Review of National Simultaneous Storytime resources

PD Activity

Review an electronic resource about delivering services to children

Topic

Young People's Book Awards

Detailed description of activity undertaken

I reviewed the website and resources of the 2014 National Simultaneous Storytime (www.alia.org.au/nss). National Simultaneous Storytime (NSS) is an annual event where an Australian authored and/or illustrated picture book is read simultaneously in children’s organisations such as libraries and schools (Australian Library and Information Association, 2014). The site contains information about the event, such as how to participate, registration, and resources. I was particularly impressed by the resources, which included activity ideas, songs and rhymes, resources about the author and illustrator, and publicity ideas, and would be helpful to any children’s librarian conducting NSS. The picture book for the 2014 NSS was Too Many Elephants in this House (TME), by Ursula Dobosarsky. TME was shortlisted and received honourable mention in The Children’s Book Council of Australia’s (CBCA) Book of the Year Award, 2013, in the Early Childhood category (The Children's Book Council of Australia, 2013).

What did you learn? 

I was interested to learn that censorship and concerns over the content of children’s books in the Book of the Year Awards was strong enough to justify content in the FAQ section of the website. To me, censorship is of most concern in relation to children, who, as Magnuson (2011) discusses in her analysis of challenges to And Tango Makes Three, often do not have a voice in the matter. While censorship is a serious issue that deserves careful consideration, it is worth noting that being shortlisted for an award draws a lot of attention toward a book. Macleod (2010) advises that “an endorsement from the Children’s Book Council can ... influence on the reading experience of thousands of children” (p.5). However, potentially increased exposure does not mean that books with challenging content should be ‘voted out’ of contention; rather, care should be taken to ensure that books are judged upon merit, only, in order to avoid challenging books from being censored via judging.

How was the activity relevant to your professional practice as a librarian for children or young adults?

Reviewing the NSS website was a great opportunity for me to learn more about reading initiatives. The fact the book, TME, which was shortlisted for the CBCA’s Early Childhood Book of the Year Award for 2013, had been selected for the 2014 NSS shows there is a network of opportunity and exposure that arises once a book has been noticed in Australia’s small but quality industry.

Were any gaps in your knowledge revealed? How might you fill those gaps?

This activity highlighted certain considerations regarding collection development, such as the importance of children’s librarians keeping up to date with awards such as these in order to anticipate patron requests, and also whether an item should automatically be purchased because it has won an award, or if it should be assessed like any other title (though I would anticipate it would be rare for a differing opinion to occur).

References

Australian Library and Information Association. (2014). National Simultaneous Storytime. Retrieved October 6, 2014, from https://www.alia.org.au/nss

Macleod, M. (2010). 'A battle for children's minds': the Children's Book Council of Australia Book of the Year Award for older readers.

Magnuson, M. L. (2011). Perceptions of Self and the "Other": An Analysis of Challenges to And Tango Makes Three. School Library Media Research, 14, 4-4.

The Children's Book Council of Australia. (2013). Book of the year 2013 winners. Retrieved October 7, 2014, from Book of the year 2013 winners

Evaluation of Tumble Book Library

PD Activity

Evaluate a children's website

Topic

Digital resources and emerging technologies

Detailed description of activity undertaken

I evaluated the children’s website, Tumble Book Library (www.tumblebooks.com). I came across this site while browsing the electronic resources offered by ACT Government Libraries (www.library.act.gov.au). Unlike the other children’s sites listed, Tumble Book Library (TBL) was accessible immediately. I am from Canberra but my library card, which I needed to sign in to access other free resources, is long lost. While the TBL website is not very well designed, it is great to see a resource that is accessible and of reasonable quality. The resources themselves vary in quality, though there are some impressive content contributors such as National Geographic, Simon & Schuster, and HarperCollins.

What did you learn?

TBL is a long established site that is popular with teachers and librarians alike. The multimedia books are “created by adding animation, sound, music and narration to existing picture books in order to produce an electronic picture book” (TumbleBooks, n.d.). Interestingly, a United States library system created a book, Why Libraries Matter, in partnership with TumbleBooks (Bourdon, 2006, p. 83). Stories of collaboration between like-minded people and organisations make me proud to be a part of the library profession. They remind me that making connections and building professional networks is important not only for career progression, but also for the content that can be produced through collaboration.

How was the activity relevant to your professional practice as a librarian for children or young adults?

Spatariu, Peach, and Bell (2012) discuss the ubiquity of technology in children’s lives, highlighting the many benefits and concerns regarding children’s use of technology. While there are many emerging technologies available to libraries it can be difficult to adopt and successfully use new technologies as they arise, due to both time and monetary constraints. However, it is important for children’s librarians to experiment with new technologies independently of the library’s agenda; doing so provides insight into youth culture, enabling a librarian to better promote and target children’s services. While TBL could not be considered ‘emerging technology’, it is a popular platform and Platt (2011) suggests that patrons at New York Library like TBL because it is a ‘safe’ online option for their children (p.249). With strong focuses on new and emerging technologies, it is important for children’s librarians to consider that in some cases older technologies are still valid and useful to their cause. 

Were any gaps in your knowledge revealed? How might you fill those gaps?

I don’t work with children so was unaware of the scale of online resources available to children. Browsing the internet provided me with some useful children’s resources, but I found the quality varied wildly. Once I turned my searching toward public libraries and online journals I was much more successful in finding useful children’s resources. As I complete each professional development activity I keep finding that the best way to address a gap in knowledge is to research, talk to colleagues, and practice.

References

Bourdon, C. (2006, 2006/01//). Why libraries matter. American Libraries, 37, 83.

Platt, C. (2011). Popular E-Content at The New York Public Library: Successes and Challenges. Publishing Research Quarterly, 27(3), 247-253. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s12109-011-9231-6

Spatariu, A., Peach, A., & Bell, S. (2012). Enculturation of Young Children and Technology. In S. Blake, D. Winsor & L. Allen (Eds.), Technology and Young Children: Bridging the Communication-Generation Gap (pp. 24-48). Hershey, PA, USA: IGI Global.

TumbleBooks. (n.d.). About the TumbleBookLibrary. Retrieved October 2, 2014, from http://asp.tumblebooks.com/library/asp/about.asp

Book Review of And Tango Makes Three

PD Activity

Write a book review

Topic

Censorship

Detailed description of activity undertaken

I wrote a book review about the children’s book, and Tango makes three (ATMT). I first stumbled upon this book in an article that was shared by my Library’s blog for Banned Book Week, and was struck by the sweet story of two male penguins who longed for and eventually adopted a baby penguin. Most striking of all is the fact this story is based upon events that occurred at a zoo in New York (Richardson, Parnell, & Cole, 2005). The book may not be the most recent release, but it continues to be controversial and I believed it deserved another review.

What did you learn?

I found censorship to be a fascinating subject and one that often results in heated argument for and against. There were many cases about libraries and ATMT in relation to patron challenges (Chinn, 2007), relocation to restricted areas or areas less frequented by children (Goldberg, 2006; "Tango Ruffles Feathers in Virginia," 2008), and removal (Hickey, 2014; Scales, 2007). I learnt that censorship is a complex concept and there is a spectrum of what could be considered appropriate or inappropriate, with each person having different thresholds. Most vexing of all is that there is no right or wrong; while I find it very concerning that some would see ATMT banned, I cannot state that they are wrong. Instead, as a librarian, I can choose to prevent a minority opinion from determining whether others can read a book.

How was the activity relevant to your professional practice as a librarian for children or young adults?

Magnuson (2011) outlines five main motives behind challenges toward ATMT: third-person effect; parental rights; scarcity; First Amendment, or ‘free speech’; and diversity. Magnuson advised third-person effect, where people are concerned about any children reading the book, and parental rights, where people believe parents should chose if a book is suitable, were most common. Interestingly, Magnusson discovered that people arguing for parental rights were divided – some argued against libraries keeping copies of ATMT, while others argued for libraries to keep ATMT. This is relevant to a children’s librarian because they must be able to defend their decision to keep a book against those who will inevitably challenge something in the collection. I believe children’s librarians must be firm and fair in their approach to censorship, using ALIA’s (2007) Statement on free access to information as a guide to help them remain impartial. In addition, writing book reviews about books like ATMT will encourage robust discussions about censorship and may elicit change.

Were any gaps in your knowledge revealed? How might you fill those gaps?

I had never written a book review before and found it to be an interesting and challenging task. It was difficult to manage the discussion as I wanted to include the topic of the book as well as make an assessment of the social issues tackled while remaining impartial. I overcame these gaps by reading other book reviews to get a feel for the writing style, format, and themes.

References

Australian Library and Information Association. (2007). Statement on free access to information. Retrieved September 20, 2014, from https://www.alia.org.au/about-alia/policies-standards-and-guidelines/statement-free-access-information

Chinn, J. (2007). In Your Library: Do You Have Something to Offend Everybody? Medium, 32(1), 22-23.

Goldberg, B. (2006). Librarian: Media Fictionalized Penguin Tango Flap. American Libraries, 37(4), 15-15.

Hickey, S. (2014, July 12). Singapore libraries to destroy copies of gay penguin book. The Guardian. Retrieved from http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jul/12/singapore-libraries-pull-gay-penguin-book

Magnuson, M. L. (2011). Perceptions of Self and the "Other": An Analysis of Challenges to And Tango Makes Three. School Library Media Research, 14, 4-4.

Richardson, J., Parnell, P., & Cole, H. (2005). And Tango makes three. New York: Simon and Schuster.

Scales, P. (2007). It Takes Three to Tango (Vol. 53, pp. 24-24): Media Source, Inc.

Tango Ruffles Feathers in Virginia. (2008). American Libraries, 39(4), 23-24.

Collaborating with other staff and sections to deliver a children's session

PD Activity

Write an article

Topic

Collaboration

Detailed description of activity undertaken

I wrote an article about my experience working in collaboration with my colleagues to deliver several children’s programs in an academic library. Originally my intention was to submit my article to ALIA’s newsletter, InCite. However, I discovered my colleague had written an article about the same topic and had already submitted to InCite. Luckily I was able to post it to my library’s blog instead. The classes I conducted were for Year 9 and Year 11 students from a variety of schools local to the Wagga Wagga region. The themes of the classes were Digital Citizenship and Effective Internet Research.

What did you learn?

I learnt about the importance of collaboration when providing children’s services. I had never run a library program for children, though I have had previous experience teaching children when I was studying teaching and through previous employment teaching chess to three to five year olds during school holidays. Lucas (2013) stresses the importance of collaboration with outside stakeholders when conducting children’s services, but acknowledges the capacity of academic librarians to support such services is limited. I liaised with the University’s Future Moves section and secured a 30 minute session. Children’s sessions are not a priority in an academic library but I knew it was important to do the session properly and make it worthwhile. I solved this issue through collaboration with my colleagues from another campus who kindly allowed me to use their lesson plans.

How was the activity relevant to your professional practice as a librarian for children or young adults?

This activity was relevant because it provided me a platform from which to collaborate with my colleagues and another section of the University to provide a valuable information literacy session to local school children. Smith (2014) notes that young adults from regional areas are less likely to go to university, have higher rates of attrition and are more likely to take longer to graduate (p.161). Future Moves is designed to encourage regional students to attend the University by building a rapport with them from primary to high school. It is in the Library’s best interests to collaborate with Future Moves, both to encourage local enrolments and because of the nature of librarianship; a professional librarian is whatever his or her patrons require, in this case an academic librarian became a children’s librarian.

Were any gaps in your knowledge revealed? How might you fill those gaps?

The short timeframe and my lack of experience in creating a children’s program caused me to reach out to my colleagues. Reading and using their programs, which included some redevelopment with their approval, helped me to better understand the lesson planning process. I read relevant syllabi from the NSW Board of Studies Curriculum, revisited the stages of childhood development, and browsed information literacy guidelines to ensure I was providing an age-appropriate session to the children.

References

Lucas, F. (2013). Many spokes, same hub: facilitating collaboration among library and early-childhood services to improve outcomes for children. Australian Library Journal, 62(3), 196-203. doi: 10.1080/00049670.2013.848008

Smith, D. (2014). Collaboration between rural school and public youth services librarians. New Library World, 115(3/4), 160-174. doi: 10.1108/NLW-01-2014-0014

Wagga Wagga City Library children's sessions

PD Activity

Observe and document a program delivered for children of young adults at a local library, reflect on the experience

Topic

Diversity

Detailed description of activity undertaken

I attended two children’s sessions at Wagga Wagga City Library: Babybounce, for children aged 0-12 months, and Storytime, for children aged 0-5 years. Currently the Babybounce sessions are run exclusively by the librarian, Genie. The session comprised of a mixture of nursery rhymes and poems, with accompanying movements demonstrated by Genie, and punctuated with interesting facts about the benefits of certain activities toward children’s development. The Storytime session is run on a rotating roster; Michael was responsible for the class on the day I attended. This session comprised of vigorous storytelling, puppetry, volunteers to get eaten up by a big snake, followed by craft activities.

What did you learn?

Genie’s presentation provided me a practical example of inclusivity and value-adding. McKenzie and Stooke (2012) discuss the problems that can arise when there are conflicting purposes, such as parents undervaluing the service as ‘just another option’ and librarians being inflexible and unable to adapt to parent and child needs. Genie encouraged participation, allowed chatter, accommodated special needs, and told parents how each activity would benefit their child’s development. I learnt that flexibility, adaptability, and knowledge about child development are very important traits in a children’s librarian.

While the Library wants parents and children from all backgrounds to attend classes, I noticed that those in attendance were predominately middle-class Caucasian. Michael advised they were unsuccessful in attempts to improve Indigenous attendance. The Library now provides space for Indigenous Storytime instead, which is well-attended by Indigenous parents and children. This meets the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Library Information and Resource Networking (2012) Protocol 4.6: “Encourage the use of the organisation’s facilities as meeting places and resources for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.” I learnt that it is important to try and prevent one’s own cultural experiences and expectations from imposing upon expectations of patrons from diverse backgrounds. While at first I may think the best outcome would be for Indigenous patrons to attend the general session, removing my cultural expectations would lead me to conclude that the provision of space for an Indigenous Storytime, which appears to be the preference of this particular group, is a suitable and appropriate solution.

How was the activity relevant to your professional practice as a librarian for children or young adults?

I don’t work in a public library and therefore had only read about how children’s sessions are conducted. As such, this was an opportunity for me to see how two very successful children’s programs are prepared and presented, thus providing me with an idea of how the process works and what outcomes can be expected.

Were any gaps in your knowledge revealed? How might you fill those gaps?

Prior to attending these sessions I had given little consideration to diverse groups. I realised that I did not know enough about diverse groups, such as ethnic groups or people living with a disability, which would hamper my ability to cater to their needs as a librarian. These gaps would be best filled with research followed by practice. I took the first assessment task for this subject as an opportunity to learn more about ethnic and Indigenous groups.

References

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Library Information and Resource Networking. (2012). ATSILIRN protocols for libraries, archives and information services. Retrieved September 2, 2014, from http://aiatsis.gov.au/atsilirn/protocols.php

McKenzie, P. J., & Stooke, R. K. (2012). Making a difference. Children & Libraries: The Journal of the Association for Library Service to Children, 10(2), 47-52.