rewards are immeasurable.

Prime Time has applied for more funding for 2008 and hopes to support more libraries in the upcoming year both through training and through funding the first series of programming. Check out the ALA site in late August/early September for more information about available grants for Prime Time. For more information about the program see their web site: http://www.leh.org/html/primetime.html

I attended the Programming Not Just for Boomers: Programming and Services program on Saturday, June 23. The program was aimed at adult programs for patrons 70+ years old.

A few highlights:
•Take an “old” idea and put a new spin on it, such as…
oBasic computer training (introduction to internet)
oHow to buy tickets online
oHow to email kids and grandkids (and set up an email account)
oTrain seniors in new technology (blogs, etc.)
oHow to use digital photography
oGaming – Wii festival and tournaments
oSocial networking (Seniornet or Eons) (http://www.seniornet.org / http://www.eons.com/)

•Other ideas:
oFilm and book discussions
oMovement: basic exercise, dance
o2nd careers, resumes for 70+ group
oFinancial security, recently retired
oFilm program, e.g. A Miss Marple film theme
oConsumer health
oLocal history
oGenealogy- create a genealogy club, teach online resources
oNostalgia programming
oOld basics: creating writing (could also use with blogs), poetry (open house program @ library)
oBiggest draw: music!
oGrandparents raising grandkids
oPrograms on coping with loss
oOther ideas: http://www.libraryolderadults.blogspot.com/

•Programs should be:
oEngaging, interactive
oAllow people to share, discuss, reminisce (they like what’s familiar)
oGet people involved, use their mental capabilities (helps keep them young)
oServe refreshments (this works with people of all ages!)

•Programming needs a gender balance (not just for women)

•Marketing
otraditional (print, papers)
oreceipt printers
oflyers, calendars, newsletters in library
ochurch bulletins
othis is the last generation that is print-oriented

Sunday was a very busy day full of programs.

Nancy Pearl
First I arrive bright and early to see Nancy Pearl speak. It was fascinating to hear how each of her books came into being, especially her lastest book, Book Crush. She gave some suggestions of books for children and teens such as :
Sunshine by Robin McKinley
Alex Rider Series by Anthony Horowitz
The Paperboy by Pete Dexter
Millicent Min, Girl Genius by Lisa Lee
Each Little Bird that Sings by Deborah Wiles
The Wolves of Willoughby Chase by Joan Aiken
The Great Good Thing by Rod Townley
Ragweed by Avi
The Teacher’s Funeral by Richard Peck
Thirsty by MT Anderson
Feed by MT Anderson
Looking for Normal by Betty Monthei
Voyage of the Dawn Treader by CS Lewis

Off the Chain: Reader’s Advisory for Exploding Genres
I really enjoyed this program. I won’t go into too many details because one of my fellow bloggers have done a great job detailing the program. I know that RUSA/PLA CODES will be having the handouts from their program on their websites. I found the program very interesting and has given me more authors and books to add to my list of books to read. I liked the many ways of finding out about new literature online, such as lit blogs and email lists as well as MySpace.

English Only: Censorship and its Impact on Latino Children and Young Adults in Schools and Public Libraries
I came into this program about half way through but I am glad I did. This program was given by AFL REFORMA. I missed the presentation part, but I did come in just as they started the discussion groups for different types of libraries. The public library discussion group was led by Rose Trevino. This gave people from different library systems a chance to ask questions and talk about how their library systems have their foreign languages materials placed in the collection and any programming that they have in foreign languages. Suggestions were also given on how to start a collection or to grow your current collection.

Future Friends: Marketing Reference and User Services to Generation X
This program was given by RUSA RSS. The handouts for this program will also be posted on RUSA’s blog. First the presenters went into defining Generation X and the facts about this generation. They then presented what this particular generation are looking for when it comes to services and potential segments of this generation. After defining Generation X, the presentation then went into how this would pertain to advertising to this generation and the different stages to planning advertising.
The next part of this program had St. Charles Library system in Illinois talk about their programs that they have for 20- and 30-somethings’ as well how they market those programs. They also gave examples of different programs, such as a cooking for 1 or 2 program, white elephant exchange, creating a safe online presence, a course on wine, and an history crawl of the town. Then they followed with some of the challenges that they have had with marketing as well as what they have learned.
Following this presentation was another presentation on the Young Friends of the Kansas City Public Library a.k.a BooksEnds. They went over what the group was and also how they marketed to their Generation X population.

Final Thoughts on ALA Annual Conference 2007
Unfortunately this was my last day at the conference. After attending different programs on Sunday, I took the time to go to the Library School Reunion Event at the Rennaissance Mayflower Hotel. It was great being able to see some fellow alumni from University of South Florida along with some of the professors that I had taken classes from. It was a good way to end my last day at the conference. I have had a blast at this year’s Annual Conference in Washington, D.C. I am looking forward to the next time I can attend an Annual Conference. I have found out a lot of useful information to take back to my library. I also have had a great time blogging about my experiences and the different programs that I have attended. So it’s been fun and I hope all those staying through Tuesday ave a great rest of conference. This is Catherine Moffatt signing off.

The Women’s National Book Association (WNBA) is pleased to announce the launch of National Reading Group Month (NRGM) in October 2007 to mark the 90th anniversary of the association’s founding. “Part of WNBA’s mission is to promote reading and the value of books, so we are proud to organize the first-ever National Reading Group Month. Reading groups inspire, transform and educate. They foster community and instill an appreciation for the written word,” says Laurie Beckelman, president of the Women’s National Book Association. “The mission of National Reading Group Month is four-fold:

To bring about public awareness of the joy of shared reading.

To provide a time for existing groups to celebrate their accomplishments and make plans for the future.

To encourage libraries, bookstores, and various organizations to host special events for reading groups.

To provide opportunities for individuals to get involved in an existing reading group or start one of their own.

Further information is available at http://wnba-books.org.

The Women’s National Book Association, which is about to celebrate its 90th anniversary, was established before women in America even had the right to vote. It is a broad-based non-profit organization with members across the country, three distinguished national awards, and a history of lively events in its eight chapter cities and elsewhere. As a national organization of women and men who work with and value books, WNBA exists to promote reading and to support the role of women in the community of the book. WNBA is non-governmental organization (NGO) affiliated with the United Nations/Department of Public Information, and a NGO partner with the U.S. Fund for UNICEF and supports the Fund’s education alliance for women and girls in Afghanistan.

I love it when the PPO thinks so far in advance. If you’re heading to ALA, here are some programs you should consider hitting (via the PPO listserv):

The Public Programs Office will present several Annual Conference programs for library programmers at all levels and in all types of libraries including:

LIVE! @ your library Reading Stage
Saturday, Sunday and Monday from 12:00 - 4:00 p.m.
Take a break from a day of meetings and programs and visit the LIVE! @ your library Reading Stage to enjoy readings from new and favorite authors and poets, learn how to develop author programs for your library, and find new recommendations for your patrons. This year, in honor of YALSA’s 50th anniversary, Monday’s stage will feature YA authors Cecil Castellucci; 2006 Michael L. Printz Award Winner, John Green; Barry Lyga; 2004 Michael L. Printz Honor Book Winner, Carolyn Mackler; Catherine Murdock; and Patrick Jones.

Break on Through to the Other Side: Cultural Programming for New Librarians (co-sponsored by NMRT)
Saturday 6/23/07, 10:30 am - Noon
Congratulations! You’ve earned your MLS and you’ve been hired. Whether you work in a public, academic or school library, you need to know how to develop cultural programming for your library’s community. Leading a book discussion is just the tip of the iceberg. The ALA Public Programs Office offers resources, funding, training and the framework needed for you to conduct high-quality cultural programs. Empower your professional career with a review of best practices and a model program demonstration.

Partnerships Produce Successful Cultural Programs
Sunday 6/24/07, 10:30 a.m. - Noon

Working with partners outside the library is an essential element of successful cultural programs in the library. Find out how the ALA Public Program Office’s collaboration with the National Library of Medicine has produced traveling exhibitions popular in all types of libraries. Public and academic librarians will also talk about successful partnerships that have led to unique cultural programs with maximum community impact.

PRIME TIME FAMILY READING TIME®: A Model Outreach Program
Sunday 6/24/07, 10:30 a.m. - Noon
How can your library reach the under-served, or never served, families in your community? Attend this session to hear library, literacy and humanities representatives discuss their successes with PRIME TIME in reaching this audience to create new library users. Learn about bilingual initiatives, evaluative outcomes, funding opportunities and strategies to bring this award-winning family literacy program to your community.

Engaging the Community with Documentary Film Screenings in Your Library
Sunday 6/24/07, 1:30 - 3:30 p.m.
Experience a model for working with Public Television’s P.O.V. program through their Community Engagement Program. Attendees will learn how to select and secure P.O.V. films, develop program content to support the films, and lead a facilitated post-screening discussion. Librarians who have run successful programs screening these films in their communities will share their experiences. As part of the model, a P.O.V. film will be shown.

We the People Bookshelf Project
Monday 6/25/07, 10:30 a.m. - Noon
Representatives from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) and experienced “We the People” project directors talk about the “We the People Bookshelf” grant, the books, themes and application process. During the past four years of this initiative, 6,000 Bookshelf collections have been awarded to school and public libraries nationwide.

Let’s Talk About It: 25 Years of Reading and Discussion Programs
Monday 6/25/07, 1:30 - 3:30 p.m.
The 25 year old Let’s Talk About It (LTAI) reading & discussion model has been engaging people through provocative theme based, scholar-led discussions of excellent literature. Learn about new themes, funding opportunities and resources as LTAI project directors, participants and scholars discuss the evolution of the program model, favorite themes and books and ideas for the future. Program followed by a LTAI 25th anniversary celebration.

This workshop, hosted by the California Library Association Literacy Section, brought together a roomful of highly motivated people to discuss literacy programs in libraries. My career before library science was in linguistics and TESL. I have taught basic writing and sociolinguistics, understand basic literacy issues, and have had exposure to the adult literacy program in my area called ATLAS run by the local adult and community education center, not the library. So I felt right at home with this group though I missed the morning session, “Trailblazers and the Pioneers who Followed: Discovering the Role for Literacy in Libraries,” presenting the 20 year history of literacy services in libraries around the country by leaders who were there.

In the afternoon, Joan Frye Williams, Library Futurist, explained why in 2006 the California State Library scrapped its literacy at the library marketing strategies of 20 years to start all over. They surveyed over 200 volunteers tutors and students and concluded that their current publicity efforts were not effective in getting people to “step up to the plate and participate.” The reasoning behind the change and the new approach they’ve initiated is forthcoming.

The second afternoon session featured an expert in volunteer coordination and management, Carla Lehn. Carla is a hugely motivating speaker, who massaged us with true-life stories, words of wisdom gleaned through years of working at nonprofits managing the volunteer resources, and inspirational best practices for finding and keeping your volunteers. Of most interest to me was how to write meaningful volunteer job descriptions organized from the standpoint of the volunteer job seeker, not the employer. For example: subsections include Importance of Position–what are significant outcomes brought about by this position, Qualifications–lists of skills, attitudes, knowledge necessary for the job, Responsibilities—what is expected of the volunteer, Training Provided—volunteers get training, Benefits of Volunteering—positive outcomes from serving, Time Commitments—numbers of hours and months expected, and Grounds for Termination—(yes, you can fire a volunteer). Carla had us writing meaningful descriptions, gave us a pack of job descriptions from libraries all over California, and a copy of her purple book called Volunteer Involvement in California Libraries: Best Practices.

The final day session Valerie Reinke explained the difference between outputs and outcomes and the importance of that difference in “Outcomes: Making the Case for Literacy Services.” Outputs are quantifiable data, the how much and how many statistics that libraries love to collect—circulation, cardholders, holdings, while outcomes are qualitative descriptions of successes in terms lives changed and goals achieved, not through numbers, but through stories that show increased knowledge and changed behaviors. She found that numbers without contexts do nothing to showcase the successes in literacy programs, and when looked at within the context of the library makes literacy programs the first to suffer in hard times because of their comparatively small numbers of people served. This led her to realize that library literacy programs lacked the verbiage to define outcomes according to their own paradigms and left them vulnerable to being defined by others in unfavorable terms. “We have to define ourselves and not let others define us for us.”

At the closing session Taylor Willingham helped us have a conversation about our visions of the future of literacy services in libraries. Starting with Gandhi’s dictum, “Be the change you want to see,” Taylor encouraged us to think about why this literacy symposium was called Mining Gold? She asked us to take a journey into the future and imagine us meeting again in 10 years, 2017. What will we be saying about our literacy programs? We get there from here by right now thinking abut the change you want to see and being that change!! Isn’t this true in all aspect of life?

Kristin Yiotis
SLIS, SJSU
ALASC Chair 2006-07

In my previous life I worked for a vendor in various positions and did not have many opportunities to attend the lectures and programs held in the early evening. I took advantage of my new position at the conference to attend the Arthur Curly Memorial Lecture by Joe Klein, Time Magazine and began to think about how his lecture relates to public libraries.

Joe Klein, columnist for Time Magazine gave an arousing lecture on the Iraq War Saturday evening. He laid out the reasons the Bush administration began the war and why it is unwinnable. His analysis was clear and enlightened. He answered audience questions until 6:00 p.m., answering questions about the upcoming presidential campaign, Iran and Palestine. One audience member made an important point about misinformation. She received an e-mail about the alleged background of Barak Obama. The e-mail accused Obama of being related to Osama Bin Laden and a member of extremist Islamic groups.

Klein underlined the importance of libraries periodically during his talk and after this comment. He called libraries “Curators of Citizenship.” He wants libraries to create displays and programs about Islam and the Arab World. While many libraries are doing this, his talk seemed to bring a sense of urgency and increased effort. Campaigning for the 2008 presidential election is already beginning. The importance of picking a new President to deal with the Iraq war and work in the delicate regions of the world makes the library’s place as educator even more important. Truthful information about the world needs to be available to everyone equally. And, of course, this is where the public library comes in. If it has been a while since your library provided programming on Iraq, Islam, or the Arab World maybe it is time to get creative! Encouraging curiosity about the world is what libraries do best. And, for those of you with great programming ideas please share them here or in another forum.