LibraryBox, an anonymous file-sharing tool used to distribute files to anyone with Wi-Fi access, is preparing to launch a 2.0 version. LibraryBox provides access to information in places where people usually don’t have it, such as areas with little Internet usage that might be off the broadband grid. Using opensourced software, anyone can build their own LibraryBox. However, for those lacking the right maker skills, the 2.0 version of Library-Box will soon be available for purchase. With the 2.0 version, there will be a much easier installation, a way to count the number of downloads, and an easier interface for users. Jason Griffey, the brains behind the operation, is also hoping that LibraryBoxes can be on a mesh network, so that boxes can trade content with one another. LibraryBox 2.0 will also come with instructions for those who would like to do modifications. Griffey has started a crowdsourcing Kickstarter campaign that has raised more than $21,000 as of press time. He hopes to use this money to work on this new version. For more information on LibraryBox 2.0, please visit http://librarybox.us.

3M’s New Interface Offers Recommendations for Patrons

With the new 3M SelfCheck QuickConnect Interface, patrons will be able to get future reading recommendations whenever they check out their library books. Connected to NoveList, the interface will show patrons books that are available in the library’s catalog that they can either check out or put on hold. They can also print out a list of the recommendations or email it to themselves. “Libraries will have an opportunity to connect more strongly to those patrons who may ordinarily do no more than come in the library, pick up a book, check out, and leave,” said Duncan Smith, vice president of NoveList. “Now those ‘drive by’ readers will have a reason to plan their next visit to the library.” Another unique feature of the new interface is the patron promos feature, which allows the library to promote its programs, events, and services to patrons as they are checking out their books. The design of the interface is user-friendly, with easy-to-install upgrades. The interface also allows staff to print reports and to customize the interface with different templates and themes. For more information on this interface, please visit 3M.com/QuickConnect.

EBSCO Introduces EBSCONET Analytics

EBSCO has launched EBSCONET Analytics, a new way for librarians to oversee their EBSCO resources in one simple to use dashboard. With EBSCONET Analytics, librarians can create detailed reports on the cost of titles and packages, as well as the ability to compare year to year trends. EBSCONET Analytics can also be combined with EBSCONET Usage Consolidation, which will let librarians know the cost-per-use of each item, and help librarians analyze which resources are their most and least used. EBSCO hopes to release upgrades in the future that will allow librarians to analyze usage by subject, publisher, format, and more. EBSCO also hopes to add more report types including pie charts, bar charts, and detailed reports.

Boopsie Now Compatible with Windows 8 and Windows 8 Phone

Boopsie has announced that its apps are now compatible with both Windows 8 and Windows 8 Phones. “Expanding our support for new operating systems and quickly enabling our library applications for Windows 8 and Windows 8 Phone use is critical,” explained Boopsie for Libraries’ CEO Tony Medrano. “Delivering mobile apps for libraries on these new platforms enables our customers to better serve their communities by allowing their patrons to use the library application on any mobile device.” Boopsie apps are currently compatible with many platforms, such as Android, Blackberry, iOS, Kindle, and more, making it easy for patrons whose libraries use a Boopsie app.

Polaris Adds New Software Updates to Help Increase Staff Efficiency

Polaris Library Systems has added one hundred new updates to its software, a technology solution that is currently being used in many public, academic, and special libraries. The new updates, many requested by librarians themselves, will help make the day-to-day tasks of all library staff easier. “In order to provide our customers with the best product on the market today, we listen to what librarians need and continually evolve our products to make their job easier. Many of these new features are the result of enhancement requests from the Polaris User Groups and our customers’ feedback,” said Anita Wagner, vice president and board secretary, Polaris Library Systems. One of the updates will allow staff to calculate fines depending on the day that overdue items will be returned. Other updates will help catalogers, such as the “do not  overlay” checkbox for bibliographic records and the ability to delete certain tags from MARC records after importation. The Staff Client Find Tool has also been improved upon, with more search access points that allow staff to do more detailed searches. For a more complete list on these updates, please visit www.polarislibrary.com.

LearningExpress Library Debuts 3.0 Version

At the 2013 ALA Annual Conference, LearningExpress Library debuted the 3.0 version of its product, an online learning tool for test preparation and skill improvement in reading, writing, math and basic science. “America’s libraries have been a critical resource for not only students but also job seekers during the continuing difficult economic environment,” said Barry Lippman, president and CEO at Learning-Express, LLC.  “LearningExpress Library has helped millions of people prepare for success in school as well as careers and the new 3.0 version will be an important tool for every librarian’s electronic tool kit.” The 3.0 version will have a new easier-to-use interface, and librarians can post additional links to resources in specific centers. Patrons can also create a personalized account in the “My Center” portion, but can also search for tutorials and practice tests without an account. Patrons will also be able to get more feedback and guidance from the tool, as well as view answers to questions either during or after a test. For additional information on LearningExpress Library’s 3.0 version, please visit  www.learningexpressllc.com.

Innovative Launches New Encore ES

Encore ES, from Innovative Interfaces, is a new version of the Encore Synergy discovery application that integrates both a library’s e-resources and print collection all in one. With the new Encore ES, Innovative has partnered with EBSCO to use EBSCO Discovery Service’s (EDS) index as its main journal and magazine index. With this partnership, Encore ES users will also have access to EDS’s large collection of full-text articles. Innovative has also partnered with Overdrive and 3M to create a seamless e-book interface experience for patrons. With 3M e-books, patrons will be able to directly check out and put items on hold, as well as see the availability of the e-books they are searching for. For more information on Encore ES, please visit www.iii.com.

The post New Product News – July/August 2013 first appeared on Public Libraries Online.

An Overview of the Problem

Nearly two million is the number we hear most frequently, though we cannot be sure exactly how many children currently have a parent in prison. In 2008, The U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Labor Statistics estimated that nearly 3 million minors have a parent in prison.¹ We also know that between 1991 and 2007, in part due to mandatory sentencing requirements, the total number of children of incarcerated parents increased 80 percent.² The majority of men in prison say their child’s other parent is the current caregiver (88 percent), while 37 percent of women report the other parent is a caregiver while she is in prison.³ Approximately 11 percent of incarcerated women and 2 percent of incarcerated men state that their child is in a foster home or a facility.⁴ According to a recent Anne E. Casey Foundation Report,⁵ since 1990, the number of female prisoners has grown by 50 percent, and three quarters of incarcerated women are mothers. This same report noted the disproportionate effect on minorities: African American children are nine times more likely than white children to have a parent in prison; Latino children are three times more likely than white children.

Yet, for various reasons, the statistics cannot be adequately verified. The United States criminal justice system is not required to inquire whether an inmate is a parent; many children and families fear self-reporting because of custodial agreements; some prisoners’ families feel stigmatized; and there is inadequate communication among prisons, child welfare agencies, and other social services.⁶ Furthermore, any statistical information we do have does not account for the nearly five million children who have a parent under criminal justice supervision.⁷ If we factor in those children whose parents are currently under criminal justice supervision, such as parole, then we have a far larger pool of children whose needs may well be compromised.

There are other things we do not know for sure. For example, although we have evidence of the problems children face after a parent is incarcerated, we cannot assume all children of incarcerated parents will fare poorly.⁸ For public libraries this is important; it means we should not assume that because a parent is incarcerated, a child is necessarily doomed to failure. We should instead take the opportunity to reach out to children and to provide adequate resources.

How Libraries Can Help

While children and families affected by incarceration do have some specific needs, they also have the same interests and concerns that their peers do. Therefore, the task of the library is twofold: (1) it should continue to offer programming and resources applicable to all children and families, and (2) it can be prepared to amend this programming as necessary to offer additional resources.

Recommend Appropriate Books and Resources

All children and families will be interested in some of the same books and materials the library offers. Yet libraries can also make available books for children, youth, and teens that address the issue of families and incarceration; in particular, libraries should make available books written specifically for children and youth who have incarcerated parents. Suzanne Bergen and Kathleen Hodgkin’s My Mom Went to Jail (Rainbow Project, 1997) would appeal to a student whose mother is incarcerated, as would Pat Brisson’s Mama Loves Me from Away (Boyds Mills Pr., 2004). Martha Hickman’s When Andy’s Father Went to Prison (Abingdon Pr., 1990) might appeal particularly to boys. Nonfiction texts such as Stephanie St. Pierre’s Everything You Need to Know When a Parent is in Jail (Rosen Publishing, 1994), provide a more nuts-and-bolts approach to the topic. There are workbooks for whole class or small group discussions, and there are books to inform teachers and administrators. For a full listing of possible selections, see Venezia Michalsen’s “Recommended Reading” in Barnard College’s Scholar and Feminist online.⁹

Provide Conscientious Activities and Programs

Libraries can amend regular programming to address the specific needs of children and families affected by incarceration, and they can offer separate programming. The most efficient way to make your programs more appealing to and relevant for children whose parents are incarcerated is to simply tailor your current program to their needs. Even if patrons do not realize prior to their participation in a program that you will be sensitive to their needs, and even if they never identify themselves as a child of an incarcerated parent, they will remember that you accommodated their needs, and they may be more inclined to attend future library events. Here are some examples of how you can simply tailor your current programs.

If your library offers a youth activity where patrons write letters about what they have read, you can encourage patrons to send their letters to whomever they wish: a caregiver, a parent who is home or away, or someone else. Simply acknowledging the possibility that some parents do not live home will help. If your teen program asks patrons to extend the story they are reading by creating a video about it, you can suggest that anyone who may have a special request of where their clip could be sent can ask you to help him/her look up information. (Some prisons and jails will not allow inmates to receive videos, but you can go online to find out specific rules of specific facilities.) If you offer knitting classes for teens, suggest patrons knit something for someone who does not live with them but for whom they would like to make a gift. If you offer a papermaking class, suggest the same. (The patron may know what can be sent to the prison or jail, but you can also locate this information online if requested.) If you offer a summer reading program for children, offer to print out the results, so children can send a list of what they’ve read to parents.

Offer Programs Likely to Attract Children and Families of the Incarcerated

Offer book clubs or author readings that focus on the topic of incarceration. For children and teens you could read books geared toward children of the incarcerated; for adults you could read memoirs by people incarcerated, recent books on families and incarceration, and so forth. Instead of a typical computer literacy class, offer a computer course for families. The Federal Bureau of Prisons offers a program called TRULINCS that allows some inmates to use email to connect with loved ones.¹⁰ Most inmates are not given Internet access, but some do have email access. Check to see what is available in your area, or offer a Q & A program for families. You can engage a special guest speaker with expertise in the area or offer a program where a librarian is available to help families research the rules of the facility where their loved one resides. The patron would need to know what state the inmate resides in, and you can search by that state’s Department of Corrections.

Several state and nonprofit organizations have experimented with non-traditional ways of connecting K-12 students with imprisoned parents. Inmates have recorded video diaries for their children and created audio storybooks. You could apply for a grant or connect with local prisons or jails to facilitate literacy programs between parents and children. Also, find the local resources in your area that are available to families and offer a brown bag dinner or meet-and-greet between agencies and families. At the same time, provide a display of relevant books and titles.

Provide an afternoon of books and resources that would be helpful to caregivers. Most children live with the other parent when a parent is in prison and one-fifth live with grandparents or other relatives.¹¹ According to a 2008 Bureau of Justice Statistics report, 67 percent of incarcerated mothers say their children are living with relatives.¹² Yet we often forget the needs of extended family and others who are caring for children. The most comprehensive information on families and caregiving can be found at the Family and Corrections Network (FCN) website.¹³ FCN is the publisher of the excellent “Children of Prisoners Library” pamphlet series, written by Ann Adalist-Estrin.

How Libraries Can Reach and Educate All People

Public libraries have a unique opportunity to provide access to information applicable to all families and children. One way to do this is to broaden what we know about children’s rights. Many libraries provide special displays for International Children’s Day and the Fourth of July. Broaden the discussion by creating a display geared toward families dealing with an incarcerated parent. The San Francisco Partnership for Incarcerated Parents has created the excellent “Children of Incarcerated Parents: A Bill of Rights.”¹⁴ This resource can be accessed from the group’s website, and provides an excellent analysis of why children need and deserve particular rights. An expanded discussion of children’s rights can be helpful for all patrons, not only those who have a parent in prison.

In order to “advertise” how approachable your library is on the topic, take a month to highlight incarceration and communities. The focus will underscore how all people and communities are affected by incarceration. A patron doesn’t need to have an incarcerated relative to be concerned about this topic; he or she just has to be a community member. For one month, have a shelf dedicated to books about incarceration.

Plan to participate in a “books for prisoners” program sponsored by organizations such as PEN AMERICA, Amnesty International, American Civil Liberties Union, or Citizens United for Rehabilitation of Errants (CURE). Collect and donate books to prison libraries. By their nature, libraries are egalitarian institutions: they do not judge people and their needs; they merely provide access.  Therefore, libraries can be neutral places where families of the incarcerated can find information they need, and discover books and other resources to help them survive and thrive when a loved one is incarcerated. Public libraries can also provide information to all patrons on the way incarceration impacts all communities.

REFERENCES

1. The Pew Charitable Trusts, Collateral Costs: Incarceration’s Effect on Estimated Mobility (Washington, D.C.: Pew Charitable Trusts, 2010), accessed July 21, 2013.
2. Jessica Nickel, Crystal Garland, and Leah Kane, Children of Incarcerated Parents: An Action Plan for Federal Policy Makers (New York: Council of State Governments Justice Center, 2009).
3. Ibid.
4. Ibid.
5. Stacey Bouchet, Children and Families with Incarcerated Parents: Exploring Development in the Field and Opportunities for Growth (Baltimore: Annie E. Casey Foundation, 2008).
6. Ibid.
7. Nickel, Garland, and Kane, Children of Incarcerated Parents.
8. Megan Sullivan, Tanya Krupat, and Venezia Michalsen, eds. “Children of Incarcerated Parents,” S&F Online 8 no. 2 (spring 2010), Barnard Center for Research on Women, accessed July 21, 2013.
9. Michalsen, “Recommended Reading,” S&F Online 8 no. 2 (spring 2010), Barnard Center for Research on Women, accessed July 21, 2013, http://sfonline.barnard.edu/children/reading.htm.
10. Federal Bureau of Prisons, TRULINCS FAQs, accessed Feb. 20, 2013.
11. Lauren Glaze and Laura Maruschak, “Parents in Prison and Their Minor Children,” US Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs (Washington, D.C.: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Aug. 2008), accessed July 31, 2013.
12. Ibid.
13. Family and Corrections Network, the National Resource Center on Children and Families of the Incarcerated, accessed July 21, 2013.
14. San Francisco Children of Incarcerated Parents Partnerships, “A Bill of Rights,” accessed July 21, 2013.

The post Welcoming Children and Families Affected by Incarceration into Public Libraries first appeared on Public Libraries Online.

When I was little, my father would get drunk and beat me for the things my mother did, so it has taken me a long time to figure out how to discipline my kids. . . . I needed help from a mental health counselor. Before I had this help, I let my kids do anything they wanted, and I turned my older son into a monster.

My learner sees me pause as I read. “I have to work on my spelling, right?” she says. “Is it OK so far? The directions said use your personal experience.”

“It’s very OK,” I say, “It takes a lot of courage to write things down sometimes. This looks like a great essay. But you don’t have to be so personal in your writing if you don’t want to.”

“Oh, I want to,” she says firmly. She had never written about herself before, she said, but she found it made her feel better about the things that had happened to her in her life. It made her understand them better.

Standard directions for the GED essay are as follows: “In your essay, give specific details to explain your views. Use your personal observations, experience, and knowledge.”

The young Chin Burmese student in our program escaped from her war-torn village at the age of fourteen. The topic is: “‘Every cloud has a silver lining. Do you think it’s true that every bad thing that happens in life has a good side to it? Use your personal observations, experience, and knowledge.” She wrote:

I believe that bad things that happen to you can have a good side. Leaving my country was very difficult. I left my family, friends, church, and my village. I left because soldiers were taking girls from my village. I had a difficult journey and walked many days without food. I was thirsty and hungry. I was with strange people. I had to run and hide from the police. But there was a good side. I got to Malaysia. I met new family and friends. I learned a new language. I sent money home to my parents.

Located in a rural area of Central New York, Cazenovia Public Library (CPL) offers adult literacy tutoring in Adult Basic Education (ABE), English as a Second Language (ESL) and GED (high school equivalency exam preparation) at two public libraries and a local food pantry, CazCares. About eighty percent of CPL’s adult literacy students are enrolled in the GED program. Volunteer tutors are trained through Madison County Reads Ahead, a public library literacy consortium of eight Central New York libraries in the Mid-York Library System. Madison County Reads Ahead was a literacy initiative originally funded by Community Foundation of Central New York.

Many GED student referrals come from learners we meet at CazCares Food Pantry. It’s clear why refugees need educational programs like ours, but how about our native Central New Yorkers? We have excellent public schools in our area, and yet in some of our local communities twenty to thirty percent of adult residents did not complete high school. What interrupted their education?

The stories are both unique and similar. Foster care placement gone wrong, parents with mental health or addiction issues, families in crisis who moved children often from school to school. Drastic family change—such as divorce, imprisonment, or death of a parent—and even the familiar and yet devastating story of a high school culture that taunted or marginalized outsiders.

The tutoring process is learner-driven, and tailored to each student’s needs. Our students have learned for themselves the value of education, the value of honoring one’s own goals and dreams. They just need help in getting there.

Sometimes, we have to start with small goals. Keeping tutoring appointments and being where you should be—on time and ready to work—can be the first step. In learning to respect your volunteer tutor’s time and efforts, you learn to respect your own time and efforts.

Students must apply for a library card if they don’t have one. If they do have a card, it must be clear of fines. New learners have six to eight weeks to “clean up” their library cards as they work with their tutors on educational goals. A good step towards fiscal responsibility in all areas of life, this process of getting one’s library card in good order sometimes requires a little patience and forbearance on the part of our libraries. But we work together, and we work it out.

The GED students who come to us often tell us they feel stuck in their lives. They know how limited the job market is for those who lack a high school diploma. They want to move on, to career training programs, college, or better employment opportunities. Also, as their essays show us, they want to gain the personal and emotional satisfaction of finishing their high school education, for themselves and their families.

A nineteen-year-old GED learner in our program who wrote the essay excerpt that follows worked as a healthcare aide in a nursing home. After her stepfather died, she became injured at work, and was too distraught to sleep. She had trouble leaving the house, and found it hard to talk to people. A friend brought her to CazCares, where the two of them now attend weekly GED tutoring sessions. The two friends saved on gas, were more motivated to study, and helped each other keep their commitment to furthering their education.

The essay topic was: “Choose an important person that you have looked up to and who has helped you in your life. Explain who this person is, why you look up to her or him, and how the person has helped you.” She wrote:

My stepfather, who recently passed away, is the person I most look up to in life. The reason I want to get my GED is because of him. He was a good father. He was upset that I left school. Before he died, he told me that getting my GED was the one thing he wanted from me. . . He was the one person I could always count on whenever I needed him.

The essay became a five-page eulogy to her stepfather that moved her tutor (and myself) to tears. “I feel so much better after writing this, even though it was painful. I cried buckets all through it,” she told us, as we handed around the tissue box. “But I had the best night’s sleep after that.”

Writing about ourselves provides us with an opportunity to give the past a careful onceover. Life happens at warp speed, and often we become lost in the hurry of events, particularly troubling or tragic times that we feel deeply but have no time to understand and process. Our GED students are new to the healing possibilities of writing. They are uncomfortable with writing. But when the task presents itself, and they are required to focus on an experience, an idea, or a relationship, and explore what it meant to them personally, something unforeseen begins to happen—a learning experience greater than the sum of its parts.

A total of twelve to fifteen tutoring pairs work together over the course of a year in our literacy program. The learning process depends a lot on the ability of tutors to connect with their learners in a supportive yet instructional relationship. Often, the one-on-one attention our tutors offer students is all they need to succeed. We listen carefully to students, ask them to set their own learning goals, and talk through solutions for navigating the obstacles adult learners with jobs and young children face in studying for the GED. We identify academic gaps and then we find the needed review areas to fill them. As learners progress, they gain new confidence in themselves and their abilities. For learners with family responsibilities we offer a combined adult/early literacy program. Adults can receive GED tutoring while their little ones attend our preschool program.

None of this can be done without help from volunteers. But with a trained and dedicated core of volunteers, supported by library resources, much can be accomplished.

Families who attend the combined literacy program become very close to CazCares literacy volunteers, and to each other. They cheer each other on. They cheer each other’s children on. And when a learner passes the GED, we have a party and we celebrate together.

For many of the learners, their families are the reason they are pursuing their education. Their personal goals are often centered on their children, like the young single mother who wrote the following (on the essay topic “How do you define success?”):

For me, success is obtaining my GED. . . . The main reason I want to get my GED is my daughter. She is only four now, but someday she will be in high school. I don’t want her to say to me: “You left school when you were sixteen. Why can’t I? You never finished high school. Why should I?” . . . I don’t want to see my daughter make that same mistake.

A Collaboration Begins

GED tutoring at a food pantry? How is it that a public library has taken on such work? CPL Library Director Betsy Kennedy, the staff and Board of Trustees, literacy coordinators Carla Zimmerman and me—we all believe that part of our library’s mission is to be an educational resource to the community. Low-income and low-literacy families rarely attended the library’s adult programs or family preschool programs. How could the library reach those families?

In the area of early literacy, for example, grants were obtained in the past to offer educational programming at the library to low-income preschoolers. However, those library-based programs had low attendance and did not reach their target audience. In 2007, local food pantry CazCares moved to larger quarters, and Kennedy saw the opportunity to begin a literacy outreach. The Friends of the Library provided funding for the first year, and the collaboration between CPL and CazCares began.

From the start of the partnership, Caz-Cares Director Gigi Redmond provided CPL staff with the crucial onsite support needed to operate library literary programs. For CazCares-based learners, our GED program is most in demand.

When we first began tutoring at Caz-Cares, eight out of ten of our new learners did not have a library card. Our food pantry location brings library services to these new learners, and at the same time brings new library users to our libraries. The initial student contact is made at CazCares but tutoring can take place at any of our program sites, which include our home base at CPL, and the New Woodstock Library, which serves a rural population in southern Madison County about seven miles south of Cazenovia. Both libraries offer more extended hours than the food pantry for tutor-learner pairs to meet.

If a learner’s schedule doesn’t work well with food pantry hours (CazCares is open only three mornings a week) a program is set up at the library closest to the learner. In rural areas, transportation can be an issue, so the closer our programs can be to our learners, the better. If they are new library members, students are introduced personally to circulation desk staff. As literacy students, they are allowed longer lending periods for literacy materials they check out. They also have access to a library computer or laptop dedicated to literacy program use. All of this helps our students (and new library users) feel very at home at the library.

One of our fast-track learners did not need much tutoring to pass the GED. A very capable student, his math aptitude in particular was so strong that his tutor helped him connect right away to a community college counselor who eventually found him a scholarship. His essay topic was: “What is more important to a person’s education: things learned in school or through real life experiences?”

In my experience, both things are important. I just turned twenty-one but I’ve made many mistakes in my life. I spent six months in jail before I was nineteen. I was a good student but didn’t think it was worth my time to go to high school. Drugs and alcohol were the wrong choice, but no one at school could tell that to me. . . . For me, life experience showed me I needed to get my education. I want to get my GED, get a good paying job, and buy a house and land for my family. To achieve these goals, I need to go back to school. So, life experiences and things learned in school are both important in a person’s education.

Conclusion

No one can be taught the value of education. Our students had to learn that for themselves. What adult literacy programs can do is help students reach their goals through learning, and in learning there is personal growth. Finding your own voice, using that voice to connect with the world, and making your way in it, may be one of the most valuable things our students take away from the program. And indeed, completing your high school education opens the door to a host of educational and employment opportunities. But when the exam is over, what do our students bring forward into their lives? A new confidence and a newfound ability to look for the resources they need to reach their goals, along with the satisfaction of having accomplished an important educational milestone. And, hopefully, a new self awareness through the power of writing, as they use their personal observations, experience, and knowledge to gain a better understanding of the world and take their place in it.

The post Personal Observations, Experience, and Knowledge: How Learning to Write a GED Essay Helps Us Know Ourselves first appeared on Public Libraries Online.

There are so many YA books to choose from that it can be a bit tricky knowing exactly where to get started. So here are some oldies but goodies that work well as YA to adult crossover titles and would be great gateway books.

Airborn by Kenneth Oppel (Harper Collins, 2004). Treasure Island meets Around the World in 80 Days. High-stakes adventure and a bit of mystery and romance all come together for an exciting read. The first in a series, pass this novel on to readers who enjoy steampunk or adventure stories and are looking for something engaging and exciting.

American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang (Harper Teen, 1999). Three stories unexpectedly come together in this comic book looking at race and culture. This book is perfect for readers who enjoy thoughtful commentaries on life in comic book form.

Angus, Thongs and Full Frontal Snogging by Louise Rennison (Harper Collins, 2001). The diary of the hilarious teen Georgia Nicolson as she ventures through school, friendships, and crushes. Give this one to readers who enjoy lighthearted fun and are looking for something that will make them laugh out loud.

Carter Finally Gets It by Brent Crawford (Disney Hyperion, 2009). A look into teenage male Will Carter’s mindset that is hilarious and outrageous; be sure to recommend the audiobook to readers for even more laughs.

The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by E. Lockhart (Disney Hyperion, 2008). Frankie doesn’t take it well when her boyfriend won’t talk about his on-campus secret society, so Frankie decides to infiltrate the society and make their pranks more interesting. Frankie is super smart, incredibly engaging, likable, and overall just pretty awesome. You can’t help but love her and her crazy smart antics.

Hattie Big Sky by Kirby Larson (Delacorte Books for Young Readers, 2006). Hattie inherits her uncle’s homesteading claim in Montana and works to make it her own to gain the property for herself. Historical fiction at its best, readers can’t help but cheer Hattie through her triumphs and hardships.

If I Stay by Gayle Forman (Dutton, 2009). Mia is watching her life unfold after a car accident involving her entire family. Should she cling to life and stay on Earth? Heartwrenching and powerfully emotional, readers won’t have a dry eye at the end of this book. Be sure to give readers the sequel, Where She Went, after they finish the first novel.

Life As We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Books for Young Readers, 2006). After a meteor hits the moon, the world is thrown into chaos. Give this one to readers who are hooked on dystopian fiction. This one is especially scary because of the uncontrollable natural disasters and uncertain future.

A Northern Light by Jennifer Donnelly (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Books for Young Readers, 2003). Mattie takes a job at a summer inn and  discovers shocking secrets about a guest while trying to grow up and make her dreams of college a reality. This is a beautifully written historical
fiction title that grips the reader from the first page and doesn’t let go.

Please Ignore Vera Dietz by A.S. King (Alfred A. Knopf Books for Young Readers, 2004). Vera Dietz just wants to be ignored. She’s been in love with her best friend, Charlie, but now he’s dead and only Vera knows the truth about the night he died. Through alternating past and present, we get to look at Vera and Charlie’s relationship and watch her story unravel and how their friendship began to fall apart. Add in a talking pagoda and one of the best father/daughter relationships written in YA and you’ve got a novel unlike anything else.

Something, Maybe by Elizabeth Scott (Simon Pulse, 2009). Hannah is embarrassed by her “celebrity” parents—a famous playboy with a reality TV show and his onetime girlfriend. Hannah just wants a normal life, but everyone expects her to be just like her parents. While the story may be a romance at heart, the plot has so much more and Hannah is such a realistic character that readers will love visiting her world for awhile.

Uglies by Scott Westerfeld (Simon Pulse, 2005). In a future world where beauty is everything, Shay decides to rebel and join a community of  people who refuse an operation to make them beautiful. Tally is recruited to find out more about this secret group and learns more about her world than she realized. Another dystopian tale that has a great blend of action, adventure, and romance perfect for adult readers.

Unwind by Neal Shusterman (Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2007). What if teens could be unwound and have their organs harvested? The premise makes the story extra scary and the alternating points of view round out the storytelling to make this perfect for dystopian
readers.

The Wednesday Wars by Gary Schmidt (Clarion Books, 2007). Holling Hoodhood is the only student to stay behind on Wednesdays when everyone else goes to catechism or Hebrew school and his teacher is making him read Shakespeare. Schmidt’s writing is insightful, humorous, and heartwarming and will stick with readers long after they finish. Readers should also check out the companion novel, Okay for Now.

Now that you have adult readers hooked on YA fiction, you can expect them to come back asking for more and gearing up for the next big YA series just as much as the teens.

REFERENCE

1. “New Study: 55% of YA Books Bought by Adults”, Publisher’s Weekly, Sept. 13, 2012, accessed June 1, 2013.

The post YA Crossovers, Part One: Oldies But Goodies first appeared on Public Libraries Online.

But a dad has to draw the line somewhere. And when your two-year-old starts shouting “Xbox, stop” at the family iPad in an attempt to pause the latest episode of Yo Gabba Gabba, it’s probably time to start thinking about how kids interact with screens and gadgets. My wife and I have had serious conversations about how our son is going to grow up around technology. With the proliferation of personal devices, apps, and maker tools, youth services librarians need to be having the same conversation.

There are plenty of reasons for libraries to take the lead when teaching technology to kids. The children’s department is often the first place outside the home that a young person feels a sense of belonging. Youth librarians deserve a lot of credit for making the library one of the warmest, most welcoming environments a child can experience. Technology doesn’t have to be in opposition to this. Rather, it’s an opportunity for librarians to show how digital and analog skills can blend together using the same level of humanity that occurs at storytime. It’s a chance to start teaching digital literacy skills at an early age, and help parents and caregivers to recognize that technology can be something more than just an electronic babysitter.

With this in mind, how do children’s librarians seize the opportunity that lies in front of them? Is it possible to walk the line between all the traditional methods that come with fostering a love of literacy, and embracing shiny new tools like 3D printers and personal tablets? I’ve been watching the youth services librarians at my organization grapple with this balance, and seen several new successful programs emerge as a result.

Skokie (Ill.) Public Library’s (SPL) Primary Time+ program gives kindergarteners and first-graders (not to mention their parents) equal opportunities to interact with digital literacy apps and analog early literacy games.¹ SPL youth technology librarian Bradley Jones frames these activities with large-group sing-alongs and storytime.²

Holly Jin’s Sensory Storytime³ uses soundboard apps to provide a welcoming environment for children with autism and sensory processing issues. And Jones’ monthly CodeBots group has kids experimenting with Raspberry Pi computers, Lego WeDo kits, and the free programming tool Scratch under the motto of “Try, Fail, Fix.” In each case, these programs have brought a new level of hands-on interaction to the library experience, blending traditional learning styles with a fearless approach to technology. In addition, it has helped to attract whole new sets of patrons—along with their parents.

Enter the Tinkers

SPL is hardly the only library doing this. Spurred on by a presentation⁴ at the 2012 Illinois Library Association Annual Conference, area youth and teen librarians formed the Tinker Group (http://tinkergroup.wordpress.com) to network and share best practices with one another. “There doesn’t seem to be any other forum to share ideas with other librarians about [technology for youth],” explained Katie LaMantia, teen librarian at the Schaumburg Township (Ill.) District Library (STDL). “It’s really about exploring new ways to bring kids and technology together.”⁵ If you’re going to venture into uncharted territory, you might as well get a bunch of people to go exploring together.

This shared sense of adventure is what makes the Tinker Group unique. Rather than simply discussing new program ideas for kids, Tinker Group members bring the technology to the meetings and hold their own virtual petting zoos. According to Renee Neumeier, teen librarian at Evanston (Ill.) Public Library (EPL), “You actually leave knowing how to do something. You get time to use all the equipment. It’s kind of like you’re getting to take part in the program yourself.”⁶ Wilmette (Ill.) Public Library (WPL) youth services librarian Janet Piehl elaborated: “Some of this programming can be very expensive, so it’s really nice to be able to test it out and get other peoples’ opinions and insights about the materials and tools that they use.”⁷

The camaraderie and experimentation taking place here serves as a useful model for tech-centric youth programming itself. If you’re thinking about jumping into the creative technology pool, a few tips from the Tinkers on getting started follow in the sections below.

Work On One Piece at a Time

If you ask a dozen librarians for their favorite youth technology tool, you’re going to get about three dozen different opinions. It’s easy to feel like you want to do everything. Do you build a Minecraft server or buy a Makerbot? Do you work with tablets only or get robotics kits? These decisions may not be too difficult if you’re using free software like Windows Movie Maker or the iLife suite. But when you have to buy equipment for bigger groups of people, you’ve got to make sure the tools have some kind of extended value.

For Neumeier, that meant making sure kids have enough room to inject their own creativity. “So you might give them an end product, something to work toward, and they can come up with their own way to do it. They might start building a ringtone, and it can become a whole song. If you’re more open with your programming, with no right or wrong way to do something, kids have a chance to explore and build on what they’re learned.”

With so many choices, it’s easy to get overwhelmed, or feel like you’re missing out on something. Focus on what projects your library can comfortably support, and expand as you gain an audience.

A good jumping-off point (and possibly the closest thing to a universal recommendation) is Scratch (http://scratch.mit.edu), the free software tool designed to introduce kids to programming basics. In addition to being free, Scratch is a great place to start because it works with so many other tools, including MakeyMakey, Raspberry Pi, Arduino, and Lego Robotics.

Get Everyone Involved

Building things up bit by bit doesn’t just go for your collection. Collaboration is where creative technology truly thrives, so it’s important to have strong human resources both in and out of the library. Piehl reflected on her program attendees: “Most of the time, parents and caregivers are just curious. They want to know what is involved in a certain program. We’re not forcing anyone to sign up for this. I think a lot of people are just interested in what new skills their kids can build with these offerings.”

This curiosity is an asset you can use to build greater involvement in your programs. Tools like Squishy Circuits and Little Bits make for great opportunities for side-by-side activity with parents and children, and can help expand your audience to younger children.

Outside groups can provide much needed expertise if resources are low. Area hackerspaces and hobbyist Meetup groups can be a resource. At STDL, LaMantia made a point to align with the high schools: “We wanted to make sure we didn’t have software they can’t use, or software that they have and we don’t have.”

Of course, you can’t neglect your own organization. Getting staff from other departments involved can help your coworkers better understand the potential benefits of creative technology. Over time, you can help them launch programs of their own, making better use of your equipment and helping to bridge the gap as patrons move from one age group to another.

Find Some Balance

Most of these creative technology tools exist to help patrons tell their own stories. (Yes, even the robots.) If you can find ways to highlight the similarities between digital and traditional programming, you can create a stronger level of support for both audiences. At WPL, Piehl accomplished this by creating a digital literary magazine that included Scratch programs and stop-motion animation pieces alongside more traditional work. As always, there’s a lot of room for experimentation here. Don’t be afraid to play “Will it Blend?” with all of your offerings.

The public library is a big machine. It’s a complex network full of moving parts, and they don’t always fit together. Creative technology programming for youth adds another set of gears into this mix. Implemented properly, it can help bridge the gap between traditional and digital literacies, creating new library users in the process. It can help libraries play the long game, reinforcing the organization as a purveyor of valuable online resources in addition to its print collections. To make all these pieces fit together is going to take a great deal of hard work and experimentation. What are you waiting for? It’s time to get tinkering.

REFERENCES

1. Bradley Jones, “iPads in Storytime: Skokie Public Library Primary Time+,”Little eLit, Feb. 10, 2013, accessed July 23, 2013, and “iPads in Storytime: Primary Time+ (Part II),” Little eLit, June 24, 2012, accessed July 23, 2013.
2. Ibid.
3. Brenda Hough, “Tech on the Spec(trum): Making Libraries More Accessible for Children With Special Needs,” online presentation by Holly Jin for TechSoup, Mar.26, 2013, accessed July 23,2013.
4. Amanda Jacover et. al, “The Future is Fun: Technology Programs for Youth,” presentation, Illinois Library Association Annual Conference,Oct. 9-11, 2012, Peoria,Ill. Handouts accessed July 23,2013.
5. Katie LaMantia, interview with the author via Skype, May 7, 2013.
6. Renee Neumeier, interview with the author via Skype, May 7, 2013.
7. Janet Piehl, interview with the author via Skype, May 7, 2013.

The post Of Tinkers and Technology: Creative Digital Programming for Youth first appeared on Public Libraries Online.

One of my earliest involvements with PLA was with the 1987 book, Output Measures for Public Libraries.¹ I recall the sense that we were developing new measures for a new era. Indeed it was a bold step to begin looking at what a public library delivers to its community rather than at the resources (budget, collection size, and building size, for example) that the library has to work with. The measures a public library uses are important because they shape the way we think about libraries, library service, and the community. Also, public libraries use measurement for management of services and resources; for planning and assessment over time; for justifying funding requests; and for reporting to local, state, and national authorities. It is often helpful for a library to be able to compare itself to some comparable libraries, the selection of which may vary depending on the purpose.

The most widely collected and reported service measures constituting an indication of library use are circulation, reference requests, information requests, door counts, and program attendance. It may be expected that with the increasing popularity of digital formats and the continuing growth in Internet use, public library circulation and reference totals will plateau and decline, if they have not already done so. There are already reports of some municipalities citing decreases in reference and circulation as justification for reduced funding for library operations and/or denial of capital funds for building expansion or improvement.

Door counts may also drop with an increase in virtual patrons. Many libraries measure virtual use through reports on use of the library’s website with a resultant mix of visits, hits, page views, unique visitors, and time spent on the site. The complexity of such reports is only magnified when the reports are repeated for mobile access. Most libraries collect and report various data related to computer use. Rarely is there reporting of the activity accomplished on the computer such as finding health information, applying for a job, obtaining government service, consumer research, and so forth. The Edge Initiative addresses the need for better and more uniform collection of data for use of technology.² The Edge Initiative—undertaken by PLA, Urban Libraries Council (ULC), and others with support from the Gates Foundation—identifies benchmarks and guidelines that will assist public libraries in assessing their technology offerings. Implementation guidelines and training are an integral part of the Edge Initiative which has now been rolled out in seven states.

Currently, much effort in public libraries is focused on such services as digital literacy, early childhood literacy, employment counseling, support for small businesses (and other local economic development), civic engagement programming, development of creative expression, and other programs whose impact is not measured by hash marks for the number of people served. Also, the “library as third space” is a significant role for the public library, but the means of assessing the extent and impact of that role are currently lacking.

What is needed is a set of performance measures that can capture the services public libraries are currently providing in their communities, with guidelines for conducting the measures to ensure consistency and validity. We also need to measure the outcome or impact regarding the difference that some of these services make in the lives of individuals and the well-being of the community.

The PLA Board recently approved the creation of the PLA Performance Measurement Task Force. The task force will be chaired by Denise Davis, deputy director at the Sacramento (Calif.) Public Library, and comprised of other librarians who will represent the professional knowledge of what core services public libraries are offering, what needs to be measured, and how data are used internally as well as externally with funding  authorities. The task force will contract with one or more public library researchers who would develop prototype performance measures based on task force consensus, measures that are valid and reliable and “good enough” for the purpose while not being unduly onerous on staff to collect and report. Public libraries need this data to accompany the anecdotes they relay to funders regarding the outcomes of services offered and the resultant impact on the community.

This project will not be completed during my tenure as PLA president as it will probably take at least two to three years to complete. Since my year as PLA president will build on the work of those who have preceded me, it somehow seems fitting that the work will be completed by a PLA president not yet elected. Working with other librarians over time for the betterment of the profession and the communities we serve is the great reward of involvement in PLA.

REFERENCES

1. Nancy A. Van House and the PLA New Standards Task Force, Output Measures for Public Libraries: A Manual of Standardized Procedures (Chicago: ALA, 1987).
2. The Edge Initiative, “About Edge,” accessed June 27, 2013.

The post New Measures for a New Era first appeared on Public Libraries Online.