“My life is small,” Lisa Lucas told National Public Radio’s Lynn Neary on November 14,”and I think books are a way to make your life larger.” Neary’s interview with Lucas took place just days before the National Book Awards, which honored four works that speak to the issues on the minds of much of the nation’s populus. For Lucas, literature is more than just a means of telling a story.  In the interview, she points out that books can be bridges over divides, such as the political ones dividing the country today.

Mental Borders

Whether we intend to or not, many of us put up mental borders when we choose literature. We have our favorite genres and authors, and we often choose not to read anything other than those chosen few. I dislike many “popular fiction” authors and often don’t read them. Even writers have their own genre borders. Is it fair that I dislike these books since I honestly cannot say I’ve ever read more than two or three? Lucas would likely say it’s not. “We need to be reading across the lines we’ve drawn in our lives,” she said to Neary.

When I taught high school, I put up mental borders around certain pieces of curricula. I loved teaching The Princess Bride, but I disliked teaching Romeo and Juliet to high school freshmen because I believed that it glorified teenage suicide. In reality, astute readers see it for what it is: a cautionary tale about that very thing as well as fate, chance, even recklessness.

Mental borders are found in all aspects of our lives.  My graduate school cohort was made up almost entirely of members of the school’s affiliate church and citizens of the United States. However, there were a few international students and some like me who are not religious. The program, and the literature we read, served to motivate us to not only finish our masters degrees but seek out perspectives other than our own. For example, those of us who had mental borders about the politics and economics of China had those borders broken down by a Chinese classmate.

Some classmates had other mental borders broken down by the textbooks we read in our classes, ones they otherwise wouldn’t have read, like Why Nations Fail by Daron Acemoglu and James Robinson.  Admittedly, if I hadn’t been assigned the book, I likely wouldn’t have read it, though I was a former English and History teacher myself. This global perspective, one of three major trends in higher education today, was one of the keys to making a difference in how we thought as students and citizens.

Books are Eternal

Lucas encourages people to read outside the box, as it were. When referring to this year’s political climate, Lucas pointed to last year’s National Book Award nonfiction winner and one of this year’s nonfiction finalists, Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates and Strangers in Their Own Land by Arlie Russell Hochschild.

The former is about what it means to be black in America, while the latter is about Tea Party members living in Louisiana’s bayou country. Lucas suggests that her New York City friends and colleagues pick up Strangers in Their Own Land and Hochschild’s subjects read Coates’ piece.

While Lucas’ message seems serious in nature, she also wants reading to be fun. She believes it will remain the dominion of the book, not social media, though she is an active social media user herself.  Lucas points to the differences between printed media and social media, and she’s not alone in preferring paper over digital.  Social media are transient, while print media are tangible.

The same comparison can be made for our mental borders when confronted with books that challenge us: those ideals become transient when met by the tangible story of another human being.

The post Reading Beyond Your Own Borders first appeared on Public Libraries Online.

Collaborate . . . Quietly

As Pamela Avila writes for Eastsider L.A.’s “School Yard,” Cal State Los Angeles is transforming its main library building into a space that encourages a much more social experience.  For Cal State L.A.’s students, using the library will now be more like using a research center.

This full-scale remodel, which is not yet complete, is similar to what occurred at my alma mater. The first floor now “features sleek tables and couches that are easy to move around as needed.” This furniture change gives the library’s studying public a better chance at collaboration. Gone is the traditional study cubicle which typically litters higher education libraries and even public ones.  In its place are these new movable workspaces and a cafe, Cafe 47. Replacing the fear of spilling your coffee all over the library’s collection is encouragement to have a cappuccino, a snack, and some discussion over a research topic.

This modern library learning environment is also designed to allow students easier access to digital information and the technology to print out that information if they desire. This combination of the digital and the tangible sets up Cal State’s students for a more holistic learning experience.

Collaborate . . . Globally

Cal State L.A.’s remodel and the one that took place at my alma mater are great examples of brick-and-mortar libraries opening their collections to wider audiences by offering digital access. This is key for university and public libraries wanting to expand customer bases.

Years ago, Arizona State University began paving the way for students around the globe to learn and collaborate without leaving their homes. Its extensive library collections are available for online students who may or may not be able to walk into the building for research.

I can easily drive to both my university’s library and my neighborhood library.  However, the proliferation of digital databases and e-books in libraries has made this travel unnecessary. At the same time, changes in library environments such as Cal State L.A.’s encourage customers to travel to the building itself.

Despite digital libraries and e-book collections making research, personal or educational, easier, human beings also crave interaction with each other. We leave our comforts in order to socialize, and the library is no different. How often do book lovers get involved in heated debates over the top ten horror short stories of all time?

These discussions and learning opportunities are easier to participate in when we can see and hear our collaborators. Libraries that look to Cal State L.A. and others that have made these changes will be better equipped to encourage teamwork and multi-modal learning. Starting small could create a flood of new learners and customers, that’s why we have libraries.

The post New University Libraries Encourage a More Social Experience first appeared on Public Libraries Online.

One of the largest centers for sex trafficking in the country is San Diego, where it has turned into a near-billion dollar local industry.^[2] Because of the city’s role as a hub for sex trafficking, and the chance encounter of one of its librarians, the San Diego Public Library (SDPL) is now working actively to combat sex trafficking. As Laura Peet wrote in March, a partnership with Out of the Shadows and a grant from the Rancho Santa Fe Women’s Fund is helping the SDPL educate its staff and its community.

A Refuge

According to Peet, SDPL’s Central Branch teen services manager, Ady Huertas, encountered a young woman sleeping in a study room. When approached, the young woman became skittish and insisted on checking in with a “boyfriend.”

The boyfriend turned out to be a pimp, and the Central Branch turned out to be where many young women came to use the phone, especially to communicate with families they hadn’t seen in months. In San Diego, many victims of sex trafficking end up on the streets, and libraries have long been refuges for the homeless, in communities large and small.

Huertas and others in San Diego’s library system realized it was their responsibility to raise awareness and help those obviously in need.

An Education

Huertas and colleagues decided to raise awareness of the issue, and began a course of action that included training and education for staff.

Similar to programs for healthcare professionals, the SDPL program offered instruction and advice to help SDPL’s employees recognize victims and approach them. Like the young lady who served as a catalyst for the program, many want help but are highly apprehensive about seeking it. As noted by Peet, starting the conversation that could lead to saving one victim can be as simple as asking, “‘May I help you?’”^[3]

SDPL’s teen advocates, who attend schools throughout the city, are also educated to help victims. A group of the trained teen advocates are preparing a presentation for students at e3, the charter school housed on two floors of the Central Branch library. These students will be uniquely poised to offer assistance to potential victims because of their continual presence in the library.

All the professional training in the world won’t beat the visibility of the charter school’s students and the other teen advocates.  The school’s students are encouraged by faculty and staff to take advantage of the unique co-location of e3 within the Central Branch.  With the proper training in place, the teens will be a perfect audience for victims’ overtures.

While many teens still struggle to show empathy, the training provided by SDPL and its partners will go a long way to teaching them to be aware of the plight of trafficking victims.  These victims are likely to be more comfortable reaching out to someone their age rather than an adult like Huertas.

SDPL’s program is nearly a year old, and as it grows, so too does awareness for sex trafficking victims and education about how to end the practice.  Although there are no statistics yet available detailing how many victims have been saved by SDPL’s program, this initiative proves once again that libraries make a difference in communities by doing more than lending books and offering Internet access.  In this case, the library saves lives.

References

[1] University of New England Online Masters of Social Work, Human Sex Trafficking – An Online Epidemic, infographic, December 11, 2015.

[2] Ibid.

[3] Lisa Peet, “San Diego PL Raises Sex Trafficking Awareness,” Library Journal, March 17, 2016.

The post San Diego Library Using Education, Resources to Combat Sex Trafficking first appeared on Public Libraries Online.

Send Books

For some troops, it can be as simple as receiving something to read. Retired librarian Pat Powell learned this valuable lesson more than a decade ago when a colleague asked about collecting used paperbacks for her son. Powell’s friend asked because her deployed son said they were bored and needed entertainment. The paperbacks, according to Powell, would fit in the pockets of the soldiers’ fatigues.

Powell wrote about her experience for the Missourian in March, detailing the evolution of one act of kindness into a personal mission. According to Powell, her friend’s son returned from service, and his parents no longer sent books. Powell, however, was inspired. She began mailing books to three or four soldiers at a time. When she retired, she looked to the members of her educational honor society, Delta Kappa Gamma, to take the project on as its own. “I cannot give a total number of books that have been mailed since this project started, but …[i]n 2014, I mailed 831 books, 12 books on CD and 158 magazines in 50 boxes. Then, in 2015, 736 books, 8 books on CD, and 23 magazines were mailed in 45 boxes. Every time I mail a box, I feel so grateful that I can do something to help the troops who are sacrificing so much for all of us.”[1]

Powell is not alone in her efforts to collect used books from libraries, schools, and even her community. Operation Paperback began in 1999, sending books to troops in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. Like Powell’s efforts, Operation Paperback began when Air Force Sergeant Major Rick Honeywell found himself without any recreational activities, like books or movies. He asked his wife to send some supplies, and she and other Air Force spouses responded with a huge care package.

Honeywell’s father-in-law added his used paperbacks to the equation, and Operation Paperback was born. Seventeen years later, individuals, families, and community groups can now donate to the Operation Paperback with monetary contributions or books. Because groups can register to donate specific genres, this is a great way for libraries to offload their retiring collections.

Send Video Games

Some troops aren’t readers and may be inclined to use second-hand paperbacks for target practice rather than for education. Stephen Machuga, co-founder of Stack-Up.org, was one such soldier. His epiphany came when using romance novels on a firing range: people back home wanted to help, but soldiers want more than just books.[2]

He and his cofounder, Nate Serefine, work with contributors to supply video game boxes to troops stationed overseas as well as veterans suffering from PTSD. According to Stack-Up’s website, the latter part of its mission is Serefine’s personal reason for cofounding the organization.

Video game therapy has grown as an innovative rehabilitation technique, and Machuga and Serefine recognize that from their own experiences. Stack-Up takes one-time donations or recurring donations of recently-used video games, console, and other gaming accessories. As libraries expand their video game libraries, the need to refresh them will also give them the opportunity to donate to a program like Stack-Up.

Send Letters

For libraries looking to increase literacy, join a letter-writing campaign and donate letters to troops. Operation Gratitude offers volunteers and donors the chance to send care packages, recycled cellphones, and letters.

Operation Gratitude even offers information for educators on starting letter-writing campaigns. If your library has a writing group or a teen literacy program, this a perfect chance to take a break and offer something that will contribute to the mental health of service members.

There are many other ways for libraries to get involved in donating time and resources for military personnel. Find the one that works for you.

References:

[1] Pat Powell, “FROM READERS: Retired librarian uses love for books to help troops abroad,” Missourian, March 28, 2016.

[2] Stephen Machuga, “The Story and Launch of Stack-Up.org,” Stack-Up.org, October 31, 2015.

Resources:

Operation Paperback

Stack-Up.org

Operation Gratitude

The post Sending Books, Other Goods a Great Way to Contribute to Troops’ Mental Health first appeared on Public Libraries Online.

As reported by WTMJ-TV, the bill pokes holes in privacy laws for Wisconsin’s citizens. Just as the healthcare industry deals with issues of confidentiality and privacy, this new state law may create its own legal headaches. When patrons sign up for a library card, they submit private information, such as their addresses and phone numbers. They do not permit libraries to hand over that information to other parties, whether or not they owe fines. Wisconsin has obviously been tough on patrons who don’t pay their fines. One Shawano woman was jailed in 2011 for not returning materials and racking up nearly $500 in fines. In Idaho, fines and private information can be sent to collections, but no one appears to have been jailed yet. Public outcry from states that advocate a more hands-on approach to government could stall efforts to mimic Wisconsin.

Many libraries already offer potential alternatives, like e-book lending services, and these typically don’t require patrons to do anything but link a Kindle or Nook account to a library card. When the lending period is over, the book is simply disabled, mitigating fear of fines and any other repercussions. In October 2015, Troy Lambert discussed e-lending versus subscription e-reading services. He concluded that libraries’ e-lending services would still come out on top, but that was before this new legislation. Now it may be worth it for people to pay $10 a month or Amazon’s $100 a year for unlimited e-reading rather than risk fines, a credit rating hit, and even a police record. If library borrowers worry about ending up in jail for their fines, sites like Audible.com and podcasters may become the future of lending.

As Wisconsin’s legislation is brand new, its ramifications may not be felt for months, if at all. Yet for patrons who have been fined before, the thought of incurring a police record for using the library again may be enough for them to think twice about borrowing another book.

References:

[1] Associated Press, “Libraries can now report overdue fines to the police.”  WTMJ-TV, March 1, 2016.

The post Will Reporting Fines to Police Hurt Library Patronage? first appeared on Public Libraries Online.

Today’s libraries are moving away from vast stacks of books and expanding their catalogs of e-books, special collections, and audiobooks as the publishing industry itself changes. Future Tense, a partnership among Arizona State University (ASU), New America, and Slate held a panel in November with experts in the field of library sciences. The experts were asked to describe the library of the future and whether or not they believed libraries will outlive books. All of them pointed to the concept of adaptation when answering the question.

From the Middle Ages . . .

Miguel Figueroa, director of the American Library Association’s Center for Future Libraries pointed out during the panel that people “still like their books in all different formats.”[1] That includes the print format, which can be traced to public libraries established in the Late Middle Ages but originating even earlier as well-rounded personal or restricted collections. Printing was so unique in medieval France that, in the fourteenth century, the oldest public library still open today, the Bibliothéque nationale de France (BnF) was created, based on King Charles V’s royal collection of printed texts. This eventually morphed in a legal depository of all published works in France. In the 500 years since its establishment, the BnF still adapts to meet the needs of its public. In 1988, then-President François Mitterand surprised everyone, including the library’s staff, with his announcement of the construction of an additional new research library.

The BnF isn’t the only ancient library to bring books from the Middle Ages into the twentieth century. Traced back to a small library room in the University Church of St. Mary the Virgin in the early 1300s, Oxford University’s Bodleian Library has successfully navigated nearly 700 years of constant change to stand as one of the oldest libraries in Europe. When I visited it in the late nineties, it was ahead of its time in how readers navigated its vast stores.

Stretching throughout more than one huge building, including the famous Radcliffe Camera, it had a digital catalog from which I had to request books. My request was sent to the appropriate stack, where a librarian found it, and then the book was “shipped” to the reading room I was assigned. The catalogs were, compared to my small college where we still used a card catalog, as high-tech as one could get in 1998.

To Infinity . . .

Even the Bodleian, or the Bod as those of us who have studied in it call it, curates a large library of e-books for its users. The collection is searchable via an online portal, and this is in line with what Future Tense panelist Deborah Jacobs cites as a need for libraries to focus on the preferences of the customer. Director of the Global Libraries Initiative for the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Jacobs points to the Boston Public Library (BPL) as a beacon of adaption in the face of customer needs.

Not only does BPL have cafés, but it also produces television shows for teens and has teen librarians who curate collections at various locations in the BPL network. The content of libraries evolves, as does the customer base. Each community serves a unique customer base. In large cities like Boston, the customer base is going to be diverse; thus the evolution of the library will have to grow with the population. As Jacobs stated, libraries “have to be where the information is going.” For Boston, much of that information is going through the eyes of teens.

Even smaller library networks, like the one in my hometown of Boise, Idaho, are serving increasingly global audiences. The Boise Public Library offers a conversational English course for second language learners. Libraries are moving beyond providing books and are branching into providing educational services to meet their communities’ needs.

Beyond the Books . . .

What will libraries look like in 2100, or even farther into the future? If ASU’s librarian James O’Donnell has anything to do with it, they may look a lot like the Library of the year 5100 featured in the sci-fi series Doctor Who. O’Donnell’s primary vision is for a global library where all the world’s libraries will be brought together in one massive collection, like the planet-library hybrid explored by the Doctor. O’Donnell has already achieved this in a smaller scale at his university, as its library collections are accessible worldwide by ASU students who are learning via online programs. My own university uses a similar platform to make its library collections available to international learners, proof that a global library isn’t so far-fetched.

At the same time, it is likely that while libraries will indeed outlive books, and even perhaps the people who read them, they will also have to remain as adaptable to the communities that use them. Our libraries may someday be, literally and figuratively, in Clouds.

Sources:

[1] Miguel Figueroa. “Will Libraries Outlive Books?” (panel, Future Tense, Washington, Dc, November 12, 2015).”

Resources:

Gravalt, Nancy. “Will Libraries Outlive Books?” American Libraries, November 17, 2015.

The post Libraries May Outlive More Than Just Books first appeared on Public Libraries Online.

With something in the neighborhood of 40 million pages of legal decisions dating back to the Colonial period, the Harvard Law Library is rivaled only by the Library of Congress in its scope. While most of the cases contained therein are also public domain, they are also either accessible only in hard-copy or by paying for a digital copy. Harvard’s Free the Law project aims to make all 40 million pages of its library available for free on the internet.

The possibility of such access is in keeping with the spirit of the law. The law is defined as a set of rules and regulations established in a community and applicable to its people. It is meant to help bring order to the community without doing it harm. When access to the letter of the law is no longer free, this contravenes the law itself. Yet, the access this project creates may cost more than those working on it intend. In partnership with legal startup Ravel Law, Harvard wishes to have the project done in just two years, at the cost of its physical library. There will also be other hiccups this unfettered access will create.

Sacrifices to Scanners

For eight years, I worked as an electronic content manager and records analyst for the planning and development arm of a mid-sized municipality. My main duties were to digitize records and conduct research. My colleagues and I digitized everything from permits for homes to large-scale commercial planning projects.

There were days, however, where we worked on historical projects like Free the Law, scanning historical documents for research for other departments in the organization. This is why I shed imaginary tears for Harvard Law’s physical library. No matter the precautions you take when disassembling a book, the older it is, the more likely it will not survive the scanning process. The article in The N.Y. Times admits that all but the rarest books are being digitized, and spines are being reattached by Harvard’s book surgeons, their archivists.

Yet not all the tomes will make it. High-speed scanners are notorious for what I like to call “eating pages.”  Every day I scanned, even the hardiest of documents would shred through the wheels of my equipment.

Too Much Information

Because of my experiences with high-speed document scanners, I may be thinking a tad overdramatically regarding the losses of Harvard Law’s case library. As a content manager, the potential access certainly outweighs the possibility of a few hundred shredded book pages.

Having access to records like Harvard’s law library can assist in crime mapping on more than one level. Once digitized and indexed, scholars, lawyers, and researchers will be able to search the databases for an endless amount of terms, including locations. This will allow for crime analysis on a much grander scale than Ravel Law already allows with its own search visualization tool.

The case law database will also give the public and those with non-legal backgrounds the ability to search United States case law. Without a legal background, Free the Law might turn into a case of too much information.

Users who do not have training in either legal or database research may be overwhelmed by the technical aspects of using the resource. According to Harvard Law and Ravel, research on the database will involve search strings, and knowing Boolean modifiers and advanced search operators may come in handy.

The database will also be so comprehensive that it will include case law that has likely outlived their relevance. Cases are typically only helpful in setting precedent for around twenty years. After they are settled, their value depreciates about 85 percent during those twenty years.

Providing access to case law as old as 200 or 300 years old may end up muddying the legal waters rather than clearing them.

A Little Education

In order for Free the Law to be truly free, Harvard Law and Ravel will need to begin educating potential users on a variety of topics. The public, who may be curious about case law in a particular state, will need to learn legal terms such as abeyance and privileged will.

Since Free the Law is meant for the layperson as well as the legal professional, terms such as these, which pertain to everyday things like businesses and wills, must be understandable at the start. To do the research, users will also have to learn advanced electronic research techniques. Because the books will no longer be accessible, flipping pages for a glossary or an index will no longer be so simple.

Without this kind of preparation, I fear that the work going into Free the Law will go to waste. Otherwise, the law will continue to be accessed only by the privileged few.

Sources:

“Harvard Law School launches ‘Free the Law’ project with Ravel Law to digitize US case law, provide free access.” Harvard Law Today, October 29, 2015.

Echholm, Erik. “Harvard Law Library Readies Trove of Decisions for Digital Age.” The New York Times, October 28, 2015.

Sheppard, Brian. “Why Digitizing Harvard’s Law Library May Not Improve Access to Justice.” Bloomberg BNA, November 12, 2015.

Resources:

Ravel Law

Searching with a Search Engine

Crime Mapping, Demographics of Illegal Activity

Legal Terms and Meanings

The post More Access to the Law, But at What Cost? first appeared on Public Libraries Online.

We are what we eat, and as early as the 1st Century, we were recording what we consumed.  For twenty-five years, it was Barbara Ketcham Wheaton’s job to curate the cookbook collection at the Schlesinger Library at Cambridge, Massachusetts’ Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Studies.  For twice that amount of time, she has been feverishly creating a database of all the recipes, ingredients, and cookbooks recorded in Europe and America.

Wheaton’s database, named the Cook’s Oracle, is based on meticulous research that includes terms such as “blackbirds” and “food for the sick.”  It resulted in learning that “blancmange,” what many people know as a creamy French dessert, really means an entire group of recipes that can be both sweet and savory.

Wheaton likely wasn’t expecting a history lesson when the idea for the Oracle came to her more than fifty years ago.  Instead, she just wanted to parlay a love of cookbooks into something greater than her own collection. The Oracle started as Wheaton’s handwritten notes in a three-ring binder, but the dearth of information led the seasoned librarian to a reference and research system invented in the late 19th Century, McBee cards.  These allowed her to group her information more easily, but her database quickly outgrew this method.

Wheaton now uses a computer database program to house the Oracle and can share it via thumb drives.  To Wheaton and those who have seen it, the Oracle represents more than just a record of food.  Because we truly are what we eat, the Oracle is a record of human history. The globe artichoke was a common ingredient in dishes from the opulent to the unsophisticated during the 16th through the 18th Centuries.  Yet today, they are reserved as a near delicacy.  It is a commentary on the economy of the times as much as it is on people’s tastes.

While the foods the cooks of the Oracle used may be wildly different than those we use in the 21st Century, they paint an interesting picture that is still perpetuated today, but also one that may be a bit unexpected.  There is a huge difference in the cookbooks authored by men before the 20th Century than those authored by women during the same period. The recipes recorded by male chefs and cooks show men were the elite of cooking.  They served masterful dishes to high-born men and women, using the best ingredients and the most fanciful techniques.  In their cookbooks, food was pleasure.  In the women’s cookbooks, it was a different story.

Pointing to a gender gap that persists in many fields today, the cookbooks written by women paint a picture of survival rather than one of pleasure.  The caregivers of their families, women cooked in order to ensure the members of their families remained alive, if not healthy.  They were the forebearers to the history’s greatest caretakers, using the meager foods at their disposal to heal. Case in point is a book Wheaton calls one of her favorites, The Frugal Housewife.  The book, first published in 1829, details such thrifty advice as going without coffee and using preserves only in the event of sickness. These women made do with what they had on hand, healing and feeding with food, while men were given the resources to turn food into art.  Yet the Oracle shows that the history of food according to the women who fed their families was the creation of art as well, just of a different kind.

In agricultural communities, crops were sold in order to buy seeds for the next season.  Farming families kept only enough to get by, not to live luxuriously.  In urban areas, cooks dealt with living in food deserts, where access to fresh and healthy foods is difficult.  It takes art even today to cook in a food desert. In previous centuries, it was an art of true creativity: taking the scraps and dregs of the day before and turning them into meals that rivalled those of one of the male chefs in Wheaton’s database, Robert May. His book from 1660 encouraged use of only the best ingredients.  Instead, these women made water into wine, as it were, recording recipes such as “cheap rice pudding” and “soup of ‘old fowl.’”

Many of these recipes and techniques have not been relegated to the historical cookbooks, but survive in one form or another through cultural use.  For German families, these are the “kraut” burgers, pies resembling English pasties that were made of whatever was on hand in order to fill bellies.  In some Italian households even today, it’s as simple as a holiday dessert that has been passed down through generations.

All of the recipes in the Cook’s Oracle, from May’s to those of The Frugal Housewife are the history of farming.  They are the history of industry.  They are the history of people.

The post Cookbook Database Is History of People first appeared on Public Libraries Online.

NaNoWriMo, as it’s affectionately known, challenges writers seventeen and older around the world to complete at least 50,000 words in November.  Many libraries host writing events for writing groups participating in the event.  However, NaNoWriMo has also developed the Young Writers Program (YWP) for younger writers and educators.

Where to Begin

How can you integrate the NaNoWriMo YWP into your library’s literacy program?  Start by registering as an educator on the website.  Once you’re registered, you will have access to myriad resources created especially for the event.

If you’re targeting a specific age group, like teens, check out the workbooks NaNoWriMo has created for middle and high school writers.  These books contain tips for tackling some of the greater obstacles of NaNoWriMo, like self-editing.

These are great resources if you’ve taught classes at your library but never taught writing before.  What better way to teach it than by doing it with your writing group?  The workbooks, which are downloadable, even include contracts that can be signed by participants, affirming their commitments to the YWP and their chosen word goal.

NaNoWriMo has always injected humor and a dose of reality in its goal-setting.  The middle school workbook contains two sheets of chore coupons that can be exchanged with family members in order to motivate your young writers to hit their daily targets.  The high school workbook, instead, contains a customizable calendar.

These workbooks are used in conjunction with a set of lesson plans tailored for multiple grade levels.  The lesson plans are detailed and even contain links to Common Core standards.  While these lesson plans are a great start, don’t forget to vary your curriculum.  As a librarian, you know you can never have too many resources.  When I taught writing, I utilized Linda Rief’s Read, Write, Teach.  Even though I was an English teacher, as a natural writer, I struggled to translate my process into the classroom.  Having a structured writing curriculum helped.

The Virtual Classroom

Your next step if you are going to teach writing to ten or more community members at your library is to order your classroom survival kit.  This clever kit allows you and your community of writers to track progress publicly.  A little competition hurts no one, and that’s part of what motivates the NaNoWriMo community.  Don’t forget to put yourself on the list!

Give yourself a button and declare every day of November: “I Novel.”  Make sure your participants get one.  They may even end up with more than one depending on your state.  In California alone, there are 419 classes registered with the YWP.  In Idaho, there are forty-five, a relatively large number for such a small population.

These classrooms are registered through your educator account.  You can connect with your students through this classroom, share announcements, and track their progress.  Your writers will be writing at home, hopefully even connecting with writers throughout the world.  Anyone in the YWP can start a Word War with anyone else.  This competition should be encouraged as a motivator, especially toward the end of November.

At the Library

When you’re not teaching lessons, clear out computer labs and lounge spaces for free writes.  This is when your writers get to practice silencing their inner critics.  Time these free writes for an added kick in the competition.

If you’re hosting writing events in October in anticipation of NaNoWriMo, integrate writing critiques.  Not only are these a great way to teach the writing process, they are also a great way to teach social and communication skills to youngsters, especially during Bullying Prevention Awareness Month.  This can prepare your students for myriad situations, including possible publication of their work.

Who knows?  You may have the next Christopher Paolini among your young writers.

The post NaNoWriMo a Great Way to Teach Literacy first appeared on Public Libraries Online.