EdTech 2009 Conference

This year’s EdTech conference was once again a great conference. My session, Teaching and Learning for the 21st Century: What Does That Mean for Me? was well-received. Knowing that I would be presenting fairly early on Wednesday and Thursday of the conference, I wondered if anyone would be there in time for my sessions. I was very pleasantly surprised to have a full house for both sessions. Great comments and good feedback at the end of the presentations. That’s the kind of thing that keeps me going and coming back day after day to work as an advocate for school libraries and teacher-librarians.

Sheryl Nussbaum-Beach was the keynote speaker on Wednesday and her comments fit perfectly with what I was talking about in my session on 21st century teaching and learning. Look for her blog, 21st Century Learning, in my blog roll.

The handouts from my sessions will be on the EdTech website (http://www.scaet.org/edtech). You can also find the handouts and the website I used under EdTech 2009 at http://martha.alewine.googlepages.com.

Building Bridges or Erecting Roadblocks?

Sh-h-h-h! You can’t bring that in here! Keep your voices down!

I’ve said those very words and I bet, if you were truthful, many of you who work in libraries, especially school libraries, would admit to uttering those words as well. It’s all well-intentioned and meant to keep a lid on the activity and voice level so every one has a chance to work in and enjoy being in the library. But maybe it’s time to re-think our position and take a close look at what’s happening in our library. Are we building bridges to resources and learning or are we creating roadblocks that will color our students’ and our teachers’ attitudes about the library?

Recently I’ve read and heard people say, “With my smart phone I’ve got a library at my fingertips. What more could I ask for?” Here are some things that I could ask for when thinking about a library:

1. The expertise of an information professional who can provide assistance and instruction in location, access, and evaluation of selected materials.
2. A collection of resources (print and electronic) that have been selected for the customers of a specific library (i.e., elementary, middle school, high school, academic, public).
3. A collection of resources that’s organized to facilitate ease of location, access, and use.
4. Quality materials for reading for recreation and for information.
5. Internet access for me working on my personal computer and computer access for those who do not have the technology at home. In a school library, I would hope for Internet access that is open and does not block my accessing and using sites deemed inappropriate by a filtering software. I would hope that sites would be blocked by content and not by type; an example is http://edu.glogster.com. Some districts block this site because it is considered a social networking site.
6. A place to gather and network with friends or colleagues to discuss current fiction, ask for assistance, study,  work, or just hang out.
7. A place to leverage my reading budget.

This is by no means a definitive list and I would welcome your additions.

So back to my original question…are we who work in libraries building bridges to learning or creating roadblocks which only encourages our potential customers to look to their computer, PDA, smart phone, or other device for that library in the clouds.

What would happen if…?

I’m currently reading a rather engaging book that encourages the reader to undertake writing as a way of making this life’s journey more bearable and more meaningful. The author suggests that writing for publication or for strictly personal uses helps us make sense of our feelings, events, situations, and keeps us focused. Whether you’re interested in the writing process or not I would recommend this book to you: Groff, Kent (2007) Writing Tides: Finding Grace and Growth Through Writing. Nashville TN: Abingdon Press.

Among the many statements in this book that really made me think was this one: “Putting yourself in someone else’s turf shakes you loose from your own ingrained habits.” (Groff 27) As I visit school libraries across the state and have an opportunity to talk with librarians I frequently hear the complaint that the principal doesn’t have a clue as to what it’s like to run a school library on a daily basis. If the principal walks by or through the school library and it is not filled to capacity with students then, obviously, the librarian is not doing his/ her job. So let’s apply Groff’s statement, which is really a restatement of the old Indian proverb about walking a mile in someone else’s moccasins.

What would happen if one day turned into a “Freaky Friday” kind of day and the library media specialist and the principal suddenly changed places? What would the reaction of the principal be if she (or he) were suddenly required to teach back-to-back classes with no break except for a 20-minute lunch period? How long has it been since the principal was a classroom teacher OR has the principal ever been a classroom teacher? Does the principal have a background as a school librarian? Questions would certainly arise for this mis-placed administrator: How do I manage to teach “library skills” to 1st or 2nd graders and keep them engaged for 50 minutes? What “library skills” should I be teaching? How am I supposed to help Ms. Smith with her computer problems when I’ve got all these students here and no secretary or teaching assistant? When am I supposed to do my other job responsibilities? Checking in the school’s office we find the school librarian overwhelmed with the new responsibilities as school principal: discipline problems, upset/irate parents, budget considerations, district meetings that pull the principal away from school, and the list goes on. Both positions are critical to the success of any school. Yet these colleagues know so little about what the other’s job encompasses.

I recently discovered Scott V. Black’s web site, EmpowerU.net, dedicated to building and empowering the leader in all of us. According to Black he has tweaked a quote originated by Robert Rhome, “If I can understand you a little better. And you can understand me a little better. Doesn’t it make sense that we are in a position to have a better relationship? So where does that understanding come from? It comes from collecting data.” (http://www.empoweru.net/Mr.Black-10-16-06.html) Now the possibility of a Freaky Friday happening in any school is very remote. However, the principal and the library media specialist can certainly “collect data” about the other person’s job responsibility which would make each one more empathetic and more willing to establish a working collaborative partnership for improving the school environment and ultimately improving student learning.

One person’s perception is that person’s reality. So, my question is, what can you do to understand better the job of your principal or your school librarian? Of all the jobs in a school these two jobs closely parallel each other. The principal has a program to administer; so does the library media specialist. The principal has a budget to administer; so does the library media specialist, no matter how small it may be. The principal should know the implemented curriculum in his/her school; so should the library media specialist. The principal should relate to every teacher in the school; so should the library media specialist. The principal should relate to all the students in the school as should the school librarian. The principal should know the condition of the technology in the school as well as the technology needs; the library media specialist should also know the state of technology in the school and the technology needs. Great emphasis is placed on instructional collaboration between the classroom teachers and the library media specialist. Collaboration between the principal and the library media specialist should become a priority of both groups of educators. The school librarian is in a unique position to provide valuable information and assistance to the principal.

Whether we walk a mile in someone else’s moccasins or put ourselves in someone else’s turf, the outcome is bound to be better schools with supportive teaching and learning environments using an integrated curriculum built on a foundation of a quality library media program with up-to-date resources, 21st century skills taught as part of the classroom curriculum, and all educators working in partnership.

Hospitality is so important but so often lacking!

On Wednesday I had the wonderful opportunity to take my grandchildren, ages 5 and 8, to the public library near their home in West Columbia for a special outing after school. We had their library cards and permission from Mama to check out books and videos so we were set. When we got to the library, the 8-year-old immediately started looking for books by her favorite authors and also books in her favorite series. I offered to help but she quickly informed me that she could search the card catalog for what she needed (her school librarians would have been so proud!). I was pleased that she didn’t hesitate to approach the librarian with questions about where things were.

The 5-year-old wanted to use the computer to play some of the educational games available. She sat down at the computer and the librarian immediately yelled across the library that she (meaning my granddaughter) couldn’t use the computer unless she had a library card and would give it to the librarian so computer access could be granted. I took the card to the librarian for her to scan the barcode and waited for her to return it to me. In a very exasperated voice I was informed that she had to keep the card as long as the child was on the computer and that there was a 30 minute limit and then she’d better be finished.

 While the 5-year-old was using the computer, I selected some books for her and the 8-year-old found books she wanted as well as videos for her and her sister. It was then that we were told in a very unpleasant manner that the computer time was up. That was just as well because it was time for us to leave since their mom was off work and expecting us home. As we started to leave the children’s room, the librarian, in a rather accusing tone, asked the children just how many library cards we had. I told her that we had two, one for each of the children. The librarian then told me we had too many videos, that only 3 were allowed per card. Being a librarian I certainly didn’t have a problem with their limiting the number of videos that could be checked out but I sure did have a problem with the attitude of that children’s librarian and how she related to my grandchildren.

Well, the children decided which video they would put back and we proceeded to the check-out desk. Rudeness in the children’s section was nothing compared to the attitude we encountered at the check-out desk. If it had not been for disappointing my grandchildren, I would have left every book and video right there and walked out.

Hospitality is so important to every library patron but it’s especially important to young children who are emerging readers and library users. The way they are treated in their public and school libraries will set the tone of how they perceive libraries and librarians for the rest of their lives. What does it cost to smile? to be pleasant? The same information could have been shared with me and my grandchildren in a pleasant manner. Rudeness was not necessary; it made me decide that the next time my grandchildren want books to read that we’ll go to Barnes and Nobel where they are treated with respect and people are interested in them.

Driving home from work tonight I heard a portion of the John Tesh radio show. One of his “intelligence for your life” tidbits was a report on a news article from a midwest newspaper which said we are, in general, becoming ruder to everyone we encounter. After our experience in that public library I would have to agree. Unfortunately, the attitude of these public librarians is often the attitude I find in schools and school libraries around the state; it makes me cringe to hear how some school librarians talk to the students who are their customers. I can choose not to return to that public library but our students can’t necessarily choose to do the same. What message are we sending our children when we, their librarians, treat with them disrespect, rudeness, curtness, and general disdain. As a profession we say that our job is to create lifelong readers and learners but with the attitude exhibited by many in our profession what we’re really creating is a generation of people who will have little regard for, or use of, libraries of any kind.

I challenge any librarian who reads this to take a close, critical look at the hospitality level of his or her library. Enlist some “secret shoppers” to visit your library and give you feedback on your hospitality quotient. If you don’t get a positive report from your secret shopper, then some serious work is needed to increase your customer service rating and treat your patrons (aka customers) with the proper attitude. Hospitality and general friendliness…so important yet so often lacking in our relationship with our library users. What would it cost you to change your library atmosphere? I certainly hope that happens in the public library I visited this week but I fear nothing will change. Perhaps rather than posting to my blog about the experience I should just write a letter to that library director. Now where did I put my pen and paper?