I was in a library yesterday where they still had the big desk, but everyone was seated below eye level, which seemed to change the power dynamic. I thought it was interesting.

@savannahpolizzi I really enjoyed reading your inspiration report, and your idea of using Scandinavian libraries as model for a school library. I hadn’t thought of applying it to a school library(such a cool idea!). I especially liked the examples you provided (gives me ideas for a field trip to check out all those libraries in Europe). Laerkes’ four space model also resonated with me and I talk about it in detail in my Assignment X. Thanks for sharing!

Thanks @savannahpolizzi for a great report that so well summarizes some of the really inspiring things happening in the Scandinavian libraries. As a school librarian too, I am intrigued by how to apply these principles to my public middle school library. One of the areas that I know I need to work on is including more student voices. It can be hard to remember when I’m just trying to get so much done in one day! Your report is helpful in reframing some of the key elements that should be considered. And your graphics are beautiful! Thanks for sharing.

Maggie,
Congratulations on a job well done with your inspiration report! I found it to be visually engaging and very well thought out. You thought of every detail! I recently had an unfortunate exchange with a friend much younger than myself and I realized she knew almost nothing about the Japanese internment camps during World War II and from this ignorance stemmed the inability to grasp how these types of government programs (holding centers at the Mexican/American border) will continue happening if not enough Americans are properly educated about their own country’s past. Perhaps if this person, who has now been relegated to an acquaintance, had participated in this program you have designed she would have had the building blocks necessary for understanding her country’s past wrong doings and how they affect programs and attitudes today.
Beautiful presentation!

@maggierogers This is so good! I live in El Cerrito, and have been meaning to pay a visit to the Rosie the Riveter park. I think a field trip to get first hand stories of Japanese internment camps is such a powerful way to connect real life experiences with the school curriculum, and is a wonderful way to increase empathy amongst the students. I am looking forward to checking out the documentary in your report, and paying a visit to the site. Thank you!

Thanks so much @jeanna! How fun to have been at the opening of the park! I think it’s a hidden gem in the Bay Area. Great views too!

Thank you so much @matilda! Although the subject matter is not pleasant, I enjoyed the discovery aspect of looking for supportive resources. So thank you for sharing some more amazing resources! Looks like I need to make a trip down south to JAMSJ — both in person and now online.

Hi @maggierogers, This was a really good presentation. Great idea to link the history of Japanese American internment with your school’s reading program through a field trip! This brings history to life for the students and shows that learning can happen anywhere, not just in a library or classroom. I’m excited to see how this helps students enjoy their reading and learn more about history. I hope this is a project you are able to get off the ground.

@maggierogers this is such a fantastic report! I admire how much attention you put towards creating a developmentally appropriate and curricula aliagned lesson that brings in so many rich sources. I hope this lesson happens, because I think it will spark a great critical conversation and lots of inquiry!

Nice, @royaflin! Your report is so full of research and well-thought out. It highlights an important need that libraries can help to fill.

@lauraw Thank you so much! This was a labor of love for me. My husband and I worked as weekend parents for a group home in our college years, and the experience stuck with me. We ended up fostering and adopting three children, later in life. I learned so much doing the research for this project and much of it resonated with my personal experience.

Hi, Roya! As a librarian in Contra Costa, I just want to commend you for what a fantastic concept you’ve presented here. How much you care about foster youth really shines in the effort you’ve put forth in this project. Your contextual information and the statistics therein really blew me away, and underscored the need for the program you’ve designed. It’s amazing how much social interfacing and assessment I do with my students on a daily basis as a librarian for TK-5; the trust they have in us for what we do translates naturally to the type of work a social worker designing programming for the library could also do to make a change. Excellent idea, and excellent work!

Hi Roya, thank you so much for creating this report. I’ve learned so much about the challenges in the U.S. foster system, and I can really see how libraries can become safe havens of connection and stability for youth in the system.

Thank you @royaflin for this exceptional blog post! Your research is astounding and the statistics are sobering. I first learned about social workers in the library way back in INFO 200 and it seems like such a natural partnership to link library services and social services. Your report is excellent in pointing out the challenges but also the opportunities! I really like the idea of peer navigators. Although I have no personal experience with foster youth, I would imagine that trust is a big concern. Connecting with similar youth seems like an important aspect of any successful program. I hope you are able to get a program like this started in real life!

Impressive work. Thank you so much for sharing it!

@royaflin, this report was very eye opening. Your “Hopeful Futures” project is a great way to show how libraries can help young people in foster care in new and important ways. It is a great connection to social services that we are seeing more and more with libraries. Thank you for all of the work you put into this.

LOL, I can relate; it’s hard. Like giving up coffee, I can’t or don’t want to do it.
But in my case, when I go camping, that’s when I feel disconnected and without the need to look at my phone.

This is a great topic. I have been uncomfortable with AI so I took a training offered by California Library Association called “AI and the Future of Libraries.” I found it to be very helpful. It was divided into three sections: how libraries can use ChatGBT, How AI works, and ethics of AI. I especially appreciated the conversation about ethics and AI.

On a side note, all three guest speakers were professors of San Jose States iSchool!

@matilda I am doing a research paper on the WPA’s Pack Horse Library Project of Eastern Kentucky. This library made self published scrapbooks from anything from magazine clippings, locals contributions of things such as quilt patterns or recipes, parts of falling apart books, etc. Inadvertently creating their own story through their innovation to create resources for their library when they didn’t have to funds to do it. Your idea reminds me of a modern day version of this, except patrons would knowingly be creating their story. Very nice!

-Laurel

Well done, @laurele! Your page reads like a website and I like that it is succinct and provides lots of inspiration and information. I especially like your inclusion of Indigenous people and resources (as a Native person myself). What an interesting idea that can continue to evolve in a library!

Hi, Kathleen! Colonial Williamsburg has been on my travel list for so long, and somehow I had never explored their virtual tours before! Thank you for drawing this to my attention and for the work you’ve done with your Inspiration Report. I would be so curious to hear more about how you would plan to market or advertise this to your students, because your event ideas sound like a ton of fun and a great opportunity for learning! Also, I am glad you mentioned the discomfort that some may have with discussing colonial history. I agree with @jeanna in thinking that a thoughtful and well-considered program schedule could help mitigate the discomfort while simultaneously drawing attention to the harsh realities of our nation’s past. Excellent work with this project.

Thanks @kmg333 for an informative post about digital storytelling as a means for students to learn more about history outside of the traditional classroom. As a school librarian, I can envision creating a LibGuide of sorts that connects to various sites with resources similar to those at Colonial Williamsburg that relate to the history curriculum in each grade at our school. Looks like I have some fun research to do!

On a related note, last week, some of our 8th graders visited Colonial Williamsburg on a school trip to Washington, D.C. from Oakland, California. I am very curious to learn from our students and chaperones how their experience with the live guides went (I’ve been out of town for a few days). I think it’s probably a different experience than when I visited 25 years ago.

Hi Mikayla,

What a fun topic to learn about! I didn’t know that this was actually a thing!

My 98 year old grandmother recently lost her 15 year old dog and is devastated and doesn’t believe that the dog passed away. I think something like this could possibly be helpful for her during her grief and confusion.

Thanks for sharing!
Laurel

Hi @mikayla,

This is what I’m doing my Inspiration Report on! I too was motivated by that article in AL Mag. I love that something manufactured can illicit human empathy and emotion.

The idea to have fee forgiveness is a fine one, because realistically if someone wanted to steal material a fee isn’t going to encourage them to bring it back either. It’s really a hold over from an older generation, but it does help put pressure on some to bring what they borrow back. It should be up to the librarian to make the choice to forgive the fee, because it’s as you say a human perspective. Giving access to loan extensions would help avoid those fees though, which typically as you said hits low income because they have less time to return the material.