Every Child Ready to Read®, Second Edition materials are based on research from the PLA/ALSC Early Literacy Initiative, a project of the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC) and the Public Library Association (PLA), divisions of the American Library Association. Feature Articles

24 27 37 Simple Steps to Starting YA Spaces and the End Time to Rethink Readers’ a Seed Library of Postural Tyranny Advisory Education?

By Emily Weak By Anthony Bernier & Mike Males By Bill Crowley

Outlines Mountain View (Calif.) Library’s Studies the importance of accommodat- Examines how readers’ advisory theory process of beginning their seed library, ing YA-specific spatial needs in existing and practice may produce a service from simple plant exchange to a robust library spaces. philosophy out of sync with contempo- deployment of community resources. rary culture.

Departments

PLA News 3 By the Book 44 Kathleen Hughes Catherine Hakala-Ausperk President’s Message 5 New Product News 46 Larry P. Neal Heather Teysko & Tanya Novak Tales from the Front 10 Under the Radar 48 Mary Rzepczynski Kaite Mediatore Stover & Jessica Moyer Perspectives 12 Cover illustration by James LaRue Jim Lange Design (jimlangedesign@ The Wired Library 18 Extras sbcglobal.net) R. Toby Greenwalt Fundraising Beyond Editor’s Note 2 Book Sales 20 Verso—Public Libraries: Liz Boyd How to Save Them 7 Forward Thinking 22 Advertiser Index 9 John Spears EDITORIAL EDITOR: Kathleen M. Hughes PL Editor CONTRIBUTING EDITORS: Liz Boyd, R. Toby Greenwalt, Catherine KATHLEEN M. Hakala-Ausperk, Nanci Milone Hill, Kevin King, James LaRue, HUGHES Editor’s Note Jessica Moyer, Tanya Novak, Mary Rzepczynski, John Spears, Kaite Mediatore Stover, Heather Teysko During the years I have worked on the magazine, I’ve been consistently amazed ADVISORY COMMITTEE Joanne King, Queens (N.Y.) Library (Chair); Loida A. Garcia-Febo, by the agile thinking librarians display Information New Wave, Brooklyn, N.Y.; Brian A. Guenther, Oakland in adapting to the needs of their com- (Calif.) Public Library; Kevin King, Kalamazoo (Mich.) Public Library; Britta Krabill, Columbia (Ill.) Public Library; Portia Latalladi, Chicago munities. This issue is no exception, and Public Library; Monique le Conge, Palo Alto (Calif.) City Library; Norm showcases what I’ve come to view as Maas, Norfolk (Va.) Public Library; Jill Porter, Traverse Area District Library, Traverse City, Mich.; Celise Reech-Harper, Beauregard Parish Contact Kathleen at the characteristic trait of all great librar- Library, Deridder, La.; Kirstaine Smith, Great River Regional Library, [email protected]. ians: exceptional critical-thinking skills. Saint Cloud, Minn.; John Spears, Salt Lake City (Utah) Public Library; Nick Donald Taylor, Arapahoe (Colo.) Library District Our feature articles include a forward- PLA PRESIDENT: Larry P. Neal, Director of the Clinton-Macomb thinking piece about a new program that (Mich.) Public Library, [email protected] Kathleen is currently expertly deploys community resources, PUBLIC LIBRARIES (ISSN 0163-5506) is published bimonthly by the reading Crazy for God: as well as two probing analyses on what American Library Association (ALA), 50 E. Huron St., Chicago, IL 60611. It is the official publication of the Public Library Association, a division How I Grew Up as One of constitutes best practices. In “Simple of ALA. Subscription price: to members of PLA, $25 a year, included the Elect, Helped Found Steps to Starting a Seed Library,” Em- in membership dues; to nonmembers: US $65; Canada $75; all other countries $75. Single copies, $10. Periodicals postage paid at Chicago, the Religious Right, and ily Weak shares how the Mountain View IL, and at additional mailing offices. Lived to Take All (or Almost (Calif.) Public Library instituted an in-

POSTMASTER: send address changes to Public Libraries, All) of It Back by Frank novative program that is appealing not 50 E. Huron St., Chicago, IL 60611. Schaeffer. only in how it engages local gardeners, but also in that it doesn’t require a huge SUBSCRIPTIONS time commitment from librarians. “YA Spaces and the End of Postural Tyranny” Nonmember subscriptions, orders, changes of address, and inqui- ries should be sent to Public Libraries, Subscription­ Department, by Anthony Bernier and Mike Males challenges the accepted ways of structur- American Library Association, 50 E. Huron St., Chicago, IL 60611; ing YA areas, and posits that librarians, architects, and teens must collaborate in 1-800-545-2433, press 5; fax: (312) 944-2641; [email protected]. creating a space that meets all parties’ needs. Bill Crowley’s thoughtful “Time to ADVERTISING Rethink Readers’ Advisory Education” explores how a narrow readers’ advisory Doug Lewis, Jordan Gareth Inc., 4920 Hwy 9, #141, Alpharetta, GA theory might produce a service philosophy out of sync with contemporary culture. 30004; (770) 333-1281, fax: (404) 806-7745; doug@jordangareth .com; Territory: FL, MS, AL, GA, NC, SC, KY, TN, VA, WV, MD, DE, I hope that readers will be able to utilize the provocative ideas put forth in these NJ, NY, CT, RI, MA, NH, VT, and ME. Dave Adrian, David M. Adrian articles into their own work at their libraries. & Associates, 3903 Jameson Place, Calabasas, CA 91302; (818) 591- 7702, [email protected]; Territory: PA, OH, MI, IN, IL, WI, MN, IA, As always, please visit www.publiclibrariesonline.org to read the latest on library MO, AR, LA, TX, OK, KS, NE, SD, ND, MT, WY, CO, NM, AZ, UT, ID, trends as well as web-only author interviews. This summer we’ve posted interviews WA, OR, NV, CA, HI, AK, and all international countries. with Anthony Breznican, whose debut novel Brutal Youth is a chilling depiction of a PRODUCTION & DESIGN toxic high school, as well as E. Lockhart, whose We Were Liars is a tantalizing follow- ALA PRODUCTION SERVICES: Chris Keech, Managing Editor up to her award-winning The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks. MANUSCRIPTS I hope your transition into the fall months and a new school year is a seam- Unless otherwise noted, all submissions should be sent to www less one. Please let us know what your library is doing–send in a feature article, or .editorialmanager.com/pl. See www.pla.org for submission instruc- write a blog post for Public Libraries Online. If interested, contact Editorial Assistant tions. For queries/questions, contact Kathleen Hughes, khughes@ ala.org. Brendan Dowling at [email protected] for more information. Thanks and I hope to hear from you soon! INDEXING/ABSTRACTING Public Libraries is indexed in Library Literature and Current Index to Journals in Education (CIJE), in addition to a number of online services. Contents are ab­stracted in Library and Information Science Abstracts.

MICROFILM COPIES Microfilm copies are avail- able from University Micro- films, 300 N. Zeeb Rd., Ann Arbor, MI 48103. ©2014 by the American Library Association All materials in this journal are subject to copyright by the American Library Association and may be photocopied for the noncommercial purpose of scientific or educational advancement granted by Sections 107 and 108 of the Copyright Revision Act of 1976. For other reprinting, photocopying, or translating, address requests to the ALA Office of Rights and Permissions, 50 E. Huron Thirty-plus writers add new content daily to Public Libraries Online. St., Chicago, IL 60611.

2 PUBLIC LIBRARIES www.pla.org PLA News

Congratulations to • learn practical tools and tech- .plametrics.org. PLAmetrics is managed niques to help others learn; by Counting Opinions. 2014-15 PLA President • be able to lead activities that Larry Neal increase learning, participation, ALA, Public Libraries Larry Neal was inaugurated as the 2014- and retention; 15 PLA president during the American • be able to design and share to Measure Internet Library Association (ALA) Annual Confer- workshop materials to create a Speeds, Add to ence in Las Vegas earlier this summer. Neal learning community; E-Rate Record is director of the Clinton-Macomb (Mich.) • and receive helpful, personalized This summer, ALA and the Information Public Library and has had a prolific and advice from Gerding’s years of co- Policy & Access Center (iPAC) at the Uni- longstanding involvement in PLA, serv- ordinating and providing training versity of Maryland College Park have ing on the PLA Board as well as numerous for public libraries. been gauging the quality of public Inter- PLA committees. Passionate about culti- Pricing for the four-week program net access in our nation’s public libraries. vating and championing the next genera- is $139 for PLA members, $169 for ALA The speed test study is a supplement to a tion of library professionals, Neal has been members, and $199 for nonmembers. The three-year National Leadership Grant to involved with ALA Emerging Leaders, PLA deadline to register for this course is Sep- the ALA Office for Research & Statistics Spectrum Scholarships, and “Tomorrow’s tember 5. For more information, please vis- from the Institute of Museum and Library Professionals” programs at the state lev- it www.ala.org/pla/onlinelearning/courses Services (IMLS), and is supported by the el. As the newly minted president of the /accidental. Association of Rural and Small Libraries, Michigan Library Association in 2009, his the Chief Officers of State Library Agen- first major task was to lead a rally at the cies, PLA, and the Urban Libraries Council. state capital in protest of significant pro- New Public Library Data As part of its e-rate program modern- posed cuts to library funding. After spear- Available Online ization effort, the Federal Communica- heading three millage campaigns in three The Public Library Data Service (PLDS) tions Commission (FCC) is gathering a years on his personal time, he finally suc- FY2013 data is now available with a spe- range of data to inform changes in the ceeded in securing library services for his cial section on outcome measures. This program and better understand library home city of Bloomfield Hills (Mich.) in valuable data from more than 1,100 North and school broadband needs. ALA and 2011. Check out his first President’s Mes- American libraries can be exclusively ac- other library organizations are sharing sage column on page 5. cessed and customized through the online research gathered from libraries nation- data portal PLAmetrics. wide, but the quality of broadband access The PLDS captures valuable data (vol- inside library and school buildings has The Accidental Library untarily submitted annually) on staffing, emerged as a leading concern that de- Technology Trainer operating finances, output measures, in- mands attention. The popular interactive online course, terlibrary loaning, and technology provi- “Strong Wi-Fi and internal broadband “The Accidental Public Library Technology sions from public libraries throughout the connections in libraries and schools are Trainer,” is coming live to a computer near U.S. and Canada. It can be employed for necessary to support individualized learn- you Sept. 8–Oct. 3, 2014. This four-week peer comparisons, benchmarking, and/or ing. We need to better understand this is- blended-learning program presented by trend analyses, as well as to meet local, sue from a ‘front-line’ context,” said IMLS PLA is designed for public library profes- custom needs. Director Susan H. Hildreth. “I hope we will sionals who have unexpectedly found PLDS data (from 2002–13) is available have broad library participation in this ef- themselves responsible for technology through PLAmetrics, which also includes fort so that policy decisions will be well training of users or staff at their library. public-use IMLS data (1998–2011). The da- informed and can accommodate future Librarian, author, and trainer Stepha- tabase supports convenient templated or broadband needs of library customers.” nie Gerding will guide participants through customizable reporting features. Reports The Digital Inclusion Survey piloted an engaging combination of live webinars, can be further modified and saved in the a voluntary speed test in fall 2013, with independent assignments, and online dis- library’s reports folder for later use. results provided by roughly 1,700 pub- cussions. As a result of taking the course, For more information and to purchase lic libraries. The Urban Libraries Council participants will: a one-year subscription ($250), visit www also gathered data from a sample of their

PUBLIC LIBRARIES JULY/AUGUST 2014 3 PLA News

members earlier this year to submit as The International City/County Manage- training, networking opportunities, and part of the FCC proceeding. ment Association and ALA OITP are part- experience in working on specific associa- This new data collection effort will ners on the grant. For more information tion topics. seek responses from a sample of about about the survey, visit digitalinclusion.umd Volunteers are sought for the following 1,000 libraries, while allowing any library .edu. committees: Accreditation; American Li- to capture the broadband speed data for braries Advisory; Awards; Budget, Analysis their advocacy use. No software needs to Volunteer to Serve and Review; Chapter Relations; Confer- be downloaded, and libraries will be asked ence; Constitution and Bylaws; Council to run the speed test at least twice dur- On ALA or Council Orientation; Diversity; Education; Election; ing open hours. “In addition to the federal Committees for 2015-16 Human Resource Development and Re- e-rate program, state and local authori- ALA President-Elect and former PLA Pres- cruitment Advisory; Information Technol- ties often lack detail on library technology ident Sari Feldman encourages members ogy Policy Advisory; Intellectual Freedom; use and the infrastructure needed to sup- to volunteer to serve on ALA and Council International Relations; Legislation; Library port community digital inclusion efforts. committees for the 2015-16 term (terms Advocacy; Literacy; Literacy and Outreach Now is the time to increase awareness of start on July 1, 2015). Committee appoint- Services Advisory; Membership; Member- the state of library broadband,” said Larra ments will be finalized at the 2015 ALA ship Meetings; Organization; Policy Moni- Clark, ALA Office for Information Technol- Midwinter Meeting, with notifications toring (current Council members only); ogy Policy (OITP) program director. sent out in early spring 2015. Feldman Professional Ethics; Public and Cultural “We are well-positioned to leverage chairs both the Committee on Appoint- Programs Advisory; Public Awareness; and complement this data to deepen our ments (COAppt ) and Committee on Com- Publishing; Research and Statistics; Reso- understanding of the quality of access— mittees (COC). lutions; Rural, Native and Tribal Libraries of or actual broadband speeds—for public The online committee volunteer form All Kinds; Scholarships and Study Grants; library users and not just the subscribed (www.ala.org/CFApps/Committee/volun Status of Women in Librarianship; Training, speed,” said John Carlo Bertot, lead survey teerform/volunteerform.cfm) opened on Orientation and Leadership Development; researcher and iPAC co-director. Monday, August 4, 2014, and closes on Website Advisory; ALA-Children’s Book “We are grateful to IMLS and to all of Friday, November 7, 2014. To volunteer, Council (Joint); and ALA-Society of Ameri- our library partners for supporting this please complete and submit the form can Archivists-Association of American of valuable addition to the overall study,” electronically (be sure to select “ALA” in Museums (Joint). said Kathy Rosa, director of the ALA Office the dropdown menu on the main form to For technical assistance or for more for Research and Statistics. volunteer for both ALA and Council com- information on the committee appoint- Results from the speed test study will mittees). ments process, please contact Kerri Price, be published in September 2014, including Serving on an ALA or Council commit- COAppt. and COC staff liaison (kprice@ a report and a public release data file. tee provides members with leadership ala.org).

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4 PUBLIC LIBRARIES VOLUME 53, NUMBER 4 President’s Message

PLA President LARRY P. NEAL is Director of the Clinton-Macomb (Mich.) Looking Forward Public Library.

to a Productive

Contact Larry at [email protected]. Year Ahead

hank you for your PLA membership and for being a part of the best associa- tion for public library professionals! One of the questions I was most frequent- Larry is currently reading One ly asked during my year as president-elect was what “big theme” or “signa- Summer: America, 1927 by Bill T ture initiative” I was going to bring to PLA in 2014-15. I am pleased to assure you Bryson. that the answer is “none of the above.” My goal for the year ahead harkens back to a summertime childhood lesson learned along the banks of Michigan’s Black River in the land of Hemingway. Not only did my dad instill in me a love of and respect for nature, but also a sense of responsibility to leave our campsite a little better than the way we found it. Thankfully, applying these attributes to PLA will be a welcome challenge. We have an outstanding Executive Director, Barb Macikas; a talented, dedicated, and hardworking PLA staff; strong leadership under Past President Carolyn- An thony’s tenure, with an excellent board to match; a remarkable core of nearly 250 volunteers who generously give of their time in a wide variety of ways; and most importantly you, our 9,400 members— the reason PLA exists. That said, I look forward to implement- ing our newly updated strategic plan; laying the groundwork for our 2016 conference in Denver (April 5-9); cultivating I believe with an ample leaders through a second PLA Leadership Academy; en- supply of passion, hard ergizing senior library administrators with an exciting CE work, and persistence opportunity in 2015; and promoting broad adoption of new that anything is possible. performance measurements. Also on my mind are three is- sues that will not be solved in a day or a year, but still de- serve our attention. First, PLA needs to ensure that it continues to deliver on the value proposition of membership in the face of changing trends in member expectations, needs, and interest in participat- ing in professional associations. Again, I thank you for your current membership, but do not want to lose you because you joined for one year just to get a discount on a conference, because you may be retiring, or because you found someplace else to spend your hard-earned income. While I believe that pride of membership and a passion for public libraries—and the profession—are reasons enough to be a member of PLA, I know that it takes much more, even if it costs less than a cup of coffee a day.1 Second, I must express my personal concern about our umbrella organization, the American Library Association (ALA). Although I am comfortable with PLA’s sit- uation, I am troubled by the state of ALA’s structure and finances and the impact these will ultimately have on our division and beyond. The need for ALA to balance its budget and reallocate resources to meet the current needs and priorities of its members are urgent and critical for its sustainability and PLA’s future. All of us have or are adapting to “the new normal” in our libraries and it’s time for ALA to do the same. That said, we too “are ALA” and must be willing to take ownership of that

PUBLIC LIBRARIES JULY/AUGUST 2014 5 President’s Message

change and accept the fact that an asso- cuts to library funding at Michigan’s state ies is not just that they are more relevant ciation cannot be all things to all people. capitol; battled a wealthy retired attorney today than ever, but that they are critical Third, I hope to inspire you as an “ac- through three library millage campaigns in for strong communities and a strong de- cidental advocate” because, if I can do it, three years, finally securing library servic- mocracy for the future. As Hemingway anyone can. I was the quiet kid who was es for my home city; and will now be serv- once wrote, “Never confuse movement pushed around in school; the employee ing a year as president of this amazing na- with action.” Here’s to a productive year whose most significant weakness noted tionwide library association. I believe with ahead! on a performance evaluation in thirty an ample supply of passion, hard work, years was “needs to approach elected of- and persistence that anything is possible. ficials with greater confidence”; and the Some people say that the golden age Note new director who had to have a neighbor- of libraries is behind us. I believe our most 1. Fifty-four cents a day for ALA base ing director hold his hand for his first leg- exciting days and opportunities lie ahead. membership after three years, plus islative office visit eight years ago. Since I look forward to working with you to en- PLA division membership. that time I have led a rally protesting sure that the public’s perception of librar-

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Budget and Finance Current Issues Management of Technology 12 Marketing Organization and Personnel 11 1 Fundraising/Grantsmanship Administration Politics and Networking Planning and Management 10 2 Serving Diverse Populations of Buildings 9 3 Now is the TIME to invest in YOURSELF!

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• I conducted a staff study and created individual development plans for each of my direct reports.

• I have discovered that there are communities that our library is not reaching. Apply at http://ala-apa.org/certification. • The technology plan I wrote for a CPLA course Applications are reviewed quarterly. has been adopted for our library. Compared with the costs of similar professional • These courses are helping me do my job development and additional graduate degrees, better, which is important when we are doing CPLA is affordable, accessible and designed more with less. specifically for librarians!

6 PUBLIC LIBRARIES VOLUME 53, NUMBER 4 Verso

Guest contributor ALAN PAKALN is a Biomedical Engineer at New York Presbyterian Hospital in New York City. Public Libraries:

Contact Alan at alanpakaln@ How to Save Them gmail.com.

ibraries need to change in order to compete with cultural shifts such as an Alan is currently reading With a evolving electronic environment and decreased attention spans, as well as Little Help from Our Friends: with other services paid for by tax revenues, such as schools, public works, and Creating Community as We Grow L fire and police protection. Libraries know this, and they are taking action. Many li- Older by Beth Baker, The Miracle braries now have computers, bulletin boards, lecture and demonstration events, art of Mindfulness: An Introduction to displays, performances, cafés, game nights, young people’s programs, and so on. the Practice of Meditation by Thich Some libraries are trying other unique approaches. Examples include Olin (Ind.) Pub- Nhat Hanh, and Autobiography of lic Library’s Virtual Bowling Tournament; the Atlanta Braves partnering with Georgia Mark Twain edited by Harriet Elinor Public Library Service to offer “Home Run Readers”; World Book Night (partnering Smith, a publication of the Mark with D.C. Public Library staff to give books away once a year); and Roanoke (Va.) Twain Project. Public Library’s “Sweet Talk with Chef Hobbs,” where participants learned baking tips from a pastry chef. Events like these may increase participation. The problem is, it’s still thinking inside the box because many libraries are simply grabbing at straws, adding what they will, willy-nilly. There’s no real direction, no comprehensive plan they can clearly communicate to the (tax-paying) public, and no firm structure to guide them through the years ahead. From a marketing standpoint, having little clear direction or compelling message means libraries can blend in with all the media noise direct- ing everyone to everything all the time, submerged in the fog of persistent offerings. What is required for libraries to survive is a unifying message that makes it clear to all that what the library offers is relevant and needed. Today’s limited funding environment wants to see substance and action directed at specific needs. This is as true for public libraries as it is for government and non- profit organizations. Fun and interesting as they may be, Virtual Bowling Tourna- ments, Home Run Readers, and for that matter, lending books, are not as necessary as other community services like health, education, and public works. It is under- standable that libraries are feeling pressure to change: the public library once had a standing comparable to other municipal services––but now, not so much. This is not a call to abandon the service of providing books. It is a call to address new and serious problems impacting our communities and society as a whole, and to find ways to continue offering books and other reference information when many forces are placing this in jeopardy. It’s a large task with honorable goals and awful consequences if we fail; saving libraries and saving books is a race against time. Acknowledging the serious position libraries are in today is a first step. The next step is what many libraries have already been doing: identifying needs and trying new ideas. But what needs? What is the process by which they are identified? Addition- ally, how is this collected information communicated, and toward what end? What’s the purpose? The library needs direction. So how can this information help the public library achieve its goals as well as helping the local community? Ultimately, the library is faced with creating a plan––a mission statement––that answers these questions. Public libraries often perform assessments of needs––that is, they ask citizens to rate the effectiveness of staff, the popularity of library services, and to suggest new or modified services. Some of these efforts are sophisticated, offering extensive analy- sis that includes weighted relationships of services to demographic trends. Perhaps this information is useful in justifying continued funding, but how accurate a picture

PUBLIC LIBRARIES JULY/AUGUST 2014 7 Verso—Public Libraries: How to Save Them

is this of what the community wants and the monitoring results could also act as a formation resource. They can and should truly needs? Also, how interested do you historical record, a measurement of suc- commit to serving communities in ways think the average patron would be in read- cesses, failures, and the measured effects that directly address ongoing social and ing this type of report? They should find it of changes in various services. Now that environmental issues such as: job retrain- interesting; after all, these are the people kind of assessment could make interesting ing, utilizing health care systems, social the library is trying to serve, and the ones and useful reading, for patrons, adminis- isolation, aging, youth career displace- paying taxes. trators, and even social researchers trying ment, personal finances, housing, and so For the most part, assessments of this to understand how communities succeed on. Some of the tools that libraries can use type look at community needs in relation or fail in helping themselves. in addressing these concerns are already to what libraries currently understand What all this means is that the notions familiar to them (reference desk, career their service options to be––for example, of assessment, needs, and services must table, exhibit/presentation space, bulle- media loans, age-related programs, In- change if libraries are to allow the greatest tin boards). In many cases, minor space ternet access, meeting and event space–– input into the process of change––change changes might address needed changes. rather than first researching and recording that can create a path the library and Social spaces can combine uses to offer community needs as a whole, and then other community groups can follow. This greater potential benefit than each stand- determining what the library and other process might also include areas of need ing alone––for example, a social or café groups can reasonably address. By limit- stemming from a more global perspec- space that includes bulletin boards where ing the scope of assessments to how li- tive––for example, resource depletion, a people can mill about discussing postings. braries see their current functions, librar- changing climate, increased energy needs Bulletin boards can be enhanced by orga- ies limit what they will consider now, and and costs, population shifts, changing in- nizing them for clarity and offering cate- what they might consider planning for in formation technologies, and changes in gories to suggest uses like job and volun- the future. demographics. This may be long-range teer listings, perhaps a tool and resource It is the business of public libraries to planning, but for certain of our popula- exchange, entrepreneur and small busi- provide information services to their com- tions, the time for this planning may need ness assistance, in addition to the more munities, and it is in the community’s best to be sooner than later. familiar service and for-sale notices. interest to support services that address Here’s one example. Needs assessment A space will be well utilized if people community needs. Today, information ser- might include elderly populations. The can easily see that it is available to them, vices are not that simple. Nothing is simple, Santa Monica (Calif.) Public Library is as- that they can use it to present a range of including the cultural, economic, environ- sessing and documenting needs with “Se- information, whether it’s career, creative, mental, and demographic changes impact- nior Services, Community Connections.” health, or literary––whatever is relevant to ing both communities and libraries. One It’s essentially a reference guide to “assist individual and community needs. The real service libraries can provide is to list or cata- in finding services for older adults.” It lists, challenge, and the real work for libraries, log individual and community needs. Some in their own words, issues elders may face is to make it easier for new users, and new of these needs may be satisfied by library such as “can’t go out––homebound,” and uses, to emerge. That means the process services, some by government and non- provides suggestions and resources that must be easy to see and understand. The governmental organizations, while other might help. This is one example, but it ad- more the door is open, welcoming, clear, needs have not yet been addressed. But all dresses a group (elders) that could become and easy to understand, the greater the can be identified and made visible. This is among a library’s most frequent users. individual interaction; the greater the reference desk work, just of another kind. The public library can’t do it all, but it interaction, the more information is ex- If you remember Miracle on 34th Street, needs to go where community residents changed, and the more essential the li- Macy’s Santa referred some customers to are headed. One way libraries can extend brary is to the community. Gimbels to locate products not found at their impact on the community and ex- Accessing information is not the same Macy’s. Libraries, the new Santa, refer pa- plore new services without investing in as sharing information. Collaboration–– trons to services within the community, costly resources or development time for human-to-human connecting––is the and log those needs not yet provided. employees is to create extensions of the new goal. Libraries are in the best posi- This needs and resource reference library board––work groups––in which pa- tion to bring the Internet, local business- could take the simple form of a loose-leaf trons can be encouraged (and empowered) es, neighbors, and educators together binder, or be as complex as a Wiki-like to participate. Oversight, yes. But not paid in a space where increased interaction web-based database. Either way, consider consultants! We could say that preparing can bring creative results. Whether or what this reference could mean to local for the future today means managing the not a “Catalog of Needs and Services” is communities if residents could have ac- process of engaging change as much as utilized, addressing community needs cess to information regarding all services. managing the effects of change; it means should be as apparent as it is system- Not only would this activity facilitate as- looking at process as program. atic––showing the community that this sistance on different levels of need, but Public libraries are the main local in- library as a facilitator of new ideas is the

8 PUBLIC LIBRARIES VOLUME 53, NUMBER 4 Verso—Public Libraries: How to Save Them

kind of transparency that will be seen and revitalized statement of purpose and clar- ing climate), and how we help each other hopefully appreciated. ity of mission. New signage throughout (including the elderly) that will represent Show the community that their library a facility––beginning with a poster at the critical change––not so much how we read is here to enliven, enlighten, and help. front desk––can declare new purposes for text, whether on paper or an e-reader. During Bill Clinton’s 1992 presidential the library as a whole, and for dedicated As film became transferable to new campaign, a campaign strategist hung areas within the library. A suggestion box formats, tapes and DVDs were added to a sign on his door that read, “The Econ- with a feedback mechanism can add con- library collections, and in the Information omy, Stupid.” Public libraries should do fidence that someone is actually listening. Age libraries responded by installing com- the same in emphasizing current issues Simplified processes for space reservation puters. Though still utilized, centralized that impact their communities. But theirs can impart a caring concern for the indi- cataloging and storage of information is no would be a much longer sign: “The Econ- vidual: it’s not programs that bring life to longer the critical service that is needed. It omy, Energy Resources, Climate, Chang- the library, but the life behind programs. is no longer just the book, journal, or film ing and Aging Populations, Education and The future may require those living we need centralized; it is the interaction of Career Limitations, Media and Technol- within a community to work and live more residents within a flexible, information- and ogy Integration, and Social Isolation–– closely and more effectively with each community-oriented environment. Public Stupid.” Community needs should steer other. Within this environment, it’s how we libraries are the one community space that the library’s ship, and the library should let share material resources (which may be- are designed, built, and paid for specifically the community know where it’s headed. come increasingly scarce), how we make a to bring people and information together. Like a campaign strategist, libraries should living (relying on fewer employee benefits), We just need to make a few modifications take every opportunity to demonstrate a where and how we can live (in a chang- in order to meet the future.

PLA’s Film Programming for Public Libraries Now Available

Screening movies is a fun, engaging way to bring people of all ages into the library, and Film Programming for Public Libraries (Chicago: PLA, 2014) offers the tools to make movie programming a reality at any public library. Author Kati Irons, a public librarian who has overseen a countywide movie program, offers a complete guide to creating, mounting, running, and evaluating a successful program. This all-in-one resource from PLA includes: • guidance on developing movie programming at the library as a component of community outreach, with tips for making the case to stakeholders; • ideas for developing program themes and selecting the best titles for a movie series, plus several resource lists; • a succinct primer on the legal issues involved with showing movies at the library, and a breakdown of the different kinds of licensing agreements; • a chapter discussing equipment and technology needs; and • advice for effectively marketing film programming. Irons is currently the audiovisual collection development librarian for the Pierce County (Wash.) Library System. She has pre- sented on libraries and film programming at the American Library Association (ALA) Annual Conference in 2011 and at Washington Library Association (WLA) conferences in 2011 and 2012. To purchase the book, visit the ALA Store at www.alastore.ala.org.

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PUBLIC LIBRARIES JULY/AUGUST 2014 9 Tales from the Front

Tales from the Front focuses on best practices Contributing Editor and innovative ideas from libraries nationwide. MARY RZEPCZYNSKI is the Assistant Library Director for Delta Township District Library in Lansing, Michigan.

Keeping Your

Contact Mary at mrzepczynski@ dtdl.org. Staff Happy

f you’ve ever watched a TED talk (www.ted.com/talks/browse) or attended a local Follow Mary on Twitter @maryrze TEDx event, you know how inspiring it can be. This year’s TEDxLansing (Mich.) I had a focus on education but the life lessons, classroom innovations, athletic en- durance challenges, and heartwarming cultural experiences all led to some epiphany about the meaning of happiness. Have you experienced any epiphanies of happiness at your library lately? How much of your staff’s happiness is really up to them and Mary is currently reading Five Days what aspects of their day can you make better? Many library budgets have been at Memorial: Life and Death in a hit hard by the recession. Staff members are being asked to do more with less and Storm-Ravaged Hospital by Sheri positions are being left unfilled. As temporary reductions in staffing, services, or pro- Fink. grams become the new normal, it’s harder to keep everyone happy. But is it still important to try? Research shows that it is. A 2014 study by Wharton University Management Professor Sigal Barsade and George Mason University Assistant Management Professor Olivia “Mandy” O’Neill looked at companionate love within organizations, and concluded that “empa- thy, caring for someone’s feelings and life, and listening to a person’s need”1 had a marked effect on employee happiness and led to better teamwork, performance, and customer satisfaction. A 2011 study conducted by the iOpener Institute for People and Performance, a UK Consultancy, had similar results and reported that employees who report being Farewell happiest at work: This column marks Mary Rzepczynski’s • stay twice as long in their jobs as their least happy colleagues; last issue as editor of Tales from the Front. • spend double their time at work focused on what they are paid to do; Under Mary’s stewardship, Tales from the • take ten times less sick leave; and Front transformed from a compendium of • believe they are achieving their potential twice as much.2 library news to a thoughtful analysis of best On her blog, The Happiness Project, author Gretchen Rubin shared the seven practices. Mary’s writing, marked by her ways to improve employee satisfaction:3 warm humor and incisive research, made 1. Give Employees More Control. For libraries, there are many opportunities to Tales from the Front a vital part of Public empower staff to allow greater autonomy. From giving more control (within Libraries. We wish her the best on her new budget) to the librarians who maintain collections, to allowing frontline staff adventures and can’t wait to see what’s to waive overdue fines or assess damaged materials. If it’s a decision that a next for her. supervisor will approve anyway, why not give staff the ability to make the final call? Proper training, consistency, and trust take time to achieve but it’s worth it—freeing up supervisor time for more complex tasks and giving staff more ownership in the library and its processes. 2. Ease Commuting Stress. For most organizations, this means working from home (unless you work at Yahoo). This can be tricky for libraries because so many of our staff members are covering the information desks, processing materials, doing programs, or maintaining the facilities. It’s important to still look for opportunities such as special projects, attending webinars, or com- mittee work that may be done without heading into the library. As part of our building process, our library installed a bike rack and a shower for staff

10 PUBLIC LIBRARIES VOLUME 53, NUMBER 4 Tales from the Front

who want to ease the commute by started incentive-based wellness fun throughout the day. Celebrate walking or riding into work. programs for their staff. Check unique days on the calendar (such 3. Stop Wasting Time. When I asked with the local hospital to see if as National Popcorn, Ice Cream, or colleagues about the biggest time they offer a corporate wellness Pie Day), have a cookie exchange wasters, meetings topped the list. program or brainstorm with staff. week close to Christmas, or even Meetings should be succinct, pro- A good program that encourag- a Movember fundraising event for ductive, and held with purpose. es teamwork and wellness does your more hirsute male staffers. Have an agenda and encourage not have to cost a lot of money. Grab that copy of Chase’s Calen- other attendees to submit any dis- Have healthy lunch potlucks, ar- dar of Events off the shelf and start cussion items or questions ahead range for more nutritious snacks brainstorming. of time as well. Don’t have meet- in the vending machines, or plan Some libraries have extended these ings just to touch base or ensure for morning or late afternoon morale boosters to include their patrons. In that everyone is on the same page. staff walks. If you do have some- Grand Rapids (Mich.), the Kent District Li- A cliché is not a reason to meet— thing in the way of financial re- brary (KDL) is in the midst of an eighteen- a solid, thoughtful agenda of news- sources, look into a treadmill desk month Happiness Project inspired by worthy or actionable items is. or a shared standup workspace. Rubin’s blog and book. The three main Some libraries have adapted the Healthier, happier employees are components to the project are (1) pro- stand-up style meeting to discour- worth the investment. gramming, (2) staff positivity, and (3) KDL age meaningless chatter. Another 6. Create an Atmosphere of Growth. Gives Back. According to KDL Adult Ser- way to stop wasting time is setting Although there may not be a lot of vices Librarian Theresa Duffy, the goal of a statute of limitations on revisiting options for promotion available at the Happiness Project is to ensure that past issues—even if they were not your library, particularly for support the community continues to think of the resolved to everyone’s satisfaction. staff, an atmosphere of growth can library as “a HAPPY and vibrant place . . . Things are changing too quickly in be encouraged through staff train- a necessary entity to be treasured and libraries to spend too much time ing and other professional develop- supported.”4 Isn’t that what we are all dwelling on past slights, poor de- ment options. There does not nec- striving for? As Oscar Wilde once said, cisions, or someone still hoping to essarily have to be a lot of time and “Some cause happiness wherever they get his or her way. money spent on workshops and go; others whenever they go.” It’s best for 4. Encourage Social Connections. conferences, although if you can— your library and your community that you Rubin says that “socialization is a yay! The librarians at my library strive to be the former. key component of happiness” and have been holding monthly train- many of your staff probably work ing sessions on topics such as the in libraries because they enjoy the library’s website, databases, RDA, References social interaction. (Except maybe customer service, and handling 1. Will Yakowicz, “This Could Be the the catalogers—I kid!) There are emergency situations. Other librar- Most Underrated Tactic for Boosting many ways to engage staff that ies have gone a step further and Employee Morale,” Inc.com, Apr. 4, take very little time and money. developed staff competencies tied 2014, accessed June 25, 2014, www Host a Super Bowl party, a Fourth to continued employment. Penny .inc.com/will-yakowicz/boost-morale -bring-employees-some-coffee.html of July picnic, or a lunchtime staff Talbert, the “Guerilla Librarian,” ?cid=sf01001. book club. Hold a contest using has wonderful resources to help 2. Jessica Pryce-Jones, “The Five Drivers of March Madness brackets or the you get started (available at www Happiness at Work,” Wall Street Journal, Oscar ballot, ask staff to share a .pennytalbert.com/competency Sept. 18, 2011, accessed June 25, 2014, childhood favorite during Chil- -handouts--information.html). http://blogs.wsj.com/source/2011/09/18 dren’s Book Week, or have a staff 7. Break Up Routines. Many library /the-five-drivers-of-happiness-at-work. talent show. Arrange a field trip tasks are very routine-oriented, so 3. April Shetrone ,”7 Ways to Improve to other libraries to see how the it’s not worth changing things just Employee Satisfaction,” Inc.com, May 18, 2011, accessed June 25, 2014, www other half lives, or encourage staff for the sake of changes. Not to .inc.com/guides/201105/7-ways-to to engage in after-work activities mention for many library staff the -improve-employee-satisfaction.html. or attend a local sporting event routine and order are a plus (again, 4. Theresa Duffy, email to author, Apr. 10, together. I feel like making a joke about cat- 2014. 5. Promote Good Health. Many alogers) but there are a myriad of corporations and libraries have ways to surprise and include some

PUBLIC LIBRARIES JULY/AUGUST 2014 11 Perspectives

Perspectives offers varied viewpoints on subjects Contributing Editor of interest to the public library profession. JAMES LARUE is CEO, LaRue Associates Consulting, in Castle Rock, Colo.

Why Build

Contact James at jlarue@jlarue .com. Libraries?

James is currently reading The or most librarians, the opportunity to open a new building in your community Book of Life by Deborah Harkness. comes along perhaps once in a career. In the three essays that follow, in rough- F ly sequential order, three successful library directors recount their experiences seizing that opportunity. In all cases, they had to make their case to the community. In one case, the need was clear: Disaster had washed away the old library. But even then, there were official challenges. Do we really need an old brick-and-mortar col- lection of books anymore? Are there cheaper, more forward-thinking alternatives? To librarians and library trustees, the meaning and value of a new library building is clear. But the focus of this column is the attempt to identify the language used by library leaders to persuade non-librarians. And there is an emerging set of talking points, hearkening back, in some ways, to the civic language of a century ago. The library is: • Community center. • A place for lifelong learning. • A place for early childhood, emergent literacy. • A creator space. • And perhaps most subtly, a statement of community value. What do we think is important to our own identity? As always, my thanks to colleagues for their thoughtfulness, and in particular to Bob Pasicznyuk, who leaves Cedar Rapids (Iowa) Public Library to lead Douglas County (Colo.) Libraries to its next triumphs.

Library as Place

Paul Paladino, Director, Montrose (Colo.) Regional Library District, [email protected]

For most of my career in libraries, more than twenty years, I’ve heard variations on the question, “With everything available on the Internet, why do we need libraries?” Lately I’m asked more and more if the Digital Age will do away with the need for library buildings. My answer is quite simple: unless human nature changes funda- mentally, the need for library buildings will get more, rather than less, important. The answer I give is based on an understanding of people both in and out of the field of librarianship. As society has rushed into the age of digitization, resources for libraries have become increasingly scarce. More analysis has been needed to justify spending on library spaces and to ensure those spaces are doing what library users want them to do. Librarians and others have taken a step back and looked harder at how people are using their spaces. One of the things to come out of this closer look is the observation that most people don’t want to interact exclusively with technology in their lives. While the

12 PUBLIC LIBRARIES VOLUME 53, NUMBER 4 Perspectives

digital world offers the ability to become branch in Montrose, a branch in Naturita, small, this was somewhat inconvenient more hermit-like, people seem to need in- a school/community branch in Paradox, and out of the way. Being housed in a teraction with other people. Librarians re- and a bookmobile. building with others seemed to epitomize alized their space was filling that need for For decades, NCL operated out of less the saying “out of sight, out of mind.” Na- a large segment of the population. than 500 square feet. “Library as place” turita is on a scenic byway, but few peo- Libraries have always been a welcom- hardly applied. Storytimes could not be ple were aware it had a library, let alone ing, non-judgmental place. No purchases held at the facility because if more than stopped in during their travels. are needed in order to use a library. People three children showed up the fourth had Clearly more visibility was necessary can stay as long as they wish. There is both to sit in another aisle. The children’s area for the success of the new library. A lot physical and intellectual acceptance and could accommodate at most two children was found on Main Street, which is also safety in a library. As the epitome of what and two parents. Obviously the collection a state highway. The lot was across from urban sociologist Ray Oldenburg calls a wasn’t very substantial nor could it grow the elementary school, the post office, “third place,” neither home nor work, li- to meet the needs of the community. and the small grocery. These are the big braries are a space accessible to all where MRLD decided something needed to three in Naturita: Everyone in town and people are free to gather without feeling be done and the hiring of a new manager the surrounding areas has business at like loiterers. at NCL, Susan Rice, served as the catalyst one or more of those buildings. Putting People often use public libraries as a for moving forward. Rice immediately set the library in proximity to them would refuge. The library can offer a quiet space out to expand programming and make the boost traffic for the library as well as for to sit and read a newspaper or magazine, library more visible in the community. New the others. MRLD purchased the lot and study, or get some work done. Entrepre- programs were implemented and more began working on a design. A plan to neurs who work at home will bring work than a third of the students in the school procure the necessary funding was also to the library in order to create the atmo- district were engaged in them. Programs implemented. sphere of working among people, of not were held outside in a park, at schools, or For many years, MRLD had one of the being isolated. at home daycares. Obviously a better tool lowest property tax mill levies in Colorado. For all of these reasons the physical than the existing library was needed. Limited funding meant that NCL occupied space, the actual building of the pub- The question then was how much and 500 square feet, the third smallest in Colo- lic library itself, plays a strong role in a what type of space did the community rado, which restricted the NCL’s collection community. This role was central to the need? What did “library as place” mean and ability to hold programs. In 2004, vot- thought behind the creation of the Mon- in Naturita? MRLD needed to talk to the ers approved doubling MRLD’s mill levy, trose (Colo.) Regional Library District’s staff and the community. Fortunately, thereby providing revenue to maintain award-winning Naturita Community Li- with just two staff members and a small a larger NCL. To fund its construction, brary (NCL). town it wasn’t hard to solicit information. MRLD formed Colorado’s first Library Naturita (Colo.) is geographically iso- Staff identified programming space asa Capital Facility District, approved by 80 lated, being two hours away from the crucial need. Other needs included: clear, percent of Naturita voters, to provide 10 nearest supermarket. Naturita has a pop- unobstructed programming space indoors percent of the cost. With this support and ulation of 546 people, a median house- and outdoors; reading areas for both chil- $250,000 from reserve funds MRLD raised hold income that is 44 percent of the na- dren and adults; a small space for intimate more than $800,000 from grants to fund tional average, and a resource-dependent storytime gatherings and where parents the remainder of the project. economy that has cycled through booms could read and interact with their children; Leadership at MRLD took all of the and busts—uranium, oil and gas, and now space for public computers; and room to needs identified by NCL staff and the lo- uranium again. The town faces 25 percent house a larger collection. cal community and put together a build- unemployment, and many workers travel The community wanted more books, ing program. Based on this program, a fifty-three miles each way to Telluride for more materials, a public meeting space, building of 4,400 square feet was deemed construction and housekeeping jobs. Thir- a reading space, and an outdoor space necessary. The building included a public ty-six percent of residents live in poverty. where people could gather, mingle, and meeting room that could do double duty There are few activities for children out- just hang out. This space was important, for programming and meetings. Seating side of school. the community said, because the only for reading, a computer space, and a col- Naturita and the surrounding small other public spaces that existed for people lection space were created, as well as a towns (Nucla, Bedrock, Paradox, and to gather and hang out were bars. They small space for children to play, read, and Redvale) receive library service through wanted a healthier alternative. be read to. the Montrose Regional Library District Another consideration was where to Outside, generous overhangs also did (MRLD), which formed in 1967 and serves put this space. The old library was tucked double duty: creating space for benches 40,500 people within Montrose County’s away behind some ball fields and a park, that allowed people to hang out even 2,400 square miles. MRLD operates a main near a river. Even though the town was when the library wasn’t open, and also

PUBLIC LIBRARIES JULY/AUGUST 2014 13 Perspectives

sheltering the straw bale walls and the nesses, and multiple cultural icons to a convenience demanded both products lime plaster covering those walls. Straw damage total of a billion dollars. I joined and services to keep ice boxes stocked. bale was chosen for its excellent insulation hands with the community to rebuild its I no longer need or desire an ice truck to value and low ecological impact. The lime libraries. The region’s primary central li- deliver below-freezing goodness to my plaster was chosen for its low impact and brary—facility, collection, and technol- home to keep my food from spoiling. Are relatively low maintenance. Lime plaster ogy—was a near total loss. libraries equally outdated? actually takes carbon dioxide out of the air Disasters are a time for reflection, de- The would-be councilman’s presump- and hardens over time, healing any minor bate, renewal, and change. The communi- tion rested on the notion that public librar- cracks it might have developed in its initial ty may emerge better for its effort, but the ies are a warehouse or storage facility for application. journey isn’t pleasant or easy. With more books. Another presumption running a Creating a building that was high in work to do than time to do it, and more close second is that print books are on the sustainability did several things. One was need than funding, the politics of scarcity cliff of imminent demise. These presump- to provide a unique project to pitch to po- is rampant. In this context, two questions tions didn’t rise out of thin air. For a quarter tential grant makers. Another was to create pervaded the dialog about the value of li- of a century, I have been a part of the library a unique facility for the people of Natu- braries. Those questions are applicable to cabal that centered our brand and mission rita. Providing a highly insulated building the notion of libraries anywhere and in any around book collections. Librarians often shell and combining it with highly efficient context: brag about the size of their collections. geo-exchange heating and cooling allows 1. Why invest in libraries in a fast- Some of our greatest supporters love and MRLD to keep utility costs very low. This moving and mobile Digital Age? cherish the printed word. Beyond collec- in turn allows more of the budget to be put 2. What does a relevant, contempo- tion size, libraries also have a long track re- into programming, collection, and staff. rary library look like? cord of defining value by the volume of our The design and use of the library defi- transactions and the economical delivery nitely makes it the central place in the Why Invest in Libraries systems we employ to get more content community. It opened in August 2009 in the Digital Age? into more hands. After all, any business and is America’s largest straw bale library. About two years into the rebuilding, there wants more customers, not fewer. Library usage has exceeded all expecta- was a city government election. It’s stan- If sheer collection size and transaction tions. NCL has issued nearly 1,000 new li- dard fare in municipal elections for at least volume are the epitome of a first-rate pub- brary cards since its opening, and monthly a few challengers to run against city hall. lic library, then it is plausible that e-con- circulation has increased by 160 percent. Throwing the bums out is tempting in mu- tent spells the end of public libraries as we NCL was chosen as the 2011 Best Small nicipal elections. Add to the fray a post-di- know them. Does either the warehouse Library in America by Library Journal and, saster context (the pace of cleanup, public or retail model tell the story about why in 2012, NCL representatives traveled to debt, controversies about the allocation of or how we build libraries? Consider the the White House to receive the National scarce resources, and arguments with all Philadelphia Free Public Library, an insti- Medal for Museum and Library Service, levels of government) and the challengers tution with a rich history and track record awarded to five libraries annually. Most are ready to take aim at incumbents. The of achievement. The original library had importantly, the people of Naturita have a library project wasn’t immune from the few books when compared with its coun- place to call their own. election rhetoric. I remember one council terpart today. The original’s collection candidate holding up a Kindle in a public size, display, and prominence pale in com- forum declaring, “I could buy each and parison with the same library ninety years Libraries as a Reflection of a every citizen in our city one of these for later. The first incarnation of the Philadel- Community’s Needs and Values less than the cost of that new library.” His phia Free Public Library was as a center for statement was, more or less, true. Never self-directed learning and a place for social Robert Pasicznyuk, former Director of mind the purchasing of content, broad- gathering and discourse. Andrew Carnegie the Cedar Rapids (Iowa) Public Library, band, or a replacement program for those called libraries in the early twentieth cen- and current Director of Douglas Kindles. Despite the gaps in his argument, tury, “the people’s university.” County (Colo.) Libraries, there was a resonance in the crowd listen- Why invest in libraries in any age, let [email protected] ing to his remarks that begs an answer to alone our Digital Age? Libraries that em- the overall question. Why invest in librar- brace their roots become the center for Over the past five years, I have been hon- ies in the Digital Age? History is replete civic engagement, entrepreneurial risk ored to serve the people of Cedar Rapids, with technologies and industries whose taking, and self-directed learning. Our Iowa, following massive flooding in what time has come and gone. Several decades society is less connected and more frag- has been called the Midwest’s Katrina. ago, there was a whole industry devoted mented now than the beginning of the In about a week, flood waters destroyed to the making, storing, and transporting twentieth century. Economic competition thousands of homes, hundreds of busi- of ice. Safe access to food and customer is global rather than local. In my grandfa-

14 PUBLIC LIBRARIES VOLUME 53, NUMBER 4 Perspectives

ther’s day, he had to compete with some- Douglas County (Colo.) Libraries (DCL) in nology infrastructure allows us to flex and one in a large queue seeking jobs during Castle Rock has been a technology innova- host jazz concerts, weddings, proms, or a the Great Depression. In my day, I vie for tor from its inception. In the past five years, local bank’s all-staff meeting. jobs against competitors from all over the DCL has experimented with serving its own Twenty-first-century libraries must be country. My daughter will compete for e-content, whether from publisher stock designed to achieve their community’s out- jobs with people across the globe. Fore- or the burgeoning self-publishing market- comes in order to remain viable. For many, casts reveal that her job will change signif- place. During that period e-content grew that design centers on a child’s first 1,000 icantly ten to fifteen times in her career. It at an impressive rate, but has leveled off days to lay a foundation of success in school is for these reasons that the nation of Sin- recently while print book sales continued and life. For others, English language facil- gapore invested a billion dollars in libraries to grow. This year, Facebook’s traffic decid- ity and jobs skills training are the commu- over the past decade. Libraries are essen- edly tilted away from desktop access and nity’s need. Library design (both the archi- tial to their national mission, “To increase toward mobile traffic. The early adopter tecture and staffing model) has responded the learning capacity of our nation, so as marketplace has seemed to play itself out and flexed to offer traditional and digital to improve our national competitiveness, with e-books. The data suggests that con- classrooms to achieve a competitive work and move toward a gracious society.”1 Li- sumers enjoy and demand multiple formats force. There are a number of communities braries sprouted up all over the U.S. in the and access options. Movie theaters didn’t that long for something beyond virtual early twentieth century to handle a myriad end with the introduction of pay-per-view, communities. That desire becomes a real- of social ills and community needs con- VCRs, DVD players, or Blu-ray machines. ity in library makerspaces big and small. In nected to economic upheaval, immigra- What has changed is the demand on public each of these examples, the library is only tion changes, and social necessity. These libraries. Limited budgets need to handle realizing what it was originally conceived needs still find a solution today in first-rate a wide range of consumer demands. Right to be—a place where the community con- public libraries. now, based on casual conversations with venes around its commitment to literacy The Columbus (Ohio) Metropolitan Li- other library directors, e-books comprise and lifelong learning. brary (CML) has a history of top-tier public between 3 and 6 percent of library transac- support and library achievement. There is tions in a publishing universe still uncertain a system that rates public libraries com- about its relationship to libraries. Libraries Reference petitively one against another as a token have and will continue to engage the digi- 1. Warwick Cathro, “Visions for of best practices. CML has been at or near tal world with implications to collection size Fundamental Change in Libraries the top of that ranking for a decade. CML and cost as well as library labor costs. I be- and Librarianship for Asia Pacific,” circulates more than 16 million items an- lieve that in the next few decades, libraries paper presented at the Emerging nually and manages a large fleet of well- will not struggle with being put out of busi- Trends in Library and Archival Services Conference, Singapore, April 2001, cared for facilities. Despite these achieve- ness by any given format. They will struggle accessed July 18, 2014, www.nla.gov.au ments, the library began to grapple with with having enough resources to satisfy /openpublish/index.php/nlasp/article a necessary and difficult community need mixed consumer demand. /viewArticle/1317/1603. several years ago. Forty percent of kin- dergarteners failed a basic, statewide en- What Does a Contemporary trance test for school. More alarmingly, Library Look Like? Bubbling Up: The Library every study surrounding school and life The key trait and strategy of thriving li- On the Rise achievement validated the fact that kids braries, no matter the time period, is who enter school ill-prepared do not catch alignment within their community. A busi- Greg Mickells, Director, up. The library changed its business plan, ness or nonprofit only survives as it taps Madison (Wisc.) Public Library, retooled its labor force and recruitment, into its customers’ deepest needs and [email protected] and forged a number of key community then translates that understanding into partnerships to make a demonstrable dif- products and services customers demand. The city of Madison (Wisc.) just completed ference in the lives of their youngest cus- Cedar Rapids (Iowa) Public Library (CRPL) a $30 million renovation of its Central Li- tomers. Today those test scores are rising. is distinctive in its ability to act as the com- brary. The question of why our community Libraries are relevant in the Digital Age munity’s hub or center. We invested heav- would spend that amount on a building in if they invest in young minds changing a ily in an array of distinctive community the Internet age was one we addressed city’s competitiveness and outcomes. spaces for the performing arts, communi- many times during the process of secur- So what of e-books and mobile devices? ty engagement, economic development, ing support for the project. Ultimately, Will the near future include print materials? and business incubation. Our community there were three answers: (1) community, What implications do digital formats and needed specific spaces to pursue their (2) connection, and (3) culture. advancing technology have to library mod- economic, civic, spiritual, and educational The questions I received as I gave pre- els and services? As a prominent example, aspirations. Our facility design and tech- sentations in the community gave me the

PUBLIC LIBRARIES JULY/AUGUST 2014 15 Perspectives

opportunity to point out that the modern sharing. We are engaging our community The library is becoming a connection point public library is less of a static institution with opportunities to share their expertise. for local authors, poets, programmers, and more important for its relationship We maintain an active program for creators designers, musicians, and other creators. with the community. Our new libraries are to demonstrate their talents. The level of We provide a means for our community designed with this in mind, incorporating engagement is endless and we personalize to gain access to their collective work and many features that allowed for commu- the experiences through developing pro- we function as a time capsule of the work nity building. grams for audiences of all ages. of Madison’s creative class. A new project, Madison is committed to placemaking, In our Meet Your Maker event series, the Yahara Music Library (www.yahara and the library is seen by many as a natural attendees experience hands-on learning music.org), started as a collaboration with connection center for the community. The of processes as varied as cheese making, a local software developer and online mu- design process for our new Central Library 3D printing, papermaking, social sculp- sic distributor to create a platform for the included feedback from many different ture, computer programming, and other sharing of locally produced music. The li- stakeholders—the downtown residents creative encounters. The Bubbler’s Artist- brary is now beginning to license the work and business community, social services, in-Residence series allows for drop-in and of local musicians who are willing to share university students, and staff—and the fi- scheduled interactions with artists in our their craft with the community. Yahara will nal design incorporated many of the fea- Bubbler Room. Many of these programs allow patrons to download or stream the tures these groups desired. What we dis- are also scaled to size and delivered to our music of current musicians or even some covered is that the community focus is on neighborhood libraries. An after-hours se- tunes of Madison bands from the past. access. Our patrons want access to com- ries, Night Light, mixes live performances Our libraries reflect our community’s munity space (even after-hours), to stellar and art events with evening socializing values through our many partnerships Wi-Fi, to the latest technologies, and to sometimes going well past midnight. And and collaborations. We work closely with opportunities where they create their own our Media Lab offers access to video, au- many public and private organizations so content. Our libraries are no longer a static dio, animation equipment, and software, the library is identified as a valuable asset experience but a dynamic one. Libraries through a combination of open lab times to help promote and contribute to the de- are becoming more of an experience. and structured classes taught by experts livery of essential services to the commu- Ironically, this approach had its origin in the media production field. nity. The Central Library is located in our in the destruction of a library. Just before In addition, the library experience does downtown and can be a refuge for people renovation began, we saw an opportunity not have to originate with the library. We in need. We took a proactive approach to to allow the community to say goodbye to designed our library in such a way that or- be part of a solution for those individu- the old Central Library and actively be part ganizations and groups could use our fa- als. We gathered several social agencies, of the upcoming rebuilding. Some would cilities for their own community engage- asked for their guidance and assistance, have seen an empty building; we saw a ment. We recently hosted an event called and invited them to offer their services platform for the community to be part Design Like Mad, Madison’s First Design at the library from offices we would pro- of its rebirth. The result was Bookless, a Marathon (www.designlikemad.org). This vide. Several agencies now keep regular day-long event where more than 100 art- project was conceived, planned, and exe- hours and some have received funding for ists, performers, and entertainers shared cuted by local designers bringing together staff allocations at the library. In the first their talents and transferred this empty more than eighty web developers, graphic six months after opening the new Central space into an experience for the commu- designers, programmers, architects, and Library, these agencies have helped more nity. With art installations, painting on more to create content for twenty-one than 500 different individuals. Instead of the walls, strumming of guitars, and quiz- local nonprofit organizations. The library being sent away to receive this help, these zing the Library Oracles, more than 5,000 was a platform for this creativity to hap- individuals could obtain assistance right people came that day and learned from pen. The result was that several commu- away, sometimes by several agencies at the creators or made their own mark on nity organizations received some terrific the same time. Instead of ignoring the the building. This experience was so popu- design work and the Madison community problem, we wanted to reflect the charity lar we reprised it for a pre-opening event, of designers, both professional and stu- of the Madison community. We could not called Stacked, on the eve of our public dent, were able to learn from each other do this on our own. Our need for partners grand opening. People were literally lined and share their expertise. is just as important as our contributions. up around the block to get in. The future of Madison libraries goes Together we make a tremendous differ- We continue to provide a means for well beyond the materials. Libraries will ence. the community to experience the library, always be providers of content. Where a Our libraries are places that can reflect through traditional means and through shift is happening is that we are beginning the values of a community, and because our new Bubbler program (http://madison to collect more content directly from the of this, support for libraries continues to bubbler.org) that carries a makers-based community. Madisonians will be viewed grow. As soon as we completed our Cen- philosophy of participatory learning and not only as consumers, but also as creators. tral Library, we began a new project to

16 PUBLIC LIBRARIES VOLUME 53, NUMBER 4 Perspectives

expand one of our neighborhood libraries healthy foods. It is a way in which we can us to continue to enrich the lives of Madi- and share space with an adjacent neigh- embrace and be responsive to the needs sonians. We are focused on turning that borhood center. This library is located in of that particular community. investment into a tremendous value for a challenged part of the city with an un- Through these new projects, we are the city. The library provides a place in the derserved population. Many times the li- connecting visitors with experiences and community where people can gain a sense brary’s community engagement can start with each other. It is also important to of pride and ownership. It is a place where outside of the walls of the building. In this acknowledge that our value to our com- people can learn, and share, and belong. case, library staff established their strong munities is still reflected in many of our Our visitors and our partners are the ones connections through a series of communi- basic services. Some may claim that the who shape our services and use our build- ty dinners and the city’s Meet and Eat pro- Internet is replacing libraries but they do ings because they experience first-hand gram, which was designed to bring diverse not realize that many people would not what a library brings to their community. residents together over a shared common have the Internet without the library. Our It is indeed an exciting time for librar- experience. It became obvious that a com- collections continue to connect patrons to ies, and there are so many ways we now mon thread valued by the community was diverse ideas and viewpoints. And most engage and provide services to our com- food. The library is responding to this by importantly, library staff members remain munity. This is why we are still building installing a community kitchen in the ex- dedicated to providing a library experi- and expanding libraries in Madison, and panded space. Does a kitchen belong in a ence that promotes literacy and is acces- why we continue to remain relevant and library? I think sometimes it does. We will sible to all. essential to our community. soon have the opportunity to host future Our approach to community building For further details, visit www.madison community meals, and have a place where has quite literally paid off. In the past three publiclibrary.org. chefs and community gardeners can teach years we have seen our budget increased young people how to access and prepare along with the addition of staff to enable

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PUBLIC LIBRARIES JULY/AUGUST 2014 17 The Wired Library

The Wired Library explores web topics relevant to Contributing Editor public librarians. Your input is welcome. R. TOBY GREENWALT is Director of Digital Strategy and Technology Integration, Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh.

Let Us Now Praise

Contact Toby at theanalogdivide@ gmail.com. Weird Internet

hoosing who to follow on Twitter is a subjective experience. Crafting a healthy Follow Toby on Twitter tweetstream is a delicate calculus that balances your own unique interests, @theanalogdivide C social circle, and a measure of how much noise you want in your overall feed. However, if there’s one account everyone should follow, it’s @tofu_product. Tofu, as billed in its description, “reflect[s] your personality back at you.” Tofu is not a real person, but rather an automated Twitter bot. Work with me on this one. Toby is currently reading The Follow @tofu_product, and it’ll follow you back. Ask Tofu a question, and it’ll spit Naked Future: How the Science of back an automatically generated response in your voice, using the words, phrasing, Prediction Changes Everything by and punctuation absorbed from your last two hundred tweets. Using an algorithm Patrick Tucker. called a Markov chain, Tofu does its best job at re-creating your tweet patterns. It’s rarely what Tofu says. More often than not, Tofu’s responses amount to little more than word salad. But it’s how Tofu responds—identifying patterns in your grammar and syntax that reveals the unconscious habits in your writing style. There are countless entities like @tofu_product out there, helping to keep the absurd spirit of the web alive. There’s a definite community spirit that exists amid the animated GIF files, strange grammar, and pictures of cats. Libraries could stand to learn a bit from watching these forces at work, or even making their own contri- butions. Welcome friends, to the world of Weird Internet. Amanda Brennan is a librarian and community and content associate at Tumblr, and a former curator at Know Your Meme. Her work identifying memes, strange fictional characters, and online communities makes her unusually suited to under- stand how libraries intersect with these strange subsets of Internet culture. In a conversation over email, she explained some of the opportunities that come with embracing strangeness on the web.1

Public Libraries: How do you define Weird Internet?

Amanda Brennan: The weird parts of the Internet to me are the places your brain likes to go when it’s late at night and way past your bedtime. It’s the manifestation of all the strange thoughts you could never say out loud, times ten.

PL: What are some general tools for the uninitiated to identify and embrace online absurdity?

Brennan: Twitter always has a wealth of bizarre thoughts, many of which are high- lighted on favstar.fm. On Tumblr, searching for the tags “This Has Been a Text Post” and “Text Post” is good but not limited to the absurd. Curated blogs like textpost -blog.tumblr.com, floppy.tumblr.com, and pizza.tumblr.com always reblog great text posts. Probably the most interesting one is wwwtxt (wwwtxt.org and @wwwtxt on Twitter). It is a human-curated archive of snippets from Usenet. Sometimes these have a specific theme but other times the posts are wild and random and prove that

18 PUBLIC LIBRARIES VOLUME 53, NUMBER 4 The Wired Library

Weird Internet began long before the so- you. There are risks online with whatever your hands. Seeing how your content is cial media boom. you do, but if you’re controlling the feed shared and remixed may provide better that goes out to your users, you can weed insights into how your community con- PL: How do these seemingly ephemeral out anything that is too colorful for your nects with one another. The act of a work things build community? Do they build purposes. being alive on the Internet is often a part community at all? of what gives this community its vibrance. PL: What (if any) are the teachable lessons Don’t overdo it. If your web presence Brennan: A lot of it has to do with the feel- with Weird Internet objects? is a meal, this weird stuff is the garnish. ing of being there at the inception or while It’s an added bonus that can enhance the it was happening. If you run into another Brennan: The Internet really is for ev- quality of the overall dish. It certainly isn’t 4chan poster who posted in an epic thread erything and everyone. It is easy to find the main entree. While this kind of stuff before it disappeared, you share this thrill a space to let your thoughts run free and frequently gets lots of engagement in the of participating in something that only ex- wild with no shame and there is an audi- form of likes and reblogs, it shouldn’t take isted for a limited amount of time but also ence for it. over your entire online presence. Use this had potential to shape a section of Inter- stuff sparingly, and you can help build a net culture, like a milestone post or a new You Make It Weird balance between the serious and the silly Photoshop meme. Ready to introduce more of a playful spirit parts of your library’s personality. into your library’s online persona? Here PL: Is there a way for libraries to harness are a few things to keep in mind. Weird Internet creations? Embrace the randomness. In our ef- Speaking the Language forts to promote discovery, we can’t un- of Your Users Brennan: It’s hard to be an entity of some derestimate the power that comes from Libraries have always been full of strange sort and to reflect Internet culture well. randomness. Musician Brian Eno3 would and wonderful things. They are safe places One blog that really excels at this bal- choose books by looking at license plates to explore new ideas—no matter how ab- ance is the Denny’s Tumblr (blog.dennys. while traveling to the library, and turning surd!—and they provide ways for people com) which feels like it’s run by a teenager what he saw into a Dewey call number. to realize they’re not alone in their odd ob- rather than a brand. Posts in which they al- In the same way, Weird Internet prod- sessions. (I currently have no evidence to lege they have a secret LiveJournal full of ucts are finding similar beauty in the chaos support this, but I’d guess there’s a pretty poems about food2 is both on-brand and of internet noise. Take @pentametron for strong overlap between heavy library us- taps into the weird psyche of a twenty- example, which retweets posts that hap- ers and people who make stuff on the In- something who looks back on their own pen to be written in iambic pentameter, ternet.) Like with any community, building secret blogs with a mix of embarrassment turning unconnected posts into rhyming relationships is all about taking your audi- and nostalgia. There’s no perfect formula couplets. Or @anagramatron, which finds ence’s point of view. It’s about absorbing for this, except being prepared to run with tweets that are anagrams of one another. what a group needs and reflecting servic- your crazy ideas and think as if you were in Library catalogs provide ready-made es that speak their language. Throwing a high school right now. collections of raw data that can be har- little strangeness into the way you serve The closest libraries get to exploring nessed and randomized through search the public helps keep librarians more ap- the bizarre Internets (in a most library- tools and automated application pro- proachable, and demonstrates that you’re appropriate fashion) is making GIFs from gramming interfaces (APIs). Are there willing to pay attention to little details. If strange, ancient content. The Smithson- ways to mimic this spirit through your col- you can show that you’re willing to do that ian Libraries’ Tumblr (smithsonianlibraries lection? How can you use randomness to with the silly stuff, imagine what you can .tumblr.com) does this often, animating give people a new perspective on what the do with everything else. works from the 1600s and 1700s. Though library has to offer? it’s not as weird as other topics we’ve dis- Be willing to let go. Viral Internet ob- cussed, it’s weird in a very library way. jects—especially the weird ones—often References take on a life of their own. They get shared 1. Amanda Brennan, email interview with PL: A lot of Weird Internet content can on social media, aggregated on meme the author, June 24, 2014. feature questionable content. What if any sites, and reposted on websites, often 2. Denny’s Diner blog, http://blog.dennys are the risks of catering to this audience? without attribution. On the one hand, this .com/post/87415822443/shhh. could be a teaching opportunity about cit- 3. David Shepard, On Some Faraway Brennan: Dark spaces, even on the Inter- ing sources. Preventing it from happening Beach: The Life and Times of Brian Eno net, are going to have some seedy corners, may be a lost cause. If nothing else, it’s (London: Orion Publishing Group, but exploring the territory is an exercise in important to remember that once you’ve 2008). understanding where your mind can take posted something to the web, it’s out of

PUBLIC LIBRARIES JULY/AUGUST 2014 19 Fundraising Beyond Book Sales

Fundraising Beyond Book Sales shares innovative Contributing Editor LIZ fundraising strategies for public libraries. BOYD is the Director of Individual and Planned Giving for The Friends of the Saint Paul (Minn.) Public Library. Tributes and

Contact Liz at [email protected]. Memorials

hen someone donates to your library or its fundraising organization, they Liz is currently reading Orphan get a great feeling of satisfaction in return. That great feeling goes a long Train by Christina Baker Kline. W way toward motivating people to donate to any nonprofit organization. What can give a donor an even better feeling? Making a donation that honors some- one while it supports your library. Tribute (or “honorary”) and memorial gifts can do just that, and they can be a wonderful addition to your library’s fundraising activities. Tributes and memorials are like two sides of a coin. Tributes honor someone who is still living—often to mark a special occasion like a birthday, graduation, retire- ment, and so forth. Memorials are given to remember someone who is deceased. These kinds of gifts not only provide great opportunities for giving, they are also very easy for your library or its fundraising organization to initiate. Recognizing and Using Tribute and Memorial Gifts How can you best use tribute and memorial gifts? Purchasing books is a very effec- tive use of these kinds of gifts because tribute and memorial donors like the idea that their donations translate directly into materials for the library. The very act of remembering and honoring a loved one is often more meaningful and important than the size of the gift itself. The personal touch is essential. You can express your appreciation by the methods you choose for recognizing tribute and memorial gifts. Personalized bookplates are a very easy and popular option. The bookplate should indicate who made the donation and who is being honored. Design or purchase bookplates specifically for your tributes and memorials program. Making the book- plates unique to your library will add to the feeling of personalization, something your donor will greatly appreciate. Two important things to consider when establishing a tribute and memorial pro- gram are (1) establishing a minimum donation level and (2) determining how the gift will be receipted. In addition to the price of the book, there are costs involved in the processing of the gift that must be covered by the donation. Twenty-five dollars is often required as a minimum gift to receive a personalized bookplate. A receipt in the form of a thank-you letter should be sent informing your donor that the gift is fully tax deductible. For an added personal touch, enclose a photo- copy of the bookplate so the donor can see what it looks like and will know how the gift has been recognized. Another great idea is to enclose a fresh tribute and memo- rial brochure with your thank-you letter so donors will have it on hand when they want to make another tribute or memorial gift. A second letter should be sent to the honoree (or his/her family). The purpose of this letter is to inform the recipient that a gift in an individual’s honor or memory was made to the library. Include the donor’s name and address (the recipient may wish to send a personal thank-you note to the donor), but do not indicate the dollar amount of the gift. Instead, include a photocopy of the bookplate that bears the name of the honoree.

20 PUBLIC LIBRARIES VOLUME 53, NUMBER 4 Fundraising Beyond Book Sales

A word of caution, avoid allowing do- money, or you will spend it away with your photos and illustrations that sug- nors to select specificbooks for their book- drawdowns. A community foundation is gest occasions for giving and also plate. Especially when the donations are one option for managing your funds. Like give your brochures a little visual a result of an obituary or the request of a any firm, it is likely to charge you fees for punch. The pictures help convey family member, the donors will undoubt- this management. However, be aware the message, while the relatively edly ask to help select the books. This that, as a rule, you must give community concise text explains each giving practice will create excessive work for li- foundations your funds. You can set restric- program. Too many words will brary staff once this program gains popu- tions on what the funds are to be used for bore a potential donor, so keep it larity. In addition, the library’s collection (i.e. for library projects), but those funds short and clear. If possible, print managers know what materials are need- are no longer yours—they belong to the your brochures in color. ed most, and material selection is best left community foundation. Consider all your • Include a donation form. Your to them. options carefully before you choose how brochure should include a simple to steward these funds. tear-off or cut-off donation form. It should be quick to fill out and easy Creating a Book to return via mail or in person. If Endowment Creating a Tributes and you make it possible to download Give serious consideration to starting a Memorials Brochure your tributes and memorial gifts book endowment for tribute and memorial Like any other area of your fundraising brochure from your library’s web- gifts. An endowment is made up of funds, plan, you must let your community know site, be sure you also make it easy permanently invested in a stock and fixed you accept these types of gifts. Marketing for online donors to give. Don’t income portfolio, which typically appreci- materials, therefore, are very important. forget a sentence stating that this ate in value. Each year, organizations draw Your first focus should be on developing gift is tax deductible according to down a percentage of these funds to use a brochure (or brochures) explaining the IRS guidelines. The following sen- as needed or as the endowment directs. program: when gifts are appropriate, how tence will work: “(Your library or its Typical drawdown is between 4 and 5 per- to make them, how the funds will be used, fundraising organization’s name) is cent of the endowment’s market value. and how the honorees and donors will be a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) organiza- Rather than money in and money out for recognized. tion. Your gift is fully tax-deductible the purchase of books, an endowment can When creating a brochure, focus on as allowable by law.” be created with very little effort. Money your message, and keep it simple. Your po- Later on, once your brochures are com- can be collected as it comes in, deposited tential donors love the library and love the plete and readily available, you can also in the endowment, and, once a year, a sin- person they are honoring. What a perfect mail solicitation letters that explain this gle distribution can be made for the pur- fit! Tell your donors how this perfect fit can meaningful type of giving. chase of books. If you think that starting benefit your library. Tell them how you will There are times when honoring or re- an endowment for tribute and memorial use the funds and how will you recognize membering a person or commemorating gifts is a good idea, seek advice from an in- the honorees and the donors. an important life event calls for a special vestment professional. Endowments must Using software your already have, you kind of gift, and it is important to make be established according to specific guide- can create an attractive brochure without your library a receiving point for such lines and regulations. Many organizations the help of a graphic designer. Just follow gifts. Establishing a simple tribute and that are new to endowment investments these simple steps: memorial giving program makes it easy turn to their community foundations for • Create a catchy “tagline.” A ta- for a donor to give to your library, honor advice. If you must pay someone, do it. gline is simply a slogan, a phrase someone, and feel great about both. You Spending a little money to do it correctly that will be easy to remember. may also find that once a donor has made at the outset is extremely important. • Develop a simple brochure de- his or her first tribute or memorial gift, sign. Use letter-size paper for a that person will do so again. Make it as one-fold or two-fold brochure. easy as possible for donors to give in this Working with a Open a simple brochure template way (through a brochure, a phone call, Community Foundation in Word. Don’t just stick to text. or your library’s website), and remember If you decide to start an endowment, Select digital photos or scan exist- that you can never thank your donors too you must manage the investment of the ing ones, and insert those too. Use much.

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PUBLIC LIBRARIES JULY/AUGUST 2014 21 Forward Thinking: Library Trends and Innovation

Forward Thinking focuses on public library trends Contributing Editor and innovation. JOHN SPEARS is Executive Director of Salt Lake City (Utah) Public Library.

The Pitfalls of

Contact John at [email protected]. Innovation

John is currently wrapping up the n the previous issue (Public Libraries 53 no. 3, May/June 2014), Kevin King, my part- fiscal year at his library, catching ner in “Forward Thinking,” discussed Innovation Teams and their relationship to up after Next Library Conference IThe A-Team, one of his favorite television shows from his youth. A beloved show and ALA Annual Conference, and for me growing up also has relevance to public libraries, but in a very different way. enjoying spending time with his Airing for just three seasons half-a-century ago, Gilligan’s Island could hardly be ac- partner, who currenly lives 1,300 cused of providing cutting social commentary or realistic depictions of interpersonal miles away but is visiting for the relationships. One character, though, stands out as a symbol of some of the most summer. He would welcome any pervasive problems faced by public libraries in their constant quest to innovate, solve suggestions for what to read in problems, and create the next “new thing.” The Professor seemingly held doctoral his downtime. degrees in linguistics, engineering, chemistry, geology, mathematics, psychology, meteorology, anthropology, and a host of other areas. As a veritable personification of the entire Dewey Decimal Classification system, he found himself having to be all things to all people and was constantly expected by the other castaways to be able to solve any problem—real or imagined—that was thrown their way, even though his knowledge was often completely wrong or misapplied for the issue at hand. In our desire to innovate and maintain what has become a buzzword in contem- porary librarianship (relevance), we can often fall into the traps exemplified by the Professor’s role on the island: making assumptions that are not borne out by the facts, looking only to our “betters” for the answers to the issues that face us, and trying to do ever more with a limited amount of resources. Sacred Cows and Assumptions There are many assumptions and philosophical sacred cows that we hold onto in public libraries that are not necessarily backed up by reality or are, at a minimum, in need of some hard reexamination. Sometimes these may keep us from innovating, and sometimes these may lead us to “innovate” in ways that our users may find less than desirable. As an example of the former (I will deal with the latter in a future column), we can look to a finding from the Pew Research Center regarding our users’ feelings on privacy. Respect for privacy and a fervent desire to protect it are hallmarks of pub- lic libraries. This is a basic philosophical tenet of librarianship that has led to court cases, changes in law, and the understandably proud—and true—assertion that we are one of the last places that protects the privacy and anonymity of those whom we serve. I would never argue that we should sacrifice privacy; reveal or sell our us- ers’ information to outside agencies, organizations, or businesses; or compromise the feeling of trust that we have built. But it is important to realize the difference between privacy and confidentiality in terms of how we serve and the reality of how our users define privacy. Libraries have long collected data at the aggregate level on the reading habits, program attendance, and the myriad other behaviors of our users. We have used this for collection development decisions, to establish service priorities, and for bud-

22 PUBLIC LIBRARIES VOLUME 53, NUMBER 4 Forward Thinking: Library Trends and Innovation

geting purposes. What the Pew Research Library. During that conference, the win- reciprocal borrowing policies prevalent Center found, though, was that a majority ners of the Urban Library Council’s (ULC) throughout the state, are often agnostic of library users would be interested in li- Innovation Initiative were announced. As about which library they use, whether it braries using information on their reading an organization that represents some of is the one their tax dollars support or not. habits to provide personal recommenda- the leading public libraries in the United If they see something they like, Illinois li- tions at the individual level.1 We are in the States and Canada, the ULC Top Innova- brary users will very often talk with their age of Amazon recommendations, and tors awards showcase some of the most home library staff about the terrific pro- this is what our users have come to expect. exciting innovations in public library ser- grams, collections, and services of neigh- We may legitimately claim that such vice.3 This year’s winners included Topeka boring libraries. When that is combined suggestions are not necessarily on par & Shawnee County (Kans.) Public Library, with the phenomenal continuing educa- with what a competent readers’ advisory Santa Clara County (Calif.) Library District, tion opportunities offered by the Illinois librarian is able to accomplish. When a Denver Public Library, Salt Lake County Library Association and the Illinois State computer is able to create a tasty recipe (Utah) Libraries, and Calgary (Alberta, Library, plus the networking opportuni- for barbeque sauce, though, it is only a Canada) Public Library– all libraries that ties made possible by the regional library matter of (a very short) time.2 Customized have been long recognized for their inno- systems, you have a perfect recipe for the ads follow people from website to web- vation and all libraries that no one would exchange of ideas. As a profession, it is im- site; GPS and facial recognition software classify as small. perative that we be willing to look for and now track shoppers within stores and send Minnesota may be known as the “Land recognize innovation not just from those them instant ads for products they have of 10,000 Lakes,” but a good portion of we consider our peers and our “betters,” browsed while they are still shopping; and my professional career has been spent in but from libraries of all sizes, budgets, and targeted marketing is conducted in a man- Illinois, the land of 10,000 libraries (well, types. Get to know the offerings, staff, and ner that harvests big data in ways that can 600+ separate public libraries). The ser- services of a few libraries that are much border on the creepy. vice populations of public libraries in Il- smaller than yours—you will probably be If you subtract the creep factor— linois range in size from Chicago Public very surprised about what you can learn. which is rapidly fading from our collec- Library (serving more than 2.7 million), tive consciousness of top things to worry to McCook Public Library District (serving We Can’t Do Everything about—and adhere to the notion of not 228), and everything in between. Many of Perhaps one of the most dangerous pit- sharing this data with outsiders, the ques- these libraries (such as Arlington Heights, falls of innovation is the attempt to simply tion becomes one of whether libraries Gail Borden, Schaumburg, Oak Park, Na- layer on another new service or techno- should begin to utilize these same tools perville, and Skokie) are often held up as logical offering to our already full plates. using our own data to customize and tai- models of innovation, but less well-known While I would be all for developing a dis- lor our users’ experiences. Is it possible to on the national stage are libraries that covery tool based on Oculus Rift4 or com- maintain the confidentiality of our users’ have been arguably every bit as innova- pletely revamping my library’s marketing information and habits, provide innova- tive, such as Plainfield, Coal City, Itasca, strategy to a “think, feel, do” model,5 re- tive and targeted marketing to them at Joliet, Three Rivers, and Sycamore. I have sources are limited—whether time, staff, the individual level, and begin to adapt been the director of a library from each or financial. While many innovations are to their notions of how their information of these lists (both in suburbs of Chicago, more incremental in nature and result can and should be used? I definitely have and both serving roughly the same num- in improvements to existing services or my personal feelings on this, and these ber of people), and although one is much a more efficient allocation of resources, are weighty questions upon which people more well-known nationally, I would be there are also those terribly exciting ones may heartily disagree with all good inten- hard pressed to describe it as more (or, to that create something completely new. tions, but innovation (and, it might be be fair, less) innovative. What I discovered For innovations of this type, the most im- added, an adherence to Ranganathan’s during my time at both was that constant portant question is often not “What can often slighted Fourth Law of Library Sci- innovation and reexamination of services we do?” but “What will we have to give up ence, “save the time of the reader”) will was much more necessary at the lesser- in order to make it possible to do this?” If require us as a profession to begin asking known library that was trying to serve you are not prepared to answer the latter, these questions, challenge our assump- 148,000 residents with a budget of $6 mil- it is likely that not only will your innova- tions about our users, and reexamine (and lion than the nationally heralded library tion fail, but your existing services will possibly slaughter) some sacred cows. serving 144,000 residents with a budget of suffer. We have all held on to programs nearly $16 million. and services that have long outlived their We Are All Peers To say that the Chicago suburbs are usefulness. Innovation requires not just an Just prior to the recent American Library dense with libraries, though, is an un- Association’s Annual Conference in Las derstatement. The users of those librar- Vegas, another conference was held, Next ies, thanks to that density and the liberal continued on page 26

PUBLIC LIBRARIES JULY/AUGUST 2014 23 FEATURE Simple Steps to Starting a Seed Library

By Emily Weak

little more than a year ago, we started a seed library Based on practices at other seed libraries, I decided that each at the Mountain View (Calif.) Public Library (MVPL). envelope should contain enough seed for three to five plants. Giv- I was working as an hourly librarian at the time, so en that not all seeds germinate, that means there are generally my supervisor and I were looking for projects that between nine and fifteen seeds in each packet. Some seeds are would be interesting, innovative, and not require a incredibly tiny––dust sized even––and for those we generally dis- hugeA time commitment. I was inspired by a successful yet simple regard the rule and just put a pinch in each envelope. Conversely, seed library I’d seen a few years ago, which was housed in a single some seeds are quite large, and consequently those envelopes will Tupperware container under the library’s stairs. It made me realize contain fewer seeds. that starting a seed library need not be a complicated affair. When we first started, we put the packets in a Tupperware con- The MVPL Seed Library launched in April 2013 with a plant ex- tainer and stuck it underneath our stairs. Nearly a year later, we change. Patrons were invited to bring culls, clippings, and spare have enough seeds for two containers, and large metal recipe file seedlings to trade with their neighbors. A blurb on the flyer let drawer. We’re in the process of moving to a larger standing file people know that we were also accepting donations for our new cabinet. seed library. Over the course of three hours on a Saturday, more Due to lack of time, we don’t strictly monitor what is being than 120 patrons exchanged over 400 plants, and we received “checked out,” but we do have a sign-out sheet where people enough seeds to start our library. write their name, the seeds they’ve taken, and can include an email address if they are interested in our gardening programs or How the Seed Library Works in volunteering. I currently have a list of nearly 150 names. We accept all kinds of seed donations, of both commercially pack- aged and saved seed. If the donation is saved seed, we ask donors Staffing to fill out a form, providing information such as variety, harvest When we started, we had the notion that we would find interest- year and location, contact information, and growing notes. We ed volunteers to run our seed library. Our model was based on the repackage donations into coin envelopes, cramming as much of Potrero Hill branch of the San Francisco Library, whose seed library that information as possible onto a mailing label and sticking it is primarily stocked and maintained by a local gardening organi- on the front. zation. While nearly a year later we have a core group of about six volunteers that help with stocking and programming, we are still managing the library ourselves. This is because it has proved to be About the Author an excellent way to reach out to gardeners and grow community in- EMILY WEAK is Librarian, Adult and Virtual Services, at Mountain terest in the library. Also, keeping control has let me add resources View (Calif.) Public Library. and re-envision operations in response to our community. I am still the sole staff member working on the library. The time commitment varies on my end. Last year, after the initial setup, Contact Emily at [email protected]. I spent an hour or so each week on maintenance and stocking. This year, our success will probably increase the amount of time needed on my end. Right now we’re ramping up for the growing season, so I’ve got a group of volunteers meeting for an hour and a Emily is currently reading Jab, Jab, Jab, Right Hook: half each week, and then I’m probably spending an additional two How to Tell Your Story in a Noisy Social World by Gary hours each week prepping labels, doing website maintenance, Vaynerchuk. and planning programs. This total time will most likely scale back in fall and winter.

24 PUBLIC LIBRARIES VOLUME 53, NUMBER 4 FEATURE

we passed, and then heard an inspirational Resources Programming story from a passionate gardener. We saw In addition to this article, there are a Programming has been integral in build- some great looking plants and some cool number of excellent resources that will ing interest and community. As mentioned fire trucks, too. We had thirty-two patrons help create the seed library that’s right earlier, we used a plant exchange to col- of all ages join us for this event, the littlest for your community. lect the donations used to start the library. one in his own firefighter suit. • The backbone of our seed The success of this event also created an At the end of the season, we put on two library community is Richmond initial pleasant buzz (apparently our plant final programs. In August, our crop swap Grows! The website includes exchange was more civilized and friendly ended up being much smaller than the information on saving seeds than another local plant exchange). plant exchange, with only twelve attend- and on starting a seed library, A few weeks after launching the library, ees. However, there was a lot of delicious and has a Spanish translation Patrick O’Connor from the Bay Area Seed produce exchanged, and one woman even available (www.richmond- Interchange Library (BASIL) came to the li- made homemade jam. In October we put growsseeds.org). brary to give a talk about saving seeds. Be- on another talk about seed saving, given • The Richmond Grows! net- fore the event we were thinking that seed by Santa Clara county master gardener work includes two essential saving was an activity we could get every- Hillie Salo to twenty-one attendees. resources: one to participate in, and that the seed li- Our library is also lucky enough to 1. The Seed Libraries page brary would eventually be entirely stocked host ongoing programing by two other (http://seedlibraries with saved seeds. However this talk, which groups––the Santa Clara County Mas- .weebly.com) has videos attracted twenty-one attendees, helped us ter Gardeners, who come in every eight explaining different seed to realize that seed saving was an activity weeks, and the Bay Area Water Supply library systems, a page that very often required skill and a large & Conservation Agency, which presents of featured libraries as amount of square footage, in addition to talks on water-wise gardening and land- examples, a resource page, desire and enthusiasm. We started to think scaping. and a discussion forum. about adjusting our plan for restocking. In 2014, we have found more oppor- 2. The Seed Library Social Next I found a local ally in Patricia Lar- tunities to interact with the gardening Network (http://seed enas, through her lovely blog, Urban Arti- community. Our second annual plant ex- libraries.org) has a mem- choke (www.urbanartichoke.com). In her change took place at the end of March. We ber map, blog, and drop blog, Larenas talked about seed saving–– are partnering with five other seed librar- box with documents that she does seed trials for Seed Saver’s Ex- ies and Hillie Salo to present Silicon Valley can be repurposed in new change, and for local bean company Ran- Grows, a seed-saving program modeled seed libraries. cho Gordo as a “bean buddy.” Larenas’s on One Book, One Community programs. • The Center for the New Ameri- knowledge and enthusiasm helped build We’re talking to a group that works to can Dream hosted a webinar our understanding of the needs of local gar- create school gardens and kid gardening on starting seed libraries deners and seed savers, as well as attract- programs. I have hopes of doing a hands- (www.newdream.org/resources ing new seed library patrons. Larenas gave on tomato planting, followed by a tomato /webinars/seed-library). If two talks for us. In early May, a few weeks tasting at the end of the season. you’re looking to run a more after O’Connor’s seed saving talk, she pre- elaborate seed library, the sented to twenty-one patrons on starting librarians who present give plants from seeds. Then in mid-August, Seed Saving versus helpful information for a more she spoke to sixty patrons about planning, Seed Sharing detailed planning process and growing, and eating a kitchen garden. Seed libraries have a strong association organization. Our city has a local hero, Firefighter with seed saving. Seed saving is exactly • In addition to selling seeds, Mike. In addition to helping keep our city what it sounds like: the practice of preserv- Seed Saver’s Exchange is a safe, Firefighter Mike has a love of vegeta- ing seeds from plants in order to grow them well-established resource for ble gardening. He has built gardens at two next season. When we started, our vision information on saving seeds, of our city’s fire stations. His current post was that the library would be restocked sustainable agriculture, and is just under three-fourths of a mile from with primarily saved seed. However, seed preserving our food heritage. the library, so one morning in mid July we saving can actually be quite complicated! Their series of webinars is par- invited patrons to walk or roll over there Some plants, such as beans and tomatoes, ticularly illuminating (www for a tour of his garden. Our garden visit let are fairly easy to save, but others, such as .seedsavers.org/Education us connect with our community in a new corn, require that a large number of plants /Webinars). way. We took a leisurely stroll through the be grown in order to preserve genetic diver- neighborhood, chatting about the gardens sity. And some plants, such as squash and

PUBLIC LIBRARIES JULY/AUGUST 2014 25 FEATURE | Simple Steps to Starting a Seed Library

melons, need to have their flowers bagged So the focus of our seed library is more is a localized knowledge, built through in order to ensure that the next generation on seed sharing, rather than seed saving. experience. While written guidelines can will be viable and, well, edible. Education in be helpful, person-to-person information seed saving has been part of our mission, sharing is how gardeners can learn how but for new gardeners who just want to see Why Seed Libraries to be successful in their own unique envi- if they can grow a pumpkin, seed saving Belong in Public Libraries ronments. Localized knowledge can tell may be too complicated, time-consuming, Just as traditional libraries enrich a com- a gardener what the fog in San Francisco or confusing. And for urban and suburban munity by providing a way to share books, does to tomatoes, for example, or when gardeners, who may have smaller plots, seed libraries enrich the gardening com- to actually start seeds if your region never growing the minimum number of plants munity by allowing gardeners to share experiences a “first frost.” As our climate may be impossible. seeds. There are many parallels. changes, it will be even more important to Additionally, a slight majority of our Seed libraries offer a more efficient way preserve and share this understanding of donations are actually opened commercial to deploy community resources. They en- how to garden in a range of conditions. seed packets. For those smaller plots in ur- courage experimentation, affording gar- ban and suburban gardens, a packet may deners (or aspiring gardeners) a low-risk Start It Up! contain too many seeds. So, instead of let- way to try something new. They provide For a minimal initial investment, a seed ting open packets languish in the shed, gar- a supported entrance into the gardening library creates a new way for the com- deners bring their leftovers to share. Some world for novices. And seed libraries sup- munity to engage with your library. While of these packets are actually hybrid variet- port a kind-of botanical literacy, teaching some seed libraries are comprehensively ies, and hybrid plants don’t create seed that people what different plants look like and indexed, elaborate affairs, a simple box will give you the same lovely plant the next how they grow. of seeds is enough to sow interest in both year. We still put these hybrid seeds into Seed libraries also support informa- veteran and novice gardeners. the library, although we do label them. tion sharing and preservation. Gardening

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Forward Thinking—continued from page 23 exploration of the new, but the jettisoning will always involve a risk of failure. If we can businessinsider.com/ibms-watson of the old (when necessary). lose our fear of that, there is no telling what -made-a-bbq-sauce-and-its -delicious-2014-6. As a last thought, I want to mention one can be accomplished. thing that should not be considered a pit- 3. The full list of current and past awards, as well as a full list of nominees, is fall of innovation: failure. Failure should not References and Notes available at www.urbanlibraries.org just be tolerated, it should be celebrated. /2014-innovations--pages-301.php, Our fear of failure can lead us to pick things 1. Lee Rainie, “7 Surprises about Libraries accessed July 11, 2014. to death, to eschew the great for the per- in Our Surveys,” Pew Research Center, 4. For a description of both the fect, and to hesitate to pull the trigger on June 30, 2014, accessed June 30, 2014, development and potential of this, see an idea because we have not created a www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2014 Peter Rubin, “Oculus Rift,” Wired 22, no. 6 (June 2014): 78-95. contingency for every possible problem— /06/30/7-surprises-about-libraries-in -our-surveys. no matter how remote the chance of it oc- 5. For more on this, see Marc de Swaan 2. Madeline Stone, “IBM’s Watson Arons, Frank van den Driest, and curring might actually be. While we should Computer Made a BBQ Sauce, and It’s Keith Weed, “The Ultimate Marketing check our assumptions and ensure that we Delicious,” Business Insider, June 18, Machine,” Harvard Business Review 92, have the necessary resources, innovation 2014, accessed June 19, 2014, www. nos. 7/8 (July-Aug. 2014): 54-63.

26 PUBLIC LIBRARIES VOLUME 53, NUMBER 4 FEATURE

YA Spaces and the End of Postural Tyranny

By Anthony Bernier & Mike Males

hen children tilt back in chairs they are fre- room environments), home schooling, “flipped classrooms,” and quently reprimanded and sometimes dis- increasingly online learning arrangements also pose keen compe- ciplined. When two youth share a library tition for libraries wishing to attract young users into the public chair they may receive a negative reaction realm. from a librarian. When youth slouch, put Conversely, libraries as public spaces represent a unique civic Wtheir feet up on furniture, sit on a ledge or edge of a table, or experience for young people. Although commercial interests rearrange furniture, they risk disapproval from authorities— (hardware and software firms, for instance) continually attempt though it’s hard to imagine them similarly chiding grown-ups who to intensify their profiles, public libraries remain fee-free and find conventional seating postures overly constraining. essentially commercial-free environments. They facilitate rare While libraries demonstrate concern for safety, furniture, and spaces for intellectual exploration and offer a range of activities propriety with these reactions, they are also instituting policy and and opportunities to access rich and well-organized information power over young bodies. Yet, anecdotes aside, there is no em- resources. They provide connections to professionals trained to pirical research supporting such policies. Neither is there research help them access information, allow for observation and inter- questioning why, decade after decade, young bodies continue action within the entire age-integrated community, and thus fa- to impulsively push back into a more active tilt mode, gravitate cilitate development of social capital. In the face of the culture’s toward sharing seats, or why they try to rearrange furniture. Per- increasingly privatized public experience,1 they offer youth from haps libraries have something to learn here. poorer material circumstances access to well-maintained environ- As libraries historically have marginalized young adult (YA) ments increasingly inaccessible to marginalized young people.2 spatial needs, young people continue to be enticed into more The library’s physical plant thus represents valuable and unique accommodating and predominantly private virtual “spaces.” spatial capital for youth, most especially for urban youth.3 Further, the rapid increase in nontraditional educational environ- Yet for all these potential benefits, and by continuing a prac- ments and spaces such as continuation schools (frequently one tice of privileging space for materials over youth-preferred social experience, library and information science (LIS) professionals re- main reluctant to research and value space itself as a resource for About the Authors youth: to take into account YA-specific spatial needs and to better exploit the opportunities inherent in existing library spaces. More ANTHONY BERNIER is an Associate Professor at San José pointedly, in asking what YAs thought about public libraries, Viv- (Calif.) State University School of Information. MIKE MALES is ian Howard’s 2011 study of 267 young adults confirmed what LIS a Senior Research Fellow at the Center on Juvenile and Criminal researchers have heard for decades: “Teens were quite outspoken Justice in San Francisco. in their feeling that the library currently failed to offer them a wel- coming and comfortable space to socialize.”4 Contact Anthony at [email protected]. This article introduces research data and analysis offering an Contact Mike at [email protected]. illustrated expedition into what may seem mundane but is actu- ally a surprisingly potent question: How can libraries maximize seating options to improve the spatial experience of YA library us- Anthony is currently reading Uncivil Youth: Race, ers? This project, part of a larger national research project study- Activism, and Affirmative Governmentality by Soo ing YA spaces in libraries, assesses direct youth responses to the Ah Kwon. Mike is currently reading Conservatism Is seating options they currently find in relatively new libraries and Un-American & Other Self-Evident Truths by Jerome offers a range of additional solutions rendered with suggestive Nicolas. visual anecdotes.5 Taken together, this study argues that libraries

PUBLIC LIBRARIES JULY/AUGUST 2014 27 FEATURE | YA Spaces and the End of Postural Tyranny

should expand and incorporate a broader lary about youth and library spaces. In the strated most recently in Vivian Howard’s (and frequently more cost-effective) vo- IMLS report, “Museums, Libraries, and research,13 one article remains the first cabulary of seating and postural options in 21st Century Skills,”8 for example, librar- and only “post-occupancy study” of any their YA spaces. ies gain recognition as featured facilities YA space to appear in LIS literature.14 The playing important roles in promoting and present article expands this work into the Literature Review sustaining engagement with critical think- public space seating options for young LIS research has long recognized the ser- ing, problem solving, creativity and inno- people in new and recently renovated li- vice barriers young adults confront in li- vation, collaboration, and literacy. braries.15 brary buildings, policies, and practices. As On the other hand, these efforts have Professor Richard E. Rubin noted nearly proceeded without rigorously collected Methods and Findings a decade ago, the ways in which young and analyzed evidence, verifiable best In 2011, a research collaborative under the people experience libraries is “aristocratic, practices, skill building, institutional and auspices of YouthFacts.org, an online in- authoritarian, unfriendly, and unrespon- infrastructure capacity enhancements, or formation service focused on youth issues, sive.”6 Certainly empirical research on evaluation criteria. Libraries, for instance, fielded a voluntary web-based survey of specialized library spaces for teenagers may ask architects or designers, librarians, young adult library users in more than has not advanced significantly. and (under the best circumstances) enlist 300 of the nation’s newest and most re- Library literature is replete with bargain even young people, to create a YA space as cently renovated libraries.16 In seeking to basement solutions for furniture and spatial a team.9 However, a kind of “naïve trian- respond to calls for direct youth participa- arrangements for YA design challenges in gle” then develops. Architects frequently tion in research, this study examines the which neither the concerns nor the alleged know little about the function of libraries first empirical data on YA spaces drawn solutions are grounded in evidence. Even or youth aesthetics. Librarians generally from that study.17 The YA surveys included the field’s marquee YA spaces in the Los An- do not possess architectural backgrounds 122 direct responses along with 62 spon- geles, Chicago, and New York public librar- or know a great deal about how young taneous comments on library seating, as ies evolved from afterthought, reassigned, people enact space. And young people well as 259 responses to a broader set of and underutilized space. Further, lack- usually know little about the spatial po- questions concerning preferred seating ing a systematic research base, and with tential of libraries or the needs of archi- when at home. conventional YA courses in library schools tects.10 This triangle is destined to produce YAs from libraries in 23 states respond- focused largely on literature and materi- mediocrity in which YA spaces are seldom ed; 72 percent were female and four-fifths als, LIS proceeded without meaningfully distinguishable from conventional library were ages fourteen to seventeen, the rest engaging the complex and dynamic topic designs.11 slightly older or younger. Moreover, an of space, its connections to actual young Clearly, the field continues to exhibit earlier part of this research revealed that adults, or the advance of evidence-based a growing need to advance practice-rele- “82 percent of librarians and 60 percent of professional practice. Thus, ad hoc and rit- vant research for offering successful and teens discussed the importance of com- ual responses continue to guide what little equitable YA spaces. But until more appli- fortable furniture in their teen spaces.”18 vocabulary exists for YA spatial “solutions.” cable data and analysis come forward, this Survey respondents represented a snap- More pointedly, library design continues to deficit in evidence-based YA spatial knowl- shot not of all randomly selected youth, devote more space and design attention to edge will continue to result in libraries but specifically of library-using youth, in- restrooms than to their young patrons. commonly designing spaces in ways that cluding volunteers.19 While practitioners, not LIS research- contradict or conflict with normal YA pub- These findings indicated that a large ers, have kept the issue of YA spaces on the lic behavior. The consequences of these majority of young people feel that library agenda in publications, at conferences, in institutional deficits are that libraries, in- seating options and variety were important workshops, in webinars, and aspirational advertently or not, perpetuate what is de- in defining a welcoming space.20 Nearly guidelines over the past ten years, schools scribed elsewhere as “Geography of No!”12 three times more YA survey respondents increasingly recognize that libraries are Libraries create spaces in which youth are reported favoring group seating (such as becoming key social/meeting places.7 De- told “no” for doing or wanting things en- couches, benches, or platform risers) over signers, architects, and school adminis- tirely appropriate for young people—such conventional individual or task seating. trators are rapidly incorporating changes as sitting convivially in small groups or Large majorities wanted seating to be var- in formal and informal learning venues adopting a greater variety of seating pos- ied and moveable. And a surprising one- such as learning labs, learning commons, tures than conventional furniture allows— third expressed preference for sitting on or makerspaces, and smart classrooms. Ad- and then enforce one-to-a-chair policies near the floor over all other options. ditionally, by sponsoring several research and related postural edicts. Indeed, in spontaneous survey com- and demonstration projects, the federal In addition to the demonstrable im- ments, YAs nearly always suggested more Institute of Museum and Library Services portance young adult library users place group and floor-proximate seating. “More is itself promoting a new spatial vocabu- in wanting welcoming space, as demon- sofas and couches,” one commented.

28 PUBLIC LIBRARIES VOLUME 53, NUMBER 4 YA Spaces and the End of Postural Tyranny | FEATURE

“There are about four small, one person Further, while many library seating and thighs. Heavier torso weight neces- couches at my library’s teen section.” “More options may differ slightly (task chairs sarily forces pressure on the lower back. furniture like comfortable sofas, bean bags are commonly available along with Seat backs force the inward curvature of . . . etc.,” another wrote. “Couches or some- perhaps a lounge chair or two as ac- the shoulders and compress lungs. Blood thing to sit on other than stools and tables,” cents), most idealized library seating circulation constricts in the legs as thigh said another. “More comfortable furniture” options privilege the facilitation of cur- weight compresses against upward tilt- emerged as a common theme. These strik- ricular tasks or materials and rarely ad- ing seat bottoms. Uniform and static seat ing survey results are described and illus- dress what YAs consistently report as height requires all shoulders, necks, and trated in the following sections. the most important dimension of their heads to bend in a perpetually downward library experience: social interaction.21 position to interact with print materials, Discussion In both of these conventional furniture so- screens, and keyboards on uniformly sized If libraries are to be guided by evidence- lutions in which identical or matching task tabletops. More importantly, no other based information, they must seriously chairs are instituted, without recourse postural orientation is possible in a task consider reprioritizing space currently to other options, youth are forced into chair. Thus, it is not altogether unreason- dedicated to housing collections and con- problematic postures. As Cranz’s work able for active bodies to, in seeking some ventional furniture, and offer YA patrons a amply documents, conventional chairs dynamic movement while sitting, appear more varied range of seating options. To and couches require a potentially harmful to oppose conventions rather than remain build on the new survey data, as well as on ninety degree angle between upper torsos in the same position the entire time.22 issues raised in the Cranz study cited pre- viously, this study focuses on seating op- tions as a key index of how young adults Figure 1. The Information Trough (photo by iStock) value postural variety as an important feature in defining spaces as welcoming or inviting. Figure 1 illustrates one of LIS’s most idealized and reproduced seating options for youth as imagined by today’s library space planners and administrators: “the information trough,” at which assembly lines of young users mold static postures (limited or restricted postural movement) into identical, hard plastic or wood task chairs lined up uniformly (or symmetrical- ly) to facilitate simultaneous information dispensing and consumption. This attempt at efficiency production amounts to a kind of cynical pre-cubicle- training for future information workers. It does not respond to the postural desires Figure 2. Library Tables (photo by Anthony Bernier) of young people, as will be illustrated, when they are given broader options in public space. Another nearly universal idealized seat- ing option places identical wooden chairs arrayed symmetrically around matching wooden tables (see figure 2). In large spac- es, this can create a “warehouse” effect. Little variation is endorsed, or tolerated, for joining additional chairs around the same table, joining tables, sharing chairs, or using chairs alternatively beyond de- termined task-oriented postures, such as sitting in one chair while using another as foot prop or ottoman.

PUBLIC LIBRARIES JULY/AUGUST 2014 29 FEATURE | YA Spaces and the End of Postural Tyranny

Youth, Cranz points out, “are constant- sharing a convivial seating arrangement. Figure 3. “One-Butt-to-a-Chair” ly forced to round their backs and distort Further, as few libraries offer YA spatial Policy Violation (photo by iStock) their bodies in order to see their work.”23 equity with other departments (like the Danish physician A.C. Mandal goes further children’s room), youth frequently respon- in stating that the, “abuse of children’s sible for supervising younger siblings will backs during adolescence could well be often try to accommodate shared seating the reason for the rapidly increasing num- options with younger brothers and sisters. ber of back ailments [later in life].”24 In these daily circumstances, and at the The following discussion and illustra- risk of forcing sibling separation, conven- tions, from the authors’ photo collections, tional policy becomes yet another barrier book images, and common website search- for young users. Further, such policies ig- es, amplify survey results and present how nore how young people routinely navigate young people actually enact and reappro- shared seating in many other environ- priate seating postures on their own terms ments, frequently with little or no adult ing lounge chair image, the young sub- rather than to those dictated by legacy in- supervision, such as on buses, at malls, jects reinterpreting appropriate public stitutional practice. These seating options and in many non-class school settings. posture here also use the couch much as fall into four categories: (1) one-butt-to-a- they might in the private home: one has chair library policy, (2) private postures in feet up, knees bent, with legs on the sofa; public, (3) fugitive postures from history, 2. Private Postures the other uses the sofa’s armrest as a back and (4) floor-seeking or “dápedotaxis” (a in Public: Fugitive support while occupying the floor with term we coined meaning “floor orienta- Enactments curled knees supporting reading material tion”). Taken together, and building on the Even when they sit singly, teenagers (note, too, their adjacency). This sitting evidence of what youth themselves say, as tend to repurpose conventional seating configuration exhibits social togetherness well as what can be observed in daily prac- in ways rarely endorsed by library staff, while not physically sitting together. Indi- tice, libraries can incorporate a broader and policy, or convention. Figures 4 through vidual experience and reading privacy are more healthy vocabulary of seating and 10 demonstrate typical furniture reinter- enacted while simultaneously expressing postural options in YA spaces. preted through the second category of obvious familiarity and social comfort in YA spatial enactments—the fugitive pos- still being quite close. tures youth enact on their own. Figure 4 Another fugitive interpretation of 1. One-Butt-to-a-Chair shows a wide variety of otherwise familiar youth’s demonstrated desire to stretch Policies and YA- postural enactments using furniture com- backs and legs while remaining on task is Enacting Postures monly characterized as a lounge or comfy to lie on one’s stomach. Figure 6 depicts a Discussion of the first seating option begins chair located in the library ostensibly to posture also clearly resisting conventional with the nearly universal library practice signal and facilitate comfortable seating. and institutionally enforced ninety degree that a chair (traditionally defined) must not In rejecting conventional posture (back back/torso/leg angles commonly required be shared. Of course, many may insist that against chair back, legs faced forward, of library furniture. As with the previous im- such rules preserve social order and allow feet on the floor), these youth, caught in age, many may find this posture more com- for the proper use of interior furnishings. candid photos, reinterpret armrests alter- mon in private’s spaces like bedrooms.25 Also, the vision of deliberate body contact natively as back and leg support. Slouch- Figure 6, however, demonstrates this pos- between youth frequently disturbs adults, ing down against the back of the chair ture of the young subject propping upon el- particularly those with supervisory author- (another nearly universally disapproved bows during a study session. Note not only ity. It can raise the specter of “gateways” posture) with outstretched legs support- the existence of colorful ottomans, but also into other unacceptable behaviors: “if we ed on an adjacent table, is also a familiar how they are arrayed to custom-fit this oth- allow this, what will they do next?” youth enactment. In these instances, the erwise fugitive public posture. On the other hand, in addition to lack- relationship between backs (especially Figure 7 demonstrates another inven- ing justification in research to support lower backs) and thighs contrasts with tive use of similar ottomans rearranged such concerns, these survey results and the posture imposed by conventional to create a custom-corner configuration long-observable YA enactments of youth seating—the angle between them is much to comfortably support arms, elbows, preference for seating options suggest wider than the ninety degrees required by back, and torso while sitting on a carpeted just the opposite. The violation of the one- conventional chairs. floor. Here, rather than supporting a wider butt-to-a-chair rule exhibited in figure 3 Figure 5 was captured in an indoor torso/thigh angle, both subjects prefer to (lap, leg, or side-by-side-sitting) clearly shopping mall containing an open space fully stretch both legs. demonstrates the capacity for youth to for public seating. Although differing Like many of these fugitive postures, both remain on task while simultaneously from the fugitive postures in the preced- however, such seating enactments do not

30 PUBLIC LIBRARIES VOLUME 53, NUMBER 4 YA Spaces and the End of Postural Tyranny | FEATURE

find an equivalent in conventional library against) conventional furniture. In many spaces. In these illustrations, the young instances youth widen the torso-to-leg an- Figure 4. Fugitive Posture with readers both remain on task and take ad- gle, for instance, by throwing one leg over Conventional Furniture vantage of the mobile dimensions of the a standard chair’s arm while using the other (photo used with permission from Voice of Youth furnishings to customize their respective leg to hang toward the floor for balance. Advocates) postural experiences. Also, each of these However, these troubling postures also illustrations demonstrates individual iso- predictably accompany the disapproval of lation while at the same time remaining adults more concerned with a girl’s pre- public or social. sumed “unladylike” behavior than how Thus, seating and postural options she attends her reading. And, as in most serve two distinct purposes that have no conflicts between conventional and fugi- equivalents either in adults’ use of library tive postures even today, youth sustain seating or in conventional YA spaces (it is the blame for breaking convention, not hard to imagine a fortysomething adult the furniture for its design or the observer sitting in a peer’s lap or stretched on the for lacking a more liberal postural inter- floor). While conventional library seating pretation. signals institutional dominance of formal In figures 8 and 9, we see young bod- propriety, control, and power, YAs’ seating ies forsaking furniture altogether in an at- and postural options first serve as signals tempt to achieve comfort. Figure 8 depicts Figure 5. Fugitive Postures: of social comfort, hospitality, and convivi- a teen girl taking inventive advantage of a Private Postures in Public ality. carpet-covered interior staircase and wall (photo used with permission from Voice of Youth Second, as figures 4 through 7- dem to enact a posture she finds comfortable Advocates) onstrate, young bodies, when offered the for talking on the telephone. Like many fu- opportunity, seek postural variety in many gitive youth postures, this one also seeks different ways: a wider angle between alternatives for torso, back, elbow, arm, torsos and upper thighs, opportunities to shoulder, and neck support (this one with fully stretch backs and extend legs, and stairs against an interior wall). customized arrangements in the moment In order to gain this degree of comfort, to accompany varying degrees of privacy however, the girl occupies what is not only and sociality. These are features not fre- a heavily trafficked part of the home, but quently welcomed, designed for, or even must sit essentially on a dirty shoe-worn allowed in common library seating op- staircase. The social consequences are tions. Thus, youth who might otherwise not difficult to predict. And, as with many feel encouraged or even entitled to spread examples of young people enacting fugi- out run the risk of violating conventional tive postures, the enactor is quite likely to Figure 6. Fugitive Posture with and institutional practice. be blamed for social transgression rather Arrayed Ottomans (photo by Anthony than the failure to better accommodate Bernier) the task/posture relationship sought by 3. Fugitive Postures young bodies. from History Figure 9 even more boldly demon- While contemporary illustrations help us strates the teen body’s best attempt to conceptualize a wider array of postural op- liberate itself from the postural over- tions for young adult library users in today’s determination of conventional furniture. libraries, it is important to realize that these Here, furniture is reinterpreted as a mere desires are not inventions of the current prop, a vertical ottoman serving only to generation. Abundant anecdotal and visual facilitate the greater comfort found on the evidence has been sending signals ignored floor. In this image, the back, torso, shoul- or resisted for decades by architects, fur- ders, and neck are not only relaxed in the niture designers, and library space plan- flat position against the carpet-covered ners. Such images are inadvertently and floor, but the torso/leg angle remains open well-documented in 1940s and 1950s edu- (i.e., wider than the standard ninety degree find comfort reading this way), it offers the cational films teaching teens all manner of angle required of conventional seating). extra advantage of avoiding pressure on social propriety. These films capture youth While admittedly not the best posture to the upper thighs as is found in all conven- enacting fugitive reading postures in (i.e., support reading tasks (though some youth tional chairs, seats, and couches.

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dard static plastic task chairs in favor of Figure 7. Ottoman at Right Angles Offers Fugitive Posture Options on the floor occupation. The postural democracy Floor (photo by Anthony Bernier) of floor-oriented behavior (dápedotaxis) is further shown in figure 11. It is important to note that both images depict groups of young people studying collaboratively while exhibiting convivial- ity and remaining focused on their tasks. It is also significant to point out that active postural variety and freedom facilitate fre- quent changes and movement rather than the long, uninterrupted, static postures and body positions required of conven- tional seating. There are, of course, potential liabili- ties inherent in floor seating.27 However, the fact that the young adults in this sur- vey still chose floor seating over conven- tional seating renders this option all the more compelling. Combined with their other identified preference (couches or Indeed, by observing youth in the sofas) the common pattern is clear: YAs Figure 8. Fugitive Postures without home and in spaces where they achieve prefer seating allowing them to arrange Furniture (photo used with permission from the most liberation and freedom to exploit and change their postures. Prelinger Archives) postural options, libraries can learn a great In the image taken from the classic deal about how better to design public 1985 John Hughes film, The Breakfast seating for them. In these common obser- Club, young people from explicitly differ- vations (visual anecdotes) we gain insight ent backgrounds find common, convivial into how youth continually innovate and space, enacting a kind of consecrated com- seek postural variety even as they risk munity counsel space on the floor of their near certain disapproval. When observed library (see figure 12). Note the postural critically, youth constantly demonstrate individuality and variety depicted even as how their bodies—not yet accustomed to the group convenes on an open floor space adult social, functional, and physical dis- without furniture (dápedotaxis). ciplines imposed by static, conventional furniture—seek active postures better suited both to their own comfort and task Designing for YA orientation. Seating Options Figure 9. The Wall as Vertical While it is unreasonable to expect librar- ies to entirely eschew conventional public Ottoman (photo used with permission from 4. Dápedotaxis: The seating and furniture, it is even more un- Prelinger Archives) Democracy of the Floor reasonable to expect that furniture manu- The final category of potential options facturers will risk incorporating the fugitive is perhaps the most obvious: an ex- postural enactments exhibited by young panded seating vocabulary of the mod- people illustrated in this article. Thus, the est (and inexpensive) “floor solution.” If question remains: How to best expand and integrated into the original design of a accommodate the preferred seating op- YA space, the open-floor, or furniture- tions of YA library users? There is no single reduced, solution offers the widest array answer to this perplexing question. How- of postural opportunities and social inter- ever, a much broader range of seating op- action that youth have, for decades, been tions exists, including more cost-effective demonstrating they prefer.26 options than libraries have previously ex- Figure 10 depicts a typical group scene, plored. For example, a practical floor seat- in which youth eschew the rigidity of stan- ing option for libraries is the carpet-covered

32 PUBLIC LIBRARIES VOLUME 53, NUMBER 4 YA Spaces and the End of Postural Tyranny | FEATURE

riser platform. Such elements are inexpen- sive, durable, easy to customize, easily il- Figure 10. Youth Eschew Chairs In Favor of Floor Occupation (photo by Shutterstock) luminated, and simple to reconfigure or re- shape for future needs in ways that tables and chairs are not. Additionally, they afford greater interactivity promoted by user ex- perience advocates.28 Most importantly, platforms maximize the personal control, postural volition, and the natural dynamic movements of young bodies. Figures 13–16 depict recent library experiments with platform solutions. In these instances, platforms are construct- ed above floor elevation to separate and distinguish them as well as enhance pan- oramic views of the library. The platform solution depicted here offers backpack storage and various ottoman configurations while taking full advantage of natural light and command- Figure 11. Youth Eschew Chairs In Favor of Floor Occupation (photo by Shutterstock) ing exterior views from the tall windows in the corner. This riser is also designed flex- ibly to accommodate a larger group, such as a class assembled for bibliographic in- struction, demonstration, or storytime.29 A smaller rounded platform, also carpet covered, mounted in the center of the riser, offers sufficient height to support back, torso, shoulders, and neck, as well as opportunities for stretched-out legs or cross-legged seating and a variety of pos- tural options for those sitting on top. The platform maximizes both the resource and utility of the limited space (higher density than tables and chairs and easy ac- cess to power outlets and data cabling in- stalled adjacent to or inside the platform) and seating options with postural variety Figure 12. The Breakfast Club, 1985, John Hughes (photo used with permission from defining a distinctive social space. Universal Studios) In figure 14, an otherwise vacant corner is filled with postural possibilities to create this foam-based, two-level platform with matching ottomans on caster wheels. While conventional table and matching chairs occupying the same space might accommodate only four to six young people, the platform allows many more to convene in comfort. Another variant of the carpet-covered platform is the creative adaptation of sim- ple, broad, and open stairs or internal steps as a design form. As can be viewed in many Progressive Era and neo-classical building motifs such as Washington, D.C.’s Lincoln

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Memorial (among the most democratic space.31 It is important to note again the ever, in many instances, the profession’s spaces in the nation’s capital), stairs in- wide variety of seating postures enacted policies and legacy privileging of collec- vite a wide variety of seating enactments, in these images. tions continue to come at the expense of particularly when compared to the over- creating accommodating, hospitable, and determined forms evident in conventional Conclusion purpose-built environments for young library chairs, and thus offer a broad range While libraries have become increasingly people. And without practice-relevant of postural variety. aware of the importance of spatial eq- research, library solutions will likely re- A more complex hybrid enactment uity for young adults, new and recently main ad hoc. combining both a raised platform with renovated buildings exhibit a continuing Several valuable insights emerge from internal carpet-covered stair seating ap- inability to respond to the aesthetic and this more systematic approach to advanc- pears in figures 15 and 16. Designed by postural preferences of YA users. How- ing quality designs and spatial equity. First, an architecture firm sensitive to YA library users, this arrangement features a large Figure 15. Scotts Valley (Calif.) Public Library (photo by Tim Maloney, Technical Imagery seating area situated nearly entirely on Studios) a raised platform.30 In this space, youth are accommodated with a wide variety of seating options, from fixed restaurant- style booths to a tall counter (facilitating either standing or high stools), as well as a two-sided, carpet-covered, stair-stepped bench platform. The arrangement and programming of the space permits pan- oramic views both into and out of the

Figure 13. Custom Platform Riser (photo by Anthony Bernier)

Figure 16. Scotts Valley (Calif.) Public Library (photo by Tim Maloney, Technical Imagery Studios)

Figure 14. 81st Ave. Branch Library, Oakland, Calif. (photo by Anthony Bernier)

34 PUBLIC LIBRARIES VOLUME 53, NUMBER 4 YA Spaces and the End of Postural Tyranny | FEATURE

research demonstrates that youth, when Acknowledgements: In addition to the Library?”Library Quarterly 81, no. 3 asked informed questions, are aware of the anonymous reviewers, the authors would (July 2011): 321–44. See also: Kathryn importance of spatial resources in a public like to thank the following people for their Zickuhr, Lee Rainie, and Kristen Purcell, “Younger Americans’ Library Habits space like libraries and are capable of of- respective contributions to this study and and Expectations,” Pew Internet and fering insightful and practical solutions to this article in particular: Antonia Krupicka- American Life Project, June 25, 2013, space inequities and design challenges. Smith, Pamela Okosun, Joy Rodriguez, Julie accessed Mar. 19, 2014, http://libraries Second, it is clear that legacy library poli- Whitehead, Jonathan Pacheco Bell, Lori .pewinternet.org/2013/06/25/younger cies (such as one-butt-to-a-chair and an Harris, Meghann Kuhlmann, Yvette Khala- -americans-library-services; Annie Talavé, “Libraries As Places of historic commitment to conventional fur- fian, Zemirah Lee, Mara Cabrera, Jeremy Invention,” Library Management 32, niture) present social obstacles libraries Kemp, and Denise E. Agosto. The project no. 8/9 (2011): 493–504. may have overlooked or underappreciated. was also aided by Group 4 Architecture, 5. Images were chosen to illustrate a Third, library seating practices (conven- Research + Planning and Noll & Tam Archi- survey of YAs and their preferred tional chairs and tables) pose not only un- tects, as well as the Institute of Museum postural enactments. YouthFacts.org, necessary social obstacles but also severely and Library Services and the San José State Survey of Young Adult library users, and unnecessarily limit the postural free- University School of Information, which June–November 2011. Full results will be published at www.YouthFacts.org dom and choices of young people. jointly funded this research. /libraryspaces.php. At a time when libraries face keen com- 6. Richard E. Rubin, Foundations of Library petition from technological and institu- References and Notes and Information Science, 3rd ed. (New tional transformations in the storage of York: Neal-Schuman, 2004). See also: and access to information, they must con- 1. Jason Reid, “‘My Room! Private! Keep Sherry J. Cook, Stephen R. Parker, and stantly seek new ways to prove their value Out! This Means You!’: A Brief Overview Charles E. Pettijohn, “The Public Library: An Early Teen’s Perspective,” Public in contributing to the well-being of their of the Emergence of the Autonomous Teen Bedroom in Post-World War II Libraries 44, no. 3 (May 2005): 157–61; communities. By directly asking what America,” Journal of the History of Heather Fisher, “A Teenage View of The youth want, in deriving such insights as we Children and Youth 5, no. 3 (Fall 2012): Public Library: What Are the Students can from observing them in spaces where 419–43. Saying?” Australasian Public Libraries they achieve their highest degrees of com- 2. Young people as a demographic are and Information Services 16, no. 1 (Mar. widely feared and excluded from public 2003): 4–16; DeWitt-Wallace-Readers fort, and then in bending practical applica- Digest Fund, Public Libraries As Partners tions and insights back into library spaces, spaces and, in portrayals by the news media, by interest groups, and even by in Youth Development (New York: The libraries can improve upon many legacy commentators in library publications, Wallace Foundation, 1999). liabilities and barrier-producing practices. are subjected to relentlessly negative 7. Young Adult Library Services Librarians work exclusively in public space publicity, segregation, and demands for Association, “Teen Space Guidelines,” and so should exhibit more sophistication ever-greater control. See Carolyn Vander 2011, accessed Mar. 19, 2014, www.ala in approaching its complexities and ten- Schee, “Malls,” in Keywords in Youth .org/yalsa/guidelines/teenspaces. Studies: Tracing Affects, Movements, sions—particularly in a space where young 8. Institute of Museum and Library Knowledges, eds. Nancy Lesko and Susan Services, “Museums Libraries, and 21st people are at least encouraged to relax, Talburt (New York: Routledge, 2011). Century Skills,” July 2009, accessed participate, learn, and engage. Libraries 3. Paulina Billette, “Indicators of Youth Mar. 18, 2014, www.imls.gov/assets/1 will never afford all the postural options Social Capital: The Case for Not Using /AssetManager/21stCenturySkills.pdf. of, say, teen bedrooms. But expanding Adult Indicators in the Measurement 9. Julie Spielberger, et al., “New on the the variety of opportunities and increasing of Youth Social Capital,”Youth Studies Shelf: Teens in the Library,” July 31, customizable control over the postural en- Australia 31, no. 2 (June 2012): 9–16; 2004, accessed Mar. 19, 2014, www Soo-yong Byun, et al., “The Role of actments of young people remain potent .chapinhall.org/sites/default/files/old Social Capital in Educational Aspirations _reports/181.pdf. features that libraries—even those with of Rural Youth,” Rural Sociology 77, no. 10. One example can illustrate this 3 (Sept. 2012): 355–79; Catherine A. limited resources—can explore to radically circumstance. When well-intentioned Johnson, “Do Public Libraries Contribute improve spatial equity. architects or library designers ask YAs an to Social Capital? A Preliminary In more general terms, library build- open-ended question, say, about seating Investigation into the Relationship,” options, youth commonly respond ings, like all public spaces, demonstrate Library & Information Science Research that they want “couches and bean bag who counts and what activities matter in 32, (Apr. 2010): 147–55. chairs,” which exposes their uninformed a community. American libraries often 4. Vivian Howard on YA-identified vocabularies about the much broader trumpet these democratic ideals but do preferences: “Overall, the single range of public seating options. When not always mirror them in practice. Li- most desirable feature was a space to asked to select from among a broader brary designs that are inclusive of the ac- socialize. Recreating the public library vocabulary of options (as was done for as a social space synthesizes all of tual physical realities and preferences of this study), or when observed in daily life, the other features [of youth-desired they identify or gravitate to a broader young adults will express these values in library experience],” 342, “What Do range of responses. their public spaces. Young Teens Think About the Public

PUBLIC LIBRARIES JULY/AUGUST 2014 35 FEATURE | YA Spaces and the End of Postural Tyranny

11. Happily, there is evidence that the 17. Sarah Flowers and Young Adult Library 26. This is actually not a new idea for topic of library spaces for YAs has been Services Association, Young Adults libraries. The profession long ago attracting research interest. The first Deserve the Best: YALSA’s Competencies recognized that the signature 1960s– doctoral dissertation, an in-depth in Action (Chicago: American Library 70s furniture creation, the “bean bag ethnographic study of one branch Association, 2011); Robin Moeller, Amy chair,” was popular with young people. library, appeared in 2009 (Shari A. Lee, Pattee, and Angela Leeper, “The Young The bean bag chair manifested many “Teen Space: Designed for Whom?” Adult Voice in Research about Young of that period’s aesthetic preferences: unpublished doctoral dissertation, 2009, Adults,” The Journal of Research on plastic, filled with recycled materials, University of California, Los Angeles). Libraries and Young Adults (Nov. 15, 2011), easily shaped to individual bodies, 12. Anthony Bernier, “The Case Against accessed Mar. 19, 2014, www.yalsa.ala counter-cultural in its floor-orientation, ‘Safe Spaces,’” Voice of Youth Advocates .org/jrlya/2011/11/the-young-adult-voice and decidedly not a “task chair” to be 26, no. 3 (Aug. 2003): 198–99. See -in-research-about-young-adults; Denise pulled up to a desk. However, aside from also: Anthony Bernier, “Bathrooms, E. Agosto, “Envisaging Young Adult the postural contortions required to sit Bedrooms, and Young Adult Spaces,” Librarianship from a Teen-centered in or get out of bean bag chairs, and American Libraries 29, no. 9 (Oct. 1998): Perspective,” in Transforming Young Adult their famous capacity to be punctured, 52; Anthony Bernier, “A Space for Services, ed. Anthony Bernier (Chicago: these aesthetic values are a half-century Myself to Go: Early Patterns in Small YA ALA Neal-Schuman, 2013), 33–52. old now and the design community’s Spaces,” Public Libraries 48, no. 5 (Sept./ 18. L. Meghann Kulmann et al., “Learning lack of imagination in redesigning new Oct. 2009): 33–47; Anthony Bernier, “Ten from Librarians and Teens about YA floor-based options since then ought not Years of ‘YA Spaces of Your Dreams’: Library Spaces,” Public Libraries 53, no. 3 keep libraries stuck in the past. What Have We Learned?” Voice of (May/June 2014): 24. 27. Of course, floors present distinct Youth Advocates Online, May 13, 19. At least two methodological liabilities disadvantages. They can be dirty. Floor 2010, accessed Mar. 19, 2014, are incurred with this approach. The seating can draw disapproval from www.voyamagazine.com/2010/05/13 first is that non-library-using YAs are not parents, staff, and other adults. If not /ten-years-of-ya-spaces-of-your included in the sample. The second is designed well as a seating option, floors -dreams-what-have-we-learned; that, like all surveys, these are merely can easily be cold and drafty. They can Anthony Bernier, VOYA Spaces of Your self-reported data. The larger project, present poor vantage and observation Dreams Collection (Bowie, MD: Voya from which this data is drawn, will points and thus work against social Press, 2012). For a rejoinder to the include more narrative data from YAs in experience. And it is common for “Geography of No!” thesis, see Leonee the future. Full results from this study designers to poorly light areas used for Ariel Derr, “Breaking Down Barriers: in Anthony Bernier, Mike Males, and floor-based activity. Engaging Young Adults by Creating a Collin Rickman, “It is Silly to Hide Your 28. Aaron Schmidt, “The User Experience,” ‘Geography of Yes!’ in Public Libraries,” Most Active Patrons: Exploring User Library Journal, Jan. 15, 2010, accessed 2011, accessed Mar. 19, 2014, www Participation of Library Space Designs Mar. 19, 2014, http://lj.libraryjournal .libraries.vic.gov.au/downloads for Young Adults in the United States,” .com/2010/01/opinion/aaron-schmidt /Margery_C_Ramsay_and_Barrett The Library Quarterly 84, no. 2 (Apr. /new-column-launch-the-user _Reid_Scholarship_Reports/20130822 2014): 165–82. -experience. _final_report_leonee_derr_geography 20. This finding is supported as well in the 29. Accommodating an entire class could ofyes_barrettreidscholarship.pdf. video commentary received from both have been even easier on this platform 13. Howard, “What Do Young Teens Think librarians and teens in another part of had the same carpet been run up the About the Public Library?” this research project, Kulmann et al., wall behind it. This is a feature that 14. This research, conducted by an “Learning from Librarians and Teens clearly signals the permissibility of floor architecture professor from the about YA Library Spaces.” seating, especially when it is located University of California, Berkeley, 21. Howard, “What Do Young Teens Think near such wonderful natural light and deployed a two-phase ethnographic About the Public Library?” street views. study examining the degree of YA 22. Cranz, The Chair: Rethinking Culture, 30. This design, created by Group 4 customer satisfaction achieved in an Body, and Design. Architecture, Research + Planning, innovative YA space design, particularly South San Francisco, Calif., is a partner 23. with respect to seating options. Galen Ibid. See also Tyson A. C. Beach, et al., in the larger study of YA spaces Cranz, “Body Conscious Design in a ‘Teen “Effects of Prolonged Sitting on the supported by an IMLS research grant. Space:’ Post Occupancy Evaluation of an Passive Flexion Stiffness of the in vivo 31. Not pictured are two additional features: Innovative Public Library,” Public Libraries Lumbar Spine,” The Spine Journal 5, no. 2 the wheelchair ramp leading up the back 45, no. 6 (Sept./Nov. 2006): 48–56. (Jan. 2005): 145–54. of the raised platform and the space’s 24. 15. Galen Cranz, The Chair: Rethinking A. C. Mandal, “Changing Sandards adjacency to tall windows with garden Culture, Body, and Design (New York: for School Furniture,” Ergonomics in views that flood the space with natural W. W. Norton, 1998). Design: The Quarterly of Human Factors light. Applications 5, no. 2 (Apr. 1997): 28–31, 16. Subject libraries were drawn from cited in Cranz, The Chair: Rethinking new and renovated library facilities Culture, Body, and Design. catalogued in the five years of the annual architectural issue of Library 25. Reid, “‘My Room! Private! Keep Out! This Journal (2006–2010). Means You!’” 34.

36 PUBLIC LIBRARIES VOLUME 53, NUMBER 4 FEATURE

Time to Rethink Readers’ Advisory Education?

By Bill Crowley

bout a decade after the 1989 appearance of the first In the words of one RA historian about how to grow support edition of Joyce G. Saricks and Nancy Brown’s Read- for RA services: ers’ Advisory Service in the Public Library,1 a unique opportunity was offered to a fresh graduate of one of Senior administrators who have provided readers advisory service the American and Canadian library and information even on a part-time basis may become lifelong readers advisory studiesA programs accredited by the American Library Association advocates. Youth or reference librarians have been known to (ALA). This librarian, who had experience in readers’ advisory (RA) become directors with a continuing fondness for the programs in before earning her MLIS, was tasked with starting a formal RA ser- which they had their professional start. To achieve such a long- vice in a public library. She was given the choice of hiring library term effect for readers advisory, it is imperative to minimize the assistants or professionally educated librarians for positions in the temptation to operate the program with only library assistants or fledgling unit. Salary differences meant hiring librarians would re- associates. Librarians with degrees from ALA-accredited programs sult in fewer RA employees and shorter hours of RA coverage in remain the individuals most likely to become senior managers in all her new library. This librarian chose not to take the long-term ap- but the smallest libraries. If they have work experience in readers’ proach of hiring professionally educated personnel and building advisory, they may bring positive memories of the service with on their successes to justify even more RA professional positions. them in their rise up the administrative ladder.4 Instead, she hired library assistants and passed over the opportu- nity to professionalize RA at her library. At a time when librarian- As previously noted, senior library managers, usually with the delivered reference was beginning to be largely superseded by In- master’s degree from ALA-accredited programs, are unlikely to ternet facilitated self-service, this new manager relinquished the forget their previous work history when it comes to making deci- opportunity to use RA to help sustain professional librarianship “in sions on staffing and funding. Today, for example, with former chil- the constant struggle to remain relevant in the twenty-first centu- dren’s librarians sitting in numerous director’s chairs, it is doubt- ry.”2 Effective RA “starts with the hiring process,”3 but it is equally ful that any reasonably sized public library is going to eliminate a correct that fundamental mistakes in employment qualifications children’s department and assign its duties to the circulation staff. can limit the perceived value of RA to individuals, communities, This librarian who deprofessionalized the new RA program organizations, and professional librarianship. had not taken the RA course offered in her MLIS program. At the time, the class was taught by a senior library administrator with considerable political experience who had earned a doctorate About the Author before turning faculty member. The new RA head thus missed BILL CROWLEY is a professor at the Graduate School of Library class discussions about how best to describe and defend library and Information Science at Dominican University in River Forest, programs to funding sources, specifically including RA programs. Ill. “Recreational” and “leisure” are usually words to be avoided in such discussions while “learning” or “education” have a greater as- Contact Bill at [email protected]. sociation with a funder’s goals in community, academic, or school contexts.5 Given this reality, a contemporary definition of RA— ”a patron-centered library service for adult leisure readers”6—will be perceived by funders, at best, as irrelevant to their concerns. Bill is currently reading The Time Traveler’s Guide In an October 2013 USA Today article entitled “E-books Are to Medieval England: A Handbook for Visitors to the Changing Reading Habits,” Bob Minzesheimer reported on a poll Fourteenth Century by Ian Mortimer. of 819 e-reader or tablet owners that found they read books 72 percent of the time “to learn something,” 64 percent of the time

PUBLIC LIBRARIES JULY/AUGUST 2014 37 FEATURE | Time to Rethink Readers’ Advisory Education?

“to be entertained,” and 19 percent to As stressed by an early RA full-time fac- to other practitioners. However, codifying “talk with others about the books you’ve ulty instructor: tacit knowledge is a notoriously difficult read.”7 Whether or not this breakdown and always incomplete task. of reasons for reading by the technologi- Once practitioners accept the prospect As stressed by tacit knowledge re- cally literate is actually correct may be ir- that RA can be an essential component searcher Joseph A. Horvath: relevant. Properly educated researchers of the educational mission of the public understand that a substantial portion of library, school library media center, People know more than they can tell. the public has learned to provide the more and academic library, the necessary Personal knowledge is so thoroughly socially acceptable answers to survey conditions for a graduate course start grounded in experience that it cannot be questions. Consequently, a true record of falling into place. Ignore the educational expressed in its fullness [italics added]. their views might well have reversed the component of RA and it becomes a In the last 30 years, the term tacit percentages regarding learning and enter- matter of technique that is best taught knowledge has come to stand for this tainment. The crucial point is not the ac- in a workshop environment.9 type of human knowledge—knowledge tual percentages assigned to reasons for that is bound up in the activity and effort reading, but the perception that in discus- That the RA course at Nova Cambria/ that produced it.13 sions of reading the public clearly believes Franklin had been condensed to the level that learning trumps entertainment as the of workshop instruction should not have Specifically, contemporary RA theory “right” answer. been a surprise to the full-time instructor. is derived from tacit knowledge because The “appeal” approach to RA crystalized it is: by Saricks and Brown lacks emphasis on • personal in origin; A Breakdown in the learning value of RA or its enhanced • valuable to the possessor; RA Education worth when being delivered by profes- • job specific; More recently, in an ALA-accredited mas- sional librarians. Connie Van Fleet, an aca- • difficult to fully articulate; ter’s degree program located in either demic with an unsurpassed ability to build • both known in part and unknown the mythical Canadian province of Nova bridges between RA faculty and practi- to the possessor; Cambria or the fictitious American state tioners, observed that “MLIS programs • transmitted, where transmission of Franklin, a full-time faculty member frame their responsibilities and goals in is possible, through interpersonal was reassigned to teach RA. Prior to en- terms of education. Education tends to fo- contact; tering the classroom, the faculty member, cus on general principles and applications • operative on an organizational who had taught RA for years in the past, to practice and is oriented toward the long level; hurriedly updated his RA syllabus while term. Training focuses on the skills and • applied, in part, through “if-then” reviewing a copy of the similar document techniques needed to solve immediate rules. “If certain conditions exist, used by the previous part-time instructor. problems.”10 In her discussion of educa- then apply the following”; He was amazed to find how the aims of the tion versus training, Van Fleet also noted • capable of becoming explicit RA class had been changed. On his watch, that the high level of practitioner training knowledge and vice versa; the course had emphasized encouraging and continuing education seemed to have • intertwined with explicit knowl- recreational or leisure reading as a plea- convinced numerous LIS academics that edge along unstable knowledge surable activity that had the research- RA is merely a technical skill best imparted borders; and proven outcomes of serving the individual in the workplace.11 • poorly reflected in contemporary end of enhancing a person’s reading abil- RA knowledge literature.14 ity and the cultural goal of a more literate In advancing appeal as the basis for and therefore more productive society.8 In RA Theory as Codified RA, Saricks and Brown found within their the time since his reassignment to teach Tacit Knowledge own experience—and that of others— other courses, the full-time faculty mem- Contemporary readers’ advisory is based sufficient valuable, specific, and personal ber found that the RA course had wan- on the codification of undocumented or tacit knowledge to provide a core of un- dered far from these aims, concentrating marginally documented procedures used derstandings and procedures that reso- on instruction in effective technique to by expert practitioners in the art of advis- nated with many proficient and novice promote reading solely as a leisure activ- ing readers. Of late, the codification pro- readers’ advisors alike. Along with Saricks ity while lacking an appreciation of the cess has been expanded to include read- and Brown, the tacit knowledge of RA value of RA to learning on multiple levels. ers, listeners, and viewers.12 Transforming specialists and/or readers identified by This absence meant that RA, as taught in tacit, unwritten, or unconscious knowl- such pioneers as Nancy Pearl, Catherine Nova Cambria/Franklin, had clearly failed edge into its explicit or written/codified Sheldrick Ross, and Duncan Smith15 has the minimum published criterion for RA equivalent for the purpose of service ef- stimulated numerous other works on RA, instruction on the graduate level. fectiveness can be of considerable benefit as evidenced by the multiauthored chap-

38 PUBLIC LIBRARIES VOLUME 53, NUMBER 4 Time to Rethink Readers’ Advisory Education? | FEATURE

ters in Research-Based Readers’ Advisory16 definition and traditionally outlined scope augmenting Saricks’s theory with new, and The Readers’ Advisory Handbook.17 of appeal, it is still taught to library and revisionist perspectives and alternative This body of work, while lacking specific information (LIS) students in much the points of view.”23 reference to tacit knowledge, represents a same way as it was taught in the early Reaching the limits of making explicit near-textbook approach to collecting and 1990s.”21 By making the immediate sat- the internal RA tacit knowledge of read- utilizing such knowledge in RA and has isfaction of the reader, viewer, or listener ers’ advisors does not signal an end to clearly enhanced the abilities of many in its fundamentally unassailable purpose, progress. Rather, it means that the RA the field. In the case of Saricks, “the theory contemporary RA theory and practice has community has reached the point where and practical applications of book appeal concentrated so much on the question of it has become necessary to draw on the developed by Joyce G. Saricks [pacing, “How to do it well?” that it has often er- research of other fields to determine (1) characterization, story line, and frame] roneously answered the questions that its relevance to RA and (2) how best it can have become some of the centerpieces of are immensely more important to library be turned into the “new RA knowledge” the latest approach to RA.”18 directors, funding authorities, and taxpay- necessary to develop innovative and ener- The value of transforming RA tacit ers—”Is RA well to do?” “Who benefits?” gizing mental tools for use by the RA ad- knowledge into books, articles, and In- and “How?” visor in her or his future interactions with ternet postings is undeniable. Yet the readers, viewers, and listeners. This is the nature of tacit knowledge means that How Should the promising RA path taken by David Beard transforming conscious and unconscious and Kate Vo Thi-Beard, with their empha- understandings into their explicit equiva- Remaining RA sis on utilizing “research on why people lents will inevitably fall short. Individual Questions Be Solved? read, what practices they enact as part of understandings of RA and its components The use of new technologies aside, the reading activity, and what effects reading differ. As Dali reminds, “the contexts of quarter-century effort to transform RA has on the construction of identity.”24 Sim- leisure reading and RA queries are liter- tacit knowledge into theoretical guidance ilarly, Keren Dali’s theorizing on the “im- ally endless, nuanced, fluid, complex, and for practitioners in the tradition pioneered portance of a contextually grounded ap- unique every time.”19 As an exemplar of by Saricks and Brown has more or less proach to reading appeal”25 and coupled tacit knowledge, contemporary RA has a reached its practical limits. Elaborations exploration on the use of proven inter- distinct tendency to direct practitioners of RA processes derived from managing viewing techniques has identified non-LIS towards what has already been proven e-books collections and expanding the sources of relevant RA explicit and tacit to work. It does not seem to encourage service to serve viewers and listeners are knowledge. The work of these and other challenges, particularly to its foundational doubtless still to come. Nonetheless, the scholars is fundamentally important in anti-education, appeal-driven approach. justification of the value and future of the effort to liberate RA from the limited The famed Harvard University theorist RA in fiscally challenged times must go appeal-centered model that represents so Chris Argyris underscored the tendency of beyond its tried and true approaches for much of post-1989 theorizing. tacit knowledge to evolve into largely un- delivering effective services to advance The most practical process for broad- challengeable dogma when he wrote: leisure activity. It is no longer sufficient to ening the possibilities for enhancing RA address variations of the much discussed tacit knowledge was summarized by Barry Routines are implemented through question—”How do we substantially im- Trott in “Building on a Firm Foundation: skillful actions. Actions that are skillful prove our ability to match the reader- Readers’ Advisory over the Next Twenty- are based largely on tacit knowledge. viewer-listener with the books, films, or Five Years.” As Trott concluded, “the con- Such actions become self-reinforcing recordings that she or he is most interest- tinued success of readers’ advisory servic- of the status quo. The self-reinforcing ed in reading/viewing/listening to at the es depends on the continued cooperation features tend to reduce inquiry into present time?” even when such guidance between practitioners in the field and re- gaps and inconsistencies in the tacit is well presented by such as Hilyard and searchers and theorists in the academy.”26 knowledge. When these surface, they Welch.22 Ultimately the delivery of RA depends are often embarrassing or threating.20 RA supporters are now struggling to on the financial and personnel resources escape the increasingly less sufficient provided to and by the parent library. The Although Argyris was dealing with professional silo created by their early primary lessons for RA supporters of the management tacit knowledge, the reality theoreticians. How else can one explain Great Recession of 2007 and its funding of his observations is clearly evident in RA. the reality that “RA educators should be cutbacks for libraries, including their RA Saricks’ and Brown’s first edition of Read- cautioned against presenting Saricks and programs, are quite simple. Both RA as ers’ Advisory Service in the Public Library Brown’s concept of appeal as originally ar- a service and the libraries that deliver RA was published in 1989 and “more than two ticulated. The most recent developments have too often failed to employ profes- decades later, and despite the generally in RA thought and in research on the read- sional librarians with the philosophy and growing dissatisfaction with the original ing experience make a strong case for vision necessary to market the RA mes-

PUBLIC LIBRARIES JULY/AUGUST 2014 39 FEATURE | Time to Rethink Readers’ Advisory Education?

sage in a way that ties the learning value have already given us up for dead and be- this unfortunate reality were underscored of leisure reading to the serious issues lieve that the Internet has everything to in the National Statistical and Values Pro- being faced by those who control library meet their information needs now and in file of Canadian Libraries: Report to the CLA funding. Worse, RA’s theory’s traditional the future, rendering libraries the archives [Canadian Library Association] Executive unwillingness to acknowledge the col- and museums of the future.”30 There is Council by Alvin M. Schrader and Michael lateral educational benefits of extensive now what Glenn S. McGuigan has termed R. Brundin. According to these researchers pleasure reading clearly represents the the “crisis of professionalism in public ser- “value propositions for academic, school, negative aspects of its tacit knowledge vices”31 where “the perceived significance special, and public libraries in Canada re- base. Otherwise, the work of researchers of the information professional’s expertise veal a broad diversity of benefits—individu- such as Anne E. Cunningham and Keith E. and of the quality of information resourc- al outcomes and societal impacts—that are Stanovich, which has consistently “found es diminishes, as patrons or citizens (like not easily summarized or categorized, and that reading volume made a significant consumers in the marketplace) prefer to assuredly not quantifiable.”36 contribution to multiple measures of vo- self-navigate through the readily acces- Schrader and Brundin went on to stress cabulary, general knowledge, spelling, sible environment of the open web.”32 This the most challenging aspects of library and verbal fluency,”27 would have long ago discernment of library and librarian irrel- value messaging: been accepted as the capstone of the “ap- evance, in effect, the international devalu- • Many profoundly important peal” approach. That RA theorizing has ation of libraries, has been addressed for benefits to individuals and society not embraced the collateral benefits of American contexts by the ALA.33 Several occur over a much longer period RA practice demonstrates either a refusal of the chapters of Defending Professional- of time than the one-year budget to accept the validated findings of non- ism: A Resource for Librarians, Information cycle or short-term program librarians or an ahistorical resistance to Specialists, Knowledge Managers, and Ar- offerings—for example, summer connecting RA to anything that appears chivists34 also tackle the devaluation of the reading programs; to be educational. public and school library and professional • Learning, however acquired, is Even if one accepts the indefensible librarian in Canada and Great Britain. elusive, just as information is position that limits RA solely to adults, In a time where use of reference services elusive, and few people ever think the possibilities for library and librarian has been diminished by technological ad- about the meaning of either or assistance in overcoming individual and vances, it is just possible that RA can pro- about the value of library re- societal reading are limitless. To cite but vide funders and users/customers/patrons/ sources; one example, the United States is a nation voters with sufficiently valuable—specifi- • Recent research points to a where “only 51 percent” of high school cally educational—reasons for supporting perception that the library is not graduates are “ready for college-level libraries and professional librarians. The making a critical and essential reading.”28 An RA service that is focused learning cornerstone is already in place in contribution to the issues facing solely on leisure reading and lacks em- Illinois, the state where Saricks and Brown communities today; and, phasis on the numerous advantages of developed their appeal concept. In that • Though supportive of libraries, simple reading volume is a program that jurisdiction, as set forth in statute, public people are generally unaware of diminishes its perceived value to helping libraries may be created but not for leisure library funding challenges in any solve the illiteracy and resulting adult em- purposes alone. In the words of the Illinois of the sectors with which they ployment problems that so often plague General Assembly, “to provide local public have direct interaction or personal personal, educational, and civic agendas. institutions of general education for citi- knowledge.37 To borrow the words of Michael Germano, zens of Illinois, library districts and libraries Schrader and Brundin’s emphasis on contemporary RA theory as a guide for RA may be established, equipped, and main- the extended period of time it can take practice has too often contributed to a “li- tained.”35 to change public and funder perceptions brary value deficit”29 that has severe nega- of library value propositions is of funda- tive implications for the future of libraries, Roadblocks to the mental importance. One component of RA service, and professional librarians. RA understandings of science fiction is the Library, Professional appreciation of the subgenre of alternate The New Normal Librarian, and RA Futures history. In this light, the author cannot A growing negative public consensus Without substantial changes on the part of help but wonder what would have been about the current and future value of li- library communities, including the commu- the impact on contemporary public and braries was recently described by the nities of RA practitioners, faculty, and other funder appreciation of the library’s value academic library leader Rush Miller who instructors, libraries of all types will con- and the professional librarian’s worth if observed, “I am continually alarmed at tinue to be unappreciated for their worth the 1989 first edition of Readers’ Advisory the larger numbers of people both inside and underfinanced in their budgets. The in- Service in the Public Library had adhered to universities and in the general public who ternationally valid, fundamental causes of the spirit of Illinois library law and stressed

40 PUBLIC LIBRARIES VOLUME 53, NUMBER 4 Time to Rethink Readers’ Advisory Education? | FEATURE

the educational worth to the individual An unsympathetic mayor, university changing of perceptions can be undertaken and society of RA’s support of reading, president, or school superintendent facing on local, state, national, or organizational literacy, and learning. Had community a funding shortfall is unlikely to see linking levels. However, such change for RA must and funder perceptions been so managed, readers with books in any format for no go beyond the repackaging of appeal fac- would public and other libraries have been higher purpose than a leisurely way to pass tors and will require demonstrating how better equipped to weather the Great Re- the time as a worthy use of limited funds. libraries and librarians can use RA to help cession and its aftermath? In the past, arguments to defend the over- solve outstanding problems of literacy, em- The library benefits “to individuals and all value of library collections and person- ployment, and sustainability. society” may take years to demonstrate nel tended to emphasize justifications as and require substantial marketing along the public library as an essential support The RA Future: Shaping the lines of a library equivalent to the teach- system for democratic practices.41 Of late, ing profession’s “If you can read this, thank such rationales are proving insufficient. As Support for the Library’s a teacher.” Proving “learning” is likely to the Great Recession of 2007 and its wake Literacy and Lifelong take numerous testimonials across the po- brutally confirmed, American, British, and Learning Roles litical spectrum as well as validated studies Canadian libraries are often preferred tar- If the library brand is indeed “books,”47 it throughout the human lifecycle. Enhanc- gets for reducing funding and even cut- makes sense to emphasize the well-doc- ing public awareness of “library funding ting short institutional lifespans in times umented value of reading to individuals challenges” means producing relevant and of financial distress.42 In their research for and the greater society. For too long RA prized public and funder benefits while in- “The Life and Death of Public Organiza- has ignored what research demonstrates creasing awareness that such benefits are tions: A Question of Institutional Design?” are the clear educational benefits of even worthy of their costs. It further demands Boin, Kuipers, and Steenbergen found: simple reading volume. Fortunately, there undertaking all marketing to promote that are signs that the intellectual pendulum is library contributions to bettering the wel- There is no silver bullet—no magic swinging toward greater understanding of fare of a community are relevant and effec- combination of design options—that RA as an educational activity, particularly tive. It also requires the ongoing manage- will guarantee organizational survival. It for enhancing literacy at the individual and ment of perceptions. would seem that the name of the game societal levels. S. Randle England48 effec- is not design for survival but design for tively summarizes the value of the public li- Managing Public and adaptation. The best that designers may brary’s learning role, while North American be able to do is endow the organization academic RA enthusiasts such as Pauline Funder Perceptions of with sufficient flexibility to adapt.43 Dewan, Jessica E. Moyer, Rochelle Smith, RA and the Library and Nancy J. Young49 research, demon- This author’s study of the history of RA38 In 2011, OCLC published Perceptions of strate, and advocate for the educational paid particular attention to the early twen- Libraries, 2010: Context and Community: value of the service. Informed practitioners tieth century efforts of the New York Pub- A Report to the OCLC Membership, a docu- are aware that libraries provide a broad lic Library (NYPL), as reported in Readers’ ment arguing, “Let’s build programs to range of services, including community Advisers at Work: A Survey of Development make today’s perceptions fuel tomorrow’s building, job search support, information in the New York Public Library by Jennie M. budgets.”44 The role of managing per- in multiple formats, programs of all types, Flexner and Bryon C. Hopkins.39 This vol- ceptions is also addressed in Library and and varieties of media, Internet access, oth- ume was an effort to summarize the NYPL Information Center Management, which er learning activities, and resources. Conse- experience for the benefit of other libraries. emphasizes that a successful library mar- quently, it will exasperate some readers, In its pages, I discerned a number of lessons keting program includes “validating or but please RA enthusiasts, to be informed to be learned from NYPL’s early RA experi- changing perceptions in terms of develop- yet again that any effort to change the li- ence. The reality among these findings: ing products and services.”45 The value of brary brand must begin with its reputation changing perceptions should be known as a source of books and reading. Readers’ advisory must: (a) be justified to every trustee, librarian, or library sup- Given the nearly hallowed value of by its positive effects on the entire porter. “Marketing and Public Relations— reading in many advanced societies, RA library program; and (b) build a building- How They Work Together,” a basic Kansas librarians and their management support- wide or organization wide constituency. Trustee Education handout, stresses that ers might want to rebrand their service Resented readers’ advisory services “influence is derived from the perceptions with some version of “Reading what you without connections to the larger of the person to be influenced, not from the like makes you smarter. Just ask a librar- organization can be prime candidates perceptions of the persons doing the influ- ian” or “Reading what you like makes you for termination during a budget crisis, encing. The key to building your influence smarter, so thank your friendly librarian.” or if and when a library director wants to lies in your ability to shape the perceptions Emphasizing the value of the profes- launch a new program.40 of others.”46 Fortunately, the shaping or sional librarian also fits in with the reality,

PUBLIC LIBRARIES JULY/AUGUST 2014 41 FEATURE | Time to Rethink Readers’ Advisory Education?

as stressed by Germano, that the “main in this staff member’s library. Joyce Saricks, References and Notes competitive differentiator for libraries and cofounder of the appeal approach to RA, the one that has very little opportunity for has rightly noted that her blend of philoso- 1. Joyce G. Saricks and Nancy Brown, which competitors can offer a viable re- phy and technique has made the service Readers’ Advisory Service in the Public Library (Chicago: ALA, 1989). placement, is the librarian,”50 more attractive to professional librarians.52 Utilizing Kathy Christie’s analysis of However, the various editions of her Read- 2. Barry Trott, “Reference, Readers’ Advisory, and Relevance,” Reference the “Critical Mass” method to addressing ers’ Advisory Service in the Public Library Librarian 53, no. 1 (2012): 60. public issues, it just might be possible for do not argue for placing RA service in the 3. Diana Krawczyk, “A Passion within RA to enhance both internal library and hands of educated professionals. Equally Developing a Team of Readers,” Access external “community” (however defined) problematic, Saricks has also stressed “the 16, no 3 (Summer 2010): 30. appreciation of its value in helping to solve philosophy and techniques have remained 4. Bill Crowley, “Rediscovering the History reading, literacy, and, in part, the employ- consistent,”53 presumably since the 1989 of Readers Advisory Service,” Public ment problems of readers. To slightly publication of the first edition of Readers’ Libraries 44, no. 1 (Jan./Feb. 2005): amend an assertion of Christie, “if the Advisory Service in the Public Library. Re- 40–41. solution at hand is simple [encourage all gardless of changes at the RA periphery, 5. Valerie J. Gross, “Transforming Our Image Through Words That Work: types of reading], easily understood, and this static situation at the core of RA ser- Perception Is Everything,” Public strengthened with personal anecdotes, vice does not bode well for its future viabil- Libraries 48, no. 5 (Sept./Oct. 2009): and if someone or some organization [li- ity, even if RA is successfully expanded to 24–32. brary community] tags it with a common include advising on all that can possibly be 6. Joyce G. Saricks, Readers’ Advisory name, a solid core of support can quickly loaned, downloaded, or otherwise distrib- Service in the Public Library, 3rd ed. emerge in a number of locales.”51 At this uted by a library. (Chicago: ALA Editions, 2005), 1. point it is appropriate to provide an an- The intent of this article has been to 7. Bob Minzesheimer, “E-books Are swer, one that might be problematic for determine whether a quarter century of Changing Reading Habits,” USA Today, Oct. 7, 2013, accessed Oct. 28, 2013, some readers, to the question forming the de facto consistency in RA techniques and www.usatoday.com/story/life/books title of this article. philosophy, traceable to the conserva- /2013/10/06/e-books-reading/2877471. tive tacit knowledge base of RA and its 8. Stephen D. Krashen, The Power of professed philosophy of maximizing lei- Reading: Insights from the Research Time to Rethink Readers’ sure goals, is desirable or even useful for (Englewood, Colo.: Libraries Unlimited, Advisory Education? public and other libraries as RA is pres- 1993). Several months ago the author was in the ently constituted. This work has been a 9. Bill Crowley, “‘Taught at the University audience for a presentation by a library process of exploring the nature of RA and on a Higher Plane than Elsewhere’: The Graduate Education of Readers’ staff member appointed to one of the examining the matter of treating fallible Advisors,” in The Readers’ Advisor’s non-professional positions that delivered RA tacit knowledge as RA service dogma. Companion, eds. Kenneth D. Shearer RA at her library. She described how the This author’s informed view is that much and Robert Burgin (Englewood, Colo.: work of RA personnel and reference librar- of RA, as currently taught and practiced, Libraries Unlimited, 2001), 39. ians was merged and how they were now does not buttress but actually undermines 10. Connie Van Fleet, “Education for working from a shared desk. To facilitate support for libraries and librarian profes- Reader’s Advisory Service in Library service, the RA staff members were being sionalism. When reading can be defined and Information Science Programs: Challenges and Opportunities,” trained in “light” reference and the refer- as legitimately educational by its very na- Reference & User Services Quarterly 47, ence librarians were being trained in RA ture, to emphasize leisure as a fundamen- no.3 (Spring 2008): 228, accessed Nov. 8, appeal. It is important to note that the tal goal is to run counter to both legislated 2013, http://web.ebscohost.com.ez presenter did not indicate which level of policy and the public’s view that libraries proxy.dom.edu/ehost/pdfviewer/pdf education would be required to fill vacan- and reading are components of education. viewer?vid=4&sid=1701e711-548c-4895 -b791-1068f2a2d446%40sessionmgr11 cies in the combined operation. Whether this view is shared by the reader 2&hid=18. Without enforceable national or state is an individual choice. Although reminis- 11. Ibid. standards, decisions on whether RA as cent in some ways of the decisions made 12. Jessica E. Moyer and Kaite Mediatore presently constituted encourages profes- every day by readers on the appeal of a Stover, eds., The Readers’ Advisory sionalization or deprofessionalization will suggested book, it involves a more fun- Handbook (Chicago: ALA, 2010). be determined, on a case-by-case basis, by damental matter—the perceptions and 13. Joseph A. Horvath, “Tacit Knowledge the libraries concerned. In consequence, valuations of libraries and librarians in an in the Professions,” in Tacit Knowledge we will have to wait until vacancies are increasingly resource-restricted and trans- in Professional Practice: Researcher and filled at the shared desk to obtain the quan- national world. Practitioner Perspectives, eds. Robert Sternberg and Joseph A. Horvath titative proof necessary to determine if (Mahwah, N.J.: Erlbaum, 1999), ix. professionalism is being undermined by RA 14. Bill Crowley, “Building Useful Theory:

42 PUBLIC LIBRARIES VOLUME 53, NUMBER 4 Time to Rethink Readers’ Advisory Education? | FEATURE

Tacit Knowledge, Practitioner Reports, 27. Anne E. Cunningham and Keith E. for Adult Education, 1941). and the Culture of LIS Inquiry,” Journal Stanovich, “What Reading Does for the 40. Crowley, “Rediscovering the History of of Education for Library & Information Mind,” American Educator 22, no. 1/2 Readers Advisory Service,” 40. Science 40, no. 4 (Fall 1999): 283. (Spring/Summer 1998): 5. 41. See Michael Gorman, Our Enduring 15. See Nancy Pearl, Book Lust: 28. Paul E. Barton, Reading between the Values: Librarianship in the 21st Century Recommended Reading for Every Mood, Lines: What the ACT Reveals About (Chicago: ALA, 2000); Nancy C. Moment, and Reason (Seattle: Sasquatch College Readiness in Reading (Iowa City, Kranich, ed., Libraries & Democracy: The Books, 2003); Catherine Sheldrick Ross, Iowa: ACT, 2006), 1. Cornerstones of Liberty (Chicago: ALA Lynne E.F. McKechnie, and Paulette 29. Michael Germano, “The Library Value Editions, 2001). M. Rothbauer, Reading Matters: What Deficit,” Bottom Line: Managing Library 42. Crowley, ed., Defending Professionalism. the Research Reveals about Reading, Finances 24 no. 2 (May 2011): 102, Libraries, and Community (Westport, accessed Nov. 6, 2013, www.emerald 43. Arjen Boin, Sanneke Kuipers, and Marco Steenbergen, “The Life and Death of Conn.: Libraries Unlimited, 2006); and insight.com/0888-045X.htm. Duncan Smith, “Books: An Essential Part Public Organizations: A Question of of Essential Libraries,” Public Library 30. Rush Miller, “Damn the Recession, Institutional Design?” Governance 23, Quarterly 30, no. 4 (2011): 257–69. Full Speed Ahead,” Journal of Library no. 3 (July 2010): 404. Administration 52, no 1 (2012): 14. 16. Jessica E. Moyer, ed., Research-Based 44. Cathy De Rosa, et al., Perceptions of Readers’ Advisory (Chicago: ALA 31. Glenn S. McGuigan, “Crisis of Libraries, 2010: Context and Community: Editions, 2008). Professionalism in Public Services: A Report to the OCLC Membership Addressing Challenges to Librarianship 17. Moyer and Mediatore Stover, eds., The (Dublin, Ohio: OCLC, 2011), 99, accessed from a Public Administration www.oclc.org/content Readers’ Advisory Handbook. Nov. 11, 2013, Perspective,” Library Review 60, no. 7 /dam/oclc/eports/2010perceptions/2010 18. Keren Dali, “Hearing Stories, Not (Nov. 2011): 560, accessed Nov. 6, 2013, perceptions_all_singlepage.pdf. Keywords: Teaching Contextual Readers www.emeraldinsight.com/0024-2535 45. Barbara B.Moran, Robert D. Stueart, Advisory,” Reference Services Review 41, .htm. and Claludia J. Morner, Library and no. 3 (2013): 475, accessed Nov. 3, 2013, 32. Ibid., 563. www.emeraldinsight.com/0090-7324 Information Center Management, 8th 33. American Library Association, The State ed. (Santa Barbara, Calif: Libraries .htm. of America’s Libraries: A Report from Unlimited, 2013): 108. 19. Ibid., 493. the American Library Association 2013 46. Kansas Trustee Education Program, 20. Chris Argyris, “Tacit Knowledge and (Chicago: ALA, 2013). “Topic: Marketing and Public Relations— Management,” in Tacit Knowledge in 34. Bill Crowley, ed., Defending How They Work Together,” (March 6, Professional Practice: Researcher and Professionalism: A Resource for 2007): 1, accessed Nov. 8, 2013, http:// Practitioner Perspectives, eds. Robert Librarians, Information Specialists, skyways.lib.ks.us/KLA/divisions/klta Sternberg and Joseph A. Horvath Knowledge Managers, and Archivists /shared/docs/kantep/marketing_trustee (Mahwah, N.J.: Erlbaum, 1999), 123. (Santa Barbara: Libraries Unlimited, .pdf. 21. Dali, “Hearing Stories, Not Keywords,” 2012). 47. De Rosa et al., Perceptions of Libraries, 475. 35. Public Library District Act of 1991, 2010. 22. See Nann Blaine Hilyard, “The Section 75 ILCS 16/1-10, accessed Nov. 48. S. Randle England, “The Consequences Expanding Scope of Readers’ Advisory,” 17, 2013, www.ilga.gov/legislation/ilcs of Promoting an Educational Role for Public Libraries 49, no. 1 (Jan./Feb. 2010): /ilcs4.asp?DocName=007500160HArt Today’s Public Libraries,” Public Libraries 10–25; Lynne Welch, “Getting Started %2E+1&ActID=993&ChapterID=16&Seq 46, no. 2 (March/April 2007): 55–63. with Readers’ Advisory,” Reference & Start=100000&SeqEnd=1350000. 49. See Pauline Dewan, “Reading Matters in User Services Quarterly 52, no. 3 (Spring 36. Alvin M. Schrader and Michael R. 2013): 191–96. the Academic Library,” Reference & User Brundin, National Statistical and Values Services Quarterly 52, no. 4 (Summer 23. Dali, “Hearing Stories, Not Keywords,” Profile of Canadian Libraries: Report 2013): 309–19; Jessica E. Moyer, 498. to the CLA Executive Council (2012), 8, “Learning From Leisure Reading,” 24. David Beard and Kate Vo Thi-Beard, accessed Nov. 3, 2013, www.cla.ca/AM Reference & User Services Quarterly “Rethinking the Book: New Theories for /Template.cfm?Section=Advocacy 46, no. 4 (Summer 2007): 66–79; Readers’ Advisory,” Reference & User &Template=/CM/ContentDisplay Rochelle Smith and Nancy J. Young, Services Quarterly 47, no. 4 (Summer .cfm&ContentID=13783. “Giving Pleasure Its Due: Collection 2008): 333. 37. Ibid. Promotion and Readers’ Advisory in 25. Dali, “Hearing Stories, Not Keywords,” 38. See Bill Crowley, “A History of Readers’ Academic Libraries,” Journal of Academic 497. Advisory Service in the Public Library” in Librarianship 34, no. 6 (Nov. 2008): 520–26. 26. Barry Trott, “Building on a Firm Foun- Nonfiction Readers’ Advisory, ed. Robert dation: Readers’ Advisory over the Next Burgin (Westport, Conn.: Libraries 50. Germano, “The Library Value Deficit,” Twenty-Five Years,” Reference & User Unlimited, 2004), 3–29; Crowley, 105. Services Quarterly 48, no 2 (Winter 2008): “Rediscovering the History of Readers 51. Kathy Christie, “Critical Mass,” Phi Delta 135, accessed Oct. 10, 2013, http://web Advisory Service.” Kappan 86, no. 7 (March 2005): 485. .ebscohost.com.ezproxy.dom.edu/ehost 39. Jennie M. Flexner and Bryon C. Hopkins, 52. Joyce Saricks, “At Leisure: RA Today,” /pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=3&sid=1701e711 Readers’ Advisers at Work: A Survey of Booklist (Aug. 2007): 33 -548c-4895-b791-1068f2a2d446%40sessio Development in the New York Public 53. Ibid. nmgr112&hid=112. Library (New York: American Association

PUBLIC LIBRARIES JULY/AUGUST 2014 43 By the Book

By the Book reviews professional development Contributing Editor materials of potential interest to public librarians, CATHERINE HAKALA- AUSPERK is Executive trustees, and others involved in library service. Director of the Northeast Ohio Regional Library System and the owner of Libraries Thrive Consulting. The Whole Library Handbook 5: Current Data, Professional Advice, and Curiosa about Libraries and Library Services

If you’d like to write a review Edited by George M. Eberhart / Chicago: ALA Editions, 2013 / 528p. / $50 or if there’s a new book you’d ISBN-13: 978-0-8389-1090-0 (Paper) / LC: 2012041726 like to see reviewed here, please contact Catherine at chakala What do you call a group of librarians? The Whole Library Handbook 5 suggests the [email protected]. collective noun could be a “chapter,” a “query,” or even a “collection” (p.520). There may be no definitive answer, but Eberhart (editor of the American Library Associa- Catherine is currently reading Still tion’s American Libraries Direct e-newsletter) poses the question in the latest edition Life with Murder by P. B. Ryan. of the quintessential handbook for librarians. This new volume in the Whole Library Handbook series is fully revised and up- dated to include facts, figures, and excerpted articles on topics of interest to practic- ing librarians in all types of libraries. Ten categories (with helpful section headings) Editor’s note: Public Library Association policy include libraries, the profession, users, materials, and technology. There are tips on dictates that PLA publications not be reviewed how to land a library job in a tight market, the implications to libraries of social me- in this column. Notice of new publications from dia, and a review of the state of e-books. PLA will generally be found in the PLA News Ranging from the arcane topic of Kentucky pack librarians’ recipe scrapbooks to section of Public Libraries. modern designer games for young adults, Eberhart once again selects essays both entertaining and informative, and provides delightful web extras to browse. Com- prehensive sections on how best to serve ethnic groups (Asian-language speakers and Latinos), older adults, and users with disabilities will appeal to public librarians. A complete listing of Newbery and Caldecott awards are given too (compared with only six years’ worth in the fourth edition). The entries are well-sourced, signed, and culled from respected media in the field. A table of contents and index provide only general navigation to the body of work, however, and the paper binding is not so durable. The clip art found through- out is somewhat grainy, but does not detract from the value of the information. The Whole Library Handbook 5 is a good buy for public librarians and administra- tors working with an adequate professional development budget, but not an essen- tial purchase. See also Eberhart’s The Librarian’s Book of Lists (ALA Editions, 2010). —Amy Beitzel-Kegley, Senior Librarian, Rockville (Md.) Public Library

VOYA’s Five-Foot Bookshelf: Essential Books for Professionals Who Serve Teens, 2000 to 2012

By the Editors of VOYA Magazine / Bowie, Md: VOYA Press, 2013 / 92p. / $25 ISBN-13: 9781617510106 / LC: 2012935475

This slim book compiles VOYA’s original reviews of the best of professional reading for teen librarians published in the twenty-first century. The books reviewed cover a wide range of topics for school and public librarians, including programming, lit- eracy, technology, and public relations. Titles on collection development are not in- cluded. My quibble is not with the quality of the books reviewed but rather with some of the editorial decisions. It’s difficult to understand why the editors of VOYA would in- clude the 2007 title MySpace Unraveled: A Parent’s Guide to Teen Social Networking by

44 PUBLIC LIBRARIES VOLUME 53, NUMBER 4 By the Book

Larry Magrid and Anne Collier. Although no scribing the skills needed to perform in generated earnings ten times greater than doubt useful in 2007, its detailed explana- this library subspecialty. Chapters 1-4 de- industry averages from their founding in tion of how to set up a MySpace account fine systems librarianship and advise mas- 1965-1972 through 2002. Labeled 10Xers, (complete with screenshots) was dated tery of specific web applications, desktop they include Amgen, Biomet, Intel, Mi- in 2009 and is completely irrelevant now. software, and technical areas. Chapters crosoft, Progressive, Southwest Airlines, Additionally, a combined author, title, and 5-7 describe how utilization of library and Stryker. Researchers also examined subject index is intended to assist with lo- principles of organization of information similar data from several less successful cating relevant reviews, but the subject and research techniques translates into a comparison companies. Their findings are headings are far from comprehensive. For career managing systems. Chapters 8-9 presented in this work in an informative, example, the review of Geeks: How Two deal with education of staff, patrons and engaging narrative with detailed notes. Lost Boys Rode the Internet out of Idaho by self. Chapters 10-12 address administra- These 10X companies practiced the 20 Jon Katz is given only the subject heading tion/management issues, library-system Mile Walk, a deliberate goal for consis- of “Biography,” omitting the more useful migration issues, and general life lessons. tent earnings each year. Their disciplined, “Internet” or even “Teenagers.” And the My understanding of the role and re- moderate pace conserved energy and subject heading for finding books on social sponsibilities of the system librarian has ex- resources that were available during ad- networks is “Online Social Networking”— panded by reading this book. The authors versity and contributed to above-average a more precise term, perhaps, but one I strongly assert that training and skills are cumulative earnings. found only by reading the index line by line. crucial components of success for this po- The authors were surprised that 10Xers VOYA’s Five-Foot Bookshelf will be use- sition. Constant communication with staff, were less innovative than comparison ful for librarians who (1) have a profes- management, and patrons is also an essen- companies, but more creative and de- sional development collection that hasn’t tial component. termined in deployment. They utilized a been maintained for some years and have The authors advocate for a strong net- practice dubbed Fire Bullets, Then Cannons the budget to backfill, and (2) do not sub- work of personal and online relationships to suggest low-risk, initial research should scribe to VOYA.—Susan Cassidy, English and resources to navigate through tech- always come before a major product or Instructor and Research Librarian, Modesto nology issues. Chapter 11 describes the change in service. (Calif.) Junior College puzzle pieces that need to fit together to The 10X leaders all practiced Produc- implement an integrated library system tive Paranoia, which drove them to dili- migration. The complex planning and gently prepare for a myriad of possibilities The Accidental Systems implementation process shows how all in order to survive competition or adversi- Librarian, Second Edition the skills of a system librarian make this ties. This led to some extreme periods of work. My hat is off to all system librarians. research and development for the med Nicole C. Engard and Rachel Singer This work is a wonderful educational tool and tech industries, which ultimately fu- Gordon / Medford, N.J.: Information with tips and tricks for an accidental (or eled their success. Today, 2012 / 302p. / $29.50 / ISBN-13: intentional) systems librarian’s resource Successful companies strictly adhered 978-1573874533 / LC: 2012027930 shelf. This work is a great information re- to their recipe for Specific, Methodical, source.—Mary Pat Harnegie, Medical Li- and Consistent (SMaC) practices which are Systems librarians play a crucial role in to- brarian, South Pointe Medical Library and unique to the company and changed only day’s libraries as online resources and web- Cleveland (Ohio) Clinic Alumni Library when observations about shifting condi- based media integrate with the print world. tions were analyzed and deliberated. A dearth of information exists in the area Researchers evaluated incidents of of systems librarianship and this title fills a Great by Choice: Uncertainty, good and bad luck to determine that suc- void in current literature. In the recent past, Chaos, and Luck—Why Some cessful companies survived slightly higher many systems librarians got their training Thrive Despite Them All than average bad luck, and lower than on the job because there was not much average good luck relative to comparison available in library school. This book is in- Jim Collins and Morten T. Hansen companies. tended to “start you off with a good foun- New York, N.Y.: Harper Business, 2011 This look at success is valuable for busi- dation and give you a toolbox of resources 304p. / $29.99 / ISBN 13: 9780062120991 ness leaders, investors, and leaders of to help you move forward” (p. xxii). LC: 738348113 nonprofit organizations (such as libraries), Author Engard is an experienced sys- as well as individuals tailoring goals for tems librarian who trains and blogs about To determine why companies are more sustainable, data-driven growth. This is a systems, technology, and libraries. Singer successful than others, the authors ex- worthy addition to library collections.— Gordon authored the first edition of this amined company reports, press releases, Laura E. Scott, Head of Children’s Services, work. They are connecting the various speeches, articles, books, and financial Farmington (Mich.) Community Library roles a system librarian performs and de- data of publicly traded companies which

PUBLIC LIBRARIES JULY/AUGUST 2014 45 New Product News

New Product News delves into the world of library Contributing Editor vendors and products to find the standouts that HEATHER TEYSKO is Assistant Director combine innovation and quality. of Innovation and Development and Contributing Editor TANYA NOVAK is Member Peek-a-Book’s BookView for Teens Services and Outreach Manager for Califa, a Following their success with book previews for children, Peek-a-Book launched nonprofit membership BookView for teens in March 2014. Working with major publishers, Peek-a-Book cooperative serving creates previews that are similar to movie trailers of popular YA books. They have libraries in California. more than one hundred previews available, with new previews being added each month. They expect to add another hundred previews this year. The previews are designed to catch a teen’s attention and get them interested in reading. They in- clude an interactive component with an embedded QR code within each preview, allowing teens to access additional information about the book and author; rate the trailer and book; read author commentary; and ask the author questions from their Contact Heather at hteysko@ mobile devices. califa.org. Contact Tanya at Libraries have unlimited access to everything in the content library. They get a [email protected]. user name and password and can program content for their kiosk from any com- puter. Six previews are featured in the interface at any given time. The user interface can be run on a touchscreen tablet, dedicated PC, or digital signage. Libraries can Heather is currently reading purchase a touchscreen tablet and enclosure and one-year subscription. Or they can Seeing Further: The Story of Science, use their own equipment (a PC and monitor) and just purchase the subscription. Discovery, and the Genius of the These will be helpful in promoting summer reading and are also mobile making Royal Society by Bill Bryson. Tanya them a nice addition to school visits or using them for programs outside the library. is currently reading Problems with To learn more, visit http://peek-a-book.com, call 1-877-304-2424, or email People by David Guterson. [email protected].

New Features from Pronunciator

Pronunciator has been at work developing three new features to their language learning service. The new features are ProFlix, ProTunes, and interactive grammar textbooks. Both ProFlix and ProTunes follow Pronunciator’s building block approach where films and songs are broken down into units and phrases with drills and quiz- zes. ProFlix is Pronunciator’s new world cinema feature. Launched in March 2014, it has fifteen films to choose from in English, English for Spanish speakers, French, Ital- ian, Korean, Russian, and Latin American Spanish with more films are added weekly. Once you have selected the language you want to learn, if there is a film in that lan- guage you can access the film from the Powerful Phrases dropdown menu. Each film is broken into short scenes. The dialogue is dynamically color-coded, and subtitles in the film’s language and English (and Spanish, for the English films) are automati- cally displayed, however you have the option of turning either or both of them off by clicking on them, and you can replay any phrase in the scene. You also have the ability to just listen to the film with the option of viewing the dialogue and or the subtitles, and there are flashcards that give you the phrases in your language to see if you can remember them in the language you are learning. These are all under the Drills tab. Finally each scene has a Quizzes tab where you can test your spelling and writing. The spelling quiz uses Pronunciator’s hangman game. In the writing quiz you write out a phrase that you hear. ProTunes is Pronunciator’s world music feature launched in February with music from the NAXOS Library. It contains sixty songs so far across multiple languages

46 PUBLIC LIBRARIES VOLUME 53, NUMBER 4 New Product News

(Chinese, French, English, Greek, Hebrew, a new product called Prefab: The Library Haitian Creole, Italian, Brazilian Portu- Website Service, which is a ready-to-launch guese, Russian, Spanish, and more), with website designed for libraries that can en- more being added weekly. Like ProFlix, able a library to have a new site in a day. words have dynamic color-coding as they You can trial the service and test set- are sung, and optional subtitles exist in ting up a site for thirty days, and when two languages with drills and quizzes to you’re ready to go live you simply add in Drawing on the vast nonfiction re- reinforce and evaluate progress. You ac- your content, and they handle hosting, sources of Scholastic News and Weekly cess the songs the same way you choose a pointing the domain name to their serv- Reader, Core Clicks presents leveled in- film. Once you’ve selected your language, ers, and all of the technical work. The site formational texts on eighteen topics per you then choose music from the Power- works on all devices and is mobile-friend- grade, all designed to provide content ful Phrases menu, and another dropdown ly, and it’s built on WordPress, so it’s easy area reading in science and social studies menu to the right of Powerful Phrases lets to update content. while explicitly teaching Common Core you choose different songs. To learn more, visit www.weareinflux Language Arts standards at each grade Finally, Pronunciator offers complete .com. level. Detailed teaching of thirteen key grammar references in two languages spotlight skills, through lively starter vid- Spanish and French so far, which are eos and computer-based informational grammar textbooks that have been nar- Scholastic Launches text analysis, provides a complete nonfic- rated and broken down by topic. They Subscription-Based E-Books tion curriculum with a carefully curated can be found from the main menu, when and Core Clicks collection of informational text for each choosing French or Spanish (Latin Ameri- grade level, kindergarten through grade 5. ca), under Select a course, choose “French Scholastic recently announced the launch Core Clicks was developed in consultation or Spanish Grammar Reference.” Students of Storia School Edition, a subscription- with Nell K. Duke, a professor of literacy, have access to progress reports and areas based e-book solution for pre-K through language, and culture at the University of of improvement are suggested. There is Michigan, who worked closely with the unlimited concurrent remote access and editorial team on the program’s adher- barcode or IP-based authentication. ence to best practices in literacy develop- For those users on the go, Pronuncia- ment and in addressing the Common Core tor is available on native apps for the iPad, State Standards. iPhone, iTouch, and Android phone and Key features of Core Clicks include: tablet. There’s also some great promo- • a “three read” approach in which tional support such as postcards, posters students read, analyze, and bookmarks and t-shirts. discuss the text while building key To learn more, visit www.pronunciator skills and vocabulary with each .com. read-through; • interactive exercises, quizzes, and grade 6 (for group and individual class- video content to reinforce skills Reliable Website Solution room reading), and Core Clicks, a web- and learning; and based instructional program for kinder- • varying levels of text complexity Many of the libraries in the Califa consor- garten through grade 5 that supports on topics ranging from Monsters tium have been looking for a reliable web- content area reading in social studies and of the Deep to Hurricane Hunters site solution for years, and we’ve worked science. and Living History that are sure to with several different website vendors Schools may subscribe to Storia and re- keep kids wanting more. during that time. A new player to watch ceive a curated library of 2,000 fiction and Core Clicks and Storia School Edition is In Flux, which is a collaborative of three nonfiction e-books. The model is simulta- are designed for school-wide subscrip- librarians who are also dedicated to design neous usage so that several students can tions and are easily accessed from desktop and usability. read the same title at once. The library computers, laptops, tablets, and interac- Their website (www.weareinflux.com) includes fiction, literary classics, and non- tive whiteboards. has some great articles for those who are fiction. There are grade appropriate- dic Online teacher resources and support interested in library websites, and they tionaries to build vocabulary as well as are available at www.scholastic.com/core have a book available on the library web- comprehension quizzes. clicks and www.scholastic.com/storia. site user experience, but they also have

PUBLIC LIBRARIES JULY/AUGUST 2014 47 Under the Radar

Under the Radar is where you’ll find books, movies, and other media of note that might not be getting tons of publicity, but your patrons are sure to be interested in. Have Time, Will Travel

he summer days are longer, which means we have more Which Doctor are you? There’s plenty to choose from. Reach time on our hands. More time to spend reading indulgently back to 1963 for the first episodes of Doctor Who or jump to the T thick books about time-traveling witches and British nurs- reboot year, 2005. If you set the dials correctly, you could save one es. Or binge-watching Doctor Who, zipping in and out of time in of the missing 97. The good Doctor bears some resemblance to order to save the universe. Time won’t be wasted if it’s spent with The King of Yesterday and Tomorrow (2003), a wildly popular Chi- any of the books, films, television programs, or songs showcased nese time-travel television miniseries that is based in historical here. fact. Qing dynasty ruler Yongzheng survives an assassination at- This summer sees a romantic-historical-time travel saga come tempt only to be warped to 2003 Hong Kong along with his beauti- to the small screen. Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander (Delacorte, 1991) ful would-be assassin. The pair become uneasy allies as they try to makes the leap to television on the Starz premium cable network get back to the Qing dynasty and learn the unfortunate history of in August. Claire Randall, a nurse in post war England, is hurled their past. It’s hard to find, but make the time to watch this charm- into eighteenth century Scotland after touching an ancient stone. ing series. She is found by James Fraser and forges a wary alliance with Don’t have time for a TV binge? Then spend it wisely with the the young Scot that becomes fiercely passionate, even as Claire romantic sudser, Somewhere in Time (Universal Pictures, 1980); yearns for her beloved husband, Frank, left in 1946. Old fans are the unapologetic mind bender, Primer (ThinkFilm, 2004); or the eagerly looking forward to this adaptation which is sure to garner historical fantasy, Midnight in Paris (Sony Pictures Classics, 2011). new fans and a boost in the eight-book strong series. And if you have less time than that, let your ears time-walk with Any reader who is completely caught up with the Outlander Cyndi Lauper’s couples’ skate anthem, “Time After Time” (1984), series should pick up the first in the All Souls trilogy, A Discovery or Al Stewart’s throwback jam, “Time Passages” (1978). of Witches (Viking, 2011) by Deborah Harkness. This rich histori- cal saga drops witch Diana, an introverted academic, and vampire Matthew, an enigmatic scientist, in a time-skipping search for a lost manuscript that will explain the eons-old war between witch- Contributing Editor es, vampires, and demons. KAITE MEDIATORE Love across the ages is fine, but how about time traveling in STOVER (left) is Director order to advance civilization or a career? Sky Coyote (Houghton of Readers’ Services at Mifflin Harcourt, 1999) by Kage Baker, the second in The Company Kansas City (Mo.) Library. series, sends Joseph, the Cro-Magnon child who spent his child- Contributing Editor hood in the twenty-fourth century, to pre-Columbian California JESSICA MOYER (right) to steal an Indian tribe and transport them into the future. In The is Assistant Professor, Doomsday Book (Bantam Spectra, 1992), Kivrin, a young Oxford- School of Information Studies, at the University of Wisconsin- ian in twenty-first-century England, volunteers for a time travel Milwaukee. assignment that goes awry when she lands in 1348, the dawn of the Black Plague. Back in the lab, all the scientists succumb to a Contact Kaite at [email protected]; contact strange, futuristic plague and there’s no one to bring Kivrin back. Jessica at [email protected]. All this talk of time travel makes a reader wonder if it’s really possible to build a time machine. Look no further for instructions than How to Build a Time Machine (Viking Penguin, 2002) by Paul Kaite is currently reading Smoke Gets in Your Eyes & Davies. In clear language, Davies explains the physics behind time Other Lessons from the Crematory by Caitlin Doughty and offers a plausible method for time travel. Next, take it for a and listening to Five Came Back: A Story of Hollywood test drive in So You Created a Wormhole: The Time Traveler’s Guide and the Second World War by Mark Harris and nar- to Time Travel (Berkley Trade, 2012) by Phil Hornshaw and Nick rated by Andrew Garman. Jessica is currently reading Hurwitch. This jokey science book is a foreigner’s guide to the fu- Queen of the Tearling by Erika Johansen and listening ture—recommended modes of transportation, dealing with alien to The Pirate King by Laurie R. King and narrated by creatures, and what to say when you meet yourself. Jenny Sterlin.

48 PUBLIC LIBRARIES VOLUME 53, NUMBER 4

Membership that Makes a Difference

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If you’re a part of the public library world, make sure you have the membership dedicated to you! Join PLA, where it’s all about you.

PLA Membership Dues

Regular member: $60 Student member: $20 Other member: $50 This category is for inactive, retired, or unemployed, or for full or part-time in a library service position at a salary less than $25,000 a year. International member $60 Trustee and associate members $60 This category includes those who are not employed in library and information services or related activities, but through their personal commitment and support, promote library and information services. Members of governing boards, advisory groups, Friends organizations, and special citizen caucuses, and/or individuals interested in participating in the work of PLA.

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