Mz Logan in the Library

Learning is awesome and I appreciate the different opportunities libraries give us to learn more in our daily lives, whether it is access to a language learning app, free online classes, or in person workshops (and so on).

@crlhayd said  “The common theme throughout all of the articles is that librarians are here to facilitate learning opportunities ”

This was said perfectly, and I completely agree with it, so I wanted to share it.

Sometimes it seems that there is all this information out there, all these learning opportunities and chances to try new things and libraries open up their arms to you and say “come on in and try something new.”  While exciting, that can also be scary and intimidating to some people.  Sometimes there is TOO much available to go through and you don’t know where to begin.

This can be where librarians come into things.  Librarians are a bridge in a sense.  Someone comes in with a question (any kind, whether informational or how-to) and the librarian has to connect them to the right information to get the answer. This might be a book, an article, a website, a class, an app, etc. But we can’t just say “have at it” and move onto something else.  We need to be sure that what we show them is useful, and that they are able to access it and get something out of it.  We might need to check up on them the next time we see them, or may need to reach out if possible to see if they still have questions.

This article talks a bit more about the changing reference services and how it’s great that we have all these answers, but we also need to be able to hear the questions that need to be asked.  It is suggested that libraries should market themselves as places of learning, and that it is important for librarians to be out there in the community to hear people and what they are asking.

I love the thought of librarians in the wild…seeking out information needs and making amazing connections.

“Storytelling is also the gateway to truth-telling, which helps inform our opinions, decision-making and self-views. Sharing our stories allows us to come together, declare what our values are and act on them. ”  Wendell Pierce

Newburyport, MA is a city that is proud of its history.  The downtown area was destroyed by fire twice- first in 1811 and again in 1934. Many of the buildings that survived these fires are around even today with signs proudly stating when they were built and when known, the original owners name. Every summer we have a weeklong  festival called Yankee Homecoming. One part of this week is a heritage walk called  “If This House Could Talk”.  Anyone can participate- they just have to research their house (with the help of the library when needed) and create posters to be displayed  outside their homes for everyone to see.  A map is available online of the homes on the walk.  I love walking through the neighborhood, stopping to read the signs.  It helps to acknowledge those who came before us.

Last year my middle child was in 8th grade (we have one middle school for the entire city).  Her grade became involved in the StoryCorps project and each eighth grader had to choose someone to interview as part of this project.  The school chose three interviews as award winners and these three were highlighted on our local television channel (my child was not a winner- but that is okay!).

And finally, the incoming freshman at our high school (where I work) had a summer reading assignment that had a storytelling focus. All incoming freshman were required to read Spin by Rebecca Caprara.

This book in verse is a retelling of the myth of Arachne from her perspective and we are given her backstory which includes the stories her mother would tell her. The assignment encouraged students to explore the myths in the book and see how those stories connect with their lives today and what lessons they try to teach.

Incoming honors students were also assigned The Last Cuentista by Donna Barba Higuera.

In this book Petra, her family, an a few selected other humans have been selected to start a new civilization on a planet far away from Earth which has been destroyed by a comet.  Petra awakes upon arrival to find out she is the only person alive who remembers Earth.  It is also important to know that her grandmother was a Cuentista, or storyteller and Petra had hoped to follow in her footsteps.

The assignment for this book included an interview with a family member to talk about the stories that stood out to them in their lives, whether they were family stories or other stories.  Discussions around this book led into the beginning of their school year as they discussed stories- family stories and other types of stories – and how they change and adapt over time and teach us what is important.

Remember. stories connect us to other people. They help us to understand things, help us to empathize, help us to gain new perspectives.  They help us to find parts of ourselves that might have been hidden before, and they help to keep those alive who have moved on from this life.

Reading about new and emerging technologies gives me a feeling of hope and inspiration.  Firstly because I’m a sci-fi reader and a Star Trek fan and I really get a kick out of tech I read about or see on tv come into reality in some similar way.  Star Trek had handheld scanners that looked like our old flip phones, touch screen computers, and easily portable tablet computers.  I could go on for hours about things like this, but I just wanted to relay that it is important to have hope that what comes in the future will be okay. Whether this has to do with events of this current day and age, or with the new horizons that are opening up for us with the assistance of technology and imagination.

I really got a kick out of the video for the HoloLens2.  This reminded me of Tony Stark’s JARVIS but even MORE super powered. The HoloLens was a mixed reality headset that allowed people to display information, to manipulate and interact with it, and to become part of it in an immersive environment.  Unfortunately Microsoft decided to end production for the HoloLens2. While they don’t have a future version of this made, there is still the possibility is there for things to happen that will be even better.

Until then we can try to explore more things like those mentioned in the 22 Emerging Technologies to watch for article such as:

• Vertical Farming -Schools have small hydroponic gardens, libraries can too!
• VR Workouts (combined with wearable health technology!)- new ways to get those required PE credits (remember, I work in a high school)
• Delivery Drones- new ways to check out and return books.
• The Metaverse- connect with people virtually
• Brain Interfaces- interesting, but I’m not yet fully ready to be THAT plugged in!

So while there is a lot around us that is feeling confusing and uncertain right now, I’m going to try to focus on the horizon. Better must come right?

Today I will read some old sci-fi, later I will stream Star Trek TNG and relax with my family and kitties.

Speaking of, I would like to introduce you all to Walter Bishop. We adopted this little guy a couple weeks ago.

This was his picture on the shelter website.

The high school library seems to be the perfect hyperlinked environment. The potential is there for connections to be made that are multi-dimensional. Students are encouraged to explore, to innovate, to be creative and to imagine. Many high school libraries have multi-purpose spaces for different types of activities.  Here? We have the spaces, or some of them at least but we don’t seem to get the buy-in from students or staff to use the space to its full potential.

In The Hyperlinked School Library, we are told that it is necessary to explore emerging tools and to use them as part of our library services.  Some examples of these tools would be using digital cameras to get stories online or recording podcasts or short video clips. I love these ideas, but at my school either they are already part of another class, or students just aren’t interested.

Students are scheduled throughout the day at my library for study blocks. Other students come and go for books or photocopies or other reasons, and occasionally classes will come down to check out books.  The librarian pushes into some classes for various topics but classes are not taught in the library.  I’ve tried to engage students with books- suggesting they could help create book trailers or short reviews that could be posted to social media.  I either get a blank stare or an insincere “sure.”

via GIPHY

Now this is only my second year at this library and I’m not about to give up.  I’m considering looking into using augmented reality, virtual reality, or QR codes to help engage the interest of students. This article discusses how to use student’s phones as VR headsets.  I need to do more research on how this would best work in our situation, but I like that this is a low-cost (free!) possibility. Perhaps I could connect a history assignment to a VR activity? IFLA discusses the use of augmented reality.  One image shows how AR can help students to find their way around the library more easily with this technology. How cool is that? AR can bring parts of our non-fiction books to life even. Wow!

I recently discovered that some authors have created playlists for their books.  I have a display in the planning stages where I get Spotify links to those playlists and display them along with the books.  While not fancy, this is a starting point. If I can get some students involved in this project it will help our library to become more connected as it should be.

Pictures of my library after students have gone home for the day.

There were so many great concepts touched upon in this module’s reading, but the one thing that stood out to me the most was how the library creates connections or bridges. Libraries can help to connect people to resources or they can help to connect people to other people.

THIS  article mentioned a woman who travelled to Australia for what was meant to be a three month holiday (three hour tour?),

but because of COVID restrictions ended up lasting much longer.  Can you imagine being on your own, away from friends and family, and having to be locked down on your own?  She found a conversation group through a library and this group continued for some time which helped to push away some feelings of loneliness.  

I was reminded of the old days of the AOL message boards.  In 2002 I was a member of one for pregnant women due in the same month.  I struggled with meeting people face to face due to being shy, awkward, and having social anxiety. These  boards helped me to connect to other people, some of whom I’m still friends with today. We’re planning a get together this spring to celebrate the over 20 years we have known one another.  Without them I would have been lost.

Loneliness is a scary thing sometimes and can be hard to overcome. Libraries help  by giving people opportunities to connect.   This may be your local library or one far away that you can connect to online. Many libraries get out into their communities to see what people want or need and try to get those programs or groups going.  

It’s pretty amazing when you think about it- how libraries do so much for so many.