@sandyarmor this is awesome, thanks for sharing! My daughter is almost 6 and while she does like to pick books out at our library, she really loves to just play there with their market booth, train table, tea set, etc. Having a safe and creative space for kids to play without always pushing “education” is so important, in my opinion.

@sandyarmor This is such a refreshing post. These spaces sound so amazing and needed in today’s world. Both the pictures you included in your post look welcoming and amazing for kids. Allowing kids the time and space to play and create is so often overlooked for the “jumpstart” on their “reading, writing, and arithmetic”. You have pointed out the importance of allowing time for play and creativity.

Thanks!

Hi Sandy,
The unknown is always the most enticing, right? I love this, and really enjoyed your post as well. It’s thrilling to create these types of projects that call for the promise of the future. I especially think it’s awesome that Ocean Vuong is one of the chosen authors. (I love him.) This is a great way to connect us to the future, and once again the each other!
~ Nancy G.

What a clever idea! I liked how you linked it to the library’s strategic plan and mentioned how girls only make up a small section of people in STEM. The design you used looked really nice.

Hi Sandy,
What a great idea! Just a thought… for the age range… there are many kids older than 7 with learning differences or younger than 5 with differing abilities that could also benefit from using these. As I went through your presentation, I also thought about those on the kiddos on the spectrum that need explicit play to practice social cues and play could benefit from using them.
The Bee-Bot Robots can also encourage connections across cultures and for the parents that so desperately need and/or want a comprade facing the same obstacle.
If I was part of San Francisco Library, I would say, “SOLD!” or “When can we start?!?!?!?” to your Bee-Bot Robot idea.
-Heather

This was such a cool presentation! I appreciate you sharing this innovative idea about early childhood education and literacy. I can imagine how excited library staff and patrons would be to use these fun robots! I remember when I was a kid, the newest, coolest technology was saved for the advanced classes in school (we called them Gifted and Talented) and I often wished I could use those tools and games too. It’s exciting for me to see that public libraries take the initiative to make services and technology available for anyone who walks through their doors. Lastly, I want to share that I loved your presentation format; it was fun and eye-catching but still easy to read and follow along with.
-Mari Carmen

Sandy, thanks for sharing this roundup of AI’s potential in libraries. AI freaks me out but obviously it’s coming whether we want it to or not, and reframing it to see its potential seems really beneficial. The collection management potential is especially interesting to me, like a Spotify or Netflix algorithm to make readers advisory immediate and personalized. Very cool!

@sandyarmor. Oh yes – this goal:

“…free access to information is a basic precondition for reaching it…” is everything. And it flies in the proverbial face of restricted access, paywalls and book bans.

@sandyarmor This is AMAZING! I am so happy to know about this project. You connected right to our module as well! 💐🎨

Just WOW!!