Stop Making a Divide!

It has been a rambunctious few weeks on the alsc-l listserv and then followed up on the ALSC blog. What is ruffling feathers and raising tempers?  The basic question of how we as youth librarians incorporate and curate digital content for kids - including very young kids.

A simple request to share thoughts with an app developer passed on to the listserv by Cen Campbell over at Little eLit blog elicited more action than I've seen on alscl in a while.  Some people got quite off topic with flame-worthy insistence that digital content had no place in the library lives of kids between 0-5. The ALSC blog guest posts followed - here, here and here.

I never weighed in on this brouhaha except in comments. I will tell you, though, I was dismayed at some of the attitudes displayed and the arguments made against including digital content for young kids. Although we haven't made much of a leap at our library, it is a direction I expect our team will be going much sooner rather than later.  Again, Cen pointed the way in her Wrestling Your Bear post at the beginning of November. That  coupled with the provocative posts in the Libraries and Transliteracy blog (now finished) really informed my thinking.

Cen's thoughts dovetail with mine. This semester I have been teaching a graduate level Children's and YA Services course for UW-Madison.  One of our textbooks, Adele Fasick's From Boardbook to Facebook, published in 2011, makes the case for the direction youth libraries will inevitably be moving in. It's a direction that seamlessly blends traditional print with digital content to meet the needs of our families. I would be remiss as an instructor - and as a practicing librarian - not to look further and more deeply into the future that is truly happening right now. My students need to be open to the possibilities they will experience at the beginning - as well as at the end - of their careers.

While I appreciate the hesitation and worry about screen time expressed by people, I also think it is incredibly short-sighted and darn near dereliction of duty not to stand-up, research-up, read-up, learn-up, understand-up AND change-up for positive support and curation of digital content for kids. Arguing as Luddites that screen time is a no-no below a certain age ignores the rich (and sometimes stupid and banal) content that parents are tapping into already. As youth librarians we need to understand and lead, model and recommend to help our families find the best for their kids.

I hope people stop thinking of why not and start thinking of why and how. We serve our communities best when we add to our knowledge base, bridge the divides - and change and evolve with the times. By learning from and collaborating with each other we all gain.

Image: 'Canyon do Buracão' http://www.flickr.com/photos/58817442@N00/352819555 Found on flickrcc.net

White Hat/Black Ops Needed

From LJ/SLJ Ebook Summit via Library Journal on Facebook

Librarian Tony Greenwalt, on his theanalogdivide blog, has an idea to counter some publishers' attitudes about ebooks in relation to libraries: measure the sales impact of Caldecott and RUSA awards at midwinter. He's looking for some "white hat/black ops" cohorts. Can you help?

Image: 'untitled'  http://www.flickr.com/photos/36554617@N03/5710171465

Give Me That Old Time Paper, Give Me That Old Time Paper...

The New York Times had a trez interesting article exploring the trend of ebooking and wired parents preferring to have their children read print books. It is a phenom I have seen at the library where I work.

Adults are coming to that tipping point where many more are going to own/use ebook devices than don't.  Wisconsin libraries are pitching in a combined $1 million dollars for our consortium to acquire even more Overdrive content for the clamoring public (and of course steeling ourselves for the possibility of more epic fail during Christmas when all those new ebook owners are going to be trying to download content - ALL AT ONCE!!).

We haven't seen quite the brouhaha on the children's side here.  Sure the kids sit down at the AWE computers.  Sure they access Tumblebooks through our library online. We've had a couple of inquiries from parents on print books based on apps (some of which exist and some don't).  Interestingly enough, when a public library/school library group convened to talk ebooks and readers here last week, the district schools saw nothing on the horizon from their side yet.

That hasn't stopped us from looking ahead and thinking about how to bring more e-content into our library and to our kids.  We were excited to read the always forward-looking Darien CT library's ALSC blog post on their circulation of ipads in Early Literacy pack. We are looking to fund raise for this type of initiative at our library.

Still and all, old print warhorse that I am, I am happy to see print books for kids staying, for the moment, strong in the heart of our parents. Because it is strong in our hearts too.

Image: 'for the love of books'  http://www.flickr.com/photos/75632859@N00/471634239