The statement is the culmination of two months of ALA’s intensive review and research, and forms ALA’s official response to the FCC’s notice of proposed rulemaking that aims to overhaul the E-rate program, the most comprehensive proceeding since the program’s 1997 inception. The statement, the ALA notes, is in line with with President Obama’s ConnectED goal for access to high-speed broadband and wireless for all America’s students through libraries and schools within five years.

“The nation is facing a sea change in what robust technology infrastructure can enable, and libraries are perfectly positioned to light the way forward and ensure no one is excluded from digital opportunity,” says ALA President Barbara Stripling. “America’s libraries must move from basic connectivity to high-capacity broadband so our students and our communities can compete globally. The E-rate program is essential for fulfilling this digital promise.”

America’s 16,417 public libraries serve more than 77 million computer users each year, yet only half of these multi-user outlets offer Internet speeds above the FCC’s home broadband recommendation of 4 Mbps. Through these Internet connections, libraries support the education, employment and e-government resources and services all increasingly moving to “the cloud,” ALA notes.

The ALA calls for new E-rate funding to jumpstart and sustain high-capacity and high-speed Internet connections that support digital learning and economic development through libraries and schools. The current funding cap on the program consistently falls far short of meeting basic demand for Internet-enabled education and learning services, and technology trends clearly show needs and future capabilities only are growing, ALA notes.

To address this, ALA says it supports a two-pronged approach: 1) New temporary funding to support the build-out of high-capacity broadband networks and provide increased support for libraries with the lowest levels of broadband connectivity. 2) A permanent increase in funding.

“Current funding does not reflect the economic reality faced by libraries and schools as they try to upgrade their broadband services,” says Emily Sheketoff, director of ALA’s Washington office. “This FCC proceeding provides an important opportunity to add more funding to the program and increase the value of the program to libraries, schools and our communities.”

ALA also urges the FCC to provide additional E-rate discounts for remote rural libraries, streamline the E-rate’s application review process; replace E-rate procurement rules with those of the applicable locality or state; lower barriers to deployment of dark and lit fiber and ownership of wide area networks when they are the most cost-effective ways to deliver broadband; work with libraries and schools to develop “scalable” bandwidth targets and benchmarks for measuring progress against these targets; and allow applicants to file an “evergreen” form for multi-year contracts.

“We commend the FCC Commissioners on their thoughtful and thorough invitation to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of the E-rate program,” adds Marijke Visser, assistant director of the ALA Office for Information Technology Policy. “[ALA's] filing is clearly only the first step to an E-rate 2.0, and we look forward to engaging in the process over the coming months.”

Scatena read Mercer Mayer’s There’s an Alligator Under My Bed to Wally, a 5-foot-plus female alligator, while hundreds of children looked on. Wally was handled by reptile trainer Erik Callendar. Callendar also taught the kids about how alligators live in the wild.

According to Queens Library, Scatena has a long history of motivating her young readers with wild challenges. She annually promises that if they meet their summer reading goals, she will perform an over-the-top stunt. Previous challenges have had her sitting in a tub of jello, dressing in a rabbit suit and kissing a bunny, and cuddling an enormous python.

Tens of thousands of children participate in Queens Library’s summer reading programs borough-wide.

From the SLJ and LJ archives, the varied list below includes recent feature articles, recommended book lists, and recommended digital resources on the history of September 11 for all ages (including books on helping young children explore hard topics), plus resources that explore the political landscape since that day for adults.

FOR CHILDREN

Not Fade Away: Ten years after 9/11
By Frances Harris. August 1, 2011. SLJ.
How do you teach kids about a tragedy they can’t remember?

Ten Years After: Interview with Don Brown
By Rocco Staino. September 7, 2011. SLJ.
SLJ talks to author-illustrator Don Brown about America Is Under Attack (Roaring Brook, 2011).

FOR ALL AGES

Straight to the Source
By Frances Harris. July 26, 2011. SLJ.
A collection of 9/11 resources for all ages, including official sites and archives.

FOR OLDER TEENS AND ADULTS

Pictures of 9/11
By Martha Cornog. August 17, 2011. LJ.
A dozen graphic novels exploring memories of the day, from a variety of viewpoints.

9/11 Resources
By Joyce Valenza. August 25, 2011. SLJ.
In this NeverEnding Search blog post, Valenza offers a host of digital resources.

Internet Archive Launches Site Dedicated to 9/11 TV News Coverage
By David Rapp. August 25, 2011. LJ.
“Understanding 9/11: A Television News Archive” offers television programming from that fateful day.

9/11 Ten Years On: 15 Titles
By Elizabeth R. Hayford. August 4, 2011. LJ.
This book list offers memoirs and other titles that look back on that fateful day and the years since.

For more, visit our September 11 resources page.

All of the TSLAC grants—a total of 70 for this fiscal year being given to public libraries, institutions of higher education, and related nonprofit organizations and programs—are funded by the federal Library Services and Technology Act via the Institute of Museum and Library Services in Washington, D.C. The grant period runs from September 1, 2013, to August 31, 2014.

“These grants will help improve library programs and services in communities and institutions all over Texas,” says TSLAC Interim Director and Librarian Edward Seidenberg. “These federal dollars augment local funds and help local libraries fulfill their roles as valuable community resources.”

Several of the awards will fund digitization, community reading, and family and early childhood literacy projects, while others will enhance access to information and services.

Two of the largest awards are a $75,000 Library Cooperation Grant to the University of North Texas for its Denton for Inquiry 4 Lifelong Learning (DI4LL) program, which will focus on information literacy skills of pre-kindergarten through graduate school learners, and the grant to the Round Rock system.

Round Rock’s planned Innovation Station will be a collaborative effort between the city of Round Rock, its local school district, and a local nonprofit.

“This partnership enables DPL librarians to combat hunger in the city of Detroit for those most vulnerable, our children, through the distribution of healthy food, thereby enhancing their chances to benefit from the literacy programs provided by the Detroit Public Library,” says Patrice Merritt, executive director, Detroit Public Library Friends Foundation.

The idea for the program evolved after a series of unrelated meetings between representatives of the Chrysler Foundation, the Detroit Public Library, and Forgotten Harvest.

“When Patrice explained that children in their reading program often suffered from poor attention due to the lack of adequate nutrition, I knew there was an opportunity for the three organizations to work together and make a difference for children in Detroit,” says Brian Glowiak, vice president  of the Chrysler Foundation. Coincidentally, Glowiak had met with Susan Goodell, president and CEO of Forgotten Harvest, a week earlier to get an update on their operations.

Initially, the Chrysler Foundation provided Forgotten Harvest with a grant to source, prepare, and deliver nutritious lunches for the final sessions of the 2012 summer reading program. Following the successful pilot, the Foundation increased its support in 2013 to $74,000 in order to provide lunches for the summer reading program and snacks for the after school reading program.

In recent years, according to Merritt, participation in the summer reading program has been stagnant. However, due in part to the lunch program, the number of children participating increased in 2013 to 6,598—up 23 percent from 2012. And while the further impact on families has not been measured, Merritt says that the number of children accompanied by a parent or adult also has increased and that it’s not uncommon for them to take part in the food program too. In total, 11,000 lunches were served over a 10-week period this summer.

“It is difficult for children or adults, for that matter, to concentrate and learn when they are hungry,” notes Goodell. “Our partnership with the Detroit Public Library and the Chrysler Foundation provides an ideal opportunity to provide nourishing food to hungry children, which ideally will enhance their chances to learn and grow.”

Adds Lurine Carter, coordinator of children’s services at DPL, “Our librarians see hunger daily in our branches and understand that an after school snack may be for some the last meal of the day.”

Nearly 10,000 students at 20 local schools now have access to The Indianapolis Public Library’s collection of nearly two million items as part of the Library’s growing Shared System, an interlibrary collaboration that provides online circulation services and joint access to the catalogs and collections of member institutions.

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Begun in 1995, the Shared System allows students to use their library cards to request materials from the Indy Library’s online catalog and from their own school library collections, and provides a delivery system that transports items between Indy Library branches and the schools. The Library also performs processing and cataloging services for the cooperative. It is the only such system in the United States that uses this cooperative model between schools and public libraries.

The Shared System includes a combination of private, public and charter schools along with a state school (Indiana School for the Deaf), and two local art museums (Eiteljorg Museum and the Indianapolis Museum of Art).

“This is a unique partnership that helps the Library support Marion County students by giving them more tools to access information and the resources they need,” said Sarah Batt, the Library’s Shared System Manager. “Schools can leverage their scarce resources by sharing the materials they purchase with each other.”

See Also: A History of the Shared System (via IPL)

See Also: Shared System Info Page (via IPL)

A swarm of teen zombies invades Beloit (WI) Public Library for Library Card Sign-Up Month.

Beloit (WI) Public Library is celebrating September’s Library Card Sign-Up Month with a campaign that showcases staff members and patrons. Head of Adult Services Tina Kakuske helmed the project; Jeni Schomber, Matthew Ruddle, and Nicole Ballok helped brainstorm themes and design. The eight downloadable posters and bookmarks highlight the community’s needs and interests. Teen zombies and a Star Wars-baby make memorable appearances.

Even the youngest of patrons join in on the Library Card Sign-up fun. Photos by Tina Kakuske. Design by Martha Gammons.

Teen Tech Camp: Raspberry Pi

Photo credit: Rebecca Murphey

Our library partnered with local tech professionals Julia Elman and Sarah Kahn (UNC-SILS MLS 2008) to host a daylong event focused on programming Raspberry Pi using the Python programming language. Thanks to a generous donation from the Python Software Foundation (PSF), we were able to provide each attendee with a Raspberry Pi, power supply, an SD card, and two books on programming in Python to take home.

The event was open to students ages 12 to 18, regardless of previous computer programming experience. Sign up was first-come, first-served, and teens who attended a similar event in Fall 2012 were given a bit of advance notice. Only twenty spots were available due to the limited amount of equipment we received from our PSF grant. Volunteers from the tech community set up the network and provided instruction. Noted Python educator Kurt Grandis developed the curriculum outline for the day, but when Kurt had a family emergency, Clinton Dreisbach stepped in at short notice to provide the actual instruction.

Seventeen students spent from 10 am to 5 pm learning the basics of programming in Python as well as the ins and outs of using a Raspberry Pi. We were able to send them home with the materials provided by the grant, as well as a free monitor, keyboard, and mouse. In other words, a free computer. How much did this cost my library? About $30, spent on name badges and painter’s tape.

Powerful Partnerships

Photo credit: Rebecca Murphey

How was it possible to provide such high quality STEM programming to the teens in Durham for almost no cost to the library? We were able to benefit from powerful partnerships. When the PSF grant came through (in a mere six weeks), Sarah and Julia began canvassing for volunteers and materials.

They gathered gently used peripherals from individual donors as well as from Triangle Ecycling, a local ewaste recycling organization. Julia’s company, Caktus Consulting Group, provided funding for a healthy breakfast and lunch for campers and volunteers. Splatspace, a local hackerspace, donated nifty 3D printed Raspberry Pi cases. The City of Wilson (home of North Carolina’s first community owned gigabit broadband network) provided the campers with goody bags and cool promo sunglasses. Providing these extras was a great way to show teens and their parents that they are valued members of the library community.

Lasting Results

Teen Tech Camp attendees ranged from 12 year-olds with no programming experience to 18-year-old veteran hackers. Teaching complex concepts to a diverse audience was not easy. Some of our attendees were definitely more motivated by the copy of Minecraft we preloaded on to their Pi than anything else.

Photo credit: Rebecca Murphey

But to quote organizer Julia Elman, our “goal for the 2013 Teen Tech Camp was not to have the students walk out of the library, ready to take on complex computer programming challenges. It was to spark interest in the students and get them excited… By using varying techniques and providing a safe space for learning, we were able to engage every student at an individual pace. They will take away the motivation, energy and drive to keep on learning, because someone believes in them.”

During the 2013-2014 school year, we plan to support the young coding community created at Teen Tech Camp by hosting library sponsored hackerthons and providing further resources online. By providing high quality materials and technology instruction to young people, we hope to empower the next generation, increase diversity in the technology field, and encourage teens to be digital content creators as well as consumers. You can do it too!

Autumn Winters, Teen Services Manager at Southwest Regional Library, a regional branch of the Durham County Library system in Durham, North Carolina

Chicago’s new Back of the Yards Library, a public/school library hybrid.

Staffed with Chicago’s first teen librarians (two part-time staffers share the position), the public library will also have a children’s librarian, plus a branch librarian who is also a K–12 media specialist, who will serve that role at the library for students who come to the branch during class hours. The library shares a wall with the school, but students have to exit their building to enter the branch. Heralded by Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, the hybrid archetype is reportedly one he hopes to replicate going forward.

“They have the same mission: to educate our children,” says Emanuel, according to the Chicago Sun-Times. “It shouldn’t be in separate buildings. It should be in a single building.”

Ruth Lednicer, Chicago Public Library’s director of marketing and communications, confirms that the city will eye opportunities like Back of the Yard where public libraries also serve as school library spaces, although she insists school libraries will not disappear.” “I don’t think it’s safe to say schools won’t have libraries,” says Lednicer. “We will take what we learn from this and adapt where we go forward, just as we won’t close public libraries and move them into schools. This was a perfect storm.”

Like many municipalities, Chicago is well familiar with shrinking budget lines. The city cut more than 3,000 positions, including teachers, while closing 47 elementary schools for the 2013–2014 school year.

At the same time, however, CPS built new library spaces inside four elementary schools at a cost of more than $2 million. The spaces have opened for the current school term, according to Dave Miranda, deputy press secretary for Chicago Public Schools

Unfortunately, CPS’s Department of Libraries and Information Services now has fewer staff members to support its teacher librarians going forward, according to Marie Szyman, vice president of the Chicago Teacher-Librarians Association.

“They have an enormous task to keep us all organized and they do an amazing job,” she tells School Library Journal, although she notes that the department “has been reduced to just a few people left.”

The Back of the Yards Library, with separate entrance to  the high school at right (glass building).

Partnerships between public libraries and schools are certainly common. Many work in tandem to encourage students to get public library cards, attend events, and sign up for summer reading programs. Szyma, too, promotes her local branch as a teacher librarian at Nathanael Greene Elementary, where she makes sure her students get library cards.

But cities are beginning to blur the boundaries between schools and public libraries.

Miami-Dade, for example, recently announced it would open five of its school libraries located in educational technical centers to public patrons this fall, even as it looked to close at least some of its branch libraries to balance its 2014 budget.

The partnership between the Back of the Yards Library and Back of the Yards High School will be a unique one, however, as they were designed to be shared. The public library will be open six days a week, and is in an area that lost a branch. Lednicer sees the new space as helping the community and also its students—a mission she believes libraries are designed to address.

“They do serve the same purpose,” she says. “Libraries and schools are here to educate kids.”

But whether having a public library double as a school’s media center—even one that’s just steps away— will serve students as well as one located inside their own building is unclear. With school just starting, some are waiting to see how the new model works.

“Is it worth trying or better not to approach it that way?” asks Szyman. “It’s going to be interesting to see how this works.”

The new Teen Center, which will also house books, reference materials, and school work resources, is being built in the lower level of the library. Councilman Comrie allocated $1.342 million toward the project, which will create expanded areas for adults and children on the main level as the teens move downstairs, effectively enlarging the library area by 44 percent. The Teen Center will also have a separate entrance, so it can also be used as a youth community space during non-library hours.

“Queens Libraries remain a critical part of our communities, and I am grateful to have been able to allocate funds to make this expansion possible,” Comrie said.

Local teens Shalleca Broadbelt, Miguel Rodriguez, Shanea Moulta, and Philipia McNabwill presented Comrie with a Proclamation thanking him for funding the center.

“Queens Library joins the young adults of this community in thanking Council Member Comrie for his foresight and commitment to public libraries and teens,” added Galante. “With his support, the library will be the coolest place in Cambria Heights and we couldn’t be happier.”

Early learning programs at Brooklyn Public Library.
All photos ©Philip Greenberg/Courtesy of Brooklyn Public Library.

How can we make smarter babies?  These days there seem to be brain building claims on almost every baby product. While many of these claims have been validated by research, what does the research say about educational apps for babies?  Earlier this week, the Campaign for a Commercial Free-Childhood (CCFC) filed a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission stating that there is no rigorous research to support Fisher-Price’s claim that their “Laugh & Learn,” apps  support language development and conceptual learning in babies. Is this Jean Piaget’s “American Question” for the 21st Century?

When Piaget, the renowned Swiss child psychologist, spoke to American audiences, he was often asked the same question: “What can we do to make children develop faster?”  Piaget’s answer: “Why would you want to do that?” He didn’t think that pushing kids to reach milestones before they were ready was possible or desirable. But this inquiry, often called the “American Question,” seems to continue to haunt the shelves of the baby aisle.

Back in 2000, when I first started working with a special early childhood collection at a public library, parents often requested the Your Baby Can Read kit. They seemed to be very excited about these flashcards, DVDs, and books that could “teach their babies to read” and get their child ahead. I was always tempted to respond with Piaget’s reply, but I held my judgment in check and encouraged them to read to their babies instead. The product has since been publicly discredited by the CCFC, but you can still find the kit online.

Fast forward to 2013. In Brooklyn, parents participating in an Every Child Ready to Read workshop asked the librarian leading it for some early literacy app recommendations. Apps for babies abound, such as “Baby Learning Card” or the aforementioned Fisher-Price “Laugh & Learn” apps (with 2.8 million downloads). Interestingly enough, the same watch-dog group that helped discredit the claims of the “Baby Einstein” DVDs and the Your Baby Can Read kit—the CCFC—is now questioning the educational claims of these very popular apps.

Are parents getting apps for their babies because they want their child to get ahead, learn letters, colors, shapes, and numbers? As a parent of a young child, I get it. There is always the feeling that you’re not doing enough as parent. Is my son getting enough breast milk? Do I read to him enough?  Do I play and talk with him enough? Parents use apps to keep track of feeding times and get baby care advice, why not get the hottest new tool to help baby learn? But is this the road we should be taking? Are learning apps right for babies?

Many, particularly the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), would say no. It recommends avoiding screens before the age of two years. The AAP made this suggestion based on the troubling results of research on passive television viewing and background television. While more research needs to be done on interactive screens, there’s no hard evidence that young children can learn much from a screen before the age of two.

I’ve heard parents say they would never let their baby look at TV or use an app. Some parents even baby-proof the house by getting rid of the TV. Avoiding screens completely is not very realistic in our screen-saturated world. If a baby is getting a rich diet of language and play with parents and caregivers, a little screen time distraction so mom can squeeze in a shower is not going to melt a baby’s brain.

Educational apps, videos, and flashcards, however well-meaning, do not take into account how babies learn. Babies learn through interaction, touching, feeling, grabbing, moving, and doing the same thing over and over again. A baby may drop a spoon out of the high chair repeatedly. However annoying this is to mom, he is learning how gravity works, what sound metal makes when it hits the floor, and may even be conducting a social science experiment (is mom going to pick it up again?). Babies learn through interactions with loving and trusted caregivers. When a baby points to a balloon and says “bah!” and dad gets excited because she has said a new word, she is going to repeat this trick again and again to please dad. Very young minds need a thoughtful, feeling person to help them make connections, encourage exploration, and adapt to their needs. These are all things apps and screens just can’t do.

So what is the librarian’s response when parents ask for “Baby Einstein” DVDs or app recommendations for babies?  Should we quote the APA guidelines and give parents the librarian evil eye for putting their little ones in front of screens? My first suggestion is don’t judge. Apps and videos have their place. I know one family that uses YouTube videos of trains to get their son through his nebulizer asthma treatments with fewer tears. Also, I would make sure parents are informed. Let them know that babies learn through play. Encourage them to come to library programs that model fun activities they can try at home. Show them where the board books are located. I think it is fine to recommend a few quality apps or videos, maybe even ones based on picture books, and encourage parents to play with apps and view videos with their babies and talk together about what is on the screen.

It looks like the “American Question” will always be with us, but librarians can be part of the answer. Our programs help parents connect the dots between learning and play. We model simple and free activities that stimulate early literacy development. Learning is a process and it happens for everyone at its own pace. Babies, with the help of parents, caregivers, educators, and librarians, are building learning one block, one book, one word, and one song at a time.
Highly interactive board books that are more fun than apps

• Bizzy Bear: Fire Rescue! illustrated by Benji Davies. Candlewick/Nosy Crow. 2013.
• The Finger Circus Game by Hervé Tullet. illustrated by author. Phaidon Pr. 2013.
• Peekaboo! by Taro Gomi. Chronicle. 2013. 
• Who’s Hiding? by Sebastien Braun. Candlewick. 2013.
• You Are My Baby: Safari by Lorena Siminovich. Chronicle. 2013. 

By Nell Coburn

“I want to know your top 10 best practices for storytime,” a colleague said to me a few months before I retired. “You’ve been in youth services four decades and you’ve long been a storytime trainer at Multnomah County Library (MCL). I bet you have some best practices I’ve never even thought of.”

This was an irresistible challenge, because it’s storytime that’s kept me in youth services for 40 years and storytime that I’ll miss most in retirement. Storytime is the premium service for children in public libraries across the country. For many youth librarians, it’s the most treasured part of our job. I’m sure my colleagues are aware of many storytime best practices, but I can suggest a few that might not be on everyone’s list.

I’ll start with something I’m passionate about: My longstanding belief that storytime is for children and adults. When I trained as a youth librarian in the 1970s in Prince George’s County, MD, storytime was a kids-only affair. As in most public libraries, parents and caregivers waited for their children outside the program room. A few of us encouraged them to join, but many librarians felt intimidated by the adult presence.

Back in those days, storytime was for three to five year olds. When we started offering programs for two year olds—and eventually, babies—we needed adults to accompany their children. It soon became obvious that everyone was benefiting from storytime. Now, most libraries make it clear that storytime is very much for children and their adults. I’ve underlined some key phrases from the MCL website’s description of storytime: “Parents learn how to foster early literacy skills to prepare their children for learning to read. Librarians answer questions about books and library services, and teach parents how to interest their children in books.”

How does that transfer into best practice? The Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC) and the Public Library Association (PLA) offer some effective techniques in their early literacy initiative, Every Child Ready to Read @your library, accessible online (everychildreadytoread.org). Since that venture began over a decade ago, MCL librarians have made it standard practice to make direct comments to adults during storytime.

Here’s an example: After sharing a book like Raffi and Nadine Bernard Westcott’s Down by the Bay (Crown) or Westcott’s The Lady with the Alligator Purse (Little, Brown, both 1988), a librarian might say: “Singing and rhyming help children learn that words are made up of different sound combinations. In songs, each syllable has a different note, so it’s easy to hear distinct sounds. Children who can do this are better able to sound out words when they are learning to read.”

Adults appreciate knowing that storytime materials and techniques are supported by research and boost early literacy skills. For many, this gives storytime more legitimacy and educational value.

Even more important than sharing such information with grown-ups is the ability to ensure active adult participation in storytime. The best storytimes are those during which adults are fully engaged—shaking out their wiggles, clapping, singing, dancing, and encouraging kids as they interact with the books.

This can be facilitated in multiple ways. I like to hang large-print copies of regularly used songs and rhymes on the wall, or have a collection stapled together in a take-home handout. It’s easier for grown-ups when the words are right in front of them. It helps storytime presenters, too: We don’t have to memorize all those songs! And a handout encourages parents and caregivers to share the songs and rhymes with their children later, further strengthening their early literacy skills.

Adult involvement has all sorts of positive outcomes beyond the educational ones. When grown-ups are engaged, we have fewer “adult behavior” challenges, such as chatting or cell phone use. This leads me to another best practice: Establish clear expectations for both adult and child storytime behavior. Effective instructions are positively worded and presented in simple, direct language. The focus should be on what storytime participants should do, rather than what they should not do.

Consider posting your expectations, briefly mentioning them at the beginning, or handing them out before a series of storytimes. For example, a clear, friendly statement may help adults realize that cell phone use during storytime is not appropriate. Here’s one to try: “Adults: Please help me make this storytime a good experience for all by turning off your phone, or putting it on vibrate. If you must accept a call during storytime, please step outside the room to do so.”

Help young parents understand that it’s best to take their child out of the room if he or she is disruptive, and that they are welcome back when the child is ready. According to MCL staff, this instruction is especially appreciated by immigrant parents with no storytime experience who may not know how they and their children should behave.

Likewise, a brief, straightforward statement can inform adults that we don’t expect their two year old to behave like a five year old: “Welcome! This is a storytime designed for two year olds, so please know that it will look different from some other storytimes you may have attended. Two year olds need to move, so we plan lots of movement activities and we don’t mind when they get up and roam around the room during the stories, as long as they don’t hurt themselves or disturb others.”

Adults who are actively involved and understand the educational value of storytime may be less likely to be chronically late. Of course, nothing is predictable where young children are involved, and there will be occasions when traffic, a child meltdown, or some minor home crisis will result in latecomers. The best practice here, I believe, is to welcome all attendees warmly and make them feel comfortable. Recently I observed a Spanish-language storytime during which families trickled in from 10 to 10:30 a.m. Everyone seemed fine with that, and the newcomers slipped into the group seamlessly. Spanish-speaking staff say that a relaxed regard for time is culturally appropriate, another factor to consider in our approach to latecomers.

I’ve always felt that one of storytime’s main purposes is to introduce children and grown-ups to the riches of the library’s collections. Adults often need a nudge in the direction of poetry and the fine information books available to children. To encourage them in these areas, I believe we should make it a point to feature poetry and nonfiction books in storytime.

Here are some suggestions. Byron Barton’s Building a House (Greenwillow, 1981) and Joy Cowley and Nic Bishop’s Red-Eyed Tree Frog (Scholastic, 1999) are fascinating and well-paced for storytime reading. A poetry book I’ve used again and again is Jack Prelutsky and Marc Brown’s Read-Aloud Rhymes for the Very Young (Knopf, 1986), a gem containing a great selection of poems to match with picture books. The collection includes an assortment of poems about mud, puppies, and other ordinary things that delight small children and connect storytime to their immediate world. Try pairing Lillian Schulz’s “Fuzzy Wuzzy, Creepy Crawly” caterpillar rhyme with Eric Carle’s book The Very Hungry Caterpillar (Philomel, 1969). The short poem nicely reinforces Carle’s simple science lesson.

If I have one pet peeve, it’s people who come for storytime and leave immediately after. In MCL storytime training, we encourage staff to invite participants to explore the collection and “find something wonderful to take home!” We also urge storytime presenters to accompany families to the shelves and offer assistance. Staff should not be expected to return to a public service desk right after their program. They can make themselves most useful by roaming the shelves with the participants they’ve just put under the storytime spell.

Often, adults like to linger and socialize after storytime. If you find that they aren’t also visiting the collection, set up a small selection of enticing materials in the program area. Encourage everyone to browse. You may even wind up doing quick booktalks about materials you’re encouraging families to check out. Include some cool materials for adults—a new cookbook, seasonal craft books, gardening books, magazines, or DVDs.

How do we stay fresh when we do storytimes week after week, year after year? We need to look for opportunities to continue our education in storytime techniques. Even after 40 years, I love learning new rhymes and songs from colleagues. I love seeing how someone else approaches a title and discovering which new titles work well for them. The best way to grow our storytime skills is through observation, an important part of new staff training at MCL. Veteran staff benefit from observation as well: We should all get out of our own libraries and observe our colleagues elsewhere several times a year. Managers can support this practice by incorporating it into yearly staff performance appraisals.

MCL youth librarians also enhance their skills through a practice called “storytime highlights.” During several monthly youth services meetings, a few librarians share a favorite song, rhyme, puppet story, or activity. They also meet periodically for “circle of practice” sessions before the meeting. Each session focuses on supporting skills in a specific area, such as toddler time, family storytime, or songs and rhymes for babies.

I’ll close with one of my strongest beliefs about storytime. Perhaps it’s more of a “best concept” than a best practice, but it affects everything else we do. This is something I learned from the wise Marjie Crammer, who for decades headed the children’s department at the New Carrollton (MD) Library. Marjie would tell her staff: “Storytime is not about you; it’s about the children.”

Over the years, I’ve adjusted that a bit: “Storytime is not a performance; it’s an interactive experience between you and the people in front of you on any particular day.” Staff attending MCL storytime training say this is what they remember most. It takes the pressure off and keeps the focus on the children. Come to think of it, let’s move that to best practice number one. I don’t doubt it will hold for another 40 years.

Nell Colburn served as a children’s librarian for over 40 years at Multnomah County Library in Portland, OR, and at public libraries in Maryland, Virginia, New York, and Washington. She is the 2013 recipient of the Oregon Library Association’s Eveyln Sibley Lampman Award for significant contributions in library service to the children of Oregon. She also cowrote SLJ’s “First Steps” column with Renea Arnold from 2004-2012.

American Library Association

The ALA considers the document the cornerstone document of Stripling’s presidential initiative, “Libraries Change Lives,” which is designed to build sustained public support for America’s libraries of all types—school, public, academic and special.

“Libraries provide services that inspire and empower their users to change their lives through education,” says Stripling. “The Declaration will serve as an advocacy tool to help communities take action and illustrate the value of their libraries and library staff. Our hope is that library supporters will take advantage of this tool and present collected signatures to local leaders and legislators throughout the year.”

Kent Oliver, director of the Nashville Public Library, as well as Nashville library leaders and community members, joined Stripling at the event. All were among the first to sign the “Declaration,” which is intended to serve as a strong public statement about the value of libraries as institutions that empower individuals, strengthen families, build communities, and protect our right to know.

Signings are being organized at libraries and other locations throughout the nation. The petitions will be presented to Congress by library supporters during National Library Legislative Day activities from May 5 to 6, 2014. Online signing of the Declaration will be made available later this summer.

There is a clear link between the quality of school library programs and academic achievement, the ALA says, noting that more than 60 studies in 19 states show students in schools with school library programs staffed by qualified school librarians learn more, have higher academic achievement levels, and score higher on standardized tests than their peers in schools without such library programs.

The ALA also notes that public libraries are also critically important in our communities. According to the ALA’s “Public Library Funding and Technology Access Study,” an estimated 300,000 people a day receive job-seeking help at public libraries, and more than 65 percent of libraries are the only source of free public access to computers and the Internet in their communities.

In the next year, libraries of all types will hold signing ceremonies, during which community members can visibly declare their right to have vibrant libraries in their communities.

Photo by Ben Ostrowsky

Draconian cuts to Miami public libraries—nearly 45 percent of its branches shuttered and more than 250 staff positions lost—stand to impact the community, including  Miami’s school children.

“The worst case scenario is 22 libraries would have to be closed,” says Lisa Martinez, senior advisor in Miami-Dade’s Office of the Mayor, who oversees its library department. “The Mayor has charged us to bring that number down.”

At issue is a budget cut proposed by Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez, and approved by county commissioners, set to go through October 1. Lawmakers are trying to reduce the branches that may have to close before that deadline, and Martinez believes she is close to bringing the number of branches cut to 16. Still, they pose a monumental loss of service to Miami’s K–12 students, as some of the public libraries slotted to shut down are close to Miami-Dade County public schools.

West Kendall Regional, a 39,000 square-foot space and one of the original 22 slated for closure, is a 10-minute walk from Felix Varela Senior High School, and on the same block as Hammocks Middle School.

In the coming weeks, Martinez is analyzing schedules, community needs, and  the geographic locations of the branches to try to stretch library resources, and attempt to save some of the branches that are in danger.  She’s also looking at partnerships to offset costs, possibly reduce hours, and also considering ways the library funds services.

“If we have a library that has a staffing level of five, and one is responsible for maintaining the computers, how do we make sure that we deliver services, not just offer computers in the library,” she says.

School libraries may also be considered for some partnership, says Albert Pimienta, instructional supervisor of library media services for Miami-Dade County Public Schools, who says public school personnel are expecting to meet with the mayor’s office and the public library “on what the impact may be,” he says.

School libraries do work with the public libraries in Miami-Dade by cross-promoting events and encouraging students to get public library cards among other activities, he says. But school libraries are not meant to support public needs, adds Pimienta. While 343 of its schools have libraries, not all are staffed with certified media specialists. Some have clerical staff who handle circulation duties, but sometimes for just a few hours a day.

“I don’t think our intent is to serve the public at large,” he says. “I would be hard pressed to see how we could serve the public if it came to that.”

Laura Spears, a doctoral student at Florida State University, spent 30 years in South Florida, and taught online at Florida State University’s School of Library & Information Studies. She believes that the way public libraries are funded needs to change dramatically to ensure access for everyone.

“The bottom line is library funding really needs to be shaken up, but it has to be important to the decision makers,” she says. “It’s not clear to me that somebody like Miami-Dade’s mayor feels like it’s important.”

Roger Mastroianni Photography

A design revolution is reinventing the children’s room in public libraries and changing the way young children learn.

The movement involves colorful spaces with mirrors, soft edges, and things to climb on. There are items to play with such as “sentence makers” and audio-based toys. A farmer’s market, cash register, automobile, or airport may be involved. Most importantly, the areas are embedded with tools and features that get kids ready to read.

This new breed of literacy-packed play spaces in libraries is inspired by children’s museums and the developmental theories that drive them. “You can call it interaction, you can call it theme design,” says Sharon Exley, a designer and president of Architecture is Fun, a firm that has conceived spaces for both libraries and children’s museums. “We’re creating architecture in a way that children understand,” she adds. “The underlying story or framework is always literacy, and how you make it fun and playful.”

Bite-sized children’s museums

Tracy Strobel strived for a rich learning experience that would keep patrons coming back when she was conceiving new children’s areas for the Cuyahoga County (OH) Public Library (CCPL), now in the midst of a system-wide rebuilding and renovation project. Strobel, deputy director at CCPL, imagined “bite-sized pieces of a children’s museum” that kids and their caregivers or parents would visit weekly or once a month. They would be “destinations for families much in the way that a children’s museum is a destination,” she says.

The garden-themed toddler area at the Evanston (IL)
Public Library has ample seating for caregivers.
Photo by Doug Snower Photography

While planning the nine new children’s areas, each at roughly 8,000 square feet, Strobel zeroed in on what they needed to offer children educationally. The designs, she notes, had to be “related to the six early literacy skills” identified by literacy experts and adapted by educators: developing vocabulary, print recognition, print awareness, narrative adeptness, letter knowledge, and phonological awareness. Strobel handed potential architects and designers a sheet outlining these and other key requirements. At the same time, she adds, “we try really hard to have a variety of elements at the different spaces.”

Enter the design firm RedBox Workshop, which is conceiving, fabricating, and installing some of the new areas at CCPL. “You’re basically teaching experiential learning through play,” explains Tony LaBrosse, partner and director of design and project management at RedBox. The company has also created play areas at museums, zoos, and hospitals.

In the libraries, at least, books still reign, but the heart of the project was “applying an aesthetic wrapper to early literacy objectives,” says LaBrosse. Many CCPL spaces are built around themes from children’s books. The Warrensville branch environment, for one, was inspired by Ashley Bryan’s book Let it Shine: Three Favorite Spirituals (Atheneum, 2007), with its vibrant, cut-paper illustrations. The library walls, decorated with dancing silhouettes like those in Bryan’s book, do indeed create a vibrant sense of play that riffs on the heart of the literature in the room.

An Evanston patron with cushions
that double as a classic stacking toy.
Photo by Doug Snower Photography

A centerpiece of the new features is an enclosed “crawler space,” as Strobel calls it—a safe, enclosed play pit for the littlest patrons, stocked with stimulating, brightly colored motifs. Nearby, a light board allows pre-literate kids to assemble stories with different Colorform shapes, honing narrative adeptness. A sound board spells out words broken into syllables. When a child pushes a button, he hears an individual syllable pronounced. In a nearby mirror, he can watch himself forming the syllables.

A “sentence maker” also builds print awareness with elements that kids can spin or move up and down to reveal random words forming “wacky sentences,” says CCPL marketing and communications director Hallie Rich.

Elements like these, LaBrosse explains, are about “meeting the individual or group where they’re at on any given day.” He says, “We don’t try to set up an experience that is ‘you will learn this today when you go do that experience.’ We’re not here to judge their learning experience. We don’t have an outcome. We’re not grading.” The designs also “try to create age-appropriate risk” such as exploring—and probably taking a tumble—without getting hurt.

The children’s area at CCPL’s new Mayfield branch takes inspiration from Denise Fleming’s Caldecott Honor book In the Small Small Pond (Holt, 1993). Adopting the idea of wetlands exploration,the space incorporates “science work related to tadpoles or microscopic science with early literacy,” says LaBrosse. There’s a microscope, an insect observation center with large bugs on view, and a soundboard.

Other spaces are purely thematic. At Garfield Heights, it’s all about cars. There’s a garage and a gas pump, levers and pulleys to play with, and toy spark plugs, all of which can be manipulated to boost STEM skills, a priority of the local school system, says Strobel. The Fairview branch takes on the concept of travel, with world landmarks, a play airplane hangar, and control tower. There’s a ticketing and baggage area, along with places to sell food, and a cash register. The environment “allows kids to do all this imaginative play with time, tools, and small motor skills,” says Strobel.

Lamaze and play-based pavilions

The best way to engage early learners, says Exley, is through “literacy-rich and play-based pavilions that allow children to explore” and navigate the world of reading.

She and her partner at Architecture is Fun, husband and architect Peter Exley, kept these child-centered questions in mind while conceptualizing a renovation for the 14,500-square-foot children’s area for the Evanston (IL) Public Library in 2007 and a new, nearly 16,000-square-foot space for the Fountaindale (IL) Public Library in 2011.

Developmental theory is always at the forefront of Exley’s mind. While dreaming up spaces for very young children, she thinks about psychologist Abraham Maslow’s “Hierarchy of Needs,” a theory of psychological health. The basic idea is that a fundamental feeling of safety and security enables relationships, esteem, and creative potential.

For Exley, this translates into crawler spaces offering stimulation and security. “Sensory gardens, little padded landscapes, things on the ceiling to focus on” are key elements for the youngest library patrons, Exley says. The soft, colorful elements also offer “Lamaze-style iconography.”

At Evanston, the “garden of early learning,” like Warrenville’s crawler spot, is such a place. It is an enclosed area with playful plant and flower motifs—gingko leaves and stylized roses based on a Charles Rennie Macintosh design. Inside, oversized cushions function as a “classic stacking toy, but we’ve done it as a giant soft sculpture,” says Exley. “If a child is learning to walk or stand, it gives them something to hold on to.”

Elsewhere at Evanston, where the Exleys’ elements were fabricated and installed by RedBox, is a little collection of “storytelling sticks,” resembling garden signs, that can be written on. “Very often preschoolers tell a little story to teachers who write it down and parents get this at the end of the day,” says Exley. To build on kids’ articulation skills, “parents can jot down a thought shared by their child.”

A game pavilion at the Fountaindale (IL) Public Library.
Photo by Doug Snower Photography

For older children, the Exleys conceived tables with built-in bins for art supplies and play items such as LEGO. Branching columns rise from the tables, a nod to architect Frank Lloyd Wright. The overhanging limbs are outfitted with holes that librarians can suspend things from—origami, artwork, globes, or whatever else may be related to the project of the moment. The art area has a built-in sink for washing up. This place is made for action.

The Fountaindale children’s area took its cue from a children’s book, Dragon Tree by Jane Langton (HarperCollins, 2008). With lots of room to move, the team created a “mini-park” with stylized trees arranged to “call out these areas of adventure or discovery,” Exley says.

Those areas include a spot for playing global games, with real globes and one painted with blackboard paint, so kids can draw their own world. A “garden of technology” has informational monitors suspended from trees. There’s a crawler area here, too, and a space for the chess club. In the art area, the trees are equipped with clips for displaying completed art projects.

Exley stresses that libraries considering play-centered areas should be mindful of designing one they can manage. You want an area that “the staff can afford” and maintain. Fountaindale manager of children’s services Wendy Birkemeier says that because of graffiti issues, she doesn’t usually leave chalk out in the library. Her staff puts out washable crayons instead.

More conceptually, Exley returns to the central exploratory aspect of such early learning areas. “You don’t want to have an interactive environment that’s push-button,” she says. “You need something open-ended.”

“Family Play and Learning Spots”

The Hennepin County (MN) Library (HCL) launched its first early literacy play area in 2010, when the Minnesota Children’s Museum received an Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) grant to explore the idea of designing early literacy play spaces within libraries. HCL has adopted two of these spaces so far, geared to children ages two to six, at the Hopkins and North Regional branches, with another opening this fall.

“The idea was that children’s museums have great ideas about exhibit design and ways for parents and children to interact around play,” says Maureen Hartman, coordinating librarian, youth programs and services at HCL, of the new 400- to 700-square foot areas. “That’s a really different direction for libraries.” She adds, “We have supported our staff with play training that the children’s museum has offered us.”

On any given day at one of these play spots, you’ll find children busily working in a fabricated garden, made of two pieces of leather with cotton underneath, planting imaginary seeds in a row. One might plunk an illustrated sign reading “carrot” into the ground, cook toy carrots in a play kitchen, and serve them up at a mini café table. Nearby, at a toy farmer’s market, children can sort, count, and identify more vegetables. All this fun is bolstering their vocabulary and reading and honing narration and numeracy abilities.

To inform and support caregivers, “directions and cues to parents” are posted at the early literacy spaces, Hartman says. HCL also produced a document for adults outlining five simple things that they can do to help get kids ready to read, based on the Every Child Ready to Read (ECRR) principles issued by the Public Library Association (PLA): “talk, sing, read, write and play together.”

A play kitchen and mini theater at the North Regional branch of the Hennepin County (MN) Library. The Hennepin system’s early learning spots are oriented to children ages two to six and resulted from a collaboration with the Minnesota Children’s Museum.
Photo Courtesy of Hennepin County Library

“Playing is how kids learn,” the document tells readers. “Playing in a space like this helps kids use their imagination to solve problems—it also helps them learn to work with others and prepares them to learn and read.”

For now, HCL is calling these new areas “Family Play and Learning Spots,” according to Hartman. HCL is working with the Minnesota Children’s Museum and the Minnesota Center for Early Education and Development on an evaluation of the impact these types of areas have within libraries. “I’m really interested in a pre- and post- test,” says Hartman. “What does engagement look like between parents with children in a regular library vs. one that’s more thoughtfully planned?”

Answers to that question, and others, will be revealed when the study is completed this fall. Hartman says she will use the findings to leverage support for more play spaces.

In the meantime, the people who help conceive and build these educational hot spots never stop wondering how spatial design can better support literacy and development. “Some designers look at things in two dimensions, like how long you want your desk to be,” Exley says. “We like to think in a four-dimensional way. We come in to add the experience level—in 4D.”

Acclaimed author/illustrator Ashley Bryan celebrated his 90th birthday at the Simon & Schuster Children’s fall preview on July 25. The winner of the Laura Ingalls Wilder Medal, and the Coretta Scott King–Virginia Hamilton and Coretta Scott King Awards was joined by librarians, publishing professionals, and fellow children’s books artists.

Author/illustrator Ashley Bryan, Donna Isaacs, and author/illustrator Paul O. Zelinksy hold a copy of Bryan’s next book, Can’t Scare Me. (l. to r.)  Photo by Rocco Staino

Santa Clarita Public Library‘s (CA) summer reading program is in full swing at their Canyon Country branch.

The Magic of Food and More program with Lincoln Bond.

Michael McCarty storyteller extraordinaire

 

Jewelry created by teens at the Trash to Trinkets program. Photos courtesy of the Santa Clarita Library Tumblr.

 

We are Gum Spring Library and we are officially a community resource.

Our programs, planned with no idea as to their potential popularity, have been wildly successful (except the showing of Up which only had one attendee, which makes me worry that our future animated film showings won’t be well-attended either). Crafts, (non-animated) movies, and Teen Cuisine (learning to read nutrition labels, chop foods, and follow recipes) have all been met with enthusiasm and repeat attendees. But the overwhelming number of our attendees are 12-14 years old.

This realization that tweens are our most frequent Teen Center users has forced us to look closely at our upcoming programs. Since September, October, and November programs have been on the books since late May, we cannot remove or add anything. Instead, we can only tweak what is already planned in order to make it appeal (and be appropriate) to a certain crowd. For Teen Read Week (Seek the Unknown @ your library), we are hosting Blind Date with a Book, which encourages teens to check out a book whose outer layer is concealed, with the hopes that they will try a title they otherwise would never have picked up. But if the current trend remains the same, should we self-censor the titles we choose to wrap up so we don’t unintentionally scar a 12-year old-girl with the scathing language of Sherman Alexie’s incredibly well-written and powerful book Flight (Grove Pr., 2007)? We want to expose program attendees to great books, but should we sacrifice titles with mature or jarring content just in case a younger teen picks one up?

In September we are hosting a series of SAT prep workshops and seminars for teens, and have already been asked by numerous parents if their 12- and 13-year-old children are allowed to attend. What we thought was going to be popular with high school juniors and seniors is of real interest to our tween patrons. Should we restrict the attendee age to high school sophomore or older, or allow any teen? Will letting younger teens attend keep older teens from seeing the programs as productive?

Tweens are an often underserved demographic in libraries, as are teens as a whole, so my colleagues and I are very happy to have so many of then attending our programs. Planning tween-specific programs in conjunction with (or at least with advice from) the children’s librarians will be very important going forward. On the other hand, keeping the space relevant for older teens is just as important. How can we welcome both, without giving either end of the age group an advantage over resources, programs, or attention? One way is to ask the age of all patrons. On many occasions this summer we have asked children to vacate the game room because they are not old enough, just as we have asked 19 and 20 year olds to leave because they are too old. Maintaining the age restriction of the Teen Center takes time and effort, but the teens who qualify to stay in the space usually respond with appreciation. No babysitting, no being babysat. Welcome to the Teen Center, where you are responsible for yourself.

Fresh Paint traces the development of teen services for a new public library in an underserved community.

The Bibliotheque nationale de France in Paris is part of a modern complex of four office towers.

Depaire first arranged for me a visit and tour of the Bibliothèque nationale de France, a modern complex consisting of four office towers that is in stark contrast with most of Paris, and there I met with Annick Lorant-Jolly, chief editor of the Revue des livres pour enfants, and Nathalie Beau, who is in charge of France’s international affairs regarding children books.

I learned that the business of children’s books is relatively young in France, with beloved French iconic characters created in America, such as Madeline, still barely known to French children. In fact, it wasn’t until the 1970s that children’s books began to come into their own in the country, with public libraries creating the first children’s sections. Beau herself was responsible for the first children’s library in Strasbourg (the capital of the Alsace region in eastern France, and seat of the European Parliament).

Annick Lorant-Jolly, director of the National Center for Children’s Literature, and Nathalie Beau, who is in charge of France’s international affairs regarding children books.

At the moment, over half of the children and young adult titles in France are translations from other countries, with the United States well represented. Any American librarian would feel comfortable browsing bookstores and libraries and seeing such familiar covers and titles such as Jules Feiffer’s  Aboie Georges! (Bark George! HarperCollins, 1999), John Green’s Nos Etoiles Contraires (Fault in Our Stars; Dutton, 2012), or Siobhan Vivian’s La Liste (The List; Push, 2012).

America has its share of “rock star” authors and illustrators such as Brian Selznick, Laurie Halse Anderson, and Mo Willems but I was surprised to learn that it is not the case in France.“There is something strange between childhood and adulthood,” Annick Lorant-Jolly told me. In France and other Mediterranean cultures, “childhood isn’t cherished in the same way” as in America, she said.

A display of children’s reading materials in one of France’s public library branches.

But that is changing with Le Genevrier, a publisher who is bringing the Caldecott Medal and Honor books to the French public for the first time. In what is called Caldecott Collection, it plans to publish many titles with a few notable changes. Robert McCloskey’s Blueberries for Sal (Viking, 1948) will be Blueberries for Lily, while the title of Lynn Ward’s The Biggest Bear (Houghton, 1952) has been changed to The Bear Who Loved the Maple Sugar.

Both Beau and Lorant-Jolly also shared several French authors and illustrators that are popular, some of which are available in English translations. Benjamin Chaud, an illustrator for young children, has with Ramona Badescu the “Pomelo” series, which is available in English from Enchanted Lion Books. Audrey Poussier is another popular illustrator whose titles are published in France by l’ecole des loisirs, who is celebrating its 25th anniversary as a publisher of children’s books.

A collection of French children’s books.

One of the most popular French children’s books of recent time is Chien Bleu (l’ecole des loisirs, 1989) by Nadja. Unfortunately, this magical tale—about a mysterious big, blue dog and the girl who befriends him—is difficult to find in English.

Graphic novels for all ages are abound in France and thanks to Toon Books, the popular Claude Ponti is available to American audiences with Chick and Chickie Play All Day! Many in the US are familiar with the illustrator, Olivier Tallec. He has created art for more than 50 books for children, including Waterloo and Trafalgar (Enchanted Lion Books) and the well-known “Rita and Whatsit” series (Chronicle Books). In 2010, Big Wolf & Little Wolf was chosen as a Batchelder Honor Book. Also known to American audiences is Popville (Roaring Brook, 2010) by Anouck Boisrobert and Louis Rigaud, a clever pop-up book that shows urban expansion. It was chosen a Best Book by Bank Street College in 2011.

Bookstores, as well as libraries, throughout France are typically abuzz with activity.

One of the most popular children’s book authors for middle grades in France was born in Newark, NJ. Susie Morgenstern has written more than 70 books, and has been award the Mildred Batcheldor Award for literature first published in a language other than English for Sweet Letters from 0 to 10 (Viking 1998) and for Joker (l’ecole des loisirs, 1999).

As in the United States, books for teens tackle serious subjects like self-discovery, deportation, and separation.  Florence Aubry is one such author whose books have touched upon road rage, alcoholism, and unbridled sexuality. I was shown Le garcon talisman (Rouergue, 2012), a novel about an albino boy in Tanzania who is hunted because albino bodies are prized; in the book, it is believed their hair or a piece of their flesh can achieve incredible power.

Notably, school libraries in France are mandated only on the secondary level, yet there is much collaboration with the public libraries on all levels. It was interesting to see that in many towns in France, the public library is house in historic buildings. Many of these buildings are older than the United States! Both bookstores and libraries were buzzing with activity that proved that an old French reading campaign still holds true, “Happiness Through Books.”

For a slideshow of the entire trip, click the photo below: