Librarians discuss summer reading

The Post-Crescent website featured a streaming video interview with three of our librarians, covering adult, young adult, and children's summer library programs. They included a chat module for people to submit questions. Cool beans, and a great job by our three staff and PC reporter Kara Patterson!

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Authentic voices of children

National Library Week: Young adult novelist Chris Crutcher spoke to an audience of local librarians at our library yesterday morning before addressing a public gathering later that evening. The author's two appearances at our library were in conjunction with several presentations before high school classes as part of the Fox Cities Book Festival. In introducing him to the evening audience, high school senior and teen library board representative Ryan Nelson said that Chris Crutcher portrays the facts of life as they are, not as they ought to be.

Talking about how he got started telling stories, Crutcher recalled overhearing a locker room story of a coach who instructed his players to injure a talented opponent to knock him out of game. This became part of the inspiration for his novel "Running Loose." The coach's voice - not character - based on his own high school coach. After his novel was published, he returned to his high school back to school, and found out his book was restricted in the school library, requiring parental permission to read, despite his being the only published author in the history of the town. His book was censored because it got into philosophy of sports, and addressed issues of challenging authority.

Crutcher worked at a mental health center in Spokane, dealing with child abuse and neglect. He felt a need to write about the authentic voice of what was happening to abused children. He became conscious of the tension between the need to protect privacy and not share personal stories, versus the need to tell the story of societal problems. He found that due to limited resources, child protection does not protect rich kids, nor anyone over age 11. His fiction pushed the boundaries of young adult literature. Booklist declined to review "Chinese Handcuffs" because they couldn't recommend it. Crutcher started to wonder if he had crossed a line between fiction and real life that should not have been crossed. When a girl in Texas waited a long time to speak with him privately after a school talk, she told him: "When I read 'Chinese Handcuffs', I thought you knew me. I didn't think anyone understood my life." At that point he felt validated, and became more confident he was doing the right thing.

"If you start thinking about what's going to offend people and what isn't, you're not going to be able to tell the story." He related the story of a gay kid, who parents thought he was confused about his sexuality. The kid wasn't confused, but his parents were in denial. The boy told Crutcher the hardest thing in his life was hiding who he was, and knowing he would have to keep hiding at least through high school, asking: "Who wants to be Matthew Shepherd?"Stories are a way out - it's not about a secret, it's about the story. If other people understand the story, you're not alone. It's safe -- there's a place inside a book where it's real.

He related an Iowa book challenge, where a student got up and said to the school board "I'm an honors student with a 3.8 GPA. I could go to any college, but I'm going into the service. Do you mean to say that if I were to come back and write a book about my experiences in Iraq, using authentic voices, you wouldn't let people in this town read it?" That decided the issue.

More statements from Chris Crutcher:

• The person at risk in a controversy is not the author or publisher, it's the teacher or librarian who gives the book to kids. There are kids who are invisible in their schools and if you ban the book, you ban that kid.
• There is so much about the true nature of why we don't want to talk about things that's just under the surface.
• If my book is banned in a high school, I send five copies to the nearest public library and write the newspaper that I did it.
• Harper Lee guided me because of the intimacy she put into the creation of Scout. If I wanted to tell stories I needed to get the voices right. Storytelling voice is the thing you have to get.
• When we don't grieve properly, when we don't allow ourselves to feel the awfulness of what we've lost, we get stuck and we get sick.
• [About play therapy] You see the world through that kid's eyes, and that's where you start.
• Every time I see a book get taken out of a classroom or library, I think we're taking ourselves out of the short list of people to turn to because when we ban the stories we ban the kid.

I'm glad we have writers like this, who not only tell a good story but an honest story, who will struggle to help those authentic voices be heard -- and spend time with librarians to remind us of the importance of making sure the stories will reach people who need them. There are stories that need to be told, even if secrets are kept. There are those who need to read these stories. Not everybody has to like it, and not everybody has to read them, but freedom isn't free. We owe it to those children to let their stories be read, even if sometimes we have to fight to keep them on our shelves. Chris Crutcher helps us see the world through their eyes, and that's a start.

Awesome teens

Today we had the wrap-up party for our teen summer program. Over 300 teens participated in the program (though fortunately for the pizza budget, not all attended the wrap-up), attending programs, writing book reviews, poetry and other creative reactions to YA literature.

Thanks to our Friends and Foundation, we had some great prizes to offer. Winners included:

• Barnes and Noble Gift card — Alex Reis
• RC Helicopter — Shuri Rajan
• Flip digital camcorder — Edreena Sampson
• Gift Card Variety Pack — Sami Barnett
• HP Mini Netbook — Alan Bohnert

And at the party teens consumed mass quantities of pizza and snacks, played games and just had fun hanging at the library. As they did all summer, a small herd of teen volunteers kept things together for us, following the leadership of our amazing YA staff. A splendid time was had by all ... and school starts soon.

Cure for the Summertime Blues (part 4)

For adults, it's beach leisure reading -- I'm currently greatly enjoying the latest Stephanie Plum novel, Finger Lickin' Fifteen. For kids, it's more essential. Here's a New York Times piece that's no news to librarians, but it's nice to hear other people singing our song.

A brief excerpt:

OP-ED COLUMNIST: The Best Kids’ Books Ever
By NICHOLAS D. KRISTOF

Pry your kids away from the keyboard and the television, and give them a book. For ideas, here’s a summer reading list....

“In educating myself this spring about education, I was aghast to learn that American children drop in I.Q. each summer vacation — because they aren’t in school or exercising their brains.

This is less true of middle-class students whose parents drag them off to summer classes or make them read books. But poor kids fall two months behind in reading level each summer break, and that accounts for much of the difference in learning trajectory between rich and poor students.

A mountain of research points to a central lesson: Pry your kids away from the keyboard and the television this summer, and get them reading.”

His list is worth checking out. What's on your list of best kids' books ever?

The last word on "Twilight"

OK, maybe not the last word, but with the release of the movie this weekend, this video featuring two of our teens is timely. Nice job by both of them -- Ryan also represents teen concerns as a representative to the Library Board.

Teen Book Talk Videos

Our awesome YA staff and teens strike again! Check out our Book Talk playlist on YouTube.

Summer reading packs educational value

by Elizabeth Burmaster, State Superintendent of Wisconsin's Department of Public Instruction

Summer reading is fun, but there's a special value that extends into the school year. Students who read four to six books during the summer return to school ready to learn.

Research has shown what teachers have known forever: students who do not engage in educational activities during summer vacation suffer learning loss. That loss can amount to as much as two to three months of learning each year. The greatest learning losses are procedural and factual information, meaning children who don't read in the summer tend to start the school year fuzzy on math and spelling. Summer readers, however, return to school in fall more enthusiastic about reading and learning. Many gain a month of learning by staying engaged and involved during the summer break from school.

It really doesn't matter what kinds of materials children read during vacation; in fact, it's better for youth to pick what they like. Joke books, magazines, mysteries, or sports stories-whatever suits their fancy is best for recreational reading. There are no tests or reports. This reading is at a comfortable level to keep it fun. Still, recreational reading develops vocabulary and builds reading speed and comprehension skills.

Wisconsin's public libraries are great for children to select reading material, and the price is right: free. Adding adventure to the reading fun, each year Wisconsin joins 46 member states in the Collaborative Summer Library program, which provides high-quality summer reading materials based on a topic. This year's theme for preschool and elementary students is "Catch the Reading Bug!" Programming for teens centers around "Metamorphosis@Your Library."

Children and teens who register for the Summer Library Program receive a reading record to tally the number of pages, minutes, or books they've read. Many libraries offer literacy games and activities and provide incentives to support reading efforts. This year, in partnership with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, children who meet their reading goals earn a day pass good for one free car admission to any one of 58 state parks, forests, or recreational areas in the state. There is so much to gain by reading during the summer. I encourage all families to visit the library and "Catch the Reading Bug!"

Summer is for kids

Today, we 'll have hundreds and hundreds of little ones crowding our meeting room to enjoy the music of Tom Pease (who is surely one of Wisconsin's treasures), doing three shows to kick off the summer.
We'll also have lots of older ones using our young adult collections. YA Librarian Paula Wright is kicking up the dust a little, posting some new review videos on our website. Can we get some teens debating Stephenie Meyer vs. J. K. Rowling?
Thanks to the hard-working library staff, keeping the magic and possibilities alive for our children.

Great books, great technology: CCBC@APL

We're lucky at our library in many ways. First, here in Wisconsin, we have a great resource in the University of Wisconsin's CCBC (Cooperative Children's Book Center) -- an authoritative and helpful information source for children's & YA literature.

Second, we have a great library system, OWLS (Outagamie Waupaca Library System), which brought us the CCBC road show as a continuing education program for area libraries. OWLS is also using an LSTA grant to help member libraries develop new technology applications, including vodcasting. Beth Carpenter posted this video of the CCBC presentation on their 'Casting @ OWLS blog. See the episode archive for all the parts. Now even children's and young adult librarians as far away as Virginia can benefit from the CCBC presentation.

Governing: "Revolution in the Stacks"

Retiring Guy (aka Middleton Public Library Director Paul Nelson) points out a great article in this month's issue of Governing magazine. "Revolution in the Stacks" emphasizes the need for public libraries to serve a teen clientèle, but along the way, it touches on a lot of issues. Certainly many of them are relevant for our community:

• increasing library use
• changes brought about by technology
• the continuing digital divide
• opportunities for shared media production facilities
  
• changes in library design, including models from retail
  
• public libraries as "the third place"
• library 2.0 as a means of developing interactive, client-centered services.

This is familiar stuff to readers of this blog and to those who have followed the reports from our library facility consultants. Sounds like our consulting team is right on the money, with respect to national trends and best practices.

The Governing article is worth reading for librarians & trustees -- the municipal officials in the magazines may already be reading it, so it's an opportunity.

Pay Attention: students as digital learners

Aimed at teachers, but relevant for libraries. Jamie Matczak of the Nicolet Federated Library System sent a link to this video from the TeacherTube Channel to a bunch of folks and asked: "what kinds of reading/technology skills will be necessary for the future? And how can libraries help with that solution?" It even (gasp!) talks about evil cell phones as learning tools.

Gaming at APL

We had a great conversation about gaming at this week's meeting of our Library Board. Noting that attendance at our young adult programs has dramatically increased, the Board had a good conversation with strong contributions by Ryan Nelson, our teen Board member, on the value of gaming to bring YAs to the library. We started this a couple months ago by borrowing gaming systems bought by OWLS with an LSTA grant. Now Paula, our YA Librarian, has just applied to our Foundation to purchase our own gaming systems -- that didn't take long!

Shifted Librarian Jenny Levine has posted a PDF version of her recent Gaming and Libraries presentations at several conferences. At 121 slides, it's an extensive presentation with lots of good links.

Appleton library's new program reaches out to teens

Bethany Blank, 14, and Skyler Keough, 15, both of Appleton enjoy some friendly competition while playing a video game during the Teens Take a Break series at the Appleton Public Library. Post-Crescent photo by Dan Powers

Post-Crescent January 14, 2008
Appleton library's new program reaches out to teens
Series hopes to draw kids looking for a place to hang out and have some fun

By Cheryl Sherry
Post-Crescent staff writer

When you think of hot spots for teen fun, the Appleton Public Library doesn't necessarily come to mind.

Not yet anyway.

"We're not just stuffy old books and homework," young adult librarian Paula Wright said.

Although the library always has offered programming for teens, it never has been on a weekly basis. That all changed Tuesday with the kick-off of the new Teens Take a Break series, which gives young adults in grades seven through 12 four different entertainment options each month. It also gives them a break from the rigors of school, homework, work and social obligations.

"This is something where they can take a break from their busy lives and at least once a week come to the library and do something fun and relaxing," Wright said.

Menasha teen Tori Fisher said while there are many activities in the area for teens, Take a Break will offer them the chance to hang out with teens from all over the Fox Valley, which normally isn't an option.

Kaukauna teen Skyler Keough not only sees the program as a great idea, but the library as a great place to do it.

"I think that if the word gets out, then as more teens come together we can make more friends and become more accepting of others. There are many great opportunities, and I hope to become involved in as many as possible. … I think the program will be a huge success."

"The idea was to have one all-encompassing program where we try to incorporate all the different things we know teens are interested in and want to do into one big program where we do something for them every Tuesday night," Wright said. "So they know at the library every Tuesday night there's going to be some kind of program. And the different kinds of programs appeal to different kinds of personalities of teens. The goal is to let teens know there is a place they can come hang out. They are welcome."

The first Tuesday of the month is game break night, a drop-in chance to play Wii or Playstation 2, board games or cards.

"We've had lots of requests by teens to do some kind of gaming program, and the Wii and the Playstation 2 aren't available to all teens," Wright said.

As part of the Outagamie Waupaca Library System, a Wii, Playstation 2 and games were purchased and made available to member libraries interesting in offering a gaming program for children, teens or adults.

Under the guidance of library assistant Diana Sandberg, week two of the program gives the crafty teen a chance to create anything from a juice pouch handbag to Amigurumi (Japanese art of crocheting small stuffed animals) to magnetic poetry.

Anime will be shown on the third Tuesday of the month. Anime is essentially animation and a popular form of entertainment in Japan. Many times, anime comes from a manga, or Japanese comic book.

Music will fill the atrium on the last Tuesday of the month with the Jungle Jive Concert venue featuring local teen and young adult bands.

"It's an opportunity for teens to play their music in a safe open environment that is extremely casual," Wright said. "It is hard for teens to find a forum in which they can play. They have to play 50 minutes to an hour, and all musical styles are welcome."

Plus, bands get paid.

For participating teens, however, Teens Take a Break doesn't cost a dime, thanks to the Appleton Library Foundation.

Cheryl Sherry: 920-993-1000, ext. 249, or csherry@postcrescent.com


Sidebar
More info

Teen bands interested in playing at the library's Jungle Jive Concert venue are asked to e-mail Paul Wright at teen@apl.org or call 920-832-6177.
A Program Extra! pizza and book discussion will be offered from noon to 1 p.m. Feb. 15 in the lower-level meeting rooms of the Appleton Public Library. The Community Reads books, "Green Angel" and "Blackbird House," will be discussed.
Upcoming schedule:
Jan. 15: "Go Green Scrap Art" drop-in between 6:30 and 8:30 p.m. in the lower-level Young Adult room
Jan. 22: "Slayers Next," Anime for Teens film series, 6:30 p.m. lower-level meeting room
Jan. 29: Jungle Jive Concert, 7 to 8 p.m. in the Library Atrium
Feb. 5: Game Break, 7 to 8:45 p.m. in lower-level meeting room
Feb. 12: Valentine/Un-Valentine Altered Cans craft drop-in between 6:30 and 8:30 p.m. in the lower-level Young Adult room
Feb. 19: "Suzuka," Amime for Teens film series, 6:30 p.m. lower-level meeting room
Feb. 26: Jungle Jive Concert, 7 to 8 p.m. in the Library Atrium

For the rest of the schedule, go to teen.apl.org